Become a Cartoonist
The information on this page is an excerpt from the FabJob Guide to Become a Cartoonist. It is only a small sample of the valuable information contained in the 117 page complete guide.
How to Get Hired to Create Cartoon Books
The market for cartoon books has never been better than it is right now.
The market for children’s cartoon books is especially strong, because most children learn to read from picture books. The adult cartoon-book market has also been taking root in the last ten years.
Cartoon books come from three different sources. One source is recycled comic books. The line between comic-book "graphic novels" and cartoon books is blurring, if not fading. Another source of inspiration is recycled comic strips. The third is original material, designed for the cartoon-book format.
The Job: Opportunities and Working Conditions
Cartooning for cartoon books is either a solitary operation or a partnership. Most partnerships are writer-illustrator. In the case of a writer-illustrator partnership, the writer is usually expected to handle the business of getting a cartoon book published, although both writer and illustrator may be obliged to help sell the book.
The illustrator of cartoon books spends as much time alone in the studio as any cartoonist, so make sure your studio is ready to spend time with you. Make sure it’s well lit and well ventilated. Pay attention to the ergonomics of your work. Is your art board allowing you to sit up straight? When you’re writing the book, are your hands the proper distance over the keyboard?
As for starting pay, Robin Koontz puts it this way:
"Writing for the children’s book market is seldom as lucrative as writing for the adult market. For a thirty-two page picture book, you can expect to split 50/50 a $3,000-$8,000 advance with the illustrator, then each of you will get 3.5 to 5 percent royalties against your advance. Remember though, that your advance must be earned back before you receive any royalties. Most picture books sell from 5,000-10,000 copies in hardcover and go out of print within fourteen months. Few go into paperback."
Things will go differently once you’ve established a reputation, which is much easier to keep in the children’s book market than the adult market. Cartoon books take a number of shapes, sizes and prices so you can expect a wider range of pay offers.
The Employers: Prime Contacts
For children’s books, the best place to look for markets is the Children’s Writers and Illustrators Market
Here are some solid children’s publishing houses for you to consider submitting to:
Barefoot Books
http://www.barefoot-books.com
Chronicle Books
http://www.chroniclebooks.com
DK Publishing, Inc.
http://us.dk.com/static/cs/us/11/about/children.html
Golden Books
info@goldenbooks.com
Lee and Low Books: Multicultural Literature for Children
http://www.leeandlow.com/editorial/voices.html
Lerner Publishing Group
http://www.lernerbooks.com/cgi-bin/wspd_cgi.sh/subpolicy.html
Orca Book Publishers
http://www.orcabook.com/client/client_pages/author_guidelines.cfm
Parenting Press
http://www.parentingpress.com/manuscripts.html
