Frequently Asked Questions: Things I get asked often!

It's actually very straight forward! We can do most things for you, from help and advice with the initial idea, to creating the book itself, and of course - the illustrations! We can also advise and support you when you are dealing with the printers! 🙂 

I have outlined my easy 7 step process to give you an idea of how we can bring your book to life!

• Step #1: Develop your story
• Step #2: Storyboard/layout
• Step #3: Sketches
• Step #4: Illustrations
• Step #5: Digital proof and review
• Step #6: Choose printing options
• Step #7: Receive your book

For more information on my process and examples of our work, please visit my Children's book illustration page.

1. Our Process

   1. Firstly, it all begins with a chat about your story. Creating your book, or books, is such a fun adventure, and to ensure that it reaches its maximum potential, it’s vital that I have a good understanding of the story, its characters, its focus; in fact, anything that you think is important. During this conversation, we will also discuss and decide on the style of illustration you would prefer for your project. To help choose this, please visit our “Children’s Book Illustration” page, and check out the five styles I offer. While all of this is achievable via emails, I would much prefer a chat over the phone to help me get a better feel for the project.
      

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   2. Deposit. Once we have agreed on the details of the project, all to be confirmed via email exchanges, we will send you a formal contract for you to read and sign. This contract will be in the form of our Acceptance of Commission document and will be sent along with our standard Terms & Conditions. Roughly a week before the scheduled start date, the deposit will be due (usually 50% of the agreed fee), and we will issue an invoice for this amount around this time. To help the process begin smoothly, please would you ensure that this amount is paid by return. Work will commence around the date agreed, providing payment has been received.
      

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   3. Let’s Get Started. Before I begin working on your project, please ensure that we are in receipt of ALL of the following details regarding your book. The essential requirements are:- a - A typed & professionally proof-read final draft of your story, preferably in the form of a Word document. b - A descriptive paragraph for the back cover. c - Any dedications for the book (if you wish to have any). d - Inform me if you have any specific requests regarding your characters. What would also be helpful is a short character bio to help me understand more about them, and, if based on real-life characters, please supply a photo or two. We also need to be made aware if we have any specific colouring requirements (eg. the main character to have a green jumper, blue shoes and red trousers etc), and whether you have any illustrative restraints or something specific you definitely don’t want. All of this will save us a lot of time in the editing stage!
      

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   4. Storyboard/Sketch Building. This is the stage where you should very carefully check the sketches/rough book template and make any comments or suggestions. Firstly, I will build a text-based layout to ensure that you are happy with the flow of your story. Once agreed, I will then start to draw, and when completed, I will send you a fully sketched draft. In order to provide the best service possible, during this stage you will get up to THREE full rounds of revisions, as it is vital to ensure that the basic book layout and sketches are correct. Please note that any further revisions after the three included in the process, or any illustration changes requested after this stage will incur additional charges. It is very important at this stage to make sure that you are honest with me, and let me know in clear terms what you want to change, if anything, about the sketches, otherwise, any changes to the illustrations requested later in the process will, I’m afraid, be chargeable.
      

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   5. Illustration Development. The stage that can take the longest time to complete, and also when I get to colour everything! Please bear in mind that this stage usually requires anywhere between 3 to 6 weeks of work, and sometimes even longer, depending on the complexity of the illustrations. I will do my best to advise you at the earliest opportunity if your illustrations require longer than this to complete.
      

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   6. Book Generation. The book comes to life! This stage involves importing the images and begin editing and will take approx.1 to 2 weeks to complete.
      

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   7. Payment/Final Files. Once I have completed the illustrations and compiled the book, and before the release of many weeks worth of work, the second payment (usually 50% of the agreed fee) will be due. As soon as this payment is received, I will send you the complete finished proof. Please understand that this payment is to be received first, as the files I send you will be the completed book, ready for final editing.
      

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   8. Editing. Once you have received the book and have examined it thoroughly, I will then work with you to edit out any little errors where gremlins may have crept in, such as typos/imperfections etc (note: significant illustration changes cannot be made at this stage). These edits are crucial to the finishing of the book, and I always advise you to take your time at this point to carefully check everything. We will work with you as best we possibly can to find and eliminate any issues at this stage, but please understand that the final sign-off is your responsibility (another good reason why you should have your final draft story professionally proofread!). Remember that there are THREE rounds of final edits included in the package pricing and that any further edits or alterations after this will be chargeable.
      

