Five Ways To Jumpstart Your Children's Book Illustration Career.

1. Join the SCBWI (Society of Children's Books for Writers and Illustrators.)

   In 2014 at my very first children's literature conference, I had the chance to meet Dan Santat during a book signing. I am a massive fan of his, and he is someone I have always aspired to be like in my career. When I mentioned my dream to be a children's book illustrator, he told me to join the SCBWI, which helped him the most when he first started in children's books. It was truly the best advice I could have gotten. The SCBWI is full of resources and guides that help answer so many questions when starting. They even provide lists of publishers and agents to query when you are ready. But, I think the conferences are the most beneficial resources of the SCBWI. Both regional and national conferences put on by the SCBWI have allowed me to find my agent and make fellow illustrator connections that I am now happy to call colleagues and friends. It even got me my first book deal.

2. Focus on regional connections first and find a critique group.

   Finding people in your town, city, or state who are also children's book creators helps build relationships that impact your work and career. Another reason I love the SCBWI is that it has many regional events and opportunities throughout the year to meet fellow local authors and illustrators. These connections have given me a support network and following that has been so influential in my career growth. These connections include your local library and bookstores, which can help later on in your career when you publish a book and want to promote it. You will have a better chance of finding a local critique group which will have a giant impact on your work improving over time.

3. Follow children's book hashtags and accounts on Instagram and Twitter.

   Following hashtags and other children's book artists and illustrators will bump your profile to other similar accounts. It will help build your community and network and cement your identity in the industry. You should also post your work using some of these hashtags to gain followers with similar interests while building a following.

   Here are a few hashtags I follow:

   #kidlitart

   #kidlit

   #kidlitartist

   #readaloud

   #raisingreaders

   #picturebookillustration

   #picturebooks

   #childrensbooks

   #childrensbookillustration

   #littlebookworms

   #littlebookworm

   #littlereaders

   #littlereader

   #kidsbookstagram

4. Find your niche

   Finding your niche is crucial to finding the projects and building a network you love. I talk more about this in a previous post on how to find your niche, but the more specific you are with what you want to work on and your interests, the more likely you are to find projects and people you can only dream of.

5. Continuously evolve your portfolio.

   Getting into a rhythm of adding portfolio pieces to your work will allow it to feel more continuous as it evolves. I aim to create at least one portfolio piece a month outside of my work illustrations. These illustrations show off my interests and humor and allow me to build my niche, as mentioned above. By doing one piece a month, you will have a new portfolio at the end of the year that you can promote to potential clients. It keeps things fresh, and Art Directors love seeing new work consistently.