Hi, I’m Looking for an Illustrator for my Children’s Book…..10 Questions to ask first

[OnceUponASketch]

Someone wants you to draw their children's book for them! How do you respond? What do you ask? I have gotten this email so many times that I finally wrote a template that I use to send out to authors to gauge where they are in the process. I put the template up on my blog and explain my reasoning behind asking the questions of authors that I ask.

Let me know what you think!

Link to blog post and template of letter

OnceUponASketch

[dpaint]

It would be better if you laid out what industry rates are instead of skirting the issue. You made fun of $5 for each picture but even $200 for each picture doesn't come close to professional rates.

[Lady Medusa]

dpaint - over 200$ for each picture? Is that also for first time illustrators and writers and keeping in mind its a children's book?

[dpaint]

A professional rate sets a standard. I don't know what writers standards for children's books are but I'm sure the info is available online. I have friends who write for newspapers and magazine and get 10 cents a word.

Say you could design all the illustrations sequentially and then draw and paint one a day. Assuming you are working for a client and not yourself, you still have to meet with the book designer and publisher discuss layout, palette, style and what exactly you will illustrate for each page. At 200 an illustration you would be making about 12.50 an hour after you factor in your time for meetings and time for redo's or tweaking.

Edit:
Maybe Elwell can shed light on this better since he is actively working in children's books. Tristan you out there?

[QueenGwenevere]

Last I checked, children's books tend to be a flat fee for the entire job, plus royalties. The advance fee may be comparatively low if the royalties are high and vice versa, it all depends on negotiations. Illustration payments may vary depending on whether the illustrator is also the writer, and on how much illustration there is. Also children's books may range from 6 pages to 32 pages (or more), and may be fully or partially illustrated, so that all gets taken into account.

Graphic Artists Guld average prices for children's books are approximately:
$3,000 - $40,000 advance + 3-4% royalty on list (illustration only)
$10,000 - $60,000 advance + 10% royalty on list (illustration and text)

or if not negotiating a royalty,
$5,000 - $20,000 flat fee for 32-page hardcovers
c. $1,700 flat fee for 6-page toddler books

And then there's royalty escalation, subsidiary rights royalties, etc. etc. So the initial fee may be unimpressive, but the royalties can become quite lucrative, depending.

[dpaint]

why would you get less for a 32 page hardcover than a 6 page toddler book? That's weird.

5000/ 32 = $156

1700/ 6 = $283

[Star Eater]

Dont forget to take tax into account when quoting. Remember what you will be taking home as opposed to what must be set aside.
A lot of the publishing houses can submit the tax on your behalf.

[QueenGwenevere]

why would you get less for a 32 page hardcover than a 6 page toddler book? That's weird.

I have no idea, actually. The children's book market can be a little strange.

It might be because the 32-page book may be half text/half images, or mostly text plus a few images, while toddler books are ALL full double-page spreads? I don't know a whole lot about toddler board books, myself, except that they're treated as a different animal than regular books.

[OnceUponASketch]

It would be better if you laid out what industry rates are instead of skirting the issue. You made fun of $5 for each picture but even $200 for each picture doesn't come close to professional rates.

Not skirting the issue at all. The reason you don't say a price is because all those factors contribute to how much you get paid for a book. The bigger the publisher, the larger the distribution, the larger the print run, the more rights they ask for, the number of pages, complexity of the images, all these things figure into the price. If someone is writing you out of the blue, you need to know that information to come to a reasonable quote. Also, if you are dealing with a self publication scenario, you are probably not going to be using industry standards. If anything you have to set your own standards. Each aspect of the children's market pays differently. A children's book is a blanket term, but for many it includes board books, picture books, picture storybooks and even coloring books.

So it has always worked out best for me to get all the information first before you start throwing prices at them. It really depends on what they need.

Don't get me wrong, a traditional publisher will come at you with a price already in mind. They'll tell you up front if you express interest. Most of the questions in here aren't for that type of a situation. These are much more geared towards the rise of self publishing and e-books and a lot of people who read a book, assume they can do it too and try to find an illustrator to draw their book having done no research as to what's expected or goes into publishing a children's book.

dpaint - over 200$ for each picture? Is that also for first time illustrators and writers and keeping in mind its a children's book?

