There was overlap
between the two projects. When I was about half way through STARS, I began work
on BRICK BY BRICK. It
was a little stressful creating my first two books for
the first time! I basically put on blinders and did just what I had to do
at that very moment, with each day. The amount of work that I completed grew
little by little. Do you remember that quote about writing a novel?
“It’s like driving at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” (Novelist E.L. Doctorow)
BRICK BY BRICK and STARS
were also different styles, and that helped. For STARS, I used my pencil
drawings as the holding lines for the collage, so that technique was a little
faster. But I did a TON of research, to make sure the children and their surroundings
were authentic. BRICK BY BRICK had some finished art that I just had to tweak,
and other pages that I had to create from the bottom up. It was a more
time-consuming style because anything I drew in pencil had to be painted
digitally.
Our book launch for stars
at Nicola’s was during an incredible snowstorm, so much in fact, Leslie
couldn’t come. In terms of Covid affecting things, STARS really suffered. Leslie and I are still
in the trenches, trying to get word out about STARS. Librarians discover the
book through our efforts, simply love it and are surprised they had not heard
about it before.
As Kirkus said ”...the book's timely message of universality among diversity is a
highly relevant one.” I’ve always felt it’s a book not just for kids, but adults could
benefit from reading it, too.
Colleen Kammer of The Book Beat shared with me
that STARS was a book she took under her wing and often suggested to customers
during Covid. I was so touched to hear this.
Brick by
Brick earned
you the Ezra Jack Keats Award. What does the award mean to you? What was the
ceremony like? How did you find out you had won?
Receiving the Ezra Jack Keats Award was, and still is, a heart-stopping moment. To think that BRICK BY
BRICK would become part of the EJK Award’s legacy of books to spread hope,
encouragement and empowerment to all children was beyond wonderful.
The award also gave BRICK
BY BRICK visibility. Great literacy programs like the Dolly Parton Imagination
Library and First Book wanted to create paperback versions to be given to kids
who need them most. It was a lifelong dream of mine to have books accessible to
children who might not otherwise afford them, so when BRICK BY BRICK became a
Dolly Parton Imagination Library Book and First Book, it also was a dream come
true.
THE SNOWY DAY was, and
still is, a favorite of mine. I think it’s perhaps the best picture book of all
time. The first page of Peter in bed, with his pillow and quilt looking like
snow itself, with him gazing out of his window, seeing the new snow, is amazing.
I’ve had this page on my bulletin board by my computer for 15 years or so. Each
day I look at it and discover something new.
 |
| From Ice Cream Face |
The morning I received the
phone call from Nancy Paulsen and Cecilia, I couldn’t believe it. Originally, I
was nervous, because I was working on ICE CREAM FACE and thought I must have
screwed up pretty badly for them to call me at home. When I found out I’d won
the Ezra Jack Keats Award for Illustration, I cried and thanked them for giving
me the opportunity to have BRICK BY BRICK published. I flipped back and forth
between happy tears, and laughing at the same time. Even my dog was dumbfounded
by my reaction. I know my parents were looking down from above, smiling and
sobbing with me. They always believed in my dream of becoming an
author/illustrator for children, that had taken me a literal lifetime for me to achieve. It took an entire week for me to calm
down.
The ceremony was via Zoom,
since it was during Covid. I have to say presenting online was more difficult
for me than it would have been in person! This was my first virtual event and I
was more than nervous. Even though it was online, the organizers of the event
were so wonderful and really went out of their way to make it feel special.
Okay. Those are your
many well-deserved successes. But Ruth and I have known you for more than a
decade, and your career was just a mirage on the horizon back in 2009 when I
first met you. You were fresh from working as a graphic designer. You had some stunning collage pieces, but also a yearning to write. How
did you come to find SCBWI?
