PiBoIdMo Day 9: Meredith Mundy Says Trust Your Illustrator (plus a prize)

I had no idea that authors could make suggestons to illustrators.

Thank you for this great post! I am always in awe of the vision that illustrators bring to the words.

Thank you, Meredith! Terrific post. “The reason editors and art directors keep the wordsmith separate from the artist is to allow for maximum inspiration and creative freedom on BOTH sides.” Brilliant point. A lack of distance would kill the creative process, or at least stifle it. I know my limits, as a writer, and often marvel at the cleverness of artists to allow a story to soar. These days, I read new PB’s twice: once, barely ‘looking’ at the pics (hard to put those blinders on!), to see what the text says, and then a second time, to see how the artist expanded on it. This helps me to learn what needs to be in the text, and what doesn’t.

I love this post. It confirms exactly what I was thinking about a few days ago. Thanks!

Thank you Meredith for your great post and suggestion. And thank you for giving example of building trust and sharing with illustrators.

I love, love, love the three examples given here! They are perfect examples of how a leap of faith in your illustrator’s ability is more than worth it! I plan to share these examples with my crit group, which includes one author who is anxiously awaiting her first title with Sterling to be released this coming Spring! 🙂

Groovy!

This was a wonderful and supportive bit of knowledge. Thank you.

Thank you Meredith for your post. Great insight on what it takes to build a professional team to create a work of art.

I’m also in the camp of less is better. Let the illustrator carry the load and give him/her room to breathe.

Great advice. This topic often comes up in my critique group. I love the examples you gave. Thanks!

I have a great PB manuscript and hope I win this prize!! If you accepting manuscripts without an agent, I would love to submit to you. Thanks
Dana Wu

I was very surprised to find recently that authors and illustrators don’t collaborate directly. Now I know why! Thank you, Meredith, for the great post.

Excellent examples. Thanks!

Thanks for these great examples, Meredith! Challenge accepted.

It’s hard to let go of one’s creative vision for a text but this post provides perfect examples of why authors do need to let go and leave room for illustrators. Great post!

Love these examples of the beautiful results born of mutual trust among writers, artists, and publishing houses.

Thanks for the wonderful advice!

Great post – I love the idea of two head being better than one!

Dear Meredith, Thank you for showing “control freaks” like me why it is so important to step back and let the illustrator create their 50%. As your examples show, it makes ALL the difference!

Terrific advice with wonderful examples. Thanks, Meredith!

Great examples, but I am curious about how long it took the authors to give up that control over the story. It seems to me that it is a learned skill and it would be tough to do in the first stories submitted to agents and/or editors.

Love hearing stories like this!

Very interesting. I do always wonder about the collaboration, or possibly not-so-much collaboration, between arthor and artist. Thanks!

I love seeing how Norman could have looked! It’s great to see that things that turn out perfectly weren’t always so! Thanks so much for your post! I’m going to give 100% to only writing 50% of the story! 🙂

Gah! It’s so hard to give up control isn’t it? 😀 But look at the amazing outcomes when you do!! Thanks so much for these examples and the backstory behind how they became what they are. Wonderful post!!

Newbie here. I didn’t even know that the writer and the illustrator didn’t
really collaborate. Thank you for the insight.

It’s hard to even think about control of one’s story, but the results are beautiful.

In illustrator we trust!

Thank you Meredith for the great post. I enjoyed the examples and the peak into the creative process!

Wonderful post with great examples. I am curious as to how this applies to the relationship between an author/illustrator and say, an editor or A.D. How much of the dummy book should be finished? How much loose? Does a fully done, tight dummy book give the impression (rightly or wrongly) that the author/illustrator is too married to THIS vision of the piece?
Curiously, and thanks again,
David Bernardy

Thanks so much for this post. I needed it as I prepare to look over one of my manuscripts after having put it away for a few weeks. I can’t wait to see where my story goes!

As an author/illustrator, I always try to be of two minds 🙂 Thanks for your marvelous post!

Great examples on the splendid surprises the illustrators offer when left to their creative pursuit. Thanks Meredith!

Terrific post! I’m sure it’s hard to give someone else total control over illustrating your picture book (kind of like letting a stranger hold your baby), but it sounds like it’s for the best. Thanks a bunch for the information!

Such helpful advice on trusting the illustrator’s talents to make your manuscript even stronger. Thanks for the words of wisdom, Meredith!

Thank you for this inspiring post, Meredith! It was fun to see how masterpieces are created when writers trust illustrators!

