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Sarah Cathcart Anderson's avatar

Thanks for sharing your process in such detail! I’m curious about what it looks like when you pitch a book - are you pitching a dummy? How “finished” are the sketches and artwork that you show when pitching? I think I spend too much time on making really detailed sketches in my dummies, but then I worry my ideas won’t be clear with rough sketches. Thanks for any insight

Eliza Wheeler's avatar

Great question! I pitched this book project (as a series) to my publisher (Nancy Paulsen at Penguin) who I had already worked on several books with. For my first book i did create a detailed sketch dummy with 3 finished pages of art, but because we already had a working relationship and they knew my work I didn't feel the need to dummy this one all out before pitching it -- instead I shared the written manuscript with character sketches, a sample spot illustration, and a "pitch sheet" which had the series' summary, my inspiration for the series, and bullet points for each of the 4 books. My pitch was very visual, so I should create a share of that on a future post.

Jacob Souva's avatar

I’m such a sucker for thumbnails. I’m convinced it’s the most important stage. Loved the sneak peek!

Jason June's avatar

I love these behind the scenes glimpses!!

Mo Davey's avatar

Love reading and looking at your process. The cover is divine!

Missy Shepler's avatar

Thank you for sharing this! I love getting a peek at artists' processes--it's so helpful to see how ideas develop and grow!

Annette Pearson's avatar

Thanks for this look at how you work! We are thrilled about the upcoming release -- have already ordered a copy and cannot wait to have it in our hands soon!

Oranmor's avatar

Fascinating to see your process from the start to finish Eliza and delighted to hear you have another book on the horizon; I look forward to buying it for my grandchildren.