Indie Authors: The Joy of Working with Artists

Page with No Words, by Illustrator Nancy Batra

Today we indie authors—an author who has published a book at personal expense—a self-published author—have some advantages over traditionally-published authors. We are our own boss, we can produce and publish our work in record time, and we can find many professional individuals and companies who help us turn out quality products. There is a downside, of course, but we won’t go there for now.

One of my greatest joys as an indie author is having the privilege of working with four artists: three illustrators and a voice actor. In each project I’ve had a say, and have had the enjoyment of considering the beginning sketches, and as in the case of my first book, Secret in the Stars, have been rewarded with the completion of the final product. The same is true for the audiobook. Here is the process as each project has evolved so far.

Secret in the Stars: Tiffany Tutti began by sending me sketches of her vision, which she created from notes I sent her. We sent the files back and forth for edits until they were completed. Tiffany created extra illustrations for my website as well. Due to the nature of the project, I own the files. This is key, as I have the freedom to use Tiffany’s illustrations in all my materials.

Secret in the Stars audiobook: I chose Findaway Voices for the company to produce my audiobook after watching “Is Findaway Voices Worth It?” by Dale L. Roberts on YouTube. Also, Draft2Digital, a self-publishing company, highly recommends Findaway Voices. I am glad I took their advice because Findaway Voices is a terrific company to work with. The price for producing an audiobook is reasonable and no payment is made until the finished product is approved by the author.

  • Findaway Voices begins by matching your project with comparable voice actors. I had a choice of 5-6 actors, learned about their backgrounds, and listened to a short excerpt of my book by each one. I chose the one whose “child’s voice” I liked best: Kae Marie Denino.
  • Kae narrated a larger section of my book for me to comment on. Once I gave my approval, she finished narrating the book.
  • She and I messaged back and forth, which helped solidify how she interpreted the various voices. 
  • The audiobook will be available soon on Amazon.

Secret in the Mist: Danika Corrall, the web designer who created my website, has agreed to illustrate Book 2 in the Abi Wunder Mystery series. Danika has designed the cover and will create the illustrations as soon as the manuscript is ready.


A Packrat Holiday: Thistletoe’s Gift
: Last but not least is my work with illustrator Nancy Batra, who has agreed to illustrate my picture books. This packrat story sat in my “drawer” for years. I reworked it (many times), especially by cutting down the words and taking into account how the illustrations tell much of the story. I wound up with two pages in the book with no words, which was the most fun I had with the project.

I created quite a few book dummies for the packrat story before coming up with the one that worked best for me: simply 8 ½ x 11” paper folded in two, stapled together and numbering 32 pages. Nancy and I collaborated on the ideas for the illustrations by sending the sketches back and forth. She has agreed to illustrate more of my picture book stories, which are seeing the light of day for the first time in a long time.

There are too many joys of being a children’s author to name here, but working with these artists has allowed me to visualize my stories on paper, not just with words, but with an artist’s eye for things I haven’t even thought of. The experience has been one of the most rewarding of my journey into children’s literature.

Sources: 

Dale L. Roberts on Findaway Voices can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwUP7pJYWGI

Danika Corrall Design Studio: www.danikacorrall.com

Findaway Voices: https://www.findawayvoices.com  

Nancy Batra Design Studio: www.illustratornancy.com 

A note about last month's post, "Is an Indie Kirkus Review Worth It?" 

I talked to a salesperson at Kirkus Review about the possibility of placing an ad in one of Kirkus's publications, their website, magazine, or newsletter. She informed me that Secret in the Stars was earmarked as a Kirkus "recommended" book. Great news that I can include in my promo materials. I asked her why I hadn't been informed of this designation and she said Kirkus doesn't have an icon for this, such as the star for starred reviews, but that when there is room, Kirkus will recommend these books in their materials. The only way to learn about this designation is to call. I recommend any author who has received a Kirkus review to call to see if your book has received this designation.

Linda Wilson, a former elementary teacher and ICL graduate, has published over 150 articles for adults and children, and several short stories for children. She has recently become editor of the New Mexico SCBWI chapter newsletter, and is working on several projects for children. Secret in the Stars: An Abi Wunder Mystery, Linda's first book, is available on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/author/lindawilsonchildrensauthor. The next book in the Abi Wunder series, Secret in the Mist, will be available soon. Follow Linda: https://www.lindawilsonauthor.com.

 


9 comments:

Jams and Books said...

I am looking forward to your new book. It is very interesting to read about your process and how you work with others to bring your dream to reality! Thank you!

Kae Denino said...

Linda! This is such a great view of the process--thank you for writing it. I love Secret in the Stars. It seems almost timeless in its depiction of childhood, and the back and forth between real clues and false, half-heard conversations, and characters with dual loyalties--really keeps the readers keyed and reading on. Much peace to you and yours!

Karen Cioffi said...

Linda, this is a great article on the process you went through to get illustrations for you books and for hiring a voice actor. I read Secret in the Stars and agree with Kae, a great read - kids will love it!

Carolyn Howard-Johnson said...

What a lovely , unexpected topic, Linda! I once cited the illustrator of a children’s book I reviewed and received an effusive thank you note. He said reviewers rarely remember them!

Terry Whalin said...

Linda,

What a terrific article about the creative process of the artwork for your book. I found it fascinating.

Terry

lastpg said...

Thank you everyone! I really should be working on marketing but have so much more fun doing the creative side! One of these days I will go to market. But I have only one book published right now so I made the decision to crank out more books before I spend time marketing. I think it's a sound idea and hopefully I will get more bang for my buck!

Dale L. Roberts said...

Thanks so much for the mention! The head of Findaway Voices discovered your article and shared it with me. Great post, by the way.

deborah lyn said...

Wow Linda, It's not a small thing to find joy in working with artists! And you have quite a team! Thank you so much for sharing. deborah

lastpg said...

Wow Dale, it's great to hear from you! I have not only learned a lot from your YouTube videos, I've also enjoyed them! And Deborah, thank you. It's wonderful to hear from an artist herself about what joy art is!

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