A Different Kind of 100 Day Project

Illoguild Question #13

Each month members of the illoguild answer a question together, and this month’s question is about how to be productive in the downtime.

Below I will share about my plan for a different kind of 100 Day Project, and if you’d like to share what you do, it’s always great to hear from you in the comments! What do you work on when you don’t have a book deal/ commission? How do you recharge during a break? How do you advance your art when you can’t make art (e.g. traveling)?

And be sure to check out the illoguild page on Monday to read everyone’s responses!

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Did you know that illoguid member

Carla Hoffenberg

selects the monthly question? Even though she lives in Australia, she chose this question since the northern hemisphere is on summer break, which can mean a bit of a lull in client work. Her thinking couldn’t have been more spot on for me. I wrapped up my first two picture books, one in June and one in July.

Then I took a week off and relaxed. I bought the new Zelda game (anyone else??), enjoyed a beach read, and soaked up some summer sun.

I was supposed to be back to the grind already but my next book got delayed by two weeks, so that left me with three open weeks in July. What could I do with all the downtime? The time off got me thinking about these two pieces of wisdom:

1. What you do today determines what you’ll be doing in 30 days (I can’t remember the source of this, but I really like it.)

2. How Owen Davy shared that he reached out to someone every day for 7 years. Now he’s a hugely successful and influential illustrator. (Thanks

   Adam Ming
   for sharing this with me!)

So I decided… why don’t I reach out to some people? I contact stores regularly with cold email pitches, but I was looking for more actual connection and opportunity with people in the industry.

On a whim I sent an email to a publisher. It wasn’t even about pitching myself as a potential artist, but rather about promoting their books on my newsletter since I have a segment called “Children’s Book Study.”

That email reminded me of an application for a freelance book reviewer from two years ago. I checked their website and they’re looking for reviewers again, so I found the old email and contacted the same person with an updated application. How fun would it be to be paid to review kids books?

Then I was really on a roll. I researched who to contact about some book ideas for a curriculum I used to use in the classroom. I found who to contact, but her email wasn’t listed on the curriculum website. I was able to connect with her on LinkedIn, and I asked to share some ideas for books. Now she’s connecting me with their Chief Product Officer.

Also on LinkedIn I saw that a classmate from grad school is starting a Youtube channel for kids. I sent a message to congratulate him for taking a risk, because I also took a risk with kid lit, which ended up being amazing. He asked to see my work and then asked to meet. So we did, and now he’s keeping me in mind as an illustrator for some books he’s working on.

Whoah. A little communication can go a long way.

Will all of these emails turn into projects? Definitely not!

But am I set up for future projects more than I was before sending 4 emails? Absolutely.

These emails have inspired me to reach out to someone new for 100 days. It’s a 100 day project that’s all about creating opportunities for my future self.

Let me know if you’d like to join!

One last story to show that emails really can lead to things… During the beginning of covid, I emailed an art history professor who leads these amazing webinars about Italy and art. Because I emailed him, we ended up creating and teaching an online summer camp about art history for kids!

You never know what an email will lead to. The worst that happens is you never hear back. The best is that you get to do whatever it is you asked in the email. So go for it!

See you next week to chat about children’s books,

Katie

🎉 PS - The free Monthly Sketch Party in on August 16 at 11AM EST / 4PM UK. Click here to join.