Picture Book Mix Tape
05: Burnout and Trying New Systems
Every month, our critique group Illoguild answers a question. This month’s question is: What have you learned that you’d like to share?
Our Next Illoguild Live session all about “Lessons Learned” is:
MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2024 at 8AM EDT
Sign up here: https://lu.ma/hg2fsa6m
My friend and fellow illoguild member Adam Ming and I have been working on a bigger, long term project. The way we’re tackling that project is by meeting over Zoom once a month to have a 2 hour chat about things we’ve learned, our successes and failures and things we’re currently struggling with as people who make a living from our art. We’re calling it Art Quest, and we’ll eventually be putting up some fantastic resources for everyone there, but for right now, we’re just playing and talking and writing and sketching. Just 2 hours a month. But, each conversation brings us closer to figuring out exactly what this thing is that we’re making. And that’s exciting.
During our last conversation, I brought up dealing with burnout and how to prevent it before it’s here. We were able to talk through some strategies that might help and I want to share how I’m handling it in case it helps you too.
First of all, I love to take on projects. Everything always sounds so fun, and I love to help people and make artwork and I feel so lucky that I get to make cool things for my job. The problem is I work all the time. And work is also mostly play. So, what is work and what is play and where is the off switch if there even is one?
Adam has been taking off one day a week this year to try and keep from burnout and that’s been helping him, and I mentioned that if I don’t actively plan time out and away from the studio I don’t know how to take a day off until burnout forces me to.
When I was a creative director, I removed my computer from home because I would always work after I got home. That boundary helped! Then, I suddenly had free time and started sewing toys for fun and then made a whole other career out of something that was my hobby. Then, 16 years later, the pandemic canceled my in person art shows and conventions, so I had free time again, and I started writing and illustrating children’s books, something I’ve always dreamed of doing. And because I go all in, I took tons of classes and read tons of books, wrote tons of stories, joined a critique group and even went to Italy twice for the Bologna Children’s Bookfair. And now, I just signed with an amazing agent, and my first book is out on submission with editors. Can anyone else relate to just working all of the time because there are so many fun things to do?
My busiest time of year for my day job (which is making stuffed animal fake taxidermy heads) is happening now through the end of the year. I’m excited to work on more stories, and have tons of ideas I can’t wait to write, so I’m stealing Adam’s brilliant system of working for 10 minutes a day on them to see if that helps me feel like I’m progressing on the stories I want to write and illustrate while also fulfilling my existent commitment to the long days of production sewing work and retail sales for the holiday season.
So far, this is how it’s going: I write down on my daily to-do list “10 minutes of writing” and “10 minutes of drawing” so I can check them off and feel great. Then, since I’ve decided I have four stories I want to work on vs. just one (and my brain really does enjoy working on lots of different things!) I open up the file for one story and write for ten minutes (usually I end up doing more once I start) and when I come to the end of that, I write a question or something to explore the next day so I don’t start with a blank page. And I keep doing that until it feels like I need a break from that story. Then, I open up one of the other files and repeat the process. So far, I’ve been able to explore and make progress on three out of four stories this past week! I’m not writing full drafts or anything, just typing up what’s in my head and asking questions. Getting to know the characters and what they want these stories to be about. And doing it in 10 minutes a day is getting me a lot farther than I would get if I pushed myself to get all my regular work done and tried to set aside a few hours where I’m exhausted and my brain can’t think and then I feel bad about not writing a thing.
So, my Lesson Learned is that the 10 minutes a day thing is working for now. And, when things are less busy with my main business, I’ll have time again to really dive in. But I won’t be starting four stories from scratch. They will all be living and breathing, and maybe I’ll even have drafts before I know it! And, importantly, I’m also running this as an experiment. If I end up missing a day, I’m going to examine why that was and not beat myself up. Maybe it’s just that I can’t do it every day, but maybe it’s 5 days a week? Or, maybe two weeks in a row and a couple of days off before I try it again? Whatever it is, I’m treating it like information vs. a value judgement and will adjust accordingly based on how much creative gas is left in the tank.
In a class I took with Ariel Richardson, an editor from Chronicle Books, she mentions that you need three things as a creator: The Pep, the Prod and the Pause. The 10 minute system, rotating the stories I’m working on, plus belonging to a critique group with meetings every two weeks has all three built in, and that makes it feel like a system that can work.
I’ve also started listening to this podcast recently, which has some great tips on dealing with burnout!
https://www.isabelsterling.com/podcasts/the-author-burnout-cure
I’ve also been enjoying listening to some middle grade scary stories while I tackle this mountain of production sewing work. I just finished the two volumes of Tales from Cabin 23 , if you’re looking for MG horror recommendations. Also, my husband reads me stories pretty much every evening when I get home, and since it’s that time of year they’re mostly creepy mysteries and ghost stories for kids. So fun.
So, you might be wondering, are there really picture books about burnout? Can that topic be kid-relatable? Here’s a few I can think of off the top of my head, and since I want to get this newsletter out without burning out, if you think of any more please add them in the comments!
Capybara is Friends with Everyone by Maddie Frost (2022: Harper Collins)
Wolfgang in the Meadow by Lenny Wen (2024: Harper Collins - Yes, I know I already featured this one, but it fits in this category too!)
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers (2013: PRH)
Oh, and my agent Kait Feldmann is doing a free “office hours” session on Wednesday, October 16 at 8:30PM. You can ask your publishing questions and she’ll answer them! If you’re interested, you can sign up here.
It was a great chat Jen, and I'm so glad the 10 minute thing works for you!
I'm wrote 2 crappy pages this morning, having your framework for writing is so helpful. Thanks for sharing so much goodies in here and in our Art Quest chats...
And yes it's a really cool way to build a long term project withour burnout, patience is a valauble trait :)
It's not strictly a picture book, but the the Frog and Toad story, "Tomorrow," is definitely NOT about burnout. :) Or, Saturday by Oge Mora might fit the bill!