I wrote the initial drafts of most of my picture books many years ago, starting when I was pregnant with my oldest child. I was sitting (my most frequent activity at the time) on our front deck looking at oak trees and at the acorns that had fallen on the deck when I thought of the title Acorn.
This soon turned into a very short picture book manuscript, later titled Mommy Calls Me Acorn. Other manuscripts followed over the next few years, and I eventually got an agent. That went nowhere, despite the agent’s best efforts, and I put the books aside.
I had begun self-publishing novels by that time, but my assessment of the technology available to self-publishing authors ruled out trying to turn my picture book manuscripts into books. More years passed, more novels came into the world, and the time finally came when I felt more confident about self-publishing picture books. That left one major obstacle: I can’t draw or paint, at least not nearly well enough to be my own illustrator.
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Searching and finding
So, I started searching. And I loved the search! I got to look at so many talented artists’ portfolios and Instagram pages.
Eventually, I narrowed my search down to a few artists and paid them to do sample illustrations for me. I chose one artist, based on how her style would not only bring my book to life but add a helpful touch of whimsy, and negotiated a contract with her. (I’m a lawyer, so I never just sign a contract as is). I ended up using one of the other illustrators for two of my later books.
I had no idea how much of a learning experience this first collaboration would be. And the first step was to realize that it was a collaboration, that the book would be as much a product of my illustrator’s creativity and vision as of my own, and that I had to give up some measure of control.
That isn’t easy for me. I’m not sure the phrase “control freak” is still current, but it describes me nonetheless.
Once I realized I had to yield control at times, I then had the task of deciding when to stick up for my original vision of a page. It sometimes took multiple email exchanges before I could tell whether I’d been unnecessarily stubborn. Sometimes the result of such exchanges was neither a “victory” for me or for my illustrator, but my illustrator coming up with a new and inspired idea, better than anything I’d started with, to satisfy my concerns.
Possible stumbling blocks
As I’ve continued to work with illustrators, I’ve noticed problems that can result from insufficient or unclear communication. These problems include:
Lack of clarity about the intended format
Even if you think both you and the illustrator are envisioning the same page dimensions, it’s best to make absolutely sure, even if it feels as if you’re asking a dumb or even an insulting question. This problem becomes more acute if the author fails to pay attention to the dimensions of the sketch or the colored art the illustrator sends. A belated realization that you and the illustrator aren’t on (so to speak) the same page can require last-minute redrawing, with the inevitable angst and possibly some additional expense.
Conflicting assumptions about who’s responsible for what
If the author is hiring someone to do formatting, the illustrator needs to know that. If the author hopes the illustrator will help with formatting, the illustrator really needs to know, and to weigh in on whether that’s acceptable. Both parties also have to know who’s adding the text to the illustrations, and the author needs to double-check that there’s a good place in each illustration for the number and color of words the author intends to include on that page.
Lack of clarity about color spaces
This is an area where a professional formatter can save you some headaches. In general (caveat: I’m not a professional printer or formatter), if your final product will be viewed digitally (e.g. in an ebook), the pages will need to be in RGB color space.
If your final product is a printed paper book, on the other hand, they’ll need to be in CMYK color space. Whoever’s making your digital book available or printing your paper book may or may not convert content from one color space to another. Some image processing software can do such conversions, with varying degrees of success.
Lack of clarity about what’s included in the total price or in particular installments, or about when agreed-upon amounts will be paid
These matters can easily be specified in the written contract.
Lack of clarity about who owns what rights.
Authors may assume that because the book started with their words or because they found the illustrator rather than vice versa, that they own the rights to use the illustrations in any way they wish. Illustrators, who are after all the creators of the art, may assume that they retain the full copyright, just as they would if they had created the same work for some other purpose.
A failure of mutual understanding here can cause hard feelings or even, in the worst case, later litigation. The contract must make clear what, if any, rights the artist retains and what rights the author has licensed.
Even if the illustrator gives the author full rights to use the art in the published work, and in any promotion of that work, what about products other than books? What about tee shirts, greeting cards, plush toys, or use in some other media like a movie or television series?
If the contract says that any rights not specified belong to one of the contracting parties, such additional rights can be negotiated later. If the contract doesn’t have such a catch-all clause, things could conceivably get messy when one of the parties wants to market such products, or to let someone else do so.
The wonderful parts
Please don’t let the foregoing list of possible problems discourage you. It should be simple enough to avoid them. And speaking as an author, the rewards of collaborating with an illustrator are many.
While the illustration process is underway, every day dawns with the promise of a present, a new sketch or full illustration, bringing your words to life and often adding elements you never dreamt of. (For example, three of my picture books feature repeated and delightful appearances of animals, none of whom appeared in the text). There’s nothing quite like the thrill of seeing an attachment in an email from your illustrator and opening it up.
If, like me, you find illustrators online, there’s also the possibility, perhaps even the likelihood, that you will end up getting to know people from other countries, other cultures. None of the three illustrators with whom I’ve worked so far is from the United States where I live – let alone from the same part of the country.
And of course, there’s the precious chance an illustrator gives you to see your picture book come to life and venture forth into the world.
Now go forth and collaborate!
About Karen A. Wyle
Karen A. Wyle has wanted to be a writer since she was about nine years old. By the age of 10, she had attempted (and thought she had written) a novel, 200 penciled pages which her saint of a mother typed and bound so young Karen could feel “published.”
After a detour of several decades, Wyle resumed writing novels, initially science fiction and later including fantasy and historical romance. In 1991, her first pregnancy turned her thoughts to the idea of writing picture books. Over the next few years, she wrote several picture book MSS but did not begin the process of seeking an illustrator for any of them until 2021
Her picture books currently include You Can’t Kiss A Bubble, illustrated by Siski Kalla; When It’s Winter, illustrated by Barbara Dessi; Wind, Ocean, Grass, illustrated by landscape painter Tomasz Mikutel; and Where Fireflies Sleep, again illustrated by Barbara Dessi. Wyle and Mikutel are currently working on a picture book biography of composer Joaquin Rodrigo.
Author links
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Read my reviews of Karen A. Wyle’s picture books here!
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