{"id":1266,"date":"2012-11-23T14:13:54","date_gmt":"2012-11-23T14:13:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomastaylor-author.com\/?p=1266"},"modified":"2022-01-17T12:24:28","modified_gmt":"2022-01-17T12:24:28","slug":"how-to-find-an-illustrator-for-your-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.paulkirkdesign.co.uk\/devblock\/ttaylor111\/how-to-find-an-illustrator-for-your-book\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Find an Illustrator for your Book"},"content":{"rendered":"

Okay, so that\u2019s a title designed to attract attention. But it does refer to a question I often get asked by people writing children\u2019s books. People writing children\u2019s books outside<\/em> the industry, that is, but wanting to get in. The hard fact is though, anyone asking that whilst planning to get published the traditional route is unwittingly waving one of the reddest of the red flags that drive prospective agents and editors away. Because here\u2019s the thing: the author almost never<\/em> chooses the illustrator for their book.<\/p>\n

This is because the look of a book is so vitally important to selling and marketing these days, that editors want to be in firm control of the visual side, especially with a new and unknown author. And this is as true of picture books as it is of the cover for your novel. Declaring that your Aunty Joan — whose watercolours are always so popular at the church f\u00eate — will \u2018be doing the pictures\u2019 is the kiss of death to your chances. It\u2019s never been easier for publishers to say \u2018no\u2019, remember? Even if your aunty Joan is twice winner of the Kate Greenaway Award<\/a>, and you are Neil Gaiman, your future editor will still want to be the one who finally decides.<\/p>\n

But this is good news, isn\u2019t it? It means all you have to do is sell the text, then sit back and let the professionals handle the rest. And you\u2019ll always get some<\/em> say in the matter. Of course, if you are aiming for self-publication then you are free to choose who you like and handle it all yourself. But that\u2019s a different blog post. This one has just run out of room…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Okay, so that\u2019s a title designed to attract attention. But it does refer to a question I often get asked by people writing children\u2019s books. People writing children\u2019s books outside…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,45,46,47,48],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1266","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-childrens-books","7":"category-finding-an-illustrator","8":"category-illustrator","9":"category-novel","10":"category-picture-books"},"yoast_head":"\nHow to Find an Illustrator for your Book - Thomas Taylor - Author<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How to Find an Illustrator for your Book - a question I often get asked by people writing children\u2019s books.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Find an Illustrator for your Book - 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