Star-gazing

Frequently asked questions of poets in schools:

Do you do submit your poems with pictures or suggest an illustrator?

Neither. I send the poems on their own. Publishers have their own ideas on illustration; their own 'house-style' and they will choose the artist whose work best fits the style of writing.

Do you have any say in the illustrations?

Yes, usually. The publishing editor will send me pencil roughs of the planned illustrations. I can then make comments. Mostly, if these are pertinent, they will be implemented, but the publisher has the final say.

In the layout above I didn't ask for any changes; I thought the artist had interpreted my words perfectly.

What is the purpose of a layout?

It shows exactly how the words and pictures will fit together in the finished book and how they'll appear on the printed page. In the example above you can see the first full-colour proof of the illustrations. At this stage, it's still not to0 late to ask for changes, but mostly none will be needed.

Here you can see how the page-designers, in consultation with the editor and illustrator, have decided to print the four-stanza poem across a two-page 'spread'.

Did you have a free hand in choosing what to write about?

Yes, more or less. This book will be part of a reading programme, so the words had to be at the right reading level for 8-9-year-olds. I sent a selection of poems for the collection. Some the editor approved; others she didn't. (The language level had to be approved by a team of literacy experts, too.) So then I sent some more until we had enough to fill the book.

How did you choose your publisher?

I didn't. They chose me. I was commissioned to write the book, given a deadline for my first draft, and then left to it. Some poems in the book I'd already written; others I wrote specially, and one or two had been previously published in anthologies, that is, books of poems by lots of different poets.

How long does the whole process take, from commissioning to publication?

This varies considerably. On average it's about a year. This one, though, will have taken a little under a year when it's published next January.

Do you get to meet the illustrator?

No, I have never met Helen Bate, but I really like her drawings.

Who's the book published by?

Collins. It's in their educational 'Big Cat' series.

Does that mean that only schools can buy it?

No. It's already available to pre-order through all the usual book-sales channels.

Why have you chosen this for your blip today?

Because it's the UK's National Poetry Day (always held on the first Thursday in October) and this year's theme is Stars, so it fitted quite well. It's also an opportunity to thank BlipCentral for introducing a new Poetry Group and to celebrate that, with thanks especially to fellow-blipper blouseybrown, who first suggested the group, and to fellow blipping poet, Bernard, who introduced me to blipfoto.

And for easy reading, here's the poem in the photo:

Star-gazing

See that star through the window?
It disappears by day;
When I'm in bed it stares at me,
Inviting me to play.

It twinkles through my window,
To see if I'm awake,
I try to keep an open eye
And give myself a shake.

But every single morning,
However hard I try,
I wake to find the star has gone
Because I closed my eye.

No, please don't draw the curtains,
We like our twinkling game,
Although we know the star will win,
Every night the same.

poem © Celia Warren 2012