What to Consider When You Look for an Illustrator
The selection of your creative co-parent
The selection of an illustrator is like choosing a creative co-parent for your literary baby. Your illustrator will influence both small and grand decisions. The dynamics of the author-illustrator relationship can vary greatly depending on many aspects.
Traditional publishing vs. self-publishing
When you work with a publishing house, they have full control when it comes to illustrations, promotion, sales, and sometimes even more aspects. This handing over of control is an enticing trade for some. The author focuses on their writing and will receive help with the parts of the process they have no time or drive to work on. Most books published through a publishing house have higher sales numbers than self-published works as well.
Many author-illustrator relationships in the traditional publishing world play out as such: the author gives the text to the illustrator, and the illustrator makes their drawings based on their interpretations of the writing and what they want to do. Many times, there’s a middle person in there too: the publisher. A lot of authors have no direct communication with their illustrators.
