When you write a picture book, the text is only part of it--a small part of it. It's the illustrations that really sell the book. But, how does a writer find an illustrator and choose one?


 These are all questions, I have asked. Since I am going through Halo International to publish my PB, my experience is a bit different than if I did this all on my own. But the process is relatively the same.

Where to start? I started long before Halo by reviewing the artwork in picture books--hundreds of them, in fact. When I found an illustrator whose style seemed to fit my book, I wrote his/her name down. By the time I completed my review, I had 22 names of artists whose illustrations made me smile. This is something you could do with any genre, and it something I plan to do on my next self-published book.

Halo sent me samples of 8 illustrators. I was pleased to discover that three from my personal list were among them. 

My next step is the same for any book. I went to each of the artists' websites. I reviewed their work, checked out each book they listed as a sample of their work, and searched the internet for additional samples. That narrowed my list to two illustrators.

Both of the two artists I selected had written and illustrated their own books, so my final step was to not only read their book, but determine how their illustrations enhanced their texts. That did it for me. Amy Rottinger whimsical and detailed artwork was a perfect fit for my Oliver's Hunger Dragon. 

If you are not going through a company like Halo, and are trying to choose your own illustrator, many of the things I learned are still valuable. 

1. Set a budget.
2. Look at books in your genre, and make a list of the illustrators or artists you think are a good match.
3. Check out their websites. Review the work they list, and see if the covers or illustrations really encourage you to read what is inside the book.
4. Ask for samples for your genre. This is especially important if there are numerous illustrations. 
5. Make sure you are able to communicate. Amy and I talked on the phone and through email. She was in constant communication with me, and listened to my suggestions and ideas. She also told me when additions to certain illustrations required more work, and therefore, for money. 

As an added note, all I can say is choose wisely. make sure the illustrator you deal with is a professional, and that you have thoroughly reviewed his/her work. This is your book, after all. And, it needs to not only satisfy you, but attract readers. 

As an author of books published through traditional houses, I can honestly say the journey into self-publishing is both exciting and scary. 

Traditional publishers receive your book, occasionally pay you an advance, edit it, send you the galleys to proof read, offer you the choice between two or three possible covers, find an illustrator for you if it needs one, hire the illustrator, publish it in a year or so, calculate the number of books sold, and issue you a royalty check. Nowadays you are also expected to assist in the marketing, but in reality, it's up to you in regards to what and how much you do.

Self-publishing is much different. You write, edit, proof, arrange for an illustrator for the cover art or the illustrations, hire the illustrator, review all the illustrations, format the book or hire a self-publishing company to do it for you, market the book, sell copies on your website and through retail outlets, keep an accurate record of sales and income for the IRS, and cash your checks. That's a lot of work.

So, why when there is so much work involved in self-publishing, would anyone want to self-publish? I can think of five main reasons. They are time, ownership, and profits.

• Time: You can move at your own pace. There is no pressure to meet specific deadlines. You work your way through the publishing process when you have the time to commit to it.
• Ownership: It is your book. You own it. You have the rights, and you can produce it anyway you want to. Nothing is left up to a third, fourth, or even fifth person to make the decision on the title, the illustrations, the marketing strategy, or whatever. You make all the decisions, and you won all the rights.
• Profits: Traditional publishing houses rarely offer an advance on sales to new authors, and the usual royalty contract is for 5-10 percent of the net. The net is what is left after publishing expenses, the publishers operating costs and profit, discounts to retailers, returned books, left over books, etc. In some cases, you are lucky to get 10 cents a book. However, by self publishing, you are the one who reaps the rewards. It must be noted, though, that there are ebook publishers out there who take over a major portion of publishing your book and willingly give you 50 percent of the net. It is an option if you find a publisher willing to add your book to their line.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you check out all the options. Publishing is changing, and it is impossible to make a decision on whether to self-publish or not until you research all the possibilities. For me, my next book is being self-published, but I am not sure where I will go with the rest. All I know is that I have a lot of options to consider. You do too.