Well hellooooo. As of today, I am over the moon - my children's book has an illustrator (see The Happiness Thread for more information)! But she and I were discussing today how it would work. When I'm ready to send the book (non-illustrated) off to a publisher, would the illustrator just prepare a two-page spread sheet of her work for the publisher to see? I presume this is how it works, but I am unsure. To put it another way, does the book have to be fully illustrated before sending it off, or is it a matter of the publisher liking my story and then, if they do like it, ask for it to be fully illustrated, too? The children's book is Christianity-based, and Christian publishers tend to want an illustrator on-board when things are sent to them. I'm not sure how it works with secular publishers. Just thought I'd tell you all, in case it mattered. Thanks a bunch!
With regular publishing, the publisher would pick their own illustrators and it's my impression that you'd probably not have much say in the matter. But if you say Christian publishing wants it, then well done on finding an illustrator whom you like! I'm afraid though that I don't know anything about it so couldn't tell you what the process with a Christian publisher would be... but hope someone else on here might know God bless
Yes, the publisher chooses the illustrator. Your chosen illustrator can enter a bid, with portfolio samples, separate from your manuscript submission. The manuscript is accepted first, on its own merits. The illustrator is then selected at a later stage. With a smaller publisher, you may have more influence over the choice of illustrator than with a larger house that has solid working relationships with several reliable, talented illustrators.
