(This post is continued from Part One): So out of almost forty applicants, there were a lot of illustrators with fantastic artwork. I reached out to the applicants who weren’t a good fit to thank them and to archive their messages and proposals.

Then I narrowed it down to the top five illustrators who I could see illustrating my story. Then I narrowed it down even further to the top two talented illustrators who’s artwork that I resonated with the most.

I sent them each a message to let them know that I had narrowed it down to two illustrators, and also expressed how talented that I thought they both were. It was now time to ask them for a sample page of artwork that would allow me to see how they could to bring my story to life, and would be the deciding factor on which illustrator I was to choose.

I read that it’s advisable to reach out to as many as eight illustrators to ask for sample pieces, but I felt that two was great for me. I know producing a sample piece takes time and effort, and didn’t want to take up so many people’s time. I also would’ve felt bad saying yes to one person, and no to seven others after they took the time to produce a sample piece for me. I prayed and hoped that two would be enough, and it felt right.

I asked each of the two illustrators for page two of my story, and thought of sending them each a storyboard sketch (of my stick figures), and then decided that it was probably better that I just describe each scene. Here is the detail of the sample scene that I provided:

‘It is a nice, happy, bright summer day at the beach. In the background, there are children in colorful bathing suits playing on the beach and in the ocean. There is one little girl watching/looking out at the ocean (she has brown hair and is wearing a red bathing suit). She wants to go in the water, but is just watching.’

The text in the scene will say:

* Everyday, she played on the beach, but wanted to go play in the water too.

* She watched as the children went in.

(On my storyboard, I put the little girl sitting on a blue towel with a sandcastle next to her, looking out at the ocean, but that is optional)

Then I sent each illustrator a copy of the story to read so that they could get a feel for the story as a whole.

Natalia sent me her sample image first. When it came through, I was so curious, but for a moment, I was almost too nervous to look at it. Would it be a good fit? I wonder if someone will be able to bring the story to life in the feeling that I picture?

I opened her attachment, and it was perfect. It was absolutely perfect. It was in the style I was envisioning, with the bright colors, and the way that she had brought the scene to life was so perfect that I teared up with a surge of happy emotion.

I had read that when you find the right illustrator for your children’s book, it can be an emotional process watching your story come to life right before your eyes. I didn’t understand what that meant until I saw that sample picture.

My dad’s been involved in every step of the process (he’s thrilled that I’m finally publishing something instead of stocking up on more manuscripts), so I immediately sent it to my dad, and he agreed that it was just perfect 😃 Here is the illustration below:

Side note: When she sent me that sample illustration, I immediately learned something important (that works for me, that might work for others too). I learned not to send a completely drawn out storyboard picture over, but to send in a written detailed scene that is detailed, but not too detailed. Then, the illustrator can work their magic on filling in the blanks and make the scene come to life through the art.

If I had sent in my drawn out storyboard of stick figures (picture of page one attached below), it would’ve been from a different angle (from the back of the character’s head, lol), and it was just so much better in the way that Natalia had envisioned it. I decided that for the rest of the book, I would detail the scenes solely in text, and let her imagination take over. This would provide the guideline of what I envisioned, and would keep it formatted to certain scenes for certain text. But then she has the creative freedom to make the illustrations come to life in the way she prefers and envisions. It’s like the best of both worlds when you have the right illustrator.

I wrote Natalia back and let her know just how perfect it was, and that I teared up, and told her that I would send the contract over within a day.

Then I reached out to Linh, who was the other incredibly talented illustrator. I felt bad, because I had already asked her for the sample, and wondered if she had started. I messaged her to let her know that I had received the perfect sample illustration for the book, and knew that this was to be my illustrator. I apologized and let her know how genuinely talented that I thought she was.

She wrote me right back, and was so gracious. She said that she had actually just finished the sample, and she was sad to hear the news, but also happy that I found the perfect illustrator. She told me to take her illustration as a gift. She wished me luck, and I wished her luck too. She said that she had read the story and really liked it. She said in the future, if I have a need for a style like hers, that I could contact her and she’d be happy to work together. Then she sent over the sample illustration, which was also just so cute and magical!!! ✨

These two illustrators have amazing talent. Since I draw in stick-figures, it amazes me that they could create such beautiful scenes from that text detail. I guess that’s why I’m a writer, and they are illustrators 😁 But in seriousness, these two women have AMAZING talent, as well as grace and great work ethic, and it is an honor on my part to have found them.

I got so lucky during the process of creating this book in so many ways- I feel like I was guided in the process. I’ll write more about that in a future blog posts, but it’s relevant here because it led me to two incredible illustrators who make my heart soar with their images 🥰

I’ll also talk more about this, but I loved working with Natalia. And I know that I would’ve loved working with Linh. I hope to work with them both in the future, because as I’ve taken more field trips to the library and bookstore, I suddenly I have more ideas for children’s books that are just flowing that I’ve been jotting down for the future.

It’s funny because I wrote this particular book because I know the ocean well. I’ve spent at the very least, thousands of evenings in the ocean water, until I’m usually one of the last ones left, paddling or swimming back in by the moonlight. I thought it was an important book to write after all the experiences that I’ve had in the ocean, feeling the power of the ocean, and observing the nature of the ocean.

But now, I would love to write more children’s books. I have so many other manuscript ideas, three in particular that I think could be great. I also felt a lot of clarity and understanding about the nuances during the process. It has been a lot of work so far, and I think a lot of it is because of the learning curve. But for now, one project at a time….

Natalia and I put together an amazing book, and we both worked so hard, so I will spend proper time and energy promoting and sharing it. I’m really proud of what we’ve done. In the next blog post, I’ll talk more about the process during producing the illustrations 🤗