Top 3 Myths About How Children's Authors and Illustrators Work Together

Me, editor Nancy Inteli, and author Tim Kubart

People are often shocked to hear how children’s picture book authors and illustrators work together (or not) in children’s publishing. Much of what is normal for the industry seems counterintuitive to everyone else. First, a disclaimer: these myths apply to traditional publishing only. Let’s get straight to the truth bombs!

Myth #1

Author hires their own illustrator

I get emails and email forwards all the time from well-meaning friends on this topic. They know someone who has a children’s book idea and intends to pitch to publishers, and they are looking to hire an illustrator. Sounds logical, right?  But, in reality, the author is not actually part of the process of selecting the illustrator.

How does it work, then? If your story is acquired by an editor at a traditional publisher, it will be assigned an art director. The editor and the art director work together to pair an artist to a manuscript. They look to find artists that will match the tone of the story, and who they think can bring a little something ‘extra’, visually, to the storytelling. They will reach out to the artist to review the manuscript, and, hopefully, that artist will connect to it and will accept the job.

An editor may engage an author from time to time about who is on their illustrator shortlist, but not always! The final say, 9 times out of 10, is with the publisher. Of course, there’s always a few exceptions.  A super-famous author—like a celebrity or bestseller—might have a say in who they want as illustrator, or an author-illustrator pairing that has worked together before and had a successful book in terms of sales may be paired together again. Sometimes, an agent might pitch an author and illustrator together if they are both their clients.

So, WHY doesn’t an author get a say in who the illustrator is, most of the time? The answer here is pretty simple. It’s not the author's area of expertise. The editor and art director are the experts at pairing an artist with a manuscript to get the most out of the story. Let them do their thing and watch the magic happen!

(Bonus tip: If you are author-only, your agent will pitch your manuscript as words-only. You’re good to go. Wondering how to get an agent? I’ve got a post on that!)

Myth #2

Author and illustrator collaborate directly

The truth behind this myth is always quite surprising. We all imagine author and illustrator, sitting together in harmony in some colorful and inspiring studio, bouncing ideas back and forth. Unfortunately, that’s a nope. There is actually no contact between the author and illustrator while the book is being illustrated. The author also does not give feedback directly to the illustrator. Totally counterintuitive, again, I know.

Why is it like this? The illustrator’s job is to bring another layer to the story in the visuals and complement the essence of the story. They need to be able to do their job without input from the author—this helps get the most out of the story. The illustrator brings a fresh perspective to the project, and can even add a layer to the story that isn’t in the words. (In my book, A HOP IS UP, there was no character or setting mentioned in the story. I had to make it all up! This is the beauty of the picture book medium).

The work flow usually looks something like this: an editors will show rough sketches to the author at some point in the process, which varies from publisher to publisher. The editor will take the author's feedback and parse through it, and pass along to the illustrator any comments that they feel will work for the project. There are likely more comments that come through when working on non-fiction books versus fiction, because accuracy is so important for non-fiction titles.

In my experience, authors have reached out to me via social media to say they saw the sketches and love them, or to pass along a few kind words, which is really nice and appreciated!! But from what I have seen, most everyone respects that line and allows the other half to do their job.

Myth #3

Author should put art notes for the illustrator in the manuscript

Unless there is something that is truly unclear in the manuscript, or the art is intended to be opposite of what the words say, the author should NOT make any notes or instructions for the illustrator. If you do put any there, the editor will strip them out before sending the manuscript to the illustrator. This is standard practice.

Let the illustrator do their thing. Just leave ‘em out!