Help! I’m shy. Do I really have to go to book fairs to start my illustration career?

Summary

Episode Summary: "Help! I’m Shy. Do I Really Have to Go to Book Fairs to Start My Illustration Career?"

Release Date: January 10, 2025
Podcast: The Good Ship Illustration
Hosts: Helen Stephens, Katie Chappell, Tania Willis

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1. Listener’s Concern: Navigating Shyness in Starting an Illustration Career

The episode begins with Helen (A) sharing a thoughtful letter from a listener named Kat who expresses her struggles with shyness as she embarks on her illustration career. Kat questions whether attending book fairs, such as the Bologna Book Fair, is essential for her professional growth given her introverted nature. She seeks advice on starting her career from home and managing without being a “tough business type” (00:26).

Notable Quote:
Helen (A): “She goes on to ask... Do I really have to go to the book fairs? Because I can neither imagine nor plan that at the moment.” (00:26)

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2. Embracing Introversion in the Illustration Industry

Katie (B) reassures Kat that being an introvert is common among illustrators. She emphasizes that the creative process often thrives in solitary environments, where illustrators can focus on their work without the constant need for social interaction.

Notable Quote:
Katie (B): “You don't have to be an extrovert at all. Most illustrators prefer to stay at home, work by themselves, and get lost in their creative process.” (01:25)

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3. Starting Your Career from Home: Building Your Online Presence

The hosts discuss practical steps Kat can take from home to kickstart her career. Helen highlights the importance of setting up a professional website and showcasing her portfolio online, likening it to “lying in the middle of the road and waiting for somebody to drive over you” (02:00). Tanya (C) adds that leveraging social media platforms like Instagram can drive traffic to her website, allowing her work to be discovered organically.

Notable Quotes:
Helen (A): “Set your website up, put your folio on your website, set out your stall and people will find you.” (02:00)
Tanya (C): “If you can manage the social media aspect, put your work out there so it drives people to your website.” (02:12)

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4. The Role of Book Fairs: Not a Necessity for Beginners

Katie explains that attending book fairs like Bologna is not mandatory, especially for newcomers. While such events can be inspiring and offer networking opportunities, they can also be overwhelming and are not the only path to securing publishing contracts. Helen echoes this sentiment, noting that many have successfully published without attending these fairs.

Notable Quotes:
Helen (A): “There is absolutely no need for her to go to the Bologna Book Fair at all. You don't need to be there.” (02:48)
Katie (B): “It's not necessary, and it can be really hard. It's best to use it as an inspiration boost rather than a requirement.” (03:23)

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5. Consistent Sharing and Marketing Strategies for Introverts

The hosts emphasize the importance of consistently sharing work online to build visibility. Tanya suggests creating a few high-quality pieces to showcase, while Helen advises making incremental progress daily, such as posting on Instagram or updating the website. Katie highlights platforms like Substack for those who enjoy writing, allowing for diverse methods of sharing content.

Notable Quotes:
Helen (A): “Just a tiny bit towards that goal every day. It’s amazing how that can add up over six months.” (05:17)
Katie (B): “Find what you really like doing and share your work in a way that feels fun and good to you.” (06:57)

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6. Handling Negative Feedback and Building Confidence

Addressing the fear of negative comments, the hosts advise imagining sharing work within a supportive community of fellow illustrators rather than a critical audience. They encourage ignoring unconstructive criticism and focusing on positive reinforcement. Helen shares a strategy to view feedback as if presenting to peers, which can mitigate anxiety around sharing work publicly.

Notable Quotes:
Helen (A): “Imagine you’re just talking to a group of illustrators at your stage in the game.” (08:15)
Katie (B): “Let them say what they want. It’s a good philosophy to let negative comments roll off and focus on the positive.” (10:20)

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7. Encouragement and Final Tips for Shy Illustrators

The episode concludes with heartfelt encouragement for shy illustrators to embrace self-promotion in ways that feel authentic to them. The hosts suggest celebrating small victories, like giving oneself a “chocolate button” for each share, and adopting a child-like pride in one’s work. They underscore the importance of perseverance and self-validation in building a successful illustration career.

Notable Quotes:
Tanya (C): “Say to yourself, I’m so proud of you.” (12:56)
Katie (B): “Just sharing what you're up to is marketing. You're not saying you're great; you're just showing your work.” (12:05)

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Conclusion

This episode of The Good Ship Illustration offers invaluable advice for introverted illustrators like Kat, emphasizing that success in the illustration industry doesn't require extroversion or participation in large book fairs. By focusing on building a strong online presence, consistently sharing quality work, and developing confidence in self-promotion, shy illustrators can carve out meaningful and successful careers from the comfort of their own creative spaces.

