Monthly Bonus: Getting your name out there
How do you let people know who you are?
I’m a member of the international group of picture book illustrators called Illoguild. Each month, we each answer a question here on Substack. For May, that question is: “How do you become known?”
My answer: Make lots of friends.
Someone I know is heading off to art school next year and asked me for some tips from my experience as a student and educator. When I reached down into my big bag of advice, I pulled the words I got from my high school art teacher along with some other things that I know have helped me throughout my career.
Always trade art with your peers. It’s so fun, and before you know it, you’ll have an amazing art collection and you’ll have your work in the collections of others.
Stay curious and love learning.
Attend as many lectures from visiting artists as possible and say yes to every opportunity that you’re interested in.
Do the work, get feedback & make better work.
Support the work of others whenever you can.
Tailor every project towards the industry you want to work in.
Get an internship or freelance work to test a possible future career. If you find you don’t like something you thought you’d like? Great! You’re closer to discovering a better fit.
I graduated with a BFA in graphic design, and by doing these things, I was able to carve out a place in exactly the right area of graphic design I wanted to work in: children’s entertainment.
I’m now trying to follow my own advice for this new branch of my artistic career: children’s publishing. I’ve traded art with friends. I continue to attend lectures and make friends with established authors and illustrators in the industry. I attend events hosted by my local booksellers and libraries. I take online and in person classes to get feedback and meet people in the industry. I’ve attended retreats and conferences. I’ve had critiques from agents and art directors that have pointed me in the right direction. I entered a contest and managed to be one of the winners. I continue to read books in all genres and closely study those in the areas I would like to work in. I ask what other people are reading and why they love what they love.
All of this stuff fits under the umbrella of that big, scary, amorphous word, NETWORKING. I prefer to simply say, “Make lots of friends” just like I learned from Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers. You’ve probably done a lot of the things on my list, but I hope maybe one or two jumped out at you as something you could try next. What are some of the ways you make networking work for you? Let me know in the comments!
Looking for more tips? My illoguild friends have a lot more to say on this topic:
Jen Jamieson talks about finding her fit in the market.
Katie Stack talks about building an online audience.
Adam Ming outlines how he broke into the industry.
Carla Hoffenberg offers ten strategies for being discovered.