I’d like to give a little
more context to my professional background. When I began college, I had the
same ambition to eventually become a children’s book author, so I got a degree
in English at the University of Michigan and later a degree at College for Creative Studies. (My first day at CCS, they disbanded the entire illustration
department. There were teachers literally crying and people saying illustration
was dead. I had enrolled hoping to study illustration and was a little miffed
the admission team hadn’t shared their plans to dissolve that department.)
 |
| Heidi and books |
Then I took some graphic
design courses and learned about copywriting and art direction and that I had a
knack for both. I figured getting a job in
advertising would let me build a nest-egg, so one day I could break away and do
my children’s book thing. Very early on, I realized the best ads had the best
stories. They were short, compelling, with an emotional hook. All great
qualities I would need to create children’s books.
When my daughter was born,
I hopscotched over to freelancing work as a copywriter and graphic designer. At
the time, I took a Photoshop class from a friend of mine, John Dinser who was a
fantastic illustrator and amazing teacher at Washtenaw Community College.
(Still is—take his class!) At the time, I had a portfolio chock full of
traditional work—lots of pen and ink and line drawing which he liked, but
something seemed to be missing
I brought a collage to John
one day that I’d made by cutting out shapes from magazines, arranging them on a
wood background and taking a photo of it all. He said, “Now this will
get you noticed. Do more of that.” I flip out
when I get paste on my fingers AND I CAN’T GET IT OFF!!, so I started messing around with making
collages in Photoshop. Something funny— my style came about in part because I
only knew a few tools and not the whole program. I liked the wonky shapes I was
coming up with and just kept going.
Daniel Bernstrom and I spoke at the Minnesota Children’s
Book Festival in September, which was so fun! We also read the book to a
trolley full of kids in Stillwater. (I promise they were there!) It was like
riding Mr. Rogers’ trolley.
To start building an
illustration portfolio, I volunteered for the Ann Arbor Book Festival to
illustrate and design their posters. Through that, I met the folks from the Ann
Arbor District Library. They liked my illustrations for the book festival and
asked if I’d like to design and illustrate their children’s activities calendar
of events, “JUMP: Fun stuff just for kids.”
In my contract, I asked to
keep the copyright of all of my illustrations. This project meant so much to
me, since kids would be taking these home, reading them and most of all,
looking at the illustrations, not unlike reading a book. It really helped bridge
the gap of time it took before I had a book published. And believe it or not,
one of those illustrations inspired the story that I’m pitching to a publisher
this week!
As a freelance graphic
designer, I was always looking for clients, so I joined a networking group in
Ann Arbor. Once a week, you’d ask the group for a lead for a particular
project. The group would respond with a person that they knew who might be
helpful. I thought it a long shot, and even felt embarrassed to put it out
there to a roomful of business types, but I asked if anyone knew someone in
children’s book publishing. A woman introduced me to Shutta Crum, who invited
me to her summer schmooze that she used to have. And THAT is the deluxe story
about how my collages came about and how I found SCBWI!
To this day, you use
textures, manmade and natural, in your art work. What drew you to details that
many people don’t even see? How has your collage craft evolved
over time?
I’ve always been attracted
to old things. My mom collected antiques and I often went to different shops
with her. My grandparents also lived in a Victorian house that was full of
mystery. As a result, I like to use items that are old and have character. I
also see objects within other objects and it gives me a great deal of joy. It
feels a little like a super power. For example for the Ann Arbor Book Festival,
I saw the UM clocktower, which reminded me of a stack of books. And a concept
was born for the next poster I did for them. :)
I think the attraction to textures was the discovery part. They are like a whole world among themselves and so inspiring. Whenever I travel, I collect whatever new textures I see. My husband has taken to taking texture snapshots during family vacations.
Early on, anxiety seemed
to be your constant companion. How have you learned to quash the paralyzing
effects of fear and find success?
 |
| Wild Rumpus bookstore |
Anxiety disorder and
depression both run in my family, so this is something I have faced since I was
a child. Anxiety appears on my doorstep most every day. So every day, I
exercise. Because when I run, I concentrate on the world outside myself and
literally putting one foot in front of the other. It gets me out of my head.
