Episode #156: Are you ever scared about how the pictures in your book will turn out? -with JaNay Brown-Wood
Welcome back! Thank you for tuning into Kids Ask Authors! This week, Grace and JaNay Brown-Wood answer an excellent kid question, “Are you ever scared about how the pictures in your book will turn out?
Transcripts:
Grace Lin: Hello. I'm Grace Lin, Children's book author and illustrator of many books, including the middle grade novel, Where The Mountain Meets The Moon, and the picture book, A Big Moon Cake For Little Star. Today, I'm here with JaNay Brown-Wood, the author of many picture books, including Imani's Moon, Grandma's Tiny House, and Too-Small Tyson, as well as the upcoming chapter books, look for Love Puppies in February 2023. Welcome, JaNay. Hi.
JaNay Brown-Wood: Hi. Thanks so much for having me.
Grace Lin: Thank you for coming on. Are you ready for today's question?
JaNay Brown-Wood: I'm so ready, Grace. I'm so ready.
Grace Lin: Okay, today's question is from a kid named Erin and they ask...
Erin: Are you ever scared about how the pictures in your book will turn out?
Grace Lin: Are you ever scared about how the pictures in your book will turn out?
JaNay Brown-Wood: What a great question, Erin. And actually my sister's name is Erin. How cool is that? Anyway, I am generally not too scared about how the pictures turn out, and here's why. Because when I'm writing books and I'm working with other people like editors and illustrators, I get to see early versions of the pictures and then I get to give my ideas and comments about the pictures. So it really ends up being a collaboration or teamwork where we work together to really make sure the finished book is something that we're all proud of. So because of that, I don't feel so scared. I actually feel excited at the opportunity to work with others to create beautiful books.
Grace Lin: That's so nice. So you've never had an experience where you were surprised by some pictures that came to you?
JaNay Brown-Wood: I've been really lucky in the sense that I've loved all the pictures that my final books have included. But I'm a vocal person, so I'll say, "I wonder about this piece." But that's in the process of revising and editing and getting to give my feedback on those pictures. So for the most part, I've been very fortunate that I've liked what I've seen thus far.
Grace Lin: When you write and you picture in your mind versus the final illustrations, have they been different at all?
JaNay Brown-Wood: They're always different. That's an interesting question. They are always different. Because when I'm writing, I'm visualizing my characters in my settings in a certain way, but I use that to help inform my storytelling. But then I've been able to learn how to just turn that part off when my words then go into the hands of an illustrator. Because I feel like, in this work, my professional piece is the story and the text and the writing, and I give that same respect to the illustrator who their professional piece is the pictures and the images. So I'm okay with stepping back for the most part to see where my story takes them visually.
Grace Lin: Oh, that's so nice.
JaNay Brown-Wood: Yeah. So even if it doesn't come out exactly like how I pictured it, as I said, it rarely does, I still find myself pleasantly surprised in the images that are created. I'll give an example. Imani's Moon, Hazel Mitchell created these beautiful, beautiful spreads that I didn't even imagine it to that extent. And so I was more surprised in what she created in comparison to what I visualized beforehand.
Grace Lin: So in some ways it was better in a weird way.
JaNay Brown-Wood: Yeah, I do think better because, again, the professional illustrator, I mean, hats off to all of them, including you, Grace, because you're able to really just capture those visually stimulating images that were birthed from the words that the author creates. And so, because of that, again, that collaboration, to me, you end up with an even better product than you initially imagined.
Grace Lin: Yeah, I think this is what's very interesting, I think will be very interesting to kids, is to understand how these books, even though there's the author's name on it and the illustrator's name on it and they're two separate names, but it's such a collaboration and a partnership between the two.
JaNay Brown-Wood: It really is. And even though, like I said, we each have our professional roles, me as the writer, illustrator as the illustrator, we still have to be able to work with each other and listen to feedback and listen to criticism. Because then, if ultimately our whole goal is to create the most beautiful book that we can, then we should really look at each other as partners in that creation process. And I think that really helps the whole process in general.
Grace Lin: Yeah, that's such a beautiful way of looking at it.
JaNay Brown-Wood: Thanks.
Grace Lin: As an illustrator, though, I have to say that I am often scared about how the pictures in my book will turn out.
JaNay Brown-Wood: Interesting. Tell me more.
Grace Lin: I am often scared that I will have written a story and I will be thinking to myself, "I don't know if I have the skills to pull this off. I don't know if I can do this." And honestly, sometimes I feel that way about writing too, when I get an idea that I think is so good and I'll be like, "Oh. I don't know if I can do it though."
