Because she began writing when I was a teenager and Santi is barely reading middle grade novels, I had not heard of Lisa Yee prior to this reading. We were very excited to meet renowned children’s and middle grade illustrator Dan Santat in person, however! Houston was the last in their tour of 19 days promoting The Misfits: A Royal Conundrum, so I bet they were tired. They still delivered an engaging and funny presentation, however.
Because The Misfits is a 270 page illustrated novel, Yee opted for a brief summary of the storyline and introduced the audience briefly to her five characters. We have not read the book but it is an action-packed crime-fighting adventure geared at children in grades 3-7 (or around 8-12 years). The reading mostly focused on Yee and Santat’s rise to fame! I will write below using Yee’s three rules for succeeding as an author. First you need:
1. Talent: The non- dentist and non-lawyer
Both Yee and Santat joked about crushing the expectations of going into an “Asian career.” Breaking the news to their parents was definitely something that kept them from admitting to themselves that they would be going into the arts. Although Santat received a microbiology degree, he never went off to pursue a doctorate to become a dentist thanks to his own classmates, who encouraged him to instead apply to art school (before he hurt somebody as a dentist!) It was interesting that his classmates would notice his talent for drawing even though, at this point, it was all self-taught. Santat grew up studying & copying drawing techniques such as he saw on Garfield strips and Marvel comics.
He did not go too into detail about how he broke the news to his parents or whether they helped fund art school, but I assume we see something of this in his 2023 memoir A First Time for Everything, or the sequel. I understand his reserve not to put his parents under public scrutiny when it comes to his upbringing.
Growing up, even though she had decided she wanted to become an author at about eight years old, Yee told adults that she wanted to become a lawyer because “it made them happy to hear it.” When she called her mother and told her she wanted to become a writer, not a lawyer, her mother was of course anxious about how she would make a living.
Yee mentioned that growing up there was no author readings or places to meet authors so she assumed they were all dead. Part of her resolve to become an author was her assumption that someone would need to continue making up stories!
Yee graduated with dual humanities and English degrees and went off to pursue her big dreams of writing menus and food packaging instructions! Yee finally decided to pursue her true dreams of becoming an AUTHOR so she would be practicing what she preached to her children. Which leads to the second successful quality:
2. Luck: Arthur A. Levine, editor of J.K. Rowling, wants to publish Yee & Santat
I found these “origin stories” fascinating, especially Santat’s. Yee actively sent a query letter to Arthur Levine’s publishing house. He liked her synopsis and first three chapters of her novel and asked to see the rest— which she had not yet written! However, she managed to have a manuscript ready for him in time, which became her first bestselling novel Millicent Min, Girl Genius (2003). She has published more than 21 novels since then! Yee mentioned that if she could, she would have spoken the words “I want to be an author” out loud so that a teacher or librarian could have showed her the way and gotten published earlier (and avoid all the workforce burnout that came with her other positions, even if as a writer).
During the reading both often expressed how appreciative they are to be able to do what they love for a living. Yee is relieved she doesn’t have to wear a suit & carry a briefcase to work & Santat is thankful he doesn’t have to look at teeth! I agree that these author readings are essential for children to see it as a possible career, and see people that look like them making this career work! Because not every author is dead, ha ha.
Santat was discovered by Arthur Levine at a Global Community for Children’s Book Creator conference in Los Angeles. SCBWI.ORG has chapters across the nation, including a Houston chapter, and major conferences in New York and Los Angeles. Santat recommended becoming a member if one is serious about breaking into the children’s books industry.
So, Santat attended a conference and a man approached him about publishing his book dummy. Since he had already promised this work to another publisher Santat politely rejected Levine. His art teacher then shook him a little and reprimanded him for rejecting the biggest editor in the industry at the time, after which Santat immediately accepted the deal. He has since then illustrated and written about 45 titles! Santat mentioned how “green” he was back then, which leads to the third skill one must have to succeed in the industry:
3. Smarts: Multitasking Required
Other than joining SCBWI, Santat mentions a few tangible steps to breaking into the industry on his website, including a Complete Idiot’s Guide, which I need to read, ha ha. Despite them being grateful for the work they do, they made it plain that it is still work.
Santat has had to move from older technology to Procreate, the latest in the industry for illustrators. He often draws while taking his kids to soccer games or “spending quality time with his wife,” ha ha. As she watches a show he’s not too interested in, he will be drawing. He mentioned a BW spread in The Misfits took from 2.5-3 hours to finish, and there are 30-32 in the book. With life and other projects going on, The Misfits took about 6 months to finish. He mentioned he currently had 7 simultaneous projects including 2 of his own. Yee mentioned she was working on three novels, which I find impressive, seeing as I can barely muster a poem every 10 years.
Bonus Details
I found it very interesting that Yee writes her endings first & then let’s the story unfold to its conclusion. Santat explaining to the audience that you draw using letters of the alphabet really makes the process seem less daunting. He mentioned his favorite drawing technique was using lines (I guess that would be lowercase L’s and I’s) to create contrast. I still find it crazy that in most graphic novels usually the person in the fine print does the coloring! Yago is definitely a line guy, making precise ones to create his monsters & machines.
I am glad to have attended another Cool Brains! reading & gotten our free autographed copy of The Misfits. Next time I see Santat I definitely will remember to ask if he thinks getting an art degree is worth it! He seemed very dismissive of his but I have to say that most bestselling illustrators in the U.S. and internationally have a formal art education, which makes a big difference in evolving & elevating their work.
Biblioterika 