After exercise, I do a kind
of prayer, where I give thanks for the day. I also visualize actual problems I
might face while working and getting through them, which really helps. I also
take a moment before I start to write anything that’s bothering me or any
particular fear I’m having. Then I give it a 1-10 rating of just how bad the
anxiety is.
Then I work on my stuff and record how hard (or easy) it was to do
xyz. Most times, the fear is wayyyy higher than any actual anxiety I thought
I’d have from doing that particular task. It’s the everyday
exercise of just keeping on, keeping on.
I also submit my book
projects to my online illustration critique group (a group of five other women
from the 2017 SBWI Summer Conference Illustration Mentorship), even when I’m
scared to do so.
Just recently, I thought a picture book of mine needed a major
rehaul. I sat on it not wanting to submit it to anyone, but I went ahead
and finally submitted to my critique group. They loved it, so it’s going out
this week. I also have a small group of Michkid Illustrators (including your
beloved Ruth!) who used to meet each month, but Covid put the kibosh on it, so
I’m trying to revive the group.
Success is a relative term.
It’s a day when I can create without answering the perfectionist rapping at the
door, I guess.
While working on your middle grade novel, your father died. Not
long after you found you had breast cancer. And yet, at a fall weekend SCBWI-MI
conference, you attended, despite the fact you knew that your luxurious hair
was about to fall out because of chemo and radiation. Why did you go when so many other cancer patients might wisely choose to stay home?
I needed to be with my
tribe. To be with people I loved and to visualize myself as having a future. I
don’t know if Ruth told you, but I had asked if she would complete my middle
grade novel if I didn’t make it through treatment. I think going to the conference
was one of the few things I could control.
I took a shower before the
evening event and my hair fell out. The water started to back up and I was
trying to fish the gobs of hair out, but I just got so overwhelmed. Luckily the
hotel staff was very understanding. I left a large tip for someone to help
clean it up.
It was a western theme, so
I wore a hat, as I had just an odd halo of hair still left. I felt pretty
mixed-up, but was still glad I had come to the conference. Throughout the
years, I had a variety of other equally harrowing moments personally and they always seemed to happen
just before a conference. I remember crying at sooooo many conferences, just
because of one stressful thing after another was always in my wake. SCBWI was the rock that got me through them
all. Being surrounded by others pursuing their dreams always revived my own.
In 2007 you won the
SCBWI-MI mentorship. Who was your mentor? How did that mentorship affect your
craft?
Susan Kathleen Hartung was
my mentor. She had started the mentorship program for SCBWI-MI some years ago.
It was incredibly generous of her to give back in this way. I remember being so
happy! Lin Oliver was visiting our chapter and presented the mentorship award
to me.
I embraced the opportunity
full-force. There were some exercises that Susan had me do which were helpful.
If I recall right, I wanted to submit my picture book to an editor I met from
the SCBWI NY Conference, but Susan didn’t think it was ready. I think she was
doing her very best and I was doing my very best, but sometimes, the chemistry
didn’t feel right. But I truly appreciated her effort and the opportunity to
work with her.
I was inching toward what I
hoped would be a publishing deal, but not for 10 more years. My husband had felt the whole
kids book thing was more of an expensive hobby than a business. It was
difficult justifying the years of workshops and conferences I was taking
through SCBWI.
You were going for it,
writing, illustrating, searching for agents, submitting for mentorships. Where
do you think was your turning point, when you crested that final mountain on
your road to publication?
There were a couple turning
points: Receiving the honorary mention for the Portfolio Award at the 2017 SCBWI Winter Conference and then receiving an Illustration Mentorship at the
SCBWI Summer conference. (I almost didn’t go, because it seemed excessive to do
two conferences in one year, but my friends said, “GO!” you’ve got people’s
attention!) So glad I went! Preparation FINALLY met opportunity! The
Illustrator’s Mentorship was a two-day affair, if I remember right.
