Becky Gehrisch Creates a writing program for Camp

Last year Becky Gehrisch chatted with Kathy Halsey here at the GROG about her new book, Escape to Play. She mentioned that she did writing programs with kids for art camps and library programs, so I asked if she'd share some thoughts.  She did! Without further ado, here's Becky.

I've had the pleasure of teaching many classes on illustration, art, and writing but one specific example I’d like to share is the “Creating A Picture Book Dummy” class. The first thing I learned is to use any word except “dummy”! Kids just couldn’t get past that! I have renamed it “Get the Picture: How words in picture books are half the story!” A clever or engaging title is a fun way to engage an audience and pique their interest in a talk.

I adapted my writing camp talks to address kids of different age groups from ages 8-17. One set of classes were at the Thurber House, in Columbus Ohio. The Thurber House is a non-profit literary arts center and museum and is located in the home of humor writer - and cartoonist  - James Thurber. They offer camps, workshops, author presentations, and other literary events!

Many writing camps and programs have a submission form on their website or at their facility. For the camps I taught, I had seen an advertisement on social media for an upcoming writing camp for kids. I reached out through email and they directed me to the submission form. It was great timing and they liked my pitch!

I have found that presenting a slideshow helped the kids who are the auditory and visual learners. I broke down picture books that had great page turn and text placement. After the Fall by Dan Santat is an excellent example. We discussed the placement of text on a page, how words are chosen carefully, and how the illustrations tell half of the story. Good picture book writers don’t describe everything in a picture book. 

Becky's list of Great Examples

 I also showed some of my past book dummies to critique in the slide show. As a group, we looked at how I could have simplified the story, both by showing in the illustrations and precise word choices. We broke down the text by highlighting phrases in order to determine where on the page they should go and when a phrase or word could come after a page turn for emphasis or surprise. Later in the class they would break apart their own sentences and words this way.

I provided many picture book examples which demonstrate excellent storytelling and illustrations, especially those with fine attention to detail in both word choice and imagery. I took the time to read through a few and point out how the words were placed for a specific reason. Then the students could flip through these books during their working time to review how authors and illustrators choose their words and images carefully to further their story. This often included a secondary storyline in images. They saw how the images added to the story more than just mirror what the story was about. 

After these exercises, we moved on to tactile learning. To get the creative juices flowing, they could draw from a bowl of prompts for character, setting, problem, and emotion. Some kids had an idea already in mind but others who might be held up by idea paralysis, enjoyed pulling out random ideas to stitch together.

From their prompts and ideas, the students created their own picture book dummy or story. A great resource is Debbi Ohi’s picture book Dummy template. I have used this myself and it was great for kids to see how things are storyboarded. For the younger students, they worked on a larger format to accommodate their fine motor skill development. Students created a quick story and broke down their manuscript by how the words might work best with page turns. 

Coming prepared or having the organization provide the supplies and paper gave the kids plenty of choices in how they wanted to express themselves. To keep it simple, we used pencils with erasers if the ideas needed changed. Because time was limited, we avoided colorful writing tools and art supplies to focus on the words. Another class, geared toward illustration, would have an assortment of supplies to show off their creativity.

 The camp provided spiral bound writing journals and many kids chose these to brainstorm in. Folded and stapled “dummies” were put together ahead of time for the kids to see how the physical page turns affected their writing.

They could either focus on the writing side more or the illustrative side. There isn’t a right or wrong way. I encouraged them to find the best way that they could share their story. Some did better with images and others by outlining and mapping out their ideas. Folding blank paper helped to show physical page turns. 

The kids left the workshop with their own story idea, outline, illustration notes or sketches, and a picture book dummy which gives them a place to start to see how page turns work. Some left with a completed dummy while others just had a writing outline. Either way, they acquired a taste for the picture book writing process. Often, when our time was up, they had a hard time putting their pencils down. Now that was gold!

Teaching these writing camps for kids was such a rewarding experience. Not only was I able to share my knowledge and creativity with the next generation, but I also got to see their creative minds come alive. Teaching camps where kids willingly sign up is heaven. They already came with a passion for writing, so my job was simply to direct them. 

Whether you are planning a workshop or looking for ways to engage kids with picture book creation, I hope this can help you organize a successful class!