That is SO hard! When you write a story, you definitely have specific ideas of what the characters look like; however, it is a GOOD thing to ‘step back’ and trust…thinking seriously about it…..

Thank you, Meredith! It’s wonderful to receive advice from an editor, especially one with 20 years experience! Congratulations.

Thanks for this great post on trusting an illustrator. Now I’m going to go through my pb manuscript and see what descriptions I can cut.

Great post! Thank you!

As an illustrator, I say, “Hooray! Great advice.” As A writer I say, “Ouch. You caught me being a control freak.” Thank-you for your post. It inspired me to make two specific changes to two of my pb wip. THANKS!

Great examples, Meredith. We so often hear about the revision process for writers, but seldom see the brainstorming and revision process for the illustrator. Loved how Norman morphed from a lion to an orangutan.

Thanks so much for the insight. I tend to sketch dummies of what I write…but to call them ROUGH is a gross understatement.

Very interesting post. Thanks Meredith!

Excellent read. I would LOVE to get a critique from someone with your expertise and experience! 🙂 – Mark

Thanks Meredith. always try to write something that an illustrator will love drawing.

It’s great to get an insider’s perspective on this. And it reiterates what Mac Barnett told us in his Picture Book Summit webinar – as a writer we are only responsible for telling half the story.

I do love what the illustrators did with the examples you’ve shared. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing this great post. Of course, like everyone, would love a critique!

Several writers have urged me to add illustrator notes to one of my PB manuscripts, and even though I really don’t want to, I was starting to doubt myself. Thanks for the encouragement to stand firm!

Thanks for sharing your examples AND for the super duper prize.

I’ve tried illustrating some of my ms. What I found from that experience is that I love writing with all my heart, and the illustrations should be left to an artist who loves illustrating just as much.

Thank you Meredith! As an illustrator and graphic designer in “real life” (one who also writes stories). I unconsciously illustrate any story (book, tome, newsletter, poem etc and so on) I read…kind of like a slide show or movie in my head.
I am always asking. “Why not a dragon instead of a lizard” or “Highway 2 through that runs through woods is actually a very busy animal trail” Endless, endless ideas….
If you believe in your story, trust your illustrator. They see your words not only how you write them but also how they could be. And your editor/agent also knows how to pair you with an illustrator who can illuminate your story not just illustrate it.

Wow! Great examples of how the illustrator can use their own creativity and imagination when working with a text! Thanks!

I was told months after my debut picture book, THE STORY CATCHER, was released that the illustrator was inspired by my manuscript to create characters based on her own family. I especially love the savy, world traveler she drew for Mimi, the grandmother. I hadn’t thought of her that way but now I can’t imagine Mimi being anyone else!

Great post!

Love these examples! Always like learning more about the publishing process. Thank you.

I loved seeing how trusting your illustrator can lead to MAGIC. I hope that I have the opportunity to trust an illustrator some day! Thanks for an inspiring and informative post!

Your editorial perspective is priceless, especially: “The reason editors and art directors keep the wordsmith separate from the artist is to allow for maximum inspiration and creative freedom on BOTH sides.” Thanks!

Meredith, thank you for reminding us to trust the PB publishing process between authors and illustrators. The examples you provided are great inspiration and demonstrate the power of enhancing great writing with great illustrations.

Such a great perspective from both sides, thank you!!

Great advice and examples. Thanks, Meredith.

Thanks for the great advice and wonderful examples! I think this is the hardest part for new authors – letting go of their idea of “their vision” or even a “shared vision.” It is so important to have faith in the process, and something much stronger may evolve.

How exciting!! Thank you for the wonderful explanation.

grear post. Love this.

I love reading a ms from the brilliant ladies in my rhyming critique group. It’s so much fun to doodle what I see in my head. I know their publishers will find great illustrators for them, but its such fun not to see illustrations. When I write its like I have an animated movie playing in my head. I see the colors of the broadest strokest and all the smallest details of every word I write.

This was such a fun post. I loved the illustrations you shared with us. How fun to see the way an illustrator comes up with how a character looks in a book. It really is important to let the writer and illustrator both have creative freedom. Thank you for taking the time to share this post with us. And thank you for offering a critique. It is very generous and kind.

COLLABORATION–such a wonderful word.

Thank you for the post! That is just the way I would want the relationship to be. If I ever find a publisher for my picture book, I will gladly leave the illustrations up to the artist’s creative mind and hands.

I’ve always seen the author-illustrator relationship as similar to that trust exercise where you fall backwards, trusting your partner to catch you. Thanks for reinforcing that belief.

