How much does it cost to illustrate a whole book?

Each book is an individual labor of love for both the author and the illustrator. As such, not all books require the same number of hours to bring to completion. A 10 illustration board book is going to be a different time commitment than a 32 page double spread picture book. The best way for both of us to find a mutually agreeable price is to have a conversation. It is however important to remember that fully illustrating a book takes months, not days or weeks, and I do need to make a livable wage. A very general range of what to expect is between $1,000-$10,000 depending on length, complexity and schedule.

What if I can’t afford the full book illustrations?

It is very understandable that many self publishing authors are not able to drop several thousands of dollars on their illustrations up front. That is why I offer the options of character design and book dummies. These are all steps along the path that will need to be done regardless of how you publish your book. It allows you to pay for different stages of your book development over time while still having a useful product at each step. While I would love to take every project from start to finish I understand that is not always possible. By purchasing each of these steps individually you can move forward in a way that works for both of us. If you purchase one of these packages, the price of the package can be put towards the full book illustration cost for up to one year.

What is a book designer?

Just as writing the manuscript for a book is a different skill set from doing the illustrations, a book designer uses a different skill set from an illustrator. A book designer is responsible for the layout of the book. What font is used, making sure that the book size, trim and bleed are correct. They choose a font that is appropriate for the age group (legible, friendly, etc…). They will also often design the book cover using images from the interior.

What next?

Use the Contact form below to send me a message. We’ll setup a time to talk by zoom. Once we have had a conversation about your book and agree to move forward, I will send you a contract that we will both sign. The contract will include a deposit amount, milestones and an associated payment schedule.

There will also be details on how many revisions are offered for each stage of the contract. Revisions take time and effort on both the author and illustrator side.

It does not benefit the project to have endless revisions. It leads to artwork that looks “done by committee”, often not very good. Part of hiring an illustrator is having them add their artistic voice. This does not mean that you have to take “whatever” the illustrator provides you, but that revisions will be limited (often 1-2 per stage) and need to be done based on clear feedback. An example of clear feedback would be “I don’t think the color pallet is working, could we try something brighter and more playful” this is helpful and concrete. An example of unhelpful feedback is “This isn’t what I was thinking”.

A delivery schedule might look like this: *

Sept 15 - Deposit paid

Oct 1 - Delivery date of character designs

Oct 1 - 10 - Revision period

Oct 11 - first payment due

Nov 15 - first dummy delivered

Nov 15-30 - Revision period

Nov 30 - Second payment due

Jan 30 - Low resolution final drawing sent

Jan 30-Feb 15 - revision period

Feb 15 - Final payment due

Feb 16 - Final high resolution images sent

* This is an example schedule. Your book is a wholly unique project and will have a unique timeline depending on the complexity and my current schedule.