Thank you, Becky, for sharing your picture book dummy camp ideas. Learn more about Becky at her website, www.gehrisch-arts.com.

Summer Fun: ESCAPE TO PLAY: Becky Gehrisch and Independent Publishing by Kathy Halsey

Book Review

Summer time! Wouldn't you like to be with these adorable pups and escape and play? Doesn’t that bubble bath look perfect on a hot summer’s day? Escape to Play is a summer treat that combines three mischievous dogs who create loads of unsupervised fun while the farmer is hard at work. 

Author- illustrator Becky Gehrisch ’s charming art and bouncy rhyme combine with an “Easter egg” in the character Norman, a mouse. Add the surprise elements of classic paintings such as Van Gogh’s sunflowers and  Munch’s The Scream, and you have an engaging, interactive read. This picture book has a great “re-readability” factor, too. I give this one "four paws up."

Craft Chat with Becky and Kathy

 Kathy:  How did ESCAPE TO PLAY become the book it is now? Did you at one time think of legacy publishing as opposed to independent publishing? 

Becky: Escape to Play was a fifteen-year process—your writing audience might know how that goes! It can sometimes take a while to see an idea to fruition. I spent years writing and illustrating while I worked at home raising kids. In that time, I joined SCBWI and studied the art of picture book making and storytelling. I am glad that I took the time to research so that my story and book was as polished as possible.

After graduating from the Ohio State University with a degree in art, I was burned out. Escape to Play came about organically. I had started with a painting of my dogs in a bubbly bathtub. This painting was the first painting in a year after graduation where I decided to have fun and make art for myself. Each page was a 40-hour painting that followed the dogs’ day on the farm while the farmer left for the day. If you look closely, the clocks on the wall have the correct time of day!

Originally, I had submitted Escape to Play to over 40 publishing houses. During this time, a different publishing house approached me to illustrate for them, but I looked at the contract and decided I wanted to have complete control over my work. More importantly, I wanted to retain full intellectual rights over my creations. Because of this, I stopped my submission process. I slowly began planning and eventually started my own publishing company, Bookling Media. 

Kathy:  What’s the best thing about being the publisher, art director, author/illustrator of your book? What’s the hardest part? 

Becky: Bookling Media was designed to be an independent publishing company so I am thankfully not wearing all the hats that a self-published author might wear. I hired an art director/typographer, editor, and used off-set printing (as opposed to print on demand). I do not have all the skills as an individual to produce a high-quality book on my own. I created the publishing company not to do things myself, but to control the publication of my book and give others the same opportunity to keep the full rights to their books.

Having two businesses, Bookling Media (publishing company) and Gehrisch Arts (artist and author company) has been challenging. When I am ready to take on author-illustrators through Bookling, the process will be straight-forward: They are the author-illustrator, and I am the publisher. The hardest part currently is knowing when I am publisher and when I am the artist because the lines get blurred. Two sets of accounting, two sets of inventories, two of everything to keep separate. Now that I’ve done it once, these details have fallen into place for future book productions. 

Can you name these classic paintings? They're in the book!

Kathy: I love the added book elements you created: back matter, the art that kids discover, and Norman, the mouse. All add interactivity to the book. How did they come about?

Becky: Thank you! I am thrilled that I took the time to add these elements. The educational addition is a wonderful way share my love of art history. Fun fact: I almost had an art history minor! Having the backmatter section explain art styles in a simple but not in a patronizing way, was important to me. I feel that kids can handle big concepts as well as detailed illustrations. I love details, as evident in my illustrations! Having a reason for the reader to go back and absorb the details as they search for the artwork on the walls has been very rewarding for me.

Norman came about for the similar reasons as the real-life artwork. The inspiration for him came from books I read as a kid where you could find something again and again throughout the book. However, instead of just Norman being on each page, I wanted the reader to know to find him. On the title page, Norman invites the reader to find him.

Kathy:  What’s your biggest takeaway you’d like to share with those who may want to start their own publishing company?

Becky: Great question! It is important to decide if you want to self-publish or start an independent publishing company. Starting an Independent publishing company has meant that I have a team of long-time industry professionals working together to produce a book. The intention of Bookling Media has always been to publish other author-illustrator’s work. If you want to start a business, it requires investment and an entrepreneurial spirit.

