Annual SCBWI (SA) Publishers Show & Tell Day

We will be having our Publisher's Day on March 11th, 2009.

This will be a day for writers and illustrators to pitch their work to the publishers. It provides an opportu­nity for publishers to see what work our writers and illustrators have done during the past year and also for them to meet new writers and illustrators.

For more information go to

http://scbwi-za-capetown.blogspot.com/

Writers and illustrators required

MasterSkill, an American publisher, is looking for writers and illustrators to develop its new set of readers. The readers will be submitted to the Education Department for inclusion in the National Foundation Phase Catalogue but will also be marketed to the book trade.

Writers are invited to submit stories as follows:
· Gr R readers (8 pages each, including a title page)
· Gr 1 readers (16 pages each, including a title page)
· Gr 2 readers (24 pages each, including a title page)
· Gr 3 readers (32 pages each, including a title page)
All stories must include artwork briefs.

Due date: 30 November 2008.
Email to: bernita@yebo.co.za

Fees:
Writing:
· R2000 per reader, payable on invoice after the manuscript and a/w brief has been handed over, and
· 5% royalty per reader
OR
· 10% royalty – no fees

Illustrators are invited to send portfolios / examples of their work to bernita@yebo.co.za as soon as possible. (Illustrators who can work under pressure during November and December can also apply to work on the Foundation Phase Learner’s Book.)

For the Readers, Illustrators will be paid R150 per page plus 2% royalty.

This is not a reading scheme. Each reader will stand on its own. The story should make learners want to read.

SCBWI Retreat: From story board and manuscript to published book

From story board to published book: How to find your own way in the world of publishing - a talk by international literary agent Susanne Koppe

Susanne explained that she works as a literary agent in Hamburg, Germany mainly with German authors. She also does some “internship” work with teenagers in schools.

She spoke about her career in children’s books which has involved study of children’s literature, work as a scout for the publishing house Beltz & Gelberg and Random House and running of the children’s booklist for Rotfuchs at Rowohlt Publishers. In 2002 she founded her own agency for literature and illustration.

Susanne described her work as an agent. She suggested that writers and illustrators should be careful in choosing an agent and should not pay money for reviews as this practice is open to corruption. It is also important to find someone who shares your values and ideas about books.

Susanne showed some of the books that she has worked on. They included some interesting “pop-up” type books, picture books, a “story song” type book with its own CD, picture books with riddles etc. She has also worked on longer stories for young adults such as those by Lilli Thal. She tries to look at the market and publish what makes sense as well as what is good.

A threat to children’s books in Europe are the big bookshops with limited lists. More than publishers, these minimize variety. Often they will say that a book is out of print when it is available from the publisher.

Book Fairs
There are a number of book fairs in Europe . Susanne particularly recommended the Bologna Book Fair which is specifically for children’s books.
Branding yourself
It is a good idea to give something small to people whom you would like to work with, such as the stamps that she has made.
Royalties
In Germany these are normally about 15%.
Packaging
Packaging is practised in some countries by some publishing houses who put together a concept and try to sell this.
Submission of manuscripts
It is best to post, not email these. Emails can get lost and are impersonal.
Submission of illustrations
Jpegs can work very well. Original artwork should never be sent. It indicates lack of professionalism and creates anxiety for the agent who has to return it without damaging it. If an original piece of work is sent to make a particular point, it should be small and should be sent as something that does not need to be returned.
Covering letter
Give some background regarding why you wrote the book.
Summarise the plot.
Longer books - include about three chapters of the book. The exact number of words to send will vary according to the type of book.
Picture books - send the whole book.

SCBWI Retreat: Blank page to under a child's pillow - the creative process

Blank page to under a child's pillow - the creative process - a talk by Editorial Director, Picture/Gift Books, Macmillan Children's Books, UK, Suzanne Carnell.

