Eric Jolly asked Alinka Rutkowska:

I've always thought I could write a good children's book...but I think a lot of a younger children's book is the accompanying illustrations. I have no artistic ability whatsoever and don't know a lot of people who do have that kind of ability. How have you found illustrators to partner with?

Alinka Rutkowska Hi Eric, if you want to get your book published traditionally, you need to find an agent and you submit your story only. Then it's the publisher's job to find you the perfect illustrator and you often have no control of it whatsoever.

If on the other hand you want to publish independently, you can choose an illustrator to partner with. There are different types of partnerships and different ways you can find them.

I like to work with people I've met before and I was lucky enough to have a talented illustrator in my close circle. You can find talented people elsewhere. A good start would be to join the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and contact illustrators there.

You can try to find people on fiverr.com but it can be a bit risky. There are also groups on Linked-In where people are looking for illustrators and illustrators are looking for work.

It's important that you love the artwork of your picture book as it's as important as the story itself :)

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