If you are reading this, it means that you have finished writing your children’s book and are now prepared to enhance it with illustrations to make it more engaging for young minds. Here are some tips to help you establish a productive collaboration with a children’s book illustrator.
Hire the Right Illustrator
The journey to streamlining your collaboration for illustrations is to hire a children’s book illustrator, which requires a lot of consideration. Remember, these professionals can make or break your book. This means that you cannot rush this process.
The best way to determine if a children’s book illustrator is right for you is by looking at their previous work. When you look at their work, you must ask them if their style matches your vision for the illustrations in your children’s books.
If everything looks right, you can read their testimonials to determine further if their past clients have been satisfied with their services.
In addition, do not seek out diversity and variety. The children’s book illustrator you hire must be proficient in multiple illustration styles to meet your specific requirements.
Define Your Partnership
The next important step is to determine what your partnership with your children’s book illustrator will look like. Every illustrator has a different process, and you must have your preferences, too. Discussing the specifics of the partnership will help you avoid any issues down the lane.
You may want to be involved with your children’s book illustrator at every step or may find yourself too busy with finding a literary agent. You must clear your side and specifics about involvement with your illustrator beforehand.
Similarly, an illustrator might also ask you for space to let their creativity free or need your validation after completing every illustration. Finding an ideal illustrator for your needs will surely take some time. However, discussing the terms of your partnership beforehand is for the best instead of having regrets later.
In addition, make sure that you ask them about revisions before you sign a contract. Some illustrators may provide several revisions, while others might just provide one. Understanding how many revisions you get to request can give you peace of mind.
Establish Trust
Trust plays an important role in ensuring a smooth partnership with your children’s book illustrator. If you do not trust them and their skill, you will never be able to feel satisfied with what they create for you. That is why it is always recommended that you work with an illustrator your gut approves.
Once you find an illustrator you can trust, you will be able to let their imagination run free. This means that they will come up with and discuss ideas that you might not have imagined.
Being the author, there will be times when you may feel that you are losing control of your own work. However, you can make yourself feel better knowing that you are working with a professional you have thoroughly vetted yourself. After all, bringing creativity to the table is what you are paying them.
Maintain a Distance
As an author, you may want to be involved in every little detail about your children’s book. In this effort, you may not realize that you are smothering your children’s book illustrator. You may make them feel limited, which can eventually lead to undermining their creativity.
Yes, you are free to share your vision with your illustrator, but they should not be enforced. Instead, give your illustrator a chance to show what they have in their mind.
Once you let go of micro-managing every step of the process, you will see how their experience and expertise will help your work stand out. In the meantime, you can focus on other important steps, such as promoting your book, creating an author’s website, and more.
Trust the Process
Every children’s book illustrator has their own process. When you hire an expert, they will likely discuss the process with you before starting. You and the illustrator can work together to define a process that works best for you.
But remember, every illustrator has their own unique process to work with children’s book authors. At times, you will have to make some adjustments to ensure the best interest of your work. Trusting the illustrator’s process will promote their creativity, ultimately leading to your success.
Sometimes, you will find their process to be a bit odd. Maybe they like to work odd hours or switch off their devices while working. In either case, you must give them room to bring out the soul of your children’s book and present it visually.
Stay Patient
Creating illustrations takes time and effort. You cannot expect your children’s book illustrator to provide you with what you need overnight. The process can take a few weeks and maybe even a month. You must have patience to ensure a smooth partnership with a children’s book illustrator.
Most illustrators start with character and concept sketches. This process can take weeks. For coloring and details, illustrators might even take a month or more, based on several specifics. Your children’s book illustrator will likely communicate the expected timeline with you.
In addition, you must also keep revisions in mind. Based on your preferences and level of satisfaction with their work, revisions can also impact your timeline. Hence, being patient while partnering up with an illustrator is always a good idea.
Give Feedback with Care
Communicating changes to your illustrator can be a challenging matter on its own. You and your illustrator are both creative individuals. This means that there is room for creative differences. These differences must be communicated the right way for the best outcomes.
The best way to communicate changes and provide feedback to your children’s book illustrator is to begin with appreciation. Do not hold back from telling them the things you love about their work.
Once you have set a positive tone for the conversation, you can talk about the things you are dissatisfied with and the changes you would like to see.
