How to Send Illustrator Promo Postcards to Art Directors
WRITTEN BY ABI CUSHMAN
If you’re trying to break into the publishing industry or get more work as a children’s book illustrator, the most important thing is to have a top notch illustration portfolio that showcases expressive, kid or kid-like characters and great storytelling. But once you’ve crafted that unforgettable portfolio, you need to get it in front of the people who can actually hire you. A great way to do this is by sending out illustrator promo postcards or emails to art directors and editors featuring your best art. So here’s how to build a children’s book editor and art director mailing list:
Target Your Editor and Art Director Mailing List
The first step is finding out who the editors and art directors who might hire you are, what publishing house or imprint they work at, and what kind of books they work on. The kind of books they work on is important because you want to target your list as much as possible. For example, if your art is focused on picture books, you don’t want to send your promo mailer to an editor that only does YA books.
Even within the list of editors and art directors of picture books, you want to curate your illustration promo postcard or mailer to the kind of books they make. For example, if they only do books with people characters, you don’t want to send promo pieces with animal characters.
Make the Mailing List
For my list, I used Google Sheets to make a spreadsheet of names, job titles, and addresses, but any spreadsheet program, like Microsoft Excel, will work. I used a spreadsheet program because then I was then able to print mailing labels from the list.
How to Find Editor and Art Director Names
These days there are a lot of free sources you can use to find current editor and art director names and information.
SCBWI National and Regional Conference Faculty Pages
One of my favorite places to get information about current children’s book editors and art directors is on the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) website. SCBWI hosts two national conferences, and they also have regional chapters that host their own smaller conferences throughout the year. Most of these conferences have publishing professionals who teach workshops and/or give critiques. As such, most of these conferences have a faculty webpage listing all the editors and art directors who will be at the conference, where they work, and what kind of books they like.
- Regional chapters (Click through to their conference page if available, and then to their conference faculty page)
Publisher Websites
Some publishers have staff listed for each imprint.
- Simon & Schuster BFYR Team Page
- Penguin Young Readers (Scroll to the bottom, click on an imprint and then Meet the Team)
Picture Books
Oftentimes, the art director or designer information will be included in a picture book’s copyright information or back jacket flap. So go to the library and find picture books you like, and then scan the copyright page and back jacket flap for a “Jacket Design by” or “Book Design by” credit line.
Picture Book Websites and Podcasts
There are several websites and podcasts that provide information about editors and art directors via interviews, wishlists, or books they’ve worked on. Here are a few:
- Only Picture Books Editor Interviews
- Manuscript Wish List: Editors
- MS Wishlist: Editors
- Picture Book Look Podcast (Editors and Art Directors)
- Society of Illustrators Award List (Editor, Art Director and/or Designer listed for each winning book)
- Harold Underdown / Purple Crayon: Publishing Staff Changes
Social Media
- Twitter: Search #mswl to find editors’ wishlists.
- LinkedIn: Do a search for “art director” and filter by People.
Children’s Book Publisher Directories (Not Free)
Here are a few directories that list children’s book editor and art director contact information, but you have to pay for them:
- SCBWI’s Essential Guide to Publishing / The Book: This is a directory of contact information for kidlit editors and art directors that is free for members of SCBWI. You can download a PDF. SCBWI membership cost is $95 for the first year.
- Children’s Writers and Illustrator’s Market: A print book of contact information for children’s book editors and art directors. $20
How to Get Contact Information for Editors and Art Directors
Publisher Mailing Addresses for Promo Postcards
Once you have the names, it’s pretty easy to find physical mailing addresses for editors and art directors because you just send them to the publishing house address. A simple Google search will bring up the correct address for any publisher.
Email Addresses for Illustrator Promo Emails
Getting email addresses of art directors is a little bit trickier. You might have to do a bit of guesswork for the correct email address format. Depending on the publishing house, the art director’s email address might be:
[First Initial][Last Name]@[Publishing House].com
or it might be
[First Name].[Last Name]@[Publishing House].com.
It’s most likely one of those formats though.
Some publishers do have designated emails for art submissions as well. You can check the contact pages or art submission pages on the publisher’s website. Here are some:
- Candlewick Contact Page
- Charlesbridge Art Submission Page
- Chronicle Books Submissions Page
- Lee & Low Illustration Submissions Page
When you send an email to an art director, you should briefly introduce yourself, include a link to your website where they can find your online portfolio, and attach a few low resolution jpgs of your art.
Building your editor and art director mailing list will take time, but once you have a solid list of targeted contacts, it’s not too difficult to maintain it. So make that contact list, send your work out, and snag that illustration job!
More Illustration Tips
- Make Your Children’s Book Illustration Portfolio Unforgettable
- How to Illustrate a Children’s Book: Getting Started
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