alright, calling all my artist friends...
things are really ready to start rolling! i have officially finished two of my rhyming abc books. i am debating trying to draw them for myself.. it could be simple enough for me to do it, but when i finish the story books i will definitely need someone to draw those, too complicated for my meager drawing skillz.
the official plan (so far):
- this month i am definitely buying a high quality printer
- next month i am buying a laminator, possibly a scanner if i can't use a friend's
- starting this weekend i will start drawings for the two alphabet, rhyming books that i've finished (even if someone else wants to draw for me, the practice of doing it myself won't have hurt anything and will be fun)
- setting up an gmail account just for people to email me about my books and creating an little author's bio for the last page of the book that included that email address so that people can talk to me about the book they bought or inquire about buying more of my books
- finding and buying a hole puncher and sturdy, plastic rings to hold together the pages of each book buy the time i purchase a laminator and am ready to start assembling the books
- assembling the books and giving copies out to every family i've worked for in portland (that's about 14 families) - they will totally tell their friends that their cool, former/current babysitter/nanny is selling her own, self published book
- hitting up first thursday, last thursday, local consignment shops, etc. to sell copies of the first two completed books, $7 dollars if i draw the pictures myself and $10 if someone else draws them
i should make it clear that i am not out to make a profit doing this, or even to break even. taking a loss (from buying the printer, laminator and other supplies and paying an artist) would be fine for me if i successfully distribute these. it's been really fun writing these books, i think it will be fun making them and distributing them and what i really want to get from this is the experience and to help build my reputation. also, the sense of accomplishment and knowledge that children i know will enjoy my fun, little books will be great too. the more and more i think about it though, the more it seems like i might even make a profit for myself. especially if/when the printer starts coming in handy for some other projects i have in mind..
so, on to the main point of this entry! a few of you have expressed interest in drawing for me over the last year as i have putzed around in finishing and planning for this project... now that i am ready to have the ball rolling in - hopefully - less than two months, does anyone want to check out the two books and decide whether or not to go for it for me? i was thinking i would give the contributing artist $5 for every book i sell... i am not sure if that's reasonable though or if i should add, like, $100 for the initial completion of the drawings plus the $5 per book sold? if you're interested, let's talk about it. i can send you the text for the one or both of the completed books. what i would need done for each should amount to 26 drawings (one for each letter of the alphabet!), which will all be relatively small (the pages of the book will probably be 4 or 5 inches by 4 or 5 inches). if you're an artist, but not really interested in working on this project with me, feel free to offer me advice about what you think would be reasonable to pay someone if i end up having a contributing artist.
the official plan (so far):
- this month i am definitely buying a high quality printer
- next month i am buying a laminator, possibly a scanner if i can't use a friend's
- starting this weekend i will start drawings for the two alphabet, rhyming books that i've finished (even if someone else wants to draw for me, the practice of doing it myself won't have hurt anything and will be fun)
- setting up an gmail account just for people to email me about my books and creating an little author's bio for the last page of the book that included that email address so that people can talk to me about the book they bought or inquire about buying more of my books
- finding and buying a hole puncher and sturdy, plastic rings to hold together the pages of each book buy the time i purchase a laminator and am ready to start assembling the books
- assembling the books and giving copies out to every family i've worked for in portland (that's about 14 families) - they will totally tell their friends that their cool, former/current babysitter/nanny is selling her own, self published book
- hitting up first thursday, last thursday, local consignment shops, etc. to sell copies of the first two completed books, $7 dollars if i draw the pictures myself and $10 if someone else draws them
i should make it clear that i am not out to make a profit doing this, or even to break even. taking a loss (from buying the printer, laminator and other supplies and paying an artist) would be fine for me if i successfully distribute these. it's been really fun writing these books, i think it will be fun making them and distributing them and what i really want to get from this is the experience and to help build my reputation. also, the sense of accomplishment and knowledge that children i know will enjoy my fun, little books will be great too. the more and more i think about it though, the more it seems like i might even make a profit for myself. especially if/when the printer starts coming in handy for some other projects i have in mind..
so, on to the main point of this entry! a few of you have expressed interest in drawing for me over the last year as i have putzed around in finishing and planning for this project... now that i am ready to have the ball rolling in - hopefully - less than two months, does anyone want to check out the two books and decide whether or not to go for it for me? i was thinking i would give the contributing artist $5 for every book i sell... i am not sure if that's reasonable though or if i should add, like, $100 for the initial completion of the drawings plus the $5 per book sold? if you're interested, let's talk about it. i can send you the text for the one or both of the completed books. what i would need done for each should amount to 26 drawings (one for each letter of the alphabet!), which will all be relatively small (the pages of the book will probably be 4 or 5 inches by 4 or 5 inches). if you're an artist, but not really interested in working on this project with me, feel free to offer me advice about what you think would be reasonable to pay someone if i end up having a contributing artist.