TRANSCRIPT

As I’m sure you already know, the odds of becoming a published picture book author are really low. According to Google the odds of getting published are 1 to 2%. And for picture book writers, the odds decrease if you only write manuscripts because a lot of publishers and agents these days accept submissions only from author-illustrators.

The competition has also increased. On a picture book podcast that I listen to, the Literaticast, the host said that it seems like everyone decided to become a picture book writer during the pandemic.

I know all this sounds bleak. But you can improve your odds. And that’s what these videos are all about.

Just a little background, I started writing picture books in 2018 and signed 12 contracts without an agent. In fact, it took me 5 years to get an agent. Side note here: It really surprised me that it took so long to get an agent. I thought agents would be lining up to sign me after seeing my track record of getting published on my own. That wasn’t the case. Not at all. This really is a tough business.

So, back on track here.

Despite all the rejections and feelings that your dream will never come true, you can become a traditionally published picture book author – even without an agent.

Now, if you ask people what the first step is in becoming a published picture book author, they might answer something like having a great idea for a story or thinking up a character that children would love.

Those are great first steps in writing a picture book. But to get published – to overcome all the odds against you and to keep going despite all the rejections – you have to go deeper.

I believe that the most important part of becoming a traditionally published author is to first find your why.

Knowing how difficult it is to get published, you have to ask yourself, “Why do I want to become a published picture book author?”

This why has to be powerful to you personally.

Whys like “you think it would be cool” or “you want to have Disney make a movie based on your book” or you “want fame, fortune and to leave a legacy” won’t continue to push you forward as the rejections roll in. And just another side note here… “Fortune” definitely shouldn’t be your why. My first royalty check was $59. And as exciting as that was, I had to pay a $30 wire transfer fee. Still, at the end of the day, I got to see my book in print AND made $29.

My why has a much longer backstory, but it’s continued to push me since 2018. The short version is that one day I was driving home from work and listening to a podcast (I can’t remember the podcast or the guest), but the guest said something along the lines of, “We spend our best years giving our creativity away to other people.”

So this line was a punch in the gut to me. A true wake-up call. My entire career had been in advertising, and that was literally what I did for a living: I gave my creativity away to help other people sell cars or cellphones or checking accounts.

So for me, my why became… “Why do I want to become a published picture book author? Because I want to get paid to write what I want to write. Not what someone else wants me to write.”

So one more time, my why is… “Why do I want to become a published picture book author? Because I want to get paid to write what I want to write. Not what someone else wants me to write.”

What can your why be?

In the next video I’ll explore how to find a why that’s powerful for you.

In the meantime, thanks so much for watching. If you got any value out of this video, please like it, subscribe to my channel and share the video with other aspiring picture book authors. Thanks so much.