# Drawing a Blank An honest and authentic newsletter about making books for kids, from author-illustrator Jacob Souva. Loads of encouragement for illustrators, authors, and makers. Inspiration for getting better at this together. Page: Feed: --- ## [Scaling Creative Block](https://jacobsouva.substack.com/p/scaling-creative-block) _2026-08-07 · Jacob Souva_ One solution to creative block I use to make picture books ## [Failure to Launch](https://jacobsouva.substack.com/p/failure-to-launch) _2026-07-31 · Jacob Souva_ 5 things from the studio ## [Some Changes Around Here...](https://jacobsouva.substack.com/p/some-changes-around-here) _2026-07-24 · Jacob Souva_ and 5 things you may have missed ## [Giving Yourself an "A"](https://jacobsouva.substack.com/p/giving-yourself-an-a) _2026-07-22 · Jacob Souva_ How do you know if you're succeeding in your creative life? Who is doing the grading?! ## [Hippos on Unicycles, Tortuous Compromises](https://jacobsouva.substack.com/p/hippos-on-unicycles-tortuous-compromises) _2026-07-10 · Jacob Souva_ 5 things from the studio this week ## [Should I Pitch This Kidlit Project?](https://jacobsouva.substack.com/p/should-i-pitch-this-kidlit-project) _2026-07-08 · Jacob Souva_ An internal checklist to check yourself! ## [Small Problems](https://jacobsouva.substack.com/p/small-problems) _2026-06-26 · Jacob Souva_ 5 things from the studio this week ## [Picture Books: Words or Illustrations](https://jacobsouva.substack.com/p/picture-books-words-or-illustrations) _2026-06-24 · Jacob Souva_ What should come first for the author-illustrator? ## [In the Beginning...](https://jacobsouva.substack.com/p/in-the-beginning) _2026-06-19 · Jacob Souva_ 5 things from the studio this week ## [Watch Chovy Code Live (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/X0xkGPQlwf9c) _2026-06-19 · **Sponsored**_ Join live coding streams with real-time collaborative screen sharing, open source and free. ## [Standing Out in the Age of Slop](https://jacobsouva.substack.com/p/standing-out-in-the-age-of-slop) _2026-06-10 · Jacob Souva_ How I'm thinking about AI as a maker of picture books