Picture Books – Story or Illustrations, Which Comes First?

While most authors know the answer to the title question, whether the story or illustrations come first in picture books, some newbies don’t.

I have a client with a three-book series. This client happens to be an amazing artist and wrote a fiction story around her illustrations.

For the purpose of this article, let’s say she visited the pyramids in Egypt.

Using Fred as the protagonist and an example, he was looking for the largest pyramid. He trekked through Egypt and talked about the things he saw on his quest.

Being an artist, the client wants her readers to SEE everything she saw. She wants to incorporate as many tidbits of information as possible about her journey into the story… and she wants to do it visually.

This can be great, but when you’re writing a fiction book, it’s ALL about the story. There needs to be a full story and character arcs.

The illustrations complement the story. The illustrations enhance the story. It’s not the other way around.

While her primary focus was on the illustrations, she also wanted an engaging and marketable fiction story to go with the illustrations. After she had a couple of critiques, she realized what she had created didn’t work.

That’s when she came to me.

I’ve worked with illustrations before. It was another rewrite project, but those illustrations were created after the story was written. The client hired me to rewrite the story around them.

With the pyramid client, the illustrations were the focal point; they were created first. It’s not a good idea to force a story around illustrations.

It’s got to be valuable to the story to be in the story.

It’s not a good idea to write text for a fiction story simply to include scenery, characters, or information you want the reader to be aware of specifically to highlight the illustrations. If the text isn’t valuable to the story, if they doesn’t move the story forward, it shouldn’t be in the story.

This is especially true with picture books, even if you’re self-publishing. You may feel you have leeway, but if you want a quality book that you’ll be proud to be the author of, you need to follow the rules of writing for children.

Your story should begin with a problem the protagonist needs to overcome.

You need to quickly capture the reader’s interest enough to care about the protagonist. You need to grab the reader and get her involved. The reader needs to quickly understand what the problem is and be motivated to see how the protagonist works to overcome it or solve it.

So, going back to the title question, the story should be written first, then the illustrations should be created to enhance each scene (page or spread).

Side note: If you’re writing a nonfiction book, the text could definitely explain the illustrations. But, not with fiction writing. Fiction writing is about bringing the reader on an engaging and page-turning journey.

Working With The Illustrator and Book Designer

While it’s easy to understand why the story should come before the illustrations, if you have the opportunity to work with an illustrator before you finalize the story, it can be helpful. The same goes for the book designer.

Professional illustrators know how to create the illustrations to allow for text placement. However, sometimes they can miss the mark. They may not leave enough room for the story text. This doesn’t usually happen with professional illustrators, but it may be that you’re working with an illustrator who isn’t as skilled as expected.

What can make it more difficult to realize if there’s a problem is that most illustrators don’t input the text into the illustrations.

A possible remedy is to ask the illustrator to add text for a dummy run.

If this isn’t an option, or the illustrator wants to charge you for the service, you will have to wait until the story and illustrations go to the book designer.

Often, the book designer places the text within the illustration. At this point, you’ll be able to see if it all works.

While the designer can tweak the sizing or position of the illustration to make everything work, sometimes tweaking the text to better fit within the illustration is a good idea. A good book designer will work with you to create a perfect picture book.

3 Steps to Querying Publishers and Agents
Balance in Fiction Writing – The Major Elements
Create a Believable Protagonist with Realistic Characteristics

I’m a working children’s ghostwriter, rewriter, and coach. I can help turn your story into a book you’ll be proud to be the author of, one that’s publishable and marketable.

OTHER HELP I OFFER:

HOW TO WRITE A CHILDREN'S FICTION BOOK
A 200+ page paperback or ebook to help you write your own children's book

FICTION WRITING FOR CHILDREN eCOURSE
4-Weeks / 8 Sections Guided Self-Study Mentoring Program

You can contact me at kcioffiventrice@gmail.com.