How to Get a Children's Book Published & Illustrated

Illustrations help children imagine settings and characters.

After you’ve written your masterpiece of children’s literature, you’ll want to gain an audience by publishing your work. However, some books, especially children’s books, are more appealing when paired with colorful illustrations. When attempting to add illustrations to your work, you won’t need to look much further than the publishing company.

Instructions

1. Perform an Internet search for publishing companies that provide illustration services. These companies strive to pair authors with illustrators during the publishing process.

2. Send your work to the publishing company. Different companies will have different submission guidelines, so carefully study these rules. You can send visual references with your work if the company permits illustration suggestions; however, never insist your visuals be included in the final product. If the company doesn’t like the visuals, they may reject your entire manuscript.

3. Wait for a letter of acceptance or rejection. Due to the competitiveness of the publishing field, don’t expect to receive immediate acceptance. If rejected, remain persistent and send your manuscript to another company. If you're accepted, the publisher will also give you information on its suggested illustrator.

4. Examine the portfolio of the illustrator assigned to the project. If you don’t like the work of the chosen illustrator, you may decline the offer; however, this may hurt your chances of being published.

5. Retain the illustrator’s contact information in case future projects arise. If the same company publishes another one of your works in the future, you may be able to request the same illustrator.

Tips & Warnings

• If you know a professional illustrator, you can personally ask him to create visuals for your story. However, this will make the publishing process more difficult. You will need to find a publisher that approves of the combination of the art and the story. Expect to face the same challenge if you're trying to illustrate your own book.

References

• Catapult: Ask an Expert
• Publishing Central: How to Get a Children's Book Published

Resources

• Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators: About SCBWI