I joined SCBWI! Now what?

[Mimi Simon]

@ArtistErin can you submit to the portfolio showcase without attending in person? The website seems to make it look like you cant.

[Valerie Light]

@ArtistErin I think it's a great step to take for information and networking! Their website is a maze though, and there's a lot more info than it seems.

Here's my experience: I've been a member for maybe 18 months, and since then:

• I've participated in a few of my region's open critiques, which were of mixed usefulness but a great way to get a variety of feedback and meet other illos in my area.
• I did a 1-day illustrators intensive workshop online hosted by another region. I love live webinars, and I got a lot out of the the 3 speakers POVs.
• I also did the 3-day winter conference online last year, which gave me a great lay of the land on what children's publishing looks like. I participated in the Gallery showcase, but didn't get any bites.
• I am signed up for this year's virtual 1-day conference
• I posted some work online in the SCBWI illustrators gallery, and through it have gotten several offers to illustrate self-published books and one offer from a real publisher.
• I'm sorta planning to apply for the Don Freeman grant for an unpublished dummy next year.

So they have a lot to offer, but they don't lay it all out at once. It's really been worth it to get involved and expand my circle. Good luck!

[Griffin McPherson]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz this has me thinking again that I should really try and get more involved and maybe finally get a membership. What is the portfolio showcase exactly. I can’t find anything about it other than the gallery of illustrators on the site but I don’t see anything about a contest.

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@Griffin-McPherson well, the Portfolio Showcase is held during the conference. the previous conferences were done online but the upcoming one will be face to face, so I'm not sure how exactly it will go this time around.

Usually you submit 3 illustrations and the judges will pick the winners from all the submissions. there's usually 2 grand prize winners, one agented and the other non-agented. there will also be 4 honorable mentions. You get a cash prize and they will feature you on their site and agents and publishers can see you. it's great for publicity.

A number of us SVSers won during the previous conferences respectively. from who I can I remember there's @Neha-Rawat, @xin-li, @lenwen and me. I think they took down the page from the recent conference but u can find the winners from the other conferences here https://www.scbwi.org/awards/grants/portfolio-awards/

[Nyrryl Cadiz]

@Griffin-McPherson you can also join the Ezra Keats Award if you're an upcoming illustrator of color. You can join at the same time with the Portfolio Showcase

[Melissa_Bailey]

@ArtistErin Hi Erin. I’ve been a member of SCBWI for 10 years. For me, it’s been worth it. There are a lot of networking opportunities, including conferences and awards.

I’ve also really appreciated their webinars. You can find the different regional webinars by going to SCBWI DIGITAL > VIRTUAL EVENTS. In addition to learning more about the industry and your craft, many of these webinars are given by agents and editors, and they often will accept submissions from attendees even if they are normally closed to submissions.

Another thing I’d definitely recommend is putting an illustrator portfolio on their illustrator’s gallery. It’s free for all SCBWI members. Every year, I usually get at least 1 job from someone finding me on the gallery. Just for that, it pays for my yearly membership and more.

Every year, SCBWI updates their Book (The Essential Guide to Publishing for Children) and it’s a free PDF download. (Or if you prefer a hard copy, you can buy the paperback for $10.) This is an awesome resource! In addition to articles about how to make a dummy, how to submit, how to write a query letter, etc. — they have an agents directory, an editors directory, and a marketplace survey. That’s where you can find publishers and agents to submit to, that are recommended by SCBWI, and it also tells you what kinds of submissions and work they are looking for/accept. And because it’s updated every year, the information is more-or-less up-to-date, given how quickly things can change in the publishing industry.

One more thing … connect with your region. In addition to regional conferences, most regions have a forum like this one (Michigan’s is a Google Listserv) that can be helpful in asking questions and networking. I found my current critique group through the Listserv. Many regions also coordinate opportunities to get your work seen by agents and editors, such as the recent Critique Carousel where authors & author-illustrators could send one manuscript/dummy to an agent for feedback.

SCBWI can be a great resource with lots of opportunities to take advantage of. Yes, the website can be a hassle to navigate, but they’re working on overhauling it and should be rolling out a more user-friendly site soon. Hope that you can make our membership work for you!

[Asyas_illos]

@ArtistErin yep this is my first year, and though I don’t usually participate in small local events the conferences are definitely worth it though they are pricey.

[kirsten-mcg]

@ArtistErin I just renewed my membership for the first time, so I've been a member for a little over a year. I haven't won any awards, but there is a lot of competition and I haven't been the most faithful at submitting. The resources I've found most helpful have been The Book And the conferences and webinars that SCBWI puts on. They are just now starting to bring back live conferences after COVID, with the big one in New York this month. The one in LA in the summer will be virtual again, which I was disappointed about because that's one that I could actually attend! But my local chapter is having live events this spring which I'm planning on attending.

