Writing a Picture Book 4: Contract to Illustrator to Launch
A Twilight Chant Process Post
Part 4 of 4: Contract to Illustrator to Launch
Twilight Chant, by Holly Thompson, illustrated by Jen Betton
In August 2014, the draft contract for my picture book Twilight Chant was drawn up, and later that fall I signed the final contract. In November, announcements appeared in Publishers Marketplaceand Publishers Lunch:
Holly Thompson's TWILIGHT CHANT, a lyrical evocation of the transition between day and night and an exploration of the animals who thrive during this special time, to Anne Hoppe at Clarion, by Jamie Weiss Chilton at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (World).
Over the next year, and throughout the following year, the editorial team considered various illustrators for Twilight Chant. As the author, I was not privy to most of these developments, until April 2016, when I received news from Anne Hoppe that illustrator Jen Betton had been selected and was already at work with HMHKids art director Christine Kettner. Anne Hoppe praised Jen’s sensitivity in portraying animals with the following words:
“She creates a lovely blend of realism and personification, giving her animals a sense of sentience and subtle personality without making them anthropomorphic,” and also Jen's “ability to create lowlight and nighttime scenes that are neither dark nor murky.”
—Anne Hoppe 4/5/16
In October 2016, I received from Anne Hoppe an update email on the illustration process with some of Jen's Twilight Chant sketches attached. Anne’s comments included the confirmed order of the animals and requests for slight revisions to the Author’s Note to keep the note in-tone and age-appropriate without overloading with information. And she shared the exciting news that the book would be published in spring 2018.
In November 2016 by email I received a sample of Jen Betton’s gorgeous finished art for “Fireflies,” and in January 2017, I received more of Jen’s stunning artwork for Twilight Chant. At the writing end, there was little to do other than fiddle with a dedication and the back jacket flap copy. At the publisher’s end, front flap copy and descriptive copy were being crafted. In May 2017, I received an email with Jen’s beautiful wrap-around cover art.
During the illustration process for a picture book, illustrators and writers usually have no contact with each other, but after the finished art was complete, in August 2017 I was so pleased to receive an email from Jen Betton reaching out about coordinating to create a Teacher’s Guide. Since I was visiting Massachusetts that month and she was living in the Boston area then, we were able to meet face to face, share our Teacher’s Guide and school visit ideas and discuss blog posts about process.
In late 2017, the first review came out, from Kirkus with these sweet words:
And more recently from Booklist these words, so gratifying:
Jen and I have continued to collaborate on the Teacher’s Guide with Marcie Colleen, and we have confirmed our book launch at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Friday evening March 23—nicely timed for this particular book, so soon after the vernal equinox, leading to longer days, warmer weather and opportunities for observing the three stages of twilight and the wildlife that thrives at that time of day.
From the idea to publication, the process for this 2018 picture book took a little over four years.
A picture book is a team effort, and I’m so grateful to all of the individuals involved in turning my twilight poem into a picture book, most especially my agent Jamie Weiss Chilton, editor Anne Hoppe and the talented illustrator Jen Betton. We all hope you enjoy Twilight Chant and many beautiful twilights.
*******See all four posts in this seriesWriting a Picture Book 1: A Twilight IdeaWriting a Picture Book 2: Twilight RevisionsWriting a Picture Book 3: Submission to OfferWriting a Picture Book 4: Contract to Illustrator to Launch
Part 4 of 4: Contract to Illustrator to Launch
Twilight Chant, by Holly Thompson, illustrated by Jen Betton
In August 2014, the draft contract for my picture book Twilight Chant was drawn up, and later that fall I signed the final contract. In November, announcements appeared in Publishers Marketplaceand Publishers Lunch:
Holly Thompson's TWILIGHT CHANT, a lyrical evocation of the transition between day and night and an exploration of the animals who thrive during this special time, to Anne Hoppe at Clarion, by Jamie Weiss Chilton at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (World).
Over the next year, and throughout the following year, the editorial team considered various illustrators for Twilight Chant. As the author, I was not privy to most of these developments, until April 2016, when I received news from Anne Hoppe that illustrator Jen Betton had been selected and was already at work with HMHKids art director Christine Kettner. Anne Hoppe praised Jen’s sensitivity in portraying animals with the following words:
“She creates a lovely blend of realism and personification, giving her animals a sense of sentience and subtle personality without making them anthropomorphic,” and also Jen's “ability to create lowlight and nighttime scenes that are neither dark nor murky.”
—Anne Hoppe 4/5/16
In October 2016, I received from Anne Hoppe an update email on the illustration process with some of Jen's Twilight Chant sketches attached. Anne’s comments included the confirmed order of the animals and requests for slight revisions to the Author’s Note to keep the note in-tone and age-appropriate without overloading with information. And she shared the exciting news that the book would be published in spring 2018.
In November 2016 by email I received a sample of Jen Betton’s gorgeous finished art for “Fireflies,” and in January 2017, I received more of Jen’s stunning artwork for Twilight Chant. At the writing end, there was little to do other than fiddle with a dedication and the back jacket flap copy. At the publisher’s end, front flap copy and descriptive copy were being crafted. In May 2017, I received an email with Jen’s beautiful wrap-around cover art.
During the illustration process for a picture book, illustrators and writers usually have no contact with each other, but after the finished art was complete, in August 2017 I was so pleased to receive an email from Jen Betton reaching out about coordinating to create a Teacher’s Guide. Since I was visiting Massachusetts that month and she was living in the Boston area then, we were able to meet face to face, share our Teacher’s Guide and school visit ideas and discuss blog posts about process.
In late 2017, the first review came out, from Kirkus with these sweet words:
“A lovely, lyrical visual and verbal exploration of the wonders of twilight.”
And more recently from Booklist these words, so gratifying:
“A lovely science picture book.”
Jen and I have continued to collaborate on the Teacher’s Guide with Marcie Colleen, and we have confirmed our book launch at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Friday evening March 23—nicely timed for this particular book, so soon after the vernal equinox, leading to longer days, warmer weather and opportunities for observing the three stages of twilight and the wildlife that thrives at that time of day.
From the idea to publication, the process for this 2018 picture book took a little over four years.
A picture book is a team effort, and I’m so grateful to all of the individuals involved in turning my twilight poem into a picture book, most especially my agent Jamie Weiss Chilton, editor Anne Hoppe and the talented illustrator Jen Betton. We all hope you enjoy Twilight Chant and many beautiful twilights.
*******See all four posts in this seriesWriting a Picture Book 1: A Twilight IdeaWriting a Picture Book 2: Twilight RevisionsWriting a Picture Book 3: Submission to OfferWriting a Picture Book 4: Contract to Illustrator to Launch
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