Kathy:  Tell us about your upcoming events and what you’ve learned re: author visits.

Becky: I will be at several summer author-events around Ohio from libraries to bookstores to teaching at the Thurber House! The author visits I’ve done this spring have taught me to continue to have fun with the kids. They have great questions and love interacting with my Norman puppet. In preparation for my visit, kids get to use art to color images from the Escape to Play Coloring Book. This has been a great asset to author visits.

Something for author/illustrators to consider is to have a good visual presentation. I include my childhood artwork, original drafts of the story, and art process videos. The kids realize that art can sometimes take a while to make but just like a puzzle, the challenge is rewarding! At the end of the day, encouraging students to enjoy art and reading is what it is all about for me!

Folks can see my upcoming events here.

Kathy: What are you working on now?

Becky: In my author-illustrator role, I am working on lesson plans for teaching art and writing classes this summer. I have several picture book ideas, but they are on hold as I do book events and build up Bookling Media. In my Bookling Media role, I am working on marketing and distribution for Escape to Play and preparing to open submissions for author-illustrators to submit this fall.

Becky’s Bio:

Becky Gehrisch is the founder and Executive Director of Bookling Media, an independent press redefining the kidlit publishing industry, book by book! Bookling Media focuses on picture books created by author-illustrators. Becky has an art degree from The Ohio State University. She has served as the Illustrator Coordinator for the Central and Southern Ohio SCBWI chapter. Since Bookling Media’s start in 2020, Becky has built and led the team through the publication of their premiere title and is now focusing on maturing the company’s supply chain and distribution capabilities.

 

Becky's social media handles and website:

 

@Booklingmedia (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)

@GehrischArts (FB, Instagram, Twitter)

www.booklingmedia.com/books

www.gehrisch-arts.com/author

Time to Pivot - by Kathy Halsey

 I forgot I signed up to interview Becky Gehrisch on her adorable debut picture book ESCAPE TO PLAY and her very successful foray into self-publishing. But Becky was sick; I discovered a friend at a weekend graduation party contracted COVID. Oops! 

What to do? Make a new plan. Today I pivoted. Becky and I will talk about successful self-publishing July 13, 2022. You have plenty of time to anticipate our discussion and Becky’s tips.  I’ve pivoted lots these last few months. I’ve discovered being able to “pivot” is a useful tool for the writers and illustrators.   

 

Case in point, when I searched Pixabay for an image for “pivot” a few male basketball players showed up and arrow images, too. (I wanted a female b-ball player, btw.) 

 

So, I had to pivot and figure out how to use this image. I was making something out of what I had. This image looks like a wave or many iterations of how to end up at the same place. What do you see?

Maybe it’s time to change our game plan, adapt, or improve our practice.  It’s June! We’re almost halfway through 2022. If you’re like me, the last few months have gone so fast, I need to think about my shiny 2022 goals and find if they still serve me. If not, I’ll lean into change and redirect myself. (synonyms for pivot!)

Using myself as a case study. Here WAS my 2022 plan.

1. Be my own book wife - turn off news earlier, read poetry, revise or write in the AM.

2. Keep building on my way to “chunk” big goals into seasons. This past season was the season of exploration and trying new writing techniques.

3. Continue with submission goals of 100 submissions in 2022 via, beginning with 5 queries a month.

4. Keep my schedule light to feel creative: do yoga, walk, and don't take on extra responsibilities.

Where Did I Loose Direction? 

I’ve drifted out of #1, #3, and #4. But instead of chastising myself, I’ll be honest about what I know to be true! 

1. The daily news makes me nauseous and raw. I am writing haikus to channel those feelings now. 

2. I stopped querying for a month to prepare for the ABLA Big Sur Cape Cod Writers’ Retreat. I took 4 mss for that weekend and have more actionable advice on the work I’m sending out from top-notch agents and editors. 

3. I’m back to walking with my husband and dog Scrappy Doo and going to volunteer at the church community garden.    

If you’re spinning your wheels or feel stuck in old routines, why not pivot? Give yourself permission to swim in a different direction this summer. How about creating a motto or inspirational phrase in Canva and using it as your desktop wallpaper? That’s what I’m doing as a reminder. Share your new course correction or motto in the comments.

Here's my new "seasons" mantra.