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Timestamp Guide:

• 00:26 - Introduction to Kat's Letter
• 01:25 - Embracing Introversion
• 02:00 - Building an Online Presence
• 02:48 - The Role of Book Fairs
• 05:17 - Consistent Daily Progress
• 06:57 - Utilizing Different Platforms
• 08:15 - Handling Negative Feedback
• 10:20 - Letting Negative Comments Roll Off
• 12:56 - Celebrating Small Victories

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Note: This summary focuses solely on the content discussed in the main segment of the episode, excluding advertisements, introductions, and promotional material.

Transcript

[A]

So this week we got a brilliant letter from Kat and it's got a really great title because it says, help, I'm shy. Don't make me go to the book fairs. So by the book fairs, I'm guessing she means the Bologna Book Fair, where lots of illustrators, picture book illustrators, like to have a nosey around. So she goes on to ask. She says, I'm brand new to the illustration business and unfortunately a terribly shy person. That's not unfortunate. That's most. I have to say, most illustrators I know are more leaning towards shy than extrovert. Yeah, I'm drawing and developing my portfolio and website, but despite everything, I feel at a loss. At a loss. How do you really get started? Do I really have to go to the book fairs? Because I can neither imagine nor plan that at the moment. Are there possible first steps from home that really lead somewhere? And how do you manage it if you're not a tough business type? I will be very happy to hear your answer. Best regards. And she lives in Bavaria.

[B]

Nice. Well, I'd say firstly, I would say you don't actually have to be a tough business type. You don't have to be an extrovert at all. And all, like Kellen said, most illustrators, not all, hashtag notall illustrators, but most illustrators are, you know, we like stay at home, like work by ourselves all day. You just get lost in illustrations, do work creatively. So there's. You can do all the first starting steps from home, can't you?

[A]

Totally. I like the analogy. You always say, Katie, about lie down in the middle of the road and wait for somebody to drive. Drive over you.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So set your website up, do all of those outward facing things, put your folio on your website, set out your stall and people will find you. That's definitely a really good starting point.

[C]

Yeah, they put lots on Instagram as well. Just if you can manage the social media aspect, put your work out there so it drives people to your website.

[A]

Thinking about.

[C]

Sorry, Tanya, I was just thinking, think of all the people like writers, illustrators, painters, musicians. They're all creatives who are more often than not introvert. Because you need the time to spend alone to make these things. Otherwise you'd be out there being sociable, being a marketer or something like that, you know. Kat, you're with your people.

[B]

Yeah. Yes, she really is.

[A]

And there is absolutely no need for her to go to the Bologna Book Fair at all. I'd had a number of books published before I ever went. You really don't need to be there. In fact, if you're looking for a publisher, it's probably too busy. You can go for an inspiration, top up and find all the other shy illustrators there, but it's not a necessity. And in fact it'd be really hard to. It happens. People meet publishers and end up with a contract, but it's overwhelming. There's such a lot to see. It's really best to go there as a huge inspiration boost and meet other illustrators. Really.

[C]

Because we're also a bit of a nuisance to them there.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Like we're just trying to sell the book rights to some foreign companies. Could you swat get these illustrators out the way, queuing up with their portfolios? I mean, that's a part of it, but yeah, it's definitely. No one's in the mindset in four crazy days to. They might just see some of your work on. But anyway, you don't need to go there. That's the main thing. Yeah.

[B]

We did an episode, a few episodes back about where you're feeling overwhelmed and starting out, what to start on. And I think we talked about like your website and things. So that is the thing, like planting seeds, making sure people know you're an illustrator and they know that how to work with you and that they can work with you and you don't have to do any. I don't do any pitching to people because I find that really scary.

[C]

They used to that the old dinosaur days where you'd phone people up and say, can I bring my portfolio to you? You'd have to stand there, they'd make nice conversations, say, that's nice. And you'd flick through the pages. I'm so glad we don't have to do that anymore. It's really cringy. It's great. You can just stay at home now and put things online.

[A]

I can see you're fully online. Yeah, I used to have those meetings as well, going to magazines and things. Oh, it was so hard, wasn't it? You'd have one meeting, you'd be exhausted for the whole day.

