The next phase...
I decided to share the text with Sandy at the encouragement of my husband. I was concerned that illustrating a children's book was not something Sandy would be interested in doing and I would have to put the story back in the drawer. But Sandy was instantly drawn to the text and in spite of her own concerns about how different this project was from anything she had ever done, she enthusiastically agreed to be the illustrator. Sandy started by creating a storyboard based on her vision of the text. We collaborated over many sessions to refine the storyboard for the book. We discussed the text and her illustrations, then brainstormed various options and modifications. This creative experience was a wonderful part of working together on the book. Once we finalized the storyboard, Sandy created full page illustrations in pencil for each page. Again, we discussed the illustrations and refined each page until we thought it was just right. With the illustrations finalized, Sandy painted the first color illustration for the book.
But we still weren't sure if the book would sell. We believed in it, but since we were both new to self-publishing, we weren't sure about how to proceed. So we chose to create a Kickstarter project. If we raised enough funds to have the book printed, we would continue. If we did not raise enough funds to print, that would indicate to us there might not be a market for this book after all.
Next: The Kickstarter Campaign
I decided to share the text with Sandy at the encouragement of my husband. I was concerned that illustrating a children's book was not something Sandy would be interested in doing and I would have to put the story back in the drawer. But Sandy was instantly drawn to the text and in spite of her own concerns about how different this project was from anything she had ever done, she enthusiastically agreed to be the illustrator. Sandy started by creating a storyboard based on her vision of the text. We collaborated over many sessions to refine the storyboard for the book. We discussed the text and her illustrations, then brainstormed various options and modifications. This creative experience was a wonderful part of working together on the book. Once we finalized the storyboard, Sandy created full page illustrations in pencil for each page. Again, we discussed the illustrations and refined each page until we thought it was just right. With the illustrations finalized, Sandy painted the first color illustration for the book.
But we still weren't sure if the book would sell. We believed in it, but since we were both new to self-publishing, we weren't sure about how to proceed. So we chose to create a Kickstarter project. If we raised enough funds to have the book printed, we would continue. If we did not raise enough funds to print, that would indicate to us there might not be a market for this book after all.
Next: The Kickstarter Campaign
