When I first heard this quote, I agreed with it whole-heartedly! As a visual artist for most of my formative years (20s to mid-30s) I understood the deadline of a show. The work had to be done, or the show wouldn't open and the opening with all the wine and all your friends wouldn't be much fun. However, if I was short one piece of work, I could always frame up a sketch or a watercolor study, and the exhibition would be complete. This does not work with picture books. If there is a deadline and I am short one or two illustrations, I can't very well substitute an earlier one, nor could I suddenly have the reader turn the page from a finished color illustration to a quick pencil sketch. Picture books are complete entities-- complete "bodies of work" unto themselves and there is no substitution or quick-fixes allowed.
On the other hand, I have worked with the same editor for 16 years now and from the very beginning she has said she would rather put a book off and miss a deadline than rush it and publish a mediocre book. This philosophy has allowed me to put off a deadline more than once. In fact, I have bumped many of my books to the next list in order to do more research, or start fresh with a new approach to the text. I know this has frustrated more than one impatient author, but the final outcome is always better for the added time. And when meeting the deadline for the art, I have more often been a month or two late, but not without a lot of stress and anxiety. Usually I have all but two illustrations finished and they just aren't cooperating with the rest of the flow of the book-- or perhaps I have sent all of the art, but there is a hold-up from marketing on the cover-- (Usually I send in three to five suggestions for a cover and getting the OK to proceed depends on feed-back from my editor, the art director, marketing, etc.- this can take a very long time, especially because my deadline is usually the same as every other artist's deadline, so there is a backlog!)
My favorite time in writing or painting a book is in the beginning when deadlines are something faraway and abstract. This is my time for reverie- a time to live with the text, play with images, dream, imagine, take long walks, visit museums. It is quite the opposite from the real-life deadline time when every waking moment is the intention of finishing the work. Just thinking about it makes my heart beat faster!
4 comments:
Wow, it's amazing to see the different things an illustrator has to deal with. I can't imagine. Now I feel lucky I just have to come up with words:) ( And I see you had a kid turn 18 this week too!)
Lauren, I loved reading this post to get the perspective from the illustrator. This is helpful information for all authors when they hear a book has been pushed back. Once that book is made it is made that way forever.
Lauren, your editor is a wise woman, and you are also wise to recognize that some things can't be rushed if they need more time in development. Sometimes a book dropping from a list is the best thing that could happen. Just think of how nature develops the most beautiful flowers from bulbs or seeds, or how kids walk and speak at different times. For everything there is a season. Great quote too!
Christy!Nice to have you back-- I have missed you!
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