Writers write. Illustrators illustrate. Publishers publish.
Right? Sure. Unless you’re like me and choose “D, all of the above.” I’m all over the place, and I love
it.
The first book with my name on it was written by someone else
who commissioned me to illustrate. The second was a story my son and I came up with at bedtime, and I
couldn’t help but illustrate it and put it all together for him. The third was inspired by niece of
mine. It rhymes, teaches a moral,
and comes as a package deal with the illustrations (I know, so many faux pas).
And the fourth doesn’t even have any words yet, just one full-page illustration
and a few ideas wafting around it.
While a writer of children’s or picture books may have at least
a rough vision for their story’s illustrations, an author/illustrator may very
well be composing paintings in her head while writing. Sometimes the illustrations come before
the words are even penned.
Our processes may differ, but I think author/illustrators can
agree on a couple constants. First, we couldn’t bear to have the stories of our
hearts illustrated by some stranger who will probably get everything wrong. Even if that stranger is a better
artist than we are, it would feel as if he were taking the brain out of our
baby and putting it into the perfectly polished body of someone else’s
baby. It would still be half ours,
kind of, and it may be beautiful, but all we really want is our own baby, the
way we made her. The other
constant among us is that we all want our books to be successful. We want people to read them, and love
them. We want to be published.
Unfortunately for author/illustrators, publication means that
we need to find an agent and/or a publisher who not only loves our story, but
loves our illustration style as well. And if they love both of those, they also
have to love them together. Every
step of the way, our chances of being traditionally published diminish.
So hold out your hopes for traditional publishing, if that’s
your end goal, but I suggest considering self-publishing for the following
reasons:
You get to finish your
book.
Self-publishing means that you get to see your entire project
through on your own terms, on your own timeline, and with your own creative
touch on every single aspect. You
cut out any kind of middleman and get full rights and total control. I do suggest reaching out and gathering
all the feedback you can possibly get, but in the end, all the final decisions
are yours alone. Cover art, illustrations, revisions--all of it will be exactly
how you envisioned it because you’re in charge. Of everything. Which leads me
to the next reason to self-publish.
You get to learn about
marketing your book.
Cutting out the middleman does mean more work for you. Even if
you are traditionally published at some point, no one will ever care about your
book as much you do, and even the biggest publishers will expect you to do your
part in marketing. So why not
learn what you can now, and get a head start? Establish a presence on Facebook,
Twitter, and your own blog or website, and start to make friends and build up
your networks. Research and experiment and find out what sells for you and what
doesn’t. One of my favorite things
to do to increase my readership and create publicity for my books is to attend
craft fairs and art shows. I sell
my art and jewelry and I hold a book signing at the booth for my books. In
every event, I sell more copies of my books than anything else.
Contact libraries, bookstores, toy
stores and gift shops to set up readings and book signings. You get to negotiate your own terms and
percentages. With every meeting
and event, marketing and selling yourself and your book will become easier and
more efficient. If you ever land a book deal, you’ll have an advantage, and if
you don’t, then at the very least you’re already doing something about getting
your book out there yourself.
Self-publishing is totes
legit.
There was a time when “self-publishing” was used
interchangeably with “vanity publishing.” That time is trying to hang on and
occasionally puts up a fuss, but it’s on its way out. Saying that you’re self-published is no longer followed up
by that look of “Oh… so not very good, huh.” In this DIY crowd funded entrepreneurial start-up
world, people respect those who go it alone, put their best work out there, and
let the people judge for themselves. My first book signing was at the Stanford Children’s Hospital gift shop,
and even in such an upscale area, people were impressed, and not disappointed,
by my being self-published. When people ask who I publish through and my answer
is myself, their curiosity is actually piqued and they want to know more about
the process. They then read
through the book and almost always buy it. Who cares how it’s published if it’s good? I’ve had a few
people buy my books just so they can say, “I knew you when....” Be confident and don’t make excuses for
being self-published, but if it helps boost your confidence, use phrases like
“cutting out the bureaucracy/red tape” and say “indie author” or “independently
published” instead of “self-published.”
If you are interested in traditional publishing someday, be
sure to check that your target publishers will accept self-published
manuscripts, as there are some who will not. But if they do, and if you’re up for a little adventure,
self-publish. You’ll learn a lot about every step of the process, and whether or
not a publisher ever picks up your book, you’ll still get it out into the
world.
If you ever have any
questions about my self-publishing experience, find me at:
Facebook.com/SkipperBooks
www.SkipperBooks.com
@Skipper_Bay on Twitter
Here are my books (I
published through CreateSpace, owned by Amazon, and I love it):
The Bear, The Box and the Boy (also available in bilingual
English/Spanish, Russian, or Chinese) http://amzn.com/1502493136
The Girl Who Knew She Was a Princess http://amzn.com/1503321916
And the hand-painted
wearable art and miniature paintings I mentioned:
http://Etsy.com/shop/SkipperBay
***********
Taryn is offering a giveaway of one of her books! If you are interested, please let her know in the comments which of her two books you'd like, and include your Twitter handle or e-mail address so she can contact you. Taryn will choose a random winner on Saturday night, so you have until then to enter! International entries are welcome.***********GIVEAWAY CLOSED. Thanks to those who entered!
