Authors & Illustrators

Are You An Author In Need Of An Illustrator?

Many new children’s book authors assume that they are responsible for finding an illustrator for their manuscript. But that’s just not true. It’s a publisher’s job to match your manuscript with an illustrator. Unless you’re planning to illustrate your own story, you should not include illustrations with your manuscript. By including someone else’s illustrations you will not set your manuscript apart from the rest, you will actually lower your chances of getting a book deal. So don’t do that. Instead, just focus on writing the best possible manuscript.

Also, Peter has a strict policy to only review manuscripts brought to him by publishers or by his literary agent. We kindly ask that you do not email your manuscript to the Peter Brown Studio.

Are You An Author Or Illustrator Hoping To Get Published?

If so, today is your day! We have the best advice you’re ever gonna get. Are you ready? Here it is: you should become a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Go to www.scbwi.org to join. When you join they’ll send you all kinds of really useful information about publishers and agents and you’ll be subscribed to their newsletter, which will bring you relevant, important, up to date information every month. SCBWI has conferences all over the US, and all over the world, where you can attend workshops and lectures, and you can meet editors and literary agents and designers and loads of other authors and illustrators. At the conferences you can show your manuscript or portfolio to people who can actually get you a book deal. You should totally join SCBWI. Go do it.

Oh, and one last piece of advice. Since most publishers no longer accept unsolicited submissions, we recommend that you focus on finding yourself a literary agent. That’s true whether you’re an author or illustrator or both. A children’s literary agent can get your work in front of the editors and art directors who are most likely to be interested, and they can do it quickly and efficiently, and they’ll negotiate the best possible book deal for you, when the time comes.

Now go! Join SCBWI! Find yourself an agent! Get yourself a book deal!