FINDING AN ILLUSTRATOR

Okay, so your book is finished, and you can't draw! This is what most Children's Authors are faced with, including myself. Once I finished my first book, The Greenhouse Kids, Dan Delion's Secret I had to jump over the next hurdle, finding an illustrator.

I called and met with an instructor at our local University of Windsor to see if they had any recommendations. They did for editing, but not for illustrations. I checked with two graphic artists that I know, and I did receive two recommendations from them. I also received a third recommendation from a local graphic arts company in Windsor, near to where I live.

I was at a point where I was ready to proceed with the illustrations even though I had yet to find a publisher. If you have a publisher, check with them before proceeding with finding an illustrator, because many of them supply their own.

At this point, I was unsure if I would be self-publishing, or if I was going to get picked up by a publisher, so I decided to proceed with hiring an illustrator myself. I sent out a description of the characters to all three illustrators and asked them to forward their artwork to me, along with their pricing. I then selected Constance Rose Zonta, a local illustrator, as I preferred her work best. We then came to an agreement on price and signed a contract between the two of us. I looked up a general contract on the web, and we altered parts of it as agreed upon.

Shortly after, I received the call from my publisher, Borealis Press, that they were interested in publishing. I explained to them that I already had the illustrations done. This was not a problem. In the end, I paid for the illustrations, but I also got the artwork that I wanted, so I was not unhappy at all.

I am meeting with the illustrator this evening regarding my second book in the series, The Greenhouse Kids, Ghost Walk. Hopefully this will go smoothly.

GETTING KIDS BOOKS PUBLISHED

Getting a children's book published is not easy. Once I finished my manuscript, I edited it several times, creating a polished story to send out to a variety of publishers.

I picked up a copy of the Writer's Market, Where & How to Sell What You Write. All publishers are listed, and a description is provided about the company. I chose 30 publishers, went to each website and followed the submission guidelines. If you do not follow the submission guidelines, your story may end up in the trash can without being read.

Six months later, after sending out 30 manuscripts, I heard from a publisher who was interested in publishing the book. This was an exciting day! My publisher told me that he receives about 500 manuscripts from authors each year and he sends out 480 rejection letters. Stay positive and keep sending your manuscript out.

My first book, The Greenhouse Kids, Dan Delion's Secret was released in June 2009. The second book in the series, The Greenhouse Kids, Ghost Walk will be released this Spring 2010. For more info, visit http://www.greenhousekids.com/