Suzanne began her talk with a picture of her desk back home in the UK and pointed to the various pictures, mementos, reminders and notes around it to introduce the different kinds of work she does as well as the authors and illustrators she works with. Although Macmillan says it doesn't accept unsolicited manuscripts, she said that the post often brought surprizes that the staff couldn't resist looking at. In this way some of their well known authors had first been published.

She described working with people such as Emily Gravett, Julia Donaldson, Kazuno Kohar and Chris Riddell. Altogether the talk provided a tantalising insight into the work of a children's book publisher. The audience loved seeing the examples of books Macmillan had published. It was fascinating to see the process followed during the writing, illustrating and publishing of a book.

Illustrators' Rates

Have you ever wondered what you should be charging for illustrating? SAFREA (Southern African Freelancers' Association) suggests some minimum rates. These can be accessed at: http://www.safrea.co.za/. The following rates were suggested in 2007/2008.

RATES
SAFREA suggested Minimum Rates 2007/2008
DESIGN AND ARTWORK 2007/8

Artwork: Black and white per piece
Filler R150.00
A5 half page R250.00 - R450.00
A5 complex R300.00 - R500.00
A5 three quarter page R300.00 - R500.00
Narrow Crown to A4 (simple) R485.00 - R550.00
NC to A4 (complex) R600.00 - R750.00
NC to A4 double spread (simple) R800.00 - R1200.00
Nc to A4 double spread (complex) R1100.00 - R2000.00

Artwork full colour per piece
Filler R175.00
A6 or quarter page R225.00
A5 or half page R300.00
A5 complex full page R600.00
A4 three quarter page 600 - R750.00
Narrow Crown to A4 (simple) R600.00 - R800.00
NC to A4 (complex) R800.00 - R1100.00
NC to A4 double spread (simple) R1500.00 - 2000.00
Nc to A4 double spread (complex) R1750.00 - 2500.00

Artwork DTP/Technical per piece
DTP/computer generated a/w (including maths) (simple) R 75.00 - R300.00
DTP/computer generated a/w (including maths) (complex) R300.00 - R550.00
Technical drawings R390.00 R250 - R550.00
Medical illustrations R300.00 - R1500.00
Graphs R200

Maps per piece
B&W Narrow Crown - A4 (simple) R400.00 - R550.00
B&W NC - A4 (detailed) R750.00 - R1500.00
B&W NC - A4 double page (simple) R1000.00 - R1500.00
B&W NC - A4 double page (detailed) R1750.00 - R2500.00
Full Colour Narrow Crown - A4 (simple) R550.00 - R750.00
F/C NC - A4 (detailed) R1000.00 - R2000.00
F/C NC - A4 double page (simple) R1000.00 - R2500.00
F/C NC - A4 double page (detailed) R1750.00 - R2800.00

Cover Artwork per piece
Learners book/Reader NC - A4 (simple) R1500.00
LB/Reader NC - A4 (complex) R1750.00 - R 2750.00
Cover designed in Photoshop (no scanning cost) R2500.00 - 3 000.00
Studio photograph for Cover including fees and props (per photo) R1950.00 - R 2500.00

Cover design
Design requires no adjustment to artwork R1565.00
Design requires some adjustment to artwork R1816.00
Artwork on front cover only (complex design work) R2300.00
Artwork on front and back cover (complex design work) R2550.00
Makeup from existing design R900.00
Makeup from existing design with new image R1250.00
Teachers guide converted from Learners book R1200.00
New design with artwork R2000.00
Design for new series per title R2750.00
Complex design using artwork and photographs R2900.00

Book design and layout
Concept design R2550.00
cover design R2550.00
Layout per page (simple � run in text through to school science and maths ) R50.00 - 90.00
Layout per page (complex with design work) R220.00 - 260.00

Magazine design and layout
cover design R2500
Layout per pageR230

Web design
Concept design R3500 - R5500
Layout of pages this is easier quoted as an hourly rateR250 - R300 per hour