JaNay Brown-Wood: You know what, yes, I think that with every new project that I start, I have those doubts, I have those, especially when there's so much that goes in the revision process for the text. And you're writing these stories and you're thinking, "Uh-oh, is this actually going to work?" And I do have those doubts, but I'm a problem solver and I'm someone who really likes puzzles, so I've started to shift the way I look at it and think, "This is a puzzle. How am I going to now attack this puzzle and then go from there?" But, Grace, I remember hearing this really great, I don't know if you'd say quote, but just nugget of information that came from I think Nikki Grimes.
And she had said when she's writing something, if it gets to the point where it's really, really challenging, she may think I'm going to set this aside because, "I don't quite have the skill I need yet to make it what I want. But I'm going to come back to it later." And during the process of writing other books and other stories and other poetry, it's like you're fine-tuning those skills so then when you come back to that other piece, you're ready to go. That always resonated with me. It's okay if at this point it doesn't feel like it's working because you can still grow, learn, and then come back to it to help it become the best book or story or poem that it can be. And I liked that sentiment.
Grace Lin: Yeah, I like that too. But I think the one thing though I would add to that is that the first thing is to try it though. And I think that's the big thing, is that I'm always scared, but I always tell myself, "Well, at least try." And if you can't, then if you try and you find that maybe you need to let it wait, that's good." That's perfect advice. But at the same time, I think it's really important to take that first step to try it, because I think that's always the hardest, is that intimidation.
JaNay Brown-Wood: Sure. Thank you for adding that in. I do think that that's an important piece to include. If you are doing it and giving it your all and really trying, that is important. But then sometimes it's okay to let it simmer. It's okay to let it, I don't know, mature and then come back to it and really then take it on.
Grace Lin: I think the difference is, I think, because the question was are you ever scared, if you're scared, you shouldn't let it stop you.
JaNay Brown-Wood: Oh, yes. Yes.
Grace Lin: But I think if you're worked on it and you realized, "Hmm, I'm not scared, but this is maybe too hard for me right now," that's when you let it simmer. Don't let the fear stop you, but also know how you feel. Be realistic about where you are.
JaNay Brown-Wood: Actually, really, I appreciate that. You should never let the fear stop you. And I think even when you're creating something that others are going to read or look at and then form their own opinions about, that always feels scary, even for me. I've got so many books coming out, but I don't let that stop me because I also feel like, each of my books, there's something important, some important message or hopefully an experience with the reader that can come from my books. I do think you shouldn't let the fear stop you. And I agree with you that there's a difference between trying something and then being like, "This is too scary and I'm not going to do it," versus trying something, saying, "Okay, I don't know if I quite have the right tools yet. Let me build these tools and then let me come back to it." Yeah. So it's not that I'm letting the fear stop me. No. I use that as, how do I get better to really fine tune what I'm working on?
Grace Lin: Yeah, definitely. Exactly. That's exactly what I meant. Thank you for restating it in the way that I meant.
JaNay Brown-Wood: Oh no, that's great.
Grace Lin: That's what I mean. Well, thank you very much, JaNay, for that awesome answer. And thank you very much, Erin, for asking such a great question.
JaNay Brown-Wood: Such a great question. Thank you.
Grace Lin: Bye.
JaNay Brown-Wood: Bye-Bye!
Today’s KID BOOK REVIEW: Today’s kid book review comes from Mina! Mina is reviewing, Too-Small Tyson by JaNay Brown-Wood.
I am reporting on a book called Too-Small Tyson.The author of this book is JaNay Brown-Wood and the Illustrator is Anastasia Magloire Williams. This book is about how Tyson’s brothers think Tyson is too small to help out. Tyson needs to figure out how to rescue his missing gerbil, Swish, independently. I like this book because it shows your size does not matter. If you don’t give up, you will succeed and find what you are looking for.
More about today’s authors:
JaNay Brown-Wood, PhD, is an award-winning children’s author, poet, educator, and scholar. Her first children’s book Imani’s Moon won the NAESP Children’s Book of the Year Award and was featured on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show and Storytime with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, her second book Grandma’s Tiny House: A Counting Story! received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly and won the CELI Read Aloud Book Award, and her third book SHHH! The Baby’s Asleep received a starred review from School Library Journal. JaNay loves to write, bake, teach, and spend time with her husband, Catrayel, and her daughter, Vivian. She has more than 15 books coming out soon!
Grace Lin, a NY Times bestselling author/ illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and her picture book, A Big Mooncake for Little Star, was awarded the Caldecott Honor. Grace is an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio , a video essayist for PBS NewsHour (here & here), and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf. She is the co-host of the podcast Book Friends Forever, a kidlit podcast about friendship and publishing (geared for adults). Find her facebook, instagram , twitter ( @pacylin) or sign up for her author newsletter HERE.
