Writing Wednesday – Illustrator Update!

I’ve probably mentioned here before, but I have two picture books scheduled for release in 2022, and over the past year I’ve been quietly working behind the scenes with my publishers to get the two manuscripts ready for the next stages of the publication process.

Picture books seems to follow a typical timeline – the manuscript gets accepted by a publisher, an editor is assigned to the project, the editor works with the author to perfect the manuscript, and the manuscript is passed by copy/line editors for final touches. Once the text is completely finalized, it then moves on to perhaps the most exciting part of the publishing journey – selecting an illustrator!

Now, I’m going to have to be a bit of a tease here, because I can’t tell you the name of my illustrator just yet, as there are still some details to be ironed out, but I thought I might give you a bit of a glimpse into the workings behind the illustrator selection process, at least as I’ve experienced them.

Several months ago, when my editor and I were just starting to work on my text, we had a long phone call together, in which we talked about the inspiration behind the story, and what I was envisioning when I wrote the scenes and creates the characters. The story takes places in the depths of winter, and was inspired by one of our trips to Japan, when we explored the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido in December. We talked about Japanese art and scenery, about Canadian winters, about different art styles and different picture books we’re drawn to. I created a Pinterest mood board, where I pinned different photographs and illustrations that I felt captured the essence of my story, its setting and its characters. I also created a list of illustrators and artists whose work resonated with me.

A few months later, my editor contacted me with a list of illustrators that she felt might be a good fit for the story. I looked through online portfolios and Instagram accounts, and together we talked about different elements of each artists’ styles, and I provided my thoughts on which illustrators’ work I preferred.

I know I’ve said this before, but I’ve been extremely lucky when it comes to the illustrators I’ve worked with so far in my career (Noel Tuazon and Emma Pedersen), both of whom have brought my characters to life so wonderfully. When my editor sent me her first list of potential illustrators, I was honestly floored – every single artist was so incredibly talented, I could hardly believe I could be so lucky yet again! While some art work appealed to me personally more than others, I could easily say that I would be thrilled to work with any one of them. Picking just one illustrator was not going to be an easy task!

My editor took my feedback, and worked with the editing and art direction team to further refine their list. One illustrator was removed, another was added. More feedback was given, more adjustments were made, until we were down to a shortlist of about three or four different illustrators.

While an author’s feedback is (ideally) valued by a publisher, in the end it is the publisher who has the final say on who will illustrate a given book. My editor took the shortlist of illustrators to a meeting, at which the editorial and art direction teams made their final selection, while I waited with anticipation.

Having made their decision, the publisher then has to work with the illustrator on the terms of the agreement – a popular illustrator might have several projects on the go at any time, and timelines and deadlines must be negotiated and contract terms finalized. Once that is all sorted out, it’s time for the illustrator, editor and art director to get working on bringing the text to life!

So, my work on this project is, for the time being, finished, and my characters have been placed in the capable hands of others. I know that for many authors this loss of control can be a bit uncomfortable or even upsetting, which is why self-publishing can be very appealing, as it allows you to control all aspects of your book’s production. I don’t really have this problem – I don’t become too emotionally attached to my characters, and I’m not particularly artistic, so I am very confident that I wouldn’t be able to do a better job of things if they were left in my hands! In fact, I quite like not knowing what my story is going to look like in its final illustrated form – the surprise is so exciting! Besides, my editor has made it very clear that she loves my story as much as I do, and I know she’ll be there for it every step of the way.

Hopefully I can reveal to you the identity of my publisher sometime soon, but until then you’ll just have to wait in anticipation, just as I did!

Do you find these behind-the-scenes glimpses interesting or helpful? Are there any elements of picture book publishing in particular that you’d like me to cover? Let me know – I’m always happy to share what knowledge I have!