Hi All I have finished a children's book and am considering self publishing through Amazon. Can anyone please suggest where I might be able to get illustrations done at low cost? Many thanks
google freelance artists. A lot of intermediary sites will let you advertise your project and your artwork budget. Freelance artists can then decide if they want to work with/for you. Failing that, pop down to your local art college and speak with a teacher, he/she may put you in touch with good artists who'll work for cheap and of course credit in the book.
Try some illustration students at a nearby university. However, if you're wanting professionals, be prepared to pay a decent price. Artists, like us writers, know the value of their work, and it takes time - it's hard work. Whatever you're willing to pay, it will likely reflect the quality of the artwork that you'll get. If you're willing to pay a little bit more, Deviant Art is a site with thousands of artists and a lot of them take commissions and their artwork is excellent. Here's the link: www.deviantart.com Given that it is a children's book, are you sure you wanna go self-pub? I imagine parents and children would likely want a physical book in their hands, complete with high quality, full-colour illustrations. To do that via self-pubbing is gonna be very, very costly. You couldn't go down the e-route only.
mckk is right... the cost of self-publishing a picture book in full color would be so high you would have to set the purchase price far above what parents would be willing to pay for a book by a new and unknown writer... and a children's p/b sold as an e-book only wouldn't sell, for the reason he gave...
You can sell picture books as eBooks. From what I've read, the iPad seems to be the most successful platform for it, though Amazon's Kindle Fire does OK as well. The publisher Scholastic had a study out earlier this year showing a marked increase in ebook reading by children over the last two years (the percentage of children who've read an ebook has gone up to around 45%, from roughly half of that in 2010, and it is only expected to keep going up). The kids who had read ebooks still preferred the physical book, but even that percentage was only in the high 50s. By way of anecdote, I know a number of people with kids in the picture-book age range, and every one of them reads picture books on an iPad or Android tablet, in addition to reading physical books. You can sell picture books in an ebook only format. Getting quality illustrations is not going to be cheap, however, and getting the word out about your book once it is published is also going to take a lot of work.
Many thanks for the replies. That's given me lots to think about. I agree with Steerpike, whether we like it or not, ebooks are becoming more and more popular. I must admit I do like a traditional hand held book, but I have bought an ereader so I can take my 'large collection' of books around with me (i.e. on holiday) when I can't decide which physical book to take! I have a friend who also writes (semi professionally) and she used a website called www.fivver.com where apparently, people who wanted the experience, would do illustrations for as little as £5. The website doesn't appear to be running anymore. I think the college would be a great place to start, somewhere I hadn't considered. Thanks again Wendy
If you are interested in writing children's books, you should check out the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. ( http://www.scbwi.org ) I am not a member, and have no direct experience with them, so I can't give any real opinions of them. However, I do know that they are a well-respected organization and I know of other people who are members. Since I don't write or illustrate children's books, I have no need to become involved with them. But if I did write books for kids, I'd certainly investigate them further. I'd think they would have members who have been in your situation.
