Build Your Village - Part 2 - Illustrating

Kelsey Flynn
Oct 6, 2024
2 min read

As I’ve shared with you all, this whole process came about very organically and serendipitously with someone who knows someone who knows someone lending a hand and it’s been magical. The typical timeline to get a children’s book published is at least one to two years. I’m making it happen in about 7 months, and it’s my first book. Pigs really can fly!

Illustrating

I had a list of illustrators I wanted to work with, and I just outright asked them if they’d be interested in and/or be able to take on this project. One didn’t have time, one used a different style than I had in mind, another was way over the price point I was comfortable with, and another just didn’t feel confident tackling an entire book. They were all very kind about declining my request, but I still needed an illustrator! I reached out to my elementary school art teacher after a chance run-in put him on my radar for this project, but our styles ended up not matching up, which was a bummer!

Then, I again took a chance and reached out to the local colleges, sending them an abstract of the book and asking if they had any illustration majors in need of some work. Two days later, I had a response from a University of Cincinnati DAAP graduate. They saw the blurb in the alumni newsletter, reached out, and the rest is history. I cannot wait to share Kay Victor’s illustrations with everyone!