The first day consisted of
a speed dating round with the amazing Nancy Paulsen, Cecilia Yung, Laurent Lin,
Pat Cummings, and Paul Zelinsky, among others. Two riveting moments: Editor
Nancy Paulsen reviewing my two mockups BRICK BY BRICK and ICE CREAM FACE, and
really enjoying them. Another “Pinch me” moment was Art Director Cecilia Yung
giving me some wonderfully positive feedback about my work. About a week after
the conference, Nancy called to offer two contracts!
 |
| From Are Your Stars Like My Stars? |
Then, I interviewed a
number of agents. This was the nerve-wracking part! I had no problem finding
interested agents with a contracts in-hand. The question was, who would be the
right fit? I finally decided on Laura Rennert of Andrea Brown Literary Agency
who agreed to work with me, not just based on those two contracts, but on other
mockups and ideas I’d worked on, as she wanted to help me build a career and
not just publish a couple of books. She’s been a wonderful agent!
To the SCBWI membership,
unsure of their potential, what would you say your experience taught you?
Most of the
SCBWI folks I talk to who are published say it took them about 10 years or so
to break in. It may take you sooner? Longer? Mine was not a publishing journey.
It was an odyssey. I joined in 2003 and my first two contracts for books were
in 2017. That’s not a typo. Yup, 14 years. The thing that opened that
opportunity was not only a solid portfolio, but two solid mockups. For
illustrators, find your writer’s voice. If you can write and illustrate equally
well (not an easy thing), that might be the thing that opens the door for you,
too.
Also for the
illustrators—If you attend SCBWI conferences pay for a portfolio review, if you
can get one with an art director, even if you feel you don’t need it, do so.
It’s an excellent way to meet an art director, make a connection and leave them
samples.
Jump at every chance you
have to go beyond your comfort zone. I used the deadlines of conferences,
application for mentorships, workshops, etc. to give me deadlines when I had
none. Deadlines are your friends! It gets you out of the hobby category and takes
you one step closer to treating it as a business and one day realizing your
goal of getting published.
I had many roadblocks along
the way, including huge health problems besides having cancer and major family
difficulties. All of us have our own setbacks and difficulties in life. It’s
the ability to keep focusing on the horizon, to walk toward that goal, even if
it’s small steps, sometimes. And it helps to have friends like Ruth. Go find
your Ruth!
 |
| From Brick by Brick |
Also, there are so many
other resources today, like workshops and classes you can take online. None of
that existed years ago when I was coming up. Above all else, I believe SCBWI
has made me what I am today, not just through the mentorships and conferences,
but especially through the FRIENDSHIPS that you gain. These are the people who
will have your back when you’re in the trenches, trying to get discovered. So
if you haven’t joined, do it!
Please list any social
media platforms you wish to share.
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/heidi.sheffield.5/
Twitter
@wwwheidibooks
Instagram
@heidi.kids.books
Heidi’s books
are in the Eric Carle Museum’s
Reading Library and the American Writers Museum Children’s Literature Gallery
reading space. (There’s a wonderful squirrel mural by Paul O. Zelinsky
there—you must check it out if you go!)
BRICK BY BRICK
Penguin/Random House
Written &
illustrated by Heidi Sheffield
Ezra Jack
Keats Illustrator Award
Dolly
Parton Imagination Library Book
First Book
Special Edition
Scholastic
Book
ICE
CREAM FACE
Penguin/Random House
Written &
illustrated by Heidi Sheffield
Dolly
Parton Imagination Library Book
ARE
YOUR STARS LIKE MY STARS?
Sterling Publishing
Written by Leslie
Helakoski & illustrated by Heidi Sheffield
BBC for
CBeebies Bedtime Story
Book
Riot’s Must-Read Picture Book
GOOD NIGHT, LITTLE MAN
Written by Daniel
Bernstrom & illustrated by Heidi Sheffield
HarperCollins
Junior
Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
.JPEG)
