Fast illustrator quotes and guidance for children’s books, book covers, and more!
Writerwerx University
How do you publish a book? One step at a time! Learn those steps (for free) at WriterwerxUniversity.c
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What is a Book Illustrator?
Book illustration is when an artist creates images to accompany text (that you’ve already had professionally edited). This can be done for the sake of children’s books, such as books about learning math or taking care of pets. Illustrators also work with academia for textbooks, writers for manga and comic books, and even novelists for world maps and book covers.
Is Hiring an Illustrator Expensive?
Generally speaking, yes. Hiring a book illustrator can easily cost thousands of dollars depending upon how many illustrations you need. For example, if you only need three for a pamphlet, that will cost a lot less money than needing 76 illustrations for a comic book. For children’s book authors, hiring an illustrator is by far the most expensive part of the book development process. This is why some authors opt to illustrate their own work. Some people are so skilled you wouldn’t notice that they are formally trained artists. Other times, the results aren’t the best. But it’s up to you to decide if you have the artistic talent to pull off illustrating your own work.
Should I Get Illustrations Before I Start Writing?
This isn’t recommended. That’s because a lot of things can change during the writing process. From how many characters there are in a book to what kind of clothing people are wearing to what the core scenes of the story are. If any of these things change after the illustrations have already been created, you’ll either publish with images that don’t match your story, or you’ll have to go back to the illustrator and request adjustments to the images (costing you time, money, and headache). The easiest way tot prevent these issues is to simply take your time making sure that your text is finalized and copy edited first. Then, after you’re 99% certain you won’t be making any further changes to the text, it’s time come to a site like this one and start your search for an illustrator!
But Don’t the Illustrations Matter More Than Anything Else?
Not usually. Pretty pictures won’t hire a poorly-written story. Will some people marvel at the artwork? Sure. But if they’re confused about, put off by, or bored with the writing, that only really helps your artist get more fans, not you. Focus on writing something that brings value to your reader. The illustrations should be nice complements to the writing, but they can’t fix what’s broken literarily.
Where Can I Learn More About How to Publish a Book?
Head to WriterwerxUniversity.com for free, text-based, self-paced lessons about what it takes to become an indie author. There’s even a lesson about finding, vetting, and hiring illustrators that can help you in your search for the right artist for your project.
You can also join Writerwerx University groups on Facebook to get support, resources, and encouragement: Shut Up Write Now (if you’re still writing your piece) or Indie Authors (if you’ve already published, but are pretty new to the industry).