Excellence, Not Adequate: You Don’t Need to Illustrate Your Own Book

I have been an artsy person my whole life. Before I dreamed of being a writer, I dreamed of being an artist. I still create art today. And I have never illustrated my own books.

I can picture exactly what I want on every page. The colors, the expressions, the angle of light. But picturing it and being able to create it are two very different gifts — and I’ve made peace with the fact that I have one more than the other. What I’ve gained instead is something better: a string of talented illustrators whose work has brought my stories to life in ways I never could have managed on my own.

You may have heard that publishers prefer author-illustrators — that you have a better shot at being signed if you can do both. There’s some truth to that, if you are genuinely, equally gifted in both areas. Equally is the operative word there. Equally gifted. Most of us are stronger in one than the other, and when we try to do both adequately instead of letting each person do one thing excellently, the book suffers.

Children’s books live or die on the marriage of text and image. When a writer who is merely competent with a pencil insists on illustrating their own work, they aren’t giving their story its best chance. They’re protecting an idea of what the book should look like instead of letting it become what it could be.

Find your gift. Work it as hard as you can. Then trust someone else to bring theirs. Besides, collaborating is so much fun!

Excellence over adequate — every time.

Want to learn more about collaboration or illustrating? You can get your questions answered at teh Storybook Inkspiration Retreat at the Castle. Check it out here.