Q: I am writing a picture book manuscript. Should I include art specs for each page?

Q: I am writing a picture book. Should I include art specs for each page? Or should I just explain the general idea in the cover letter and hope the editors will “get” what I’m visualizing for the art?

A: A picture book text is 50% of the story. The other 50% is what the illustrator brings to the table. Specifying art direction for every page of a picture book is strongly discouraged and will flag you as an amateur.

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Q&A: Is winning a free-tique round something I should include in my query letters?

Question: So a fellow tiquee has asked, “is winning a free-tique round a credential for a query letter?” Good question.

Answer: As much as Snoop would like everyone to believe that he is world-famous, Cynthea must deflate his ego and say, “No, you should not include any mention of your success in a free-tique round in your query letters.

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A special free-tique round is opening!

A SPECIAL FREE-TIQUE round will be opening on Wed, August 8th. But if you want to participate, you’ll need to jump on my freetique list between now and then (that’s August 8th, 11:59 PM) to find out the details. There will be a special contest to qualify and this one should be fast and fun and informative for those writers who want to know if their work can grab the attention of an agent or editor (or Snoop’s!) from page 1.

Good luck!

Cynthea and Snoop

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