Submitting to Submission season
- Francesca
- Sep 26
- 2 min read
Another summer, another kids art submission period over. Always fun, occasionally disappointing. In an over-saturated market you have to take disappointments squarely on the chin.
I have a friend who submits podcast treatments - different medium, same boat. What happens to all the stalled creative projects? The podcasts left unheard, the novels left unread, paintings unsold, scripts unsaid. Gluttons for punishment - we go again.
I was listening to an interview with the author David Nicholls recently and despite his success (One Day, You Are Here), even he struggles to get many TV projects greenlit; I liked how matter of fact he was about it. So it’s worth keeping in mind that most creatives live like this - spec work, submit, wait, spec work, submit, wait.
This cartoon went viral among the creative community a few years ago. Isn’t it so spot on?
In a Facebook group I’m in for surface designers, so many newbies pop on asking for advice after just a few months, wondering if they should throw in the towel. They sometimes get short shrift from the more vocal members. “It takes years!” they say. “Do the work!” “Get a part time job!”
What I would say is - it’s so important to make your own work to sell independently or just for fun, for your own development. You never know what might come out of it. I’m a firm believer in the journey; my work has taken many twists and turns and I wouldn’t have had some of the opportunities I’ve had without the hiccups or a change of direction. This talk on side projects inspired me in 2011 and still inspires me today. And if you’re an illustrator and you need a pep talk, Andy J Pizza is where to go. As Tina Roth Eisenberg says:
Don’t be a complainer. Make things better or let them go.
In good news, I have other irons in the fire, which I’m very grateful for; a few new card licenses over the summer and this print will be exclusively with Anthropologie from Jan 26.
And my kids art projects? Rejigged as personalised prints for my Not on the High Street shop. Most things find a home in the end.
My licensing portfolio is available online for interested parties. Please contact me and I can link you up.
