Hello, I am writing a fairly insightful novel, which follows a Pan Am captain around the world in the sixties. It is an allegory-riddled work of literary fiction, which deals with many social issues, from chauvinism to racism. The main character, the pilot, suffers from a highly addictive personality. He has a drinking problem, gamebles like a degenerate, and is forever drowning in a sea of meaningless women. Think Hank Moody in the sky. Anyway, I plan on having it published once I'm done (I've already been in touch with a few different literary agents to ask them a few questions), but I think that your standard, novelistic approach might not serve me the best purpose. I actually think that illustrating the book would be a good idea, but not in your usual way. Normally illustrations are found in children's books, obviously, but my novel is intended for a mature, intelligent audience. So you'd think that it should just be an endless wall of words. My idea is to self-illustrate it (the art isn't a problem, I can definitely do it) but with heavy, stylised drawings. Think bottles of brandy, cigarettes burning away in ashtrays, dark and moody pieces which really give the novel a unique feel. What do you think of this? Do you think that I should illustrate it (I don't mean I personally, I just mean should it be illustrated at all)? Thanks in advance for any feedback.
I don't think that's a problem. There are some adult books with illustrations. If you go with a traditional publisher, however, they'll probably want to make the call on that an arrange for the illustration if they feel it is warranted.
I suspected as much, I suppose if illustrations are to be used they'd want them to be of very high quality. I'm no Da Vinci or anything, but I think my sketches are pretty good. Maybe when I get some together I'll post and see what people think of them.
