Professional picture book illustrator, Guy Francis spends less time handling business so he can spend more time creating artwork by working with an art rep. Listen to this conversation to hear his experience.

The Business of Illustration The creation process of illustration stays the same across multiple industries, while the business process changes.

Shannon Associates, based in New York, shows Guy’s portfolio to clients, make connections for Guy, who lives in Utah. Art reps handle the business, billing, pricing and legal matters leaving Guy optimal time to focus on his artwork and creating.

Finding the Right Rep For some people the rep doesn’t work out for others because they are more business savvy. Reps can get 25% of your project but you get a lot of value if you are bad at pricing yourself. Some reps will let you keep your own clients.

If Guy finds his own clients he asks them to contact his rep so they can work out the business details.

When you are shopping around for a rep you need to find a good match in order for the relationship to work. Find a rep that represents the artwork that YOU do. As far as portfolios go, build 10-12 strong pieces and present that to your rep in the area that you want to be doing. Different reps have specialties in different areas. Illustration, editorial, advertising, children’s books.

Working with Publishers Publishers will find a story that they love, then they will contact the rep to find an artist that matches the story.

You shouldn’t offer to illustrate for an author who has not submitted their story to a publisher.

Is the job glamorous? You do get to stay home and draw, but sometimes it does require some motivation when there is a lot of work to be done.

Freelance vs Studio? Studio jobs offer you the opportunity to connect with other creative minds which freelance can lack unless you are very intentional. One way to solve this is working from a co working space like Hera Hub.

You have to be driven as a freelancer because no one is telling you what to do.

The Publishing Process Publishers have the power when it comes to marketing, not reps. When it comes to self publishing it can be very difficult unless you have a VERY hot product.

Presenting your book to a school is a good way to sell your books on your own. The publishers will give you an advance based on what they think they will sell. Their first goal is to make that money back.

Currently Guy is working with Scholastic and Harper Collins. For the artist, they tend to jump around publishers more. The chapter books tend to pay more than picture books.

It is good to develop a style that you are reallllyy good at doing, but it is also good to be flexible. In the beginning Guy took on many styles until he found a style that he really liked.

Ultimately you may find yourself developing 2-3 styles you are asked to do frequently. Each one may have a different purposes or require a different length of time to complete.

People are going to like what you do because it’s what YOU do. There’s something for everybody. Children can judge what style they are drawn to from an early age.

Connect with Guy GuyFrancis.com

@kactiguy

BONUS How To Know If A Rep Is Right For You How are your pricing tactics?

If you have found that you struggle to create a price strategy, often times pricing yourself too low, having representation may help you.

How are your connections?

If finding time to market your work and make connections with anyone you can have left you with almost no time to create the work you desire, having representation may help you.

What is your financial standing?

Finding the right match of client to artist may take time. Once a contract is complete your Rep will take what can feel like a large percentage of your total contract. If you plan to use representation as your sole source of income for an extended period of time, it would be wise to evaluate your financial standing.

Ok, so you’ve determined it may be time to research representation. Now, how do you know what questions to ask? Thankfully, picture book illustrator, Guy Francis, has you covered with this list of 10 questions any curious illustrator should ask their potential art rep.

10 Questions You Should Ask Your Rep Before Signing 1. Do your clients need art that matches my style – am I allowed to experiment with new styles? 2. My goal is to… have you helped other artists reach that goal? 3. How do you actively find new clients? 4. How do you handle unpaid invoices? 5. May I keep my personal client list? 6. Do you expect me to pay for listings on any websites or and other marketing fees? 7. How soon can I expect to get paid once the client has paid you? 8. Are you afraid to turn down work that isn’t a good fit? 9. What do you expect from me as the artist? 10. What do the artist you work with like best about working you?