GUEST POST BY TANIA MCCARTNEY
The craft of children’s book
creation has experienced a revolution of sorts. Gone are the days when an
author sent in a hand-typed manuscript and an illustrator spent months hand-painting
watercolour pictures, before mailing them back to the publisher for the printing
press. It was a rather solitary collaboration; rarely would the three creators
meet.
Nowadays, the author, illustrator
and publisher form a much tighter symphony. Increasingly, authors and
illustrators are becoming involved in the creative production of picture books,
sometimes right to pre-press, as was the case with my brand new picture book—An Aussie Year: Twelve in the Life of
Australian Kids.
The idea for An Aussie Year came to me while living abroad with my family. We
had been in Beijing three years when I realised how few picture books dealt
with the celebration of the Australian childhood and all its divine and
multicultural idiosyncrasies. I wanted to create a book that showcased the
diversity of our kids’ lives back home—from events and festivals through to our
quirks and peculiarities.
Working with one of my dearest
friends, Tina Snerling, on the production of this book was a dream come true.
Tina is not only a joy to work with, she’s über talented (she sews, she
designs, she draws, she creates websites) and the fun and whimsy she brought to
An Aussie Year has been priceless.
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An early layout concept, before set characters were introduced
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So, how did we do it?
We started our collaboration by
going over my manuscript and shaving the words right down, so the pictures
could become the focus. It was interesting deciding which entries would stay
and which would go. It was all about balancing the twelve months as evenly as
possible, and we also wanted to include a large variety of multicultural
elements.
We decided on five central
characters for the book—five kids with enough ethnic diversity to represent as
many nationalities as possible. We also varied their ages from 6 to 10, so the
book would relate to more kids.
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Tina’s original characters, before finals
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Once we had introduced our
characters and finalised text entries, Tina began working on double-page
spreads month by month. While she designed the imagery, I spent time honing the
text, fact-checking and liaising with an Aboriginal advisor to ensure our
Indigenous content was accurate and apt.
Like most books, the text and image
continued to undergo changes as we worked, with new ideas popping up as we went
along. To ensure page balance, both Tina and I laid out page drafts to ensure
we were on the right track. Being a ‘visual’ writer, this helped me ensure the
text was relevant and worked well.
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An early double-page spread |
Tina used InDesign for the
construction of this book. We spent a lot of time liaising on colour choice and
layout, and once the twelve months were completed, we began liaising on the
title pages, imprint page, dedication page and endpapers. The front and back
covers were also important, and we went through three drafts before settling on
the final.
The following image of Matilda
holding a camera was our front runner for some time, but as the publisher
rightly pointed out, having a girl on the cover of a picture book virtually
cuts your target market in half. We would need to include both girls and boys
if we were to attract the full market.
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One of several cover options |
Of course, during finalisation of
all the pages for the book, we liaised with our publisher, Anouska Jones of EK
Publishing, who proofread, edited, and provided endless support. She also
liaised with our printer, who took those print-ready files and made them into a
beautiful hardcover book that’s not only a fun story for children, but a
tangible representation of the passion, dedication and heart of three women
with a clear vision.
The best part of creating a picture
book to pre-press is the squealing. Watching image and text and layout and
design come together into something that elicits squeals of joy is an
overwhelming feeling, and each part of the creation puzzle is as vital as the
next when it comes to creating something so beautiful.
Whatever you’re creating, I hope it
makes you squeal, too.
WIN!
A Totally Tickled Magazine Pack
Here’s your chance to win a Totally Tickled magazine pack valued at $50! All you need to do is leave a comment on this post, telling us in 25 words or less about your most creative Aussie childhood memory.
This
is a game of skill, not chance. The winner will be chosen by Tania and Tina,
and will be announced Friday 22nd November, 2013.
Join Ned, Zoe, Lily, Kirra
and Matilda on this journey around the webosphere, from 21 October to 21
November. There will be reviews, sneak peeks, guest posts and lots of fabulous
giveaways including some publishing opps! See the entire tour schedule right here http://taniamccartney.blogspot.com/2013/09/an-aussie-year-virtual-tour.html
Visit the An Aussie Year website (www.anaussieyear.com.au) to meet all the characters from the book, see updates and
behind-the-scenes work. There’s also some Fun Activities for kids.
About
the Creators
Tania McCartney is a
book-obsessed author, editor, reviewer, photographer, traveller, mum of two and
wife of one. She simply adores words and paper—and would ingest them if she
could (though she’ll settle for a good coffee). She frequently flits around
cyberspace but can also be seen visiting schools and libraries, running
workshops, reading to kids or pushing tomes onto unsuspecting shoppers in
bookshops. Tania lives in Canberra, but would like to live inside a book.
Tina Snerling is a designer,
illustrator, artist, web designer, seamstress and mum. She adores Paris,
fabric, design and paper. She lives a very illustrated life—one day she’s creating
children's books, the next she’s creating websites (in between the washing and
school lunches!). She’s the type who has a notebook by her bed because most
good ideas happen when you’re supposed to be sleeping. She lives in Brisbane
with her two gorgeous poppets and one gorgeous husband.
Book
Info
An
Aussie Year: Twelve Months in the Life of Australian Kids
by Tania McCartney and Tina Snerling
(Oct 2013, EK
Publishing, $19.99, hard
cover, 9781921966248)
Meet Ned, Lily, Zoe, Kirra and Matilda––three Aussie kids keen to take you on a journey through a year in the life of Australian children, from cultural celebrations to traditions and events, to our everyday way of life.
An Aussie Year is a picture book bursting with national pride. It is a snapshot of who we are as a nation, covering our melting-pot culture, lifestyle and traditions. Its pages feature trailing, meandering text, dates and gorgeous illustrations showing our five Aussie children at play, at school, at home, enjoying their homeland––from the tropical north to our rugged west.
Trailing through the seasons and idiosyncrasies endemic to each month of the year, this is Our Australian Childhood.
Meet Ned, Lily, Zoe, Kirra and Matilda––three Aussie kids keen to take you on a journey through a year in the life of Australian children, from cultural celebrations to traditions and events, to our everyday way of life.
An Aussie Year is a picture book bursting with national pride. It is a snapshot of who we are as a nation, covering our melting-pot culture, lifestyle and traditions. Its pages feature trailing, meandering text, dates and gorgeous illustrations showing our five Aussie children at play, at school, at home, enjoying their homeland––from the tropical north to our rugged west.
Trailing through the seasons and idiosyncrasies endemic to each month of the year, this is Our Australian Childhood.
My brothers and I would head of for adventures in the bush, climb into the treehouse and pretend we were whoever we wanted to be.
ReplyDeleteMaking a billy cart out of our pops rusty old items, we took the wheels off the old lawn mower (pop was a bit or a hoarder) & the cart was the washing basin my gran had pot plants stored in.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Janine N! You are the winner of the Totally Tickled magazine pack. Please email editor@tickletheimagination.com.au with your details x
ReplyDelete