How I Met an Illustrator and Accidentally Became a Children’s Author

OK, it was kind of an accident

Photo by Philip Charter, the author

What is the hardest thing about publishing a children’s book you’ve written?
Getting it illustrated.

Unless you are one of the rare breeds of writer who is also a professional illustrator, you’ll need someone to help you make your book look like… well, a children’s book.

Without vibrant and funny images, your picture book or mid-grade reader won’t interest kids at all.

As an author, your illustration choices are as follows:

1. Get an agent and sell the book to a publisher
   (This is extremely hard and likely to take years)
2. Hire an illustrator through a marketplace like Fiverr, Upwork or Reedsy
   (This is daunting, and is a huge upfront cost)
3. Use AI
   (💩💩💩)
4. Persuade an illustrator to join your project, working in exchange for royalties.
   (This is extremely difficult, as most freelancers prefer guaranteed payment)

I settled on Option 4.
This is NOT just because I’m a cheapskate who doesn’t believe in his project. Quite the opposite: I’m a cheapskate who believes wholeheartedly in The A-Z of Rotten Uncles.