Hi all, I hope everyone is doing okay during these crazy times! Hopefully, everything will clear up soon (though I’m a little doubtful).
I do not own very many illustrated books, I wish I owned more! I have an illustrated book about Bauhaus and two cookbooks but that is about as far as my collection goes. Do you all own illustrated books? If so what kinds? Aaronson mentioned “Aside from cookbooks and children’s books, trade houses invested in limited resources in these kinds of projects and the staff to make them (215). Thus, showing that those who do publish illustrated books have to be both creative and savvy in terms of ideas and the way they chose to present these books
I found this piece very intriguing and slightly saddening. I came into this class not knowing much about the publishing industry and I did not expect the illustrated books industry to be so different. The essay touched upon a multitude of aspects: ideas, industry, connections, aesthetic appeal, process, etc. Aaronson said, “Illustrated books are not defined by their subject matter but rather by the capacity of that subject matter to be expressed visually” (214). It shows that the ideas for illustrated books aren’t limited but can come from essentially anywhere. Aaronson mentioned he once published a book about a woman who dressed up her pet parakeets in tiny little outfits and photographed them against the elaborately staged representation of historical events clearly showing us that there is no limit. How do you feel about this? Is it better to have a variety of idea choices or none? Would it get overwhelming?
Oftentimes nonprofessional authors are creating these books and being represented by agents. I think here the editor’s job differs in the sense that now they have to “help authors express their ideas in a language that’s not necessarily their primary one [...] And an important part of the editor’s job is to create a lingua franca that serves as a bridge between the visual world of the authors and the audience of readers” (216). This reminded me of our earlier conversation about ownership, when is the editor doing too much? How do we determine those boundaries?
The illustrated book industry is very small and very competitive. Aaronson says “this has, inevitably, resulted in a more crowded field in which project is now frequently subject to stiff competition, preemptive offers, and biddings wars, and to a more congested market where everyone needs to work harder to distinguish any given book from all the others out there (21). I think this is both a blessing and a curse because it has the potential to keep the books afloat. Though at the same time a lot of books won’t have the ability to get published because they will just be overlooked. So then once again we face the struggle of certain books not being recognized! Do you believe there is a way to avoid this or will we eternally be faced with this problem? Also, how should we market illustrated books to make them more appealing? I mentioned earlier I only have three, but I also didn’t have much knowledge of illustrated books prior to this reading.
A common thread through all books is the mere fact that there is a story to be told regardless of what “format” it is in. Aaronson says, “Creating this arc for visual books is accomplished by selecting the images and organizing and sequencing them in such a way that the reader is led through the pages of the book with grace, style, and momentum (217). I think it is interesting how though it isn’t written primarily with text, we still need to consider flow, voice, organization, etc. There are also so many more people involved, we need to consider the author, editor, a third person, and the designer of the book. All these people contribute so much to the books in order for it to be successful. Aaronson said, “A designer’s aesthetic intelligence and engagement with the content inform the balance and interplay of these elements and profoundly impact the way the books will be seen and received (217). We spoke about how important our initial introductions to books are because the design could essentially make us pick it up. I think to some degree illustrated books are even more dependent on this in order to draw folks in and as a means of encapsulating what the books are really about.
I tried to touch on as many aspects of illustrated books as I could, though it is likely I missed a couple of things. I thought this was really insightful, so many things go into illustrated books, and I think they allow readers to form a different relationship with them. It also amazes me how many production issues could arise and potentially prevent allowing the book to be published.
Additional Question:
- Do you believe illustrated books are seen as “less than” other books? Why or why not?
- How do eBooks affect the production of illustrated books? Will they eventually go extinct or do you think the increased competition in illustrated books will keep it afloat?
- What do you think is the most important aspect of an illustrated book? (this is pretty broad, take it wherever you want!)
I think I came to read this article, like you, with not much knowledge of how illustrated books were made! I guess I always thought of them as additions to artist’s other works and not their primary piece. After reading this article I realize how complex this process is. After reading this chapter it seems to be a much more involved process than publishing other books. As you had mentioned there are a lot of people and a lot of moving parts to deal with. As well as a quote from the author that said
ReplyDelete“Although every editor has (…) rewritten a manuscript beginning to end, this happens with greater frequency in visual book publishing.”
This is very different from literary publishing, because as we saw, there is a line to how much you should edit. But I guess the difference makes sense, the people creating these books are artists that focus primarily on the media of their art not books. So, an editor would probably need to help out more because they understand the medium of the book and the industry better. Whereas, an author coming to publish a literary book has focused on the same medium as the publishing and would most likely have a better understanding of the industry than the artist. I wonder though, if there is still a line of how much control the editor can have?
I didn't realize how impactful illustrated books could be until I read Citizen by Claudia Rankine for Intro to Lit Studies last semester. Before that, the only illustrated books I owned were Egghead by Bo Burnham, Gmorning, Gnight! by Lin Manuel Miranda, and cookbooks in the form of ebooks. All of these books except for the cookbooks are poetry/prose, which I feel illustrations compliment really well. Oh, and I have It by Alexa Chung, which reminds me of all coffee table books about like fashion and traveling that all parents seem to own. Wow, thinking about it, a lot of books I have incorporate illustrations (I see how they are a bit forgotten now); as you may know, I’m a musical nerd, and books I have like Hamilton: The Revolution or Dear Evan Hansen: Through the Window have to have visual elements to depict stage performance. That being said, I think there are a lot of niche categories for illustrated books, and I don’t think they are going to go away anytime soon. Aaronson makes a good point, as Savita points out, that there are many places for illustrated books outside of traditional arts. I feel like even in academic textbooks, illustrations can be beneficial and appealing. Also for fandoms like Harry Potter where books become illustrations, I think there’s a place for them in many genres.
ReplyDeleteBesides a few graphic novels, the only illustrated book I own is Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It’s not that I don’t like them I just don’t actively seek them out. Photography books also tend to be really expensive and I normally can’t give myself a good enough reason to buy them.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s great that there are so many different ideas and options for what one can read. I remember when I was a kid I would read through at least three picture books a night; the fact that you can read more at a faster pace means going out and buying new ones frequently. As illustrated books also tend to be coffee table books they are normally easy to understand and do a good job of getting a theme across quickly. I know multiple people who love these kinds of works as they can just flip through the pages whenever they want and don't feel like they have to commit.