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   9. And to Finish… After completion of the final editing stage, we request that you sign off the project in writing, usually by email, and upon receipt of which, we will provide you with the following: Self-Publishing Package - All the final files so that you will have everything you need: illustrations as separate files, cover images, and the book PDF file for you to arrange to get printed. Gift Book Package - Two printed copies of your book.

As many as you like!

Whether its 10, 1000, or 10,000 copies, you can arrange for your printer to print any number of books you require. 

Top tip! When printing books, the more copies you have printed at one time, the less the price is per book, but please remember that you have to find enough room to store them! Also, I ALWAYS recommend having a small print run to start with, maybe just 20 or so, in order to CHECK that they are 100% correct. It's very wise to do this before spending thousands of pounds on having loads printed only to then find an error, as, even with the very best of checking, double checking and triple checking, errors seem have a funny way of creeping in!

Depends on a few factors, including:

• The length of your story
• The style/complexity of the illustrations
• The amount of pictures required

As a rough idea, the average book (28 - 36 pages) takes around 2-3 months to complete from start to finish.

More complex books (i.e. More pages, detailed illustrations, etc.) can take up to 4-5 months to complete.

To make things as quick and smooth as possible, I need the following items from you to get the ball rolling:

• A completed and fully proofread copy of your story
• Descriptions of your characters
• An idea of the illustration style required (if you have a preference)
• A descriptive paragraph for the back cover
• A dedication for inside the book (if you wish to have one)
• A price for the book, and would you like this added to the back cover?
• Do you have the ISBN? If so, I can add that in and also generate the barcode to add to the design for you. 

ISBN stands for: The International Standard Book Number. This is your books unique product identity. It's essential if you want to sell your books, as it aids the listing, discovery and distribution of your books.

You don't HAVE TO have one, nor is it a legal requirement. Publishers mainly use them, as do booksellers and libraries for ordering, listing and stock control. 

IF you do want to add an ISBN to your book its simple. The process is easy and you can buy an ISBN online. 

The ISBN agency in the UK used to be Whitakers, but they were bought and combined with Book data to create Neilesen Book data. They manage the process of allocating ISBNs as well as several things that you will need to know about, and use, as we get further into your project.

The URL for the ISBN Store is: https://www.nielsenisbnstore.com 

The email address to contact us is: isbn.agency@nielsen.com

A storyboard is created to:

• Break up the story into pages
• Visualise each page (With illustration and text)
• Plan out the sequence of the story
• Ensure the story flows correctly

As the creator of your book, producing a storyboard in the early stages allows me to plan out your story visually, ensuring the illustrations and text sit well together, and we have a clear direction of the story from beginning to end.

Print prices vary depending on the amount of pages/material/size of the book. If budget is an issue, I can suggest cost-effective printing options, or if you are aiming to produce a top quality, high-end book, I can help you achieve that too. Please note however, that I do not do the printing myself, and you will be dealing with independent printers.

There are lots of different print options available to you, and yes, that bit can be bamboozling when you start! But never fear, I can assist you decide on the best printing options to suit the style, story and budget of your book.

Printing: If you are self-publishing and require printing, please have a look at these guys for large quantities quotes: www.pureprint.com. Its always worth asking around and finding which suites you 🙂 But these guys produce GOOD, SOLID books 🙂 

Sizes: Some standard sizes of picture books include A4 (Portrait or Landscape) and 21cm x 21cm square, but other sizes are available depending on budget.

In between 28 and 36 is the most common number of pages for an average children's picture book.

However, your book can have any number of pages. As long as the total number of pages is a multiple of 4 (because of the printing process).

Producing a series of books is a fantastic journey. While it can be an exciting process, it requires some planning too. Key factors to consider when planning your series are:

• Number of books/stories
• Are they going to be released in smaller sets?
• The cost to produce a series

I also offer a promotional package. These include: Colouring sheets, online promo images, book promotion images, launch leaflet design, activity sheet designs, promo stickers, A4 or A3 poster design, etc.