Pitch Perfect

For this project, I chose to write my own children’s picture book and work it up into a pitch I could send to agents and publishers.

WHAT IS A PICTURE BOOK PITCH ?

https://write-mentor.com/courses/community-learning-hub-online-modules/lessons/1-7-introduction-to-childrens-fiction-pitching-picture-books/

HOW TO

Examples of published books with their pitch

WRITING THE STORY

3 act story structure

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/a761264f84ac176a17ff801a3/files/fa86076d-edd7-4476-8112-3e2ac501536d/3_ACT_STORY_STRUCTURE_PRINTABLE.pdf

What is the book about and who is it for?

Target audience is for a more mature child, at least 7-9 as the subject is quite complex.

I’ve had my younger self at the center of my mind during the entire realisation of this project.

YouTube instead of buying the books

HOW TO APPROACH ANXIETY

Alan Watts

https://alanwatts.org/

Science Says it WORKS!

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-015-0424-5

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25546595/

My research was extensive on theses subjects and maybe not necessary to include it all.

OLOGIES

THE ATTICUS ADVENTURES

Pinterest inspo

VISUAL RESEARCH

From very early on in the research and the development of this story, I have been drawn to the idea that the main character meets a winged lion who teaches him to calm his mind.

(more on this later)

Deciding on size

The closest I could find on Mixam was 21.6x27.9cm, not ideal

https://www.bookdesignmadesimple.com/design-a-childrens-picture-book/

8x10 inches - 20.3x25.4 cm

Not forgetting to add extra space for the bleed as with the Jungle Book project.

COLOUR PALETTES

https://www.webmd.com/balance/what-are-chakras

https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/7-chakras#Chakra-101

Hidden meaning in colours.

We know that colour theory is key in creating good designs but is there a spiritual element that can be incorporated to create a deeper meaning hidden within the images?

THUMBNAILS

Finding more inspiration

Saun Tan

https://www.shauntan.net/dog-book

‘’No matter what future meets our planet, no matter how transformed or tragic, even apocalyptic, it’s hard to imagine that a dog will not be there by our side, always urging us forward.”

Pavel Tatarnikov
http://tatarnikov.com/en/illustrations.html

Serena Malyon

https://www.instagram.com/smalyon/

Lily Seika Jones

https://www.lilyseikajones.com/

Susan Seddon-Boulet

THE LION AND THE DOG

Looking deeper into the symbolism of the lion I came across some pertinent stuff.

https://www.uniguide.com/lion-meaning-symbolism-spirit-animal-guide#

More on Milarepa here: https://www.lionsroar.com/the-life-of-milarepa/

SURREALIST EXPERIMENT

Other than using a reference photo for the lioness and Atticus, I let my imagination do the rest. Letting inks mix naturally, creating texture with salt.

Location scouting

I needed get reference pictures of Atticus in a cave as this is where he spends the biggest part of the story. So I took a trip into the Lake District and rented a Yurt for a night. This is a cave up Castle Crag. I also got video footage to freeze frame and use as reference pictures.

POTENTIAL PUBLISHERS

Jellycat

Jellycat has a younger target audience however I really like the soft toy that accompanies the book.

I went ahead and bought this book for its leading industry advice and contacts.

I worked each thumbnail up into a very rough illustration on procreate and then I placed text over the image.

OUTCOMES

THE LOGLINE

“When a fearful dog steps into another world, he learns to face his fears with a new mindfulness technique, taught to him by a mythical creature.”

THE DUMMY

I will not be presenting the pitch to publishers yet, but I will endeavour to send it for professional feedback.

COVERS

INSIDE PAGES