By using the info available in The Book I've started to compile a healthy list of publishers I'm submitting to. They also list agents. I used the agent list, but actually ended up finding my agent from a recommendation from my critique group... I found at an SCBWI conference. So yeah, great for networking as well as helpful info! I feel like at this point in my career its a necessary organization to be part of.

[Neha Rawat]

Hello,

I've been an SCBWI member since 2019. I echo everyone's thoughts here that it definitely is worth being a member. You can always try it out for a year and see if you like it. But often it takes multiple conferences/events/participation etc to gain info or get direct benefits/ recognition through it.

If you have a local chapter, I would definitely participate in those. A smaller community will help you network more and find peers and critique group members to grow and share your journey with. I'm from India and the chapter here isn't very active or happens in cities where I'm not available. So I gained most from the online conferences.

SCBWI has monthly drawing challenge and as you mentioned the submission for bulletin etc. I've had a couple of my work selected for the bulletin. I usually just edit existing artwork that I have based on their submission requirements so that I'm not spending too much time on it. If they choose it, great! Their "Book" has handy info about latest in the market and details for agent and publisher submissions, portfolio tips etc.

The conference can be a little pricy but think of it as a return on investment. Though the conference this time in Feb is in-personas well as virtual, the online event doesn't have the usual portfolio showcase as it's reserved for the in-person conference only. I had won the first virtual portfolio showcase in 2020 and that helped me get a book deal from a top 5 publisher. I got 3 interviews with art directors and as of last month, one of them got converted to another book deal. So there are definitely benefits. SCBWI also commission portfolio winners for creating the conference banners/book cover/website illustrations etc. They also asked me to create a short video for helping promote their conference this time. It's a good platform and opportunity to get recognition.

Best of luck!

[ArtistErin]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz That's what I was thinking when I joined, to gain some credible visibility and also to take advantage of the educational aspects in the industry. I love that you found your agent this way.

[ArtistErin]

@Mimi-Simon I did submit a few pieces along with my artist's statement and my bio. I'm guessing this is different than the showcase? I'm thinking this is just a part of my profile on the Illustrator's section. However when I plugged my name in the search field under Illustrators Gallery I didn't come up.

I am still trying to understand how everything works. I hope to gain some clarity as I write to the local chapter and find out how to navigate attending workshops and connecting to all the groups, etc.

[ArtistErin]

@Valerie-Light Thank you Valerie! This was super helpful. You laid out a great framework here and it helps to hear how you are widening your range, I'm thinking I'll start by reaching out to my local chapter and join some critique groups.

[ArtistErin]

@Nyrryl-Cadiz This was my question too, thank you for answering! I'm seeing how it would be beneficial to join the conference.

[ArtistErin]

@Melissa_Bailey Thank you for this Melissa, I really appreciate all this info. I have a to-do list now! It's so great to hear from all this experience, and lessens the anxiety so much. Sometimes seeing it all written out breaks down the steps in bullet points which makes it so much easier to digest.

[ArtistErin]

@Asyas_illos I thought so! I figured if anything I can just start with the simple stuff and see where it leads me. @Melissa_Bailey created a good list to start. I am anticipating a great year getting my feet wet this year!!!

[ArtistErin]

@kirsten-mcg Thank you- this is inspiring and helpful! I'm gathering from this it's beneficial just just submit submit and submit again. With the gigantic sea of competition there is only one Me! And eventually something will stick will be my MO ha ha That's great this is how you found your agent. Crossing my fingers this will be a successful path to one for me as well. I bought the 2007 and 2008 editions of the Children's Writers and Illustrators Market in their respective published years and dreamed of how to develop the queries, finding an agent, knowing my niche, conferences, marketing and such, way back then. I'll definitely get The Book!!! So much information my head is spinning...

[Melissa_Bailey]

@ArtistErin you're welcome! So glad it was helpful.

[Mimi Simon]

@ArtistErin so I did some research about the portfolio showcase and and it seems with the conference back in person they are no longer accepting portfolio showcase submissions digitally like they did the past few years. I wish I had know this earlier or i might have been able to plan to go up to New York this weekend. Way too last minute now though.

[ArtistErin]

@Neha-Rawat This is so encouraging, the fact that you are remote in the world as far as limited local region and chapter connections yet you still have managed to develop such great success nonetheless. I have decided to join this month's virtual conference.

As I write this I have already received an inquiry through the SCWBI website, an author found my work through the illustrators gallery! Incredible. I might be checking with you guys about how to negotiate a contract!!

[ArtistErin]

@Mimi-Simon Thanks for the heads up! It's interesting how Covid changed the landscape so much and now we are having to re-adjust our methods and approach for these things... I am hoping I can join the virtual conference in New York, just asked my boss if I am on the schedule that day.