In my decade-long journey to becoming a picture-book illustrator/author, I have learned many things.

Photo: Shoshana Flax.

I have learned how to rap a book on stage in front of an auditorium full of kids without fear! I have also learned how to go with the flow when the kid I invited to come up and play the drum for me while I read is off beat.

I have learned that even though I make books with only the Black and Brown students I teach in the Bronx in mind as my audience, many other cultures and groups of people will show appreciation for my stories. Just as I’ve been appreciating shows like Full House and The Wonder Years all my life, suburban children can appreciate a book about graffiti in the Bronx.

But I have also learned that everybody has a picture-book idea that they have been keeping stashed away for decades. And most of these picture books are about a dog or a cat.

I want everyone to be able to one day publish your dog or cat picture books. So here are some picture-book field hacks from Caldecott, Coretta Scott King (Caldescott?), and Boston Globe–Horn Book honoree and winner C. G. Esperanza!

[Read Horn Book reviews of the 2025 BGHB Picture Book winners.]

Hack #1: There are millions of editors and art directors and agents on Instagram, and most of them have five followers. Follow them! You don’t even have to message them. They will appreciate your follow and look at your portfolio, so make sure your feed is lookin’ picture-book ready. If they follow you back, maybe slide into their DMs. Book Twitter used to be great for this, until…well, you know what happened.

Hack #2: For authors, think of a concept to write about that hasn’t been done before. The myth that everything has been done is just that, a myth! Most editors want to work on something fresh and innovative and controversial in a positive way. So make sure your dog or cat book is a bit scandalous.

Hack #3: Make sure your book is based in NYC.

Hack #4: If you are an author who wishes you could illustrate your own books, please don’t ’cause I need work! But if you must, find a bunch of illustrators you love and practice making copies of their work as best you can. And then take what you learned from those studies and make your own original art. After ten years, you might make decent original art. Or, even amazing art. If you start now, you can be a Caldescott winner by 2035!

Hack #5: If you are an illustrator, find an agent first. Or else someone may give you $250 to illustrate a widely distributed book. Don’t ask me how I know. And no, you don’t need to be a writer or have a manuscript to be agented. There are way more authors than illustrators in the field, so we need many talented illustrators to bring their words to life.

Hack #6: If you are an illustrator fresh out of college, consider becoming a teaching artist with a local arts nonprofit. Many times they will hire you to teach a one- to two-hour afterschool arts class with little to no experience for about $100 an hour. The schedule is flexible, so you can still focus on your art career. Often this will lead to mural gigs, which usually pay pretty well if the school has a cultural grant. Also, the students will inspire your art and critique you amazingly and harshly.

Hack #7: Don’t be afraid to reach out to your favorite illustrators and authors for advice. They are much more accessible than movie stars. Maybe Venmo them some coffee money if they respond.

Hack #8: Delete ChatGPT! And all AI apps!

Thank you, Stephanie Seales, for trusting me with your awesome book, and thank you to my wonderful editor Courtney Code, art director Heather Kelly, Abrams Books, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards Committee, and my amazing agent, Marietta Zacker — who are all on Instagram!

From the January/February 2026 issue of The Horn Book Magazine. For more on the 2025 Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards, click on the tag BGHB25. Read more from The Horn Book by and about C. G. Esperanza.

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