[C]

I don't know how the editors got any work done because people were asking to see them all the time and they had a magazine to produce and they had to keep looking at, you know, new illustrators coming in nervously looking for reinforcement and validation and. Because, yeah, it would really knock your confidence. Now you can just lie in the road and get people to trip over you with your Instagram and your website. But the other thing is about Making nice work, isn't it? Just make, make about six pieces you really care about because it's always those good pieces and it's never that many that get used over and over again that people remember you for. And you know, obviously you'll have more work than that, but if you can just feel great about single digit number of images and that might take a.

[A]

Little while, I think a tiny bit of something every day, like, yeah, be working on the actual work, pick out some images you like, make your website. This isn't all in one day. I'm talking about a tiny bit every day. Just a tiny bit towards that goal every day. It's amazing how that can add up over six months to quite a substantial leap forward from where you started out. Put, you could do a post or you could, you know, you could do an Instagram post or progress a piece of illustration, a tiny thing every day and it'll really add up.

[B]

Yeah, and finding what you really like doing, like how, how, what way of sharing your work feels really fun and good to you. Because I remember the golden days of blogging, like 2012. I used to love blogging because you'd find one image, write a load of words, put another image, write a load of words. And then Instagram was a bit like that in the start as well, wasn't it? Like you'd put a picture up that you thought was all right and then you'd have a little chat in the, in the caption. You can still do that to an extent, but it's not quite the same. But like Substack I feel is the new that. So if writing feels fun to you, definitely don't be shy about writing.

[A]

There's some great substacks that are just images as well. And I really like the voice record feature. So it's almost like you're putting a little podcast out on substack, but you can just record a voice note on your phone, stick it in your substack and send it. So easy.

[C]

Wow, what a time to be alive.

[B]

Yeah, it's the golden age for introverts. Yeah, it is marketing. Because you can just find the fun thing and do it and then if you keep doing it, people will eventually notice that you're doing it consistently. Because I was going to say, like, obviously working on your creative stuff and getting your work as good as you can is really important.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

But then you also can't forget about telling people about it because annoyingly it's not. You build it and they'll come. And when you look at illustrators that are air quotes, successful. They talk about their work and they share their work and they show what they're working on.

[C]

Yeah, there's no way of avoiding that, is there? It's a bit brings in the old business car analogy again, doesn't it? Getting out of your creative car to drive your business car and talk about what you've made. And those two activities have to happen all the time. And we talk lots about this on the business course, which was frankly, a blessed relief after talking about creativity and only creativity and fly your freak flag and picture book. And lots of people were like, yeah, but tell us how this work gets out there and how do we connect with clients? We're like, we can't talk about that now, it's too confusing. But we had all this stored up information we really wanted to talk about, not muddy the waters. Because you can't think about that audience when you're creating good work, otherwise it will compromise you. If, in your mind, you've got your viewer at the end of it, it can be, yeah, it doesn't allow your creativity to be totally free. So there's a time to take that blindfold off and have a think about how you start showing this to people. But they have to be two very separate activities.

[A]

I'm also thinking about how if you're a shy person and you haven't shared your work yet, I suppose there might be that fear of, you share your work on Instagram and somebody writes something horrible, or you imagine somebody in your family that you don't feel great about sees it and you get a horrible comment. So I think the best advice is to imagine you're just talking to a group of illustrators at your stage in the game. Just imagine that and put your post out as if you're only talking to those illustrators. And any comments that come in that are not the nice comments, I mean, they don't. I feel as if I'm. I'm making people worry about something unnecessary because I've barely ever had a bad comment. But they do come, I suppose, and people worry about them. They're just. There's not even worth replying to. You just ignore it, Just completely ignore it, like it didn't happen.

[B]

But sometimes the worst comments are the ones that people haven't even written. But you're imagining them thinking, everyone thinks I'm an idiot, everyone hates me, I'm so embarrassing. I still feel embarrassed sometimes when I meet people in real life and they're like, oh, I saw that on Instagram. Like, oh, you don't look at my Instagram, do you? Yeah, I know you in real life. Don't look at my Instagram. It's not for you.

[A]

Yeah. Apologize about it.

[B]

Yeah, Yeah. I don't think that ever goes away, especially if you are on the shyer side or just more sensitive, which I think most illustrators are more sensitive because we feel feelings and we see beautiful.

[A]

Makes us good illustrators. Because we get feelings come out in our drawings.