Lady medusa a publisher that approaches you to do a job is doing so because you have shown that you work at a professional level. They don't have first timer rates per se. As you work and your resume expands as does your name and renown(fingers crossed) you can demand more for your work. But no 200, isn't high at all. A children's picture book can be as simple as colored clip art or as fantastically complicated as the most intricate of illustrations. It all depends on the story, the age group targeted and the style of the illustrator. Don't sell yourself short!

I have no idea, actually. The children's book market can be a little strange.

It might be because the 32-page book may be half text/half images, or mostly text plus a few images, while toddler books are ALL full double-page spreads? I don't know a whole lot about toddler board books, myself, except that they're treated as a different animal than regular books.

Toddler books, (board books) generally have around 16 pages, are for ages 2 and under and are around 100 words or less. Usually no words, a word, or one sentence per page. The images have to be very simple and bright to appeal to a child of that age. Very often these types of books will incorporate textures and whatnot to increase interactivity and a tactile role for the child. Think the bunny has actual fur and whatnot.

[Elwell]

The first thing you tell them is that, if they're not planning on self publishing, they shouldn't be looking for an illustrator. Publishers/agents/etc would much rather review unillustrated manuscripts than completed packages, unless the story and pictures are by the same person. If the story is good, the publisher will take care of finding an illustrator for it. For one thing, publishers like to pair first-time authors with established illustrators, and vice versa. It gives them some production and marketing insurance. For another thing, if the story is good but the illustrations aren't, and the author already has some sort of contractual relationship with the artist, then taking the book on becomes much more complicated. (BTW, even illustrated submissions aren't completed books, but a dummy with the full book laid out in sketches, plus a few completed pieces. If somebody isn't familiar with industry standards, all the more reason not to get involved with them.)

If the book is being self published, then the author should be looking for an illustrator, but I would advise all illustrators to run and hide 90% of the time. And if you do go into a relationship with a self-published author, in general it's best to negotiate as much up front as possible, and don't rely on royalties, because there won't be any. Every author thinks their property is The Next Big Million Dollar Sensation. It's not.
(Full disclosure: I'm working for a self-published author at the moment. He is a professional with a track record and the means to fully support and promote the project, who is paying my market rate. I wouldn't be doing the job if he weren't.)

[Elwell]

A helpful thing to do when contacted by would-be children's authors who might not be familiar with the realities of the market is to get them in touch with the SCBWI.

[OnceUponASketch]

A helpful thing to do when contacted by would-be children's authors who might not be familiar with the realities of the market is to get them in touch with the SCBWI.

Maybe I'm too nice and give them the benefit of the doubt. But so far, in my experience, this letter does one of two things; scares them off because they haven't taken any of the questions into consideration and have no idea how to answer them, or it makes them ask questions. In the case of the latter I can direct them to the proper books or resources that they should be using like SCBWI and varied books they can check out from the library.

Truthfully it's not our responsibility to educate budding writers. But I've been young, dumb and over excited too. These folks have dreams and aspirations and I don't mind pointing them in the right direction. Though it does irk me something fierce at times. Especially with the internet at your fingertips and a quick google of "how do I publish a children's book" will point you to MULTIPLE links that tell you what to and not to do. Especially the fact that publishers don't want pictures with the book unless you are a writer/artist with both skills at a professional level. (Which is not very common!)

This list of questions helps me thin out the herd. I've worked with several self publishers and many of those relationships have been great. But I get many prospects a month that aren't worth considering. (that 90% you speak of) So for me it helps.

To be fair, and not just harp on the writers, there are many illustrators who don't know all these things either. Since I've posted this I'm amazed how many questions it generates for artists as well. So I'm glad that it may help them to consider things they may have never thought of before. Illustration is way more than just drawing. We need to know the business end of things as well. Both writers and artists. I'm glad we have communities that don't mind sharing information with one another.