Picture Book Mix Tape

02: Networking - It’s not so scary

May 09, 2024

Every month, our critique group Illoguild answers a question. This month’s question is: What are your tips for networking?

Our Next Illoguild Live session all about Networking is:
MONDAY, MAY 20, 2024 at 4PM EDT

Networking is big, scary corporate-y word that hangs out in the break room next to dividend, fiduciary, bandwith and synergy. I prefer to call networking by it’s simpler name: making friends. But if you’re entering a new industry, like illustration or publishing, how do you make friends as a grown up who is new?

By showing up, having fun and staying curious.

Ideas for how to do that:

Become a “regular” at your local bookstore and library. Don’t be afraid to ask the people who work there questions you might have. They love to help and recommend books! It is their chosen profession. If you go enough, they’ll remember you and recommend more books.
Sign up for classes. I’ve met a ton of amazing illustrator friends by taking classes with them. You’re all in the same boat, learning and experimenting together. Be sure to comment on other people’s work - and guess what? If you make insightful, helpful and genuine comments on other people’s work, they might return the favor. Then boom - before you know it, you’re friends!
Sign up for newsletters. Find artists and authors you admire and sign up for their newsletters. Read their posts and write nice messages in the comments section. Everyone likes nice messages in the comments section. The same goes for social media too. Thoughtful comments go a long way.
Attend local book launches. Now that you’re a “regular” at your local bookstore and library, you will become aware of local events happening at those locations. Show up! Everyone there will have the same thing in common: a love for the author or illustrator launching their book. Now you’ll have something to chat about with total strangers. Then those strangers might become your friends. Perhaps you can attend the next launch event together!
Join or start a book club! With the topic of conversation decided already, book clubs work as an ice breaker to take some of the pressure off. Bonding over the love or hatred of a book is a nice way to start a friendship.
Attend conferences and retreats. This can get expensive, but spending a lot of dedicated time with people in workshops, at meals and in the relaxed atmosphere of being away on a trip really helps to strengthen friendships and recharge your creativity.
Look for local kidlit meetup groups or start your own. Perhaps your local bookstore or library could help here.
Ask questions. This is the staying curious part, and I think it’s a crucial one. When you go to events, think of questions to ask the presenter ahead of time. If you’re talking to a new friend in the industry, ask them about their work before launching into what you’re working on. Be genuinely curious and open. This world can be so small sometimes. Listen to the stories of others and ask them questions. Be kind and caring and interested in the lives of others.

To help you make friends with the living, I’ve compiled a mixtape of books that teach us how to make friends with ghosts. Making friends with ghosts might seem difficult (pssst… a lot of the ways to make friends with ghosts also work with living humans) but it can be quite simple.