[C]

Exactly.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

And look at us here, blabbing away. We. Half the time we have to pretend really talking. Well, all the time we have to pretend we're just talking to each other because if we think anyone's listening, it would just be so embarrassing. But you just get over it. Don't you just have to ignore all that stuff and push forward if it's important to you? You've got to get subjective about these things. And also the thing we were talking about earlier, that Let them. That new Mel Robbins book, and I listened to her talk to Oprah and she was talking about her new book and I love the idea. It's just like. Forget trying to control any of it.

[B]

Just let them.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Let them say what they want.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[C]

It's a very good theory. I think I've read the book now.

[A]

I don't need to do it. Yeah. My. My editor once said to me that she has this philosophy. Philosophy of fm, just fm. If you have any amount of success, there are always going to be a few people who don't like it. Just f. Well, she uses the proper word. But.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Are we allowed to swear? I'm not going to swear. Yeah. So, yeah, it's a good philosophy.

[B]

I think it's so good and it's so true. When sometimes if I do get worried or sad about what I think people look, I'm an expert mind reader, so obviously I know what people are thinking. If I get too much into that, then I remember things like, some people don't like chocolate, but I'm just like, why? If people think chocolate's horrible, then nobody's like, people got stupid opinions. People are wrong.

[C]

But it's still a real paralysis for some people who've not used any social media. And then we keep talking about Instagram. We should talk about Cara and other stuff like that as well.

[B]

Find out what's Cara or the other Instagram.

[C]

Yeah, the Illustrator Instagram. I don't know whether how it's gone on, but. And Blue sky and other places threads. There's loads of Illustrators on Threads using it as a new X. But all these different places, you could try them out and don't think that everyone will see you. In fact, it's the opposite. You're worried about dipping your toe in it, thinking people all turn around and look at and say, what do you think you're doing? Who do you think you are? But actually, you'd be lucky if anyone notices it because everyone's on these platforms trying to get attention. So you can go on it thinking, I'll just do what I want because no one will notice anyway. And I think once you start it, you desensitize yourself to all those negative feelings of, I'm showing off. People think I'm an idiot. There's no other way to get work. All you're doing is just practice is business.

[B]

Yeah. And it doesn't have to feel sleazy. Just sharing what you're up to is marketing.

[C]

Yeah. And you're not saying you're great or anything like that. You're just saying, look, I did this. And.

[B]

And you should say, you're great, because you probably are. Look at me. I'm so good. That'd be a bit refreshing, wouldn't it?

[A]

I always really loved that when PI was little, every time she did a drawing, she'd hold you up and go, ta da.

[C]

Look at this.

[A]

It's like brilliant. Children are just born with it.

[C]

If only we could channel that again and not care.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Say to people, I'm bored of listening to you. I'm going now. And I'm great. All that straightforward stuff.

[B]

We've been doing potty TR recently, my little girl was on the. On the potty, and I heard her quietly say to herself, I'm so proud of you.

[A]

Oh, I'm gonna cry.

[B]

Because anytime she does anything, I'm like, I'm so proud of you.

[C]

Well done.

[B]

She said it to herself. Yeah.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

That's your mission for this week, is for everyone to say, I'm so proud of you to themselves.

[B]

And you should give yourself a chocolate button as well every time you do some sharing online.

[A]

Yeah. Okay.

[C]

Maybe we could send those out with the badges.

[B]

Yeah. No GSPR rules might be allowed.

[A]

Yeah. So core stores are open for Freak Flag because we're not opening and closing the doors anymore. They're just open all the time. So if you go to the website, you can read all about it there.

[B]

If you've been eyeing it up for a while, now is your time to shimmy on in.

[A]

Yep. And if you join before the end of January, you get a little pack of amazing good shape stickers in the post in real life and you get the chance to win a one on one mentoring session.

[B]

Yeah, it's one on three really, isn't it? Because you get all three of us looking at you.

[A]

Three.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Overwhelming you.

[C]

It's a pile on basically. We're really kind, we're really nice. Don't be afraid. And that goes into the course as well, doesn't it? So everyone on the course gets to see the mentoring and benefit from it at the same time.

[B]

And it's not random. You do apply for it. So we will select the winners and everybody will benefit from the feedback.

[A]

Yeah, because we get people to send in a selection of their work and a question which makes it really useful because we can choose commonly asked questions or problems that a lot of people associate with. So we choose strategically and answer those questions for Everybody.

[B]

Yeah, it's thegoodshipillustration.com freak flag or one word.

[A]

Well done.

[B]

I know. So good. I'm so proud of myself.

[A]

Chocolate butter.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Bye.