Thank you for a great post!

What wonderful advice. I found myself giving too much description in the first go round with one of my books in progress. I have stepped away and revisited and realized I didn’t leave much room for the images to do the work they so deserve. Thank you for this reminder.

Thank you, Meredith, for the excellent advice and examples for the benefits achieved when writer and illustrator co-operate.

Thank you, Meredith! This is a wonderful post with great examples.

I absolutely love this post! Illustration notes are sometimes a struggle to leave out.

LOVE these true life stories. As a combo author-illustrator, I think this advice is equally important to embody within my own process… i.e. “trust your illustrator-hat wearing self and don’t write so dang many adjectives!” Or whatever. 😉

Thank you for reminding us that part of picture book magic is the blend of two (or more) talented people.

Thank you! Very helpful!

Meredith, nice to know I can trust the illustrator. I’m not an artist. Appreciate your insights as an editor. Thanks!

So many stories would be just plain boring without the inspired creativity of the illustrator.

I’ve always enjoyed seeing the artist’s imagination on paper – the myriad of ideas one conjure and execute is remarkable. Enchantment results from a special blend of words and illustration — otherwise there’s just a simple story.

In my experience, finding the balance between leaving space for the illustrator and inserting illustrator notes to be one of the most frustrating aspects of picture book writing. I would love to hear more advice about this topic.

Fascinating stuff – definitely need to learn to trust that other person’s vision.

Great advice! Thanks for the insight and examples Meredith.

It makes so much sense to trust the illustrator. They were chosen as the person to best interpret your story visually. Illustrations are one of my favourite parts of picture books. Must be pretty exciting to see those illustrations for the first time.

It is quite a challenge to stop myself from detailing EXACTLY how I think everything should look on the page – but this makes so much sense. Thank you for all these great articles 🙂

Good reminders! I try to keep myself in check while writing by repeating to myself, “That’s not my job. It’s the illustrator’s!” Not easy when you’re a wordy writer. Thanks again.

I’m always amazed by the wonderful way illustrators add to my story. Great post!

As an unpublished illustrator its reassuring to hear that you have some creative freedom. Thanks!

Thank you, Meredith and Tara. We cannot be reminded too often that a picture book is made up of text and pictures and BOTH create the story.

Great post. I love the picture books examples given.

Thank you Meridith for the inspiration and great visual examples.

Thank you. Illustration notes seems to be the trend in the PB world. This is a strong argument for trusting, and leaving all to the illustrator

This is an excellent post. Thank YOU!

So encouraging for a writer who worries that the illustrator will catch the gist of what the author envisions. Waiting to see what the illustrator envisions is so much more fun!

This makes a lot of sense! Thank you!

What a great example about how the illustrator came up with the perfect ending for Kim Norman’s book, This Old Van. You give much to think about.

Leaving room for the illustrator is probably the most difficult thing for me with writing picture books, but I know it is really important. Thanks for a great post.

Thank you for the perfect examples.

Thanks for the great advice and encouragement!

Excellent advice! Some of my favourite PBs have the cleverest connections between words and pictures…

Thanks, that’s excellent advice–plus, think how many words you can trim in the revision process if you trust the illustrator!

What wonderful examples of true collaboration! Thanks for the behind-the-scenes peek!

Great thoughts — I will refer those who ask ME this question to this post! And fun to see my friend Carolyn Conahan’s wonderful work and hear how it came about.

Rather like writing a movie script. Give ’em an idea and let them run with it.

Super post and what a great giveaway! A pb critique is like a winning ticket! YAY!

Meredith, thanks so much for the behind-the-scene peek into your world. It helps to know what’s going on. And, what a great giveaway! Thanks for a chance to win.

Thanks for the post. As someone who would like to write and illustrate books, it’s very helpful advice! I especially loved the remark about ignoring the illustration notes if they don’t inspire you. I would have been too scared to do that! It’s also good to hear about trusting your illustrator. As someone who does draw, if I did get the chance to write a book that someone else illustrated, it would be tough for me not to know what they were doing. I know it would be worth it though!
Thanks!

Very helpful explanation. I also heard Terry Widener and AG Ford talk about this at an event last weekend. Learning so much!

Thanks for the advice on illustration notes and a reminder when you collaborate it’s a combo of both visions.

As a PB writer, I can visualize some of the story, but not al, so would happily leave the rest to the illustrator. Thanks for the share!

PS: I’m totally buying “This old Van”.