Fresh out of art school, Jess Hong attended a book fair and showed her book dummy to Marissa Moss, an editor at Creston Books. The result was her #firstpicturebook which will be available October 1. Today she tells us how LOVELY—“a lively ode to being different” (The New York Times Book Review)—came to be.
Q. Was LOVELY the first picture book manuscript you ever wrote? If not, what was the first picture book you wrote and what happened to it?
A. LOVELY is the first picture book I ever wrote or illustrated. It’s really surreal to see this project come into fruition!
Q. What inspired LOVELY?
A. The idea of making a conceptual children’s book always interested me, and I wanted the message of it to be inclusive and positive. The message is simply everyone is different and that is lovely. There are all kinds of people in this world, with an ever growing spectrum of differences. I think it’s important for kids to be able to learn that at a young age. It went through many changes and fine tuning but I’m very happy with where the book has landed.
Q. How did you pick the title of your book?
A. I wanted a variation of the word “beautiful”. “Lovely” felt more descriptive and enrapturing of a person as a whole.
Q. Do you write by hand or on the computer?
A. I wrote most of this book on post it notes.
Q. What is your favorite part of the book? And was that part in the first draft?
A. I really like one of the spreads that features unique legs and feet. The idea was in the first draft, but the components and surprises in it were developed over the whole process.
Q. Why did you decide to tell the story in third person?
A. Since it isn’t a traditional story and more of a concept book it felt right to me for the overall tone.
Q. How much of the story did you know when you began writing LOVELY?
A. I had a super clear idea but a lot of the components of the book really was a gradual process. Things were added in all the way up to the end.
Q. Did you write the story first, then illustrate it? Or did the images appear before the words?
A. I wrote a pretty loose version of the story first. I had some clear “opposite” concepts I really wanted to illustrate so I created those first and then made the story work around those. A lot of the pages were also open to interpretation illustration wise, so it was a fun journey figuring it all out.
Q. Did LOVELY receive any rejection letters? If so, how many (ballpark)?
A. I was lucky enough to meet my editor (Marissa Moss of Creston Books) at a book fair the summer I graduated art school. I had literally just finished the dummy and it all worked out quite serendipitously.
Q. Describe your reaction when you received an offer on LOVELY.
A. Joy and elation. Slight shrieking. Frantic texting to share the news.
Q. How long did LOVELY take to be published—from the time you received an offer until it was printed?
A. About a year.
Q. Was there a part that you really loved but had to edit out? Or did you think of something later that you wanted to add?
A. I’m actually quite happy I didn’t have to edit out anything! I ended up adding and changing the story a lot throughout the whole process, and I had an amazing support system of my publishing team, teachers, and fellow children’s book illustrators and authors as a sounding board.
Q. What is your #1 tip to those who want to write picture books?
A. I spent a long time just immersing myself into the world of children’s books and picking up ideas and inspiration. It gave me a great starting point and helped me understand what would work for my book.
Q. Do you have a favorite writing exercise or marketing tip that you can share?
A. I met my editor at a book fair. My tip is to get out there and show people your work whenever you can. You never know who will be there and what kind of connections you can make.
Q. What are you working on now?
A. I’m a full time illustrator at Papyrus. My day job and freelancing on the side is keeping me on my toes these days.
Q. Where can people find you? (Website, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
A.
Website: http://www.jesshong.net/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesshongdraws/
Read More
Q. Was LOVELY the first picture book manuscript you ever wrote? If not, what was the first picture book you wrote and what happened to it?
A. LOVELY is the first picture book I ever wrote or illustrated. It’s really surreal to see this project come into fruition!
Q. What inspired LOVELY?
A. The idea of making a conceptual children’s book always interested me, and I wanted the message of it to be inclusive and positive. The message is simply everyone is different and that is lovely. There are all kinds of people in this world, with an ever growing spectrum of differences. I think it’s important for kids to be able to learn that at a young age. It went through many changes and fine tuning but I’m very happy with where the book has landed.
Q. How did you pick the title of your book?
A. I wanted a variation of the word “beautiful”. “Lovely” felt more descriptive and enrapturing of a person as a whole.
Q. Do you write by hand or on the computer?
A. I wrote most of this book on post it notes.
Q. What is your favorite part of the book? And was that part in the first draft?
A. I really like one of the spreads that features unique legs and feet. The idea was in the first draft, but the components and surprises in it were developed over the whole process.
Q. Why did you decide to tell the story in third person?
A. Since it isn’t a traditional story and more of a concept book it felt right to me for the overall tone.
Q. How much of the story did you know when you began writing LOVELY?
A. I had a super clear idea but a lot of the components of the book really was a gradual process. Things were added in all the way up to the end.
Q. Did you write the story first, then illustrate it? Or did the images appear before the words?
A. I wrote a pretty loose version of the story first. I had some clear “opposite” concepts I really wanted to illustrate so I created those first and then made the story work around those. A lot of the pages were also open to interpretation illustration wise, so it was a fun journey figuring it all out.
Q. Did LOVELY receive any rejection letters? If so, how many (ballpark)?
A. I was lucky enough to meet my editor (Marissa Moss of Creston Books) at a book fair the summer I graduated art school. I had literally just finished the dummy and it all worked out quite serendipitously.
Q. Describe your reaction when you received an offer on LOVELY.
A. Joy and elation. Slight shrieking. Frantic texting to share the news.
Q. How long did LOVELY take to be published—from the time you received an offer until it was printed?
A. About a year.
Q. Was there a part that you really loved but had to edit out? Or did you think of something later that you wanted to add?
A. I’m actually quite happy I didn’t have to edit out anything! I ended up adding and changing the story a lot throughout the whole process, and I had an amazing support system of my publishing team, teachers, and fellow children’s book illustrators and authors as a sounding board.
Q. What is your #1 tip to those who want to write picture books?
A. I spent a long time just immersing myself into the world of children’s books and picking up ideas and inspiration. It gave me a great starting point and helped me understand what would work for my book.
Q. Do you have a favorite writing exercise or marketing tip that you can share?
A. I met my editor at a book fair. My tip is to get out there and show people your work whenever you can. You never know who will be there and what kind of connections you can make.
Q. What are you working on now?
A. I’m a full time illustrator at Papyrus. My day job and freelancing on the side is keeping me on my toes these days.
Q. Where can people find you? (Website, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
A.
Website: http://www.jesshong.net/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesshongdraws/
Read More