Sherry Alexander Writes
  • Welcome
  • About
  • Blog
  • Guest Student Essays
  • Inspiration
  • MY Books for Children and Tweens
  • Contact me

My Journey as
a Writer

See where it takes me.

MY BOOKS ON AMAZON

Choosing an Illustrator

8/24/2014

0 Comments

 
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. 


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

    Sherry Alexander

    Dreamer, believer, reader, writer

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    February 2019
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

    Categories

    All
    Death
    Grief
    Inspiration
    Writing

    RSS Feed


    Visit Book Blogs
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Proudly powered by Weebly
Photos used under Creative Commons from One Way Stock, frankieleon