Why Children’s Book Illustrators Are Angry About AI

First of all, let me make this clear. I think AI is pretty amazing. I am blown away by the images that various AI generators can produce. I say this because I don’t want people to assume that the reason I’m writing this article is because I hate AI. I don’t. Nevertheless, as cool as AI is, I’ll be honest, it is wreaking havoc on the illustration industry and making a lot of us worried. This blog post is to explain to those who are not in the world of children’s book illustration why AI art is making illustrators uncomfortable.

As an author/illustrator of children’s books, I like to be aware of what is going on in the publishing world from as many angles as possible. This is why I am on over 100 forums including those for teachers, librarians, principals, editors, illustrators, authors, and children’s book self-publishers. In the last few years in the world of children’s book self-publishing, there has been an increasing trend of people taking credit for illustration work which they have not created. AI did not create this trend, but it has added rocket fuel to the fire. AI has now become the number one topic on many of the forums that I am on and for good reason. Let me explain.

Originally, children’s book illustration was all done by hand in various media, such as colored pencils, watercolors, or collage. Now, however, all artwork, even that which is carefully crafted by hand, is eventually put into a computer. This is not a bad thing. It actually makes doing layouts a lot easier. Creative apps like Adobe Photoshop and Procreate have made it possible for artists to make spectacular digital images and gorgeous picture books.

The first big revolutionary change in the children’s book industry was the introduction of print on demand books (POD). This is because in traditional publishing, a book took months to make. Publishers had to make sure that everything was perfect and professional before they could send a book to press. POD books, on the other hand, could be printed immediately. POD technology made it possible for anyone to publish a book who had the means to do so. Companies like Amazon took advantage of this and made it possible for people to publish their books for free. The market for self-published books began to boom.

To self-publish a children’s book, however, you need to be able to finance its creation. This means that unless you are an author/illustrator with experience in graphic design and perfect grammar, you still need to pay for editing, illustrations, and layout. Most professional illustrators charge between 3-10,000 dollars per book for illustrations and are paid upfront (illustrators are not normally paid royalties). This means that for most authors who choose to self-publish their children’s book, illustrations are the biggest cost. Because of this, many began to look for cheaper ways to make their dream come true. The demand for inexpensive illustrations grew.

In order to find low priced images, many people began to go online to pay for someone overseas where wages are lower to illustrate their book. There are many illustrators on sites like Fiverr which will do an entire picture book for less than $500. Unfortunately, these sites are filled with scams. One of the biggest problems is artists stealing other illustrator’s work and calling it their own to make their profiles look great. Another is illustrators who take money and never send illustrations. Finally, you have illustrators who make entire books using clip art. You would think that this would be easy to spot, but it is rampant in the industry and is a huge problem for various reasons.

First of all, clip art is actually an illustration done by someone else. When a writer or illustrator uses a bunch of clip art to make an illustration and then puts his/her/their name on it and publishes it, it is dishonest. Imagine if you take a bunch of recipes from various cookbooks and put them together in one book and then claim it is yours. Clip art might be fine on a Power Point, but it has no place in children’s book publishing. There are thousands of books with clip art illustrations currently on the market and many authors are unaware that they are being unethical by publishing them. The worst part, is that many of these authors do not even realize that the illustrations that they bought were not original art. For those of us who work in illustration, however, these type of books are easy to spot. The images are often different styles, the shadows are wrong (or non-existent), eye-contact is off, and the parts look cut out. A lot also look like the characters were copied from Disney.

It used to be easy to spot cheap self-published books because so many used clip art. Within the course of less than a year, however, this has completely flipped. Now AI in children’s books is all the rage. Unlike clip art, AI images are on a completely different level. Many of the images coming out of AI are absolutely amazing. It’s no wonder that tons of people are using AI as an opportunity to make their dream book a reality. Nevertheless, using AI in a children’s book has a lot of negative side effects and many of these are why my colleagues and I are angry.

First of all, there is currently no copyright on AI as a computer generates the images. That means that if you publish a book full of AI images, there is not much stopping someone from copying or sharing your images. This area is just too new and there isn’t much legal precedence.

Secondly, AI runs its algorithms based off actual artwork.  Imagine taking a bunch of famous paintings and collaging them together and saying it is your work. It is actually not, especially because you didn’t even do the collaging yourself. Plus, the artists are not being compensated or acknowledged for their work. In addition many authors inadvertently place only their name on the cover of their AI illustrated children’s book so that everyone assumes that they are the illustrator. Unfortunately, I see this every day on the forums that I am on. There is always a newbie author pushing their debut book with AI images, only their name on the cover, and no admission that they used AI to create it. I’ll be honest, people buying cheap illustrations frustrate me but people trying to skip paying someone entirely and take the credit for it frustrate me even more. Nevertheless, AI makes it easy to take credit for amazing illustrations that you didn’t actually create.

Finally, many illustrators are losing work. The amount of AI produced work is overwhelming the industry. Literary agents are flooded with AI produced books. Publishers have stopped submissions because they do not know how to handle the amount that they have received. This means that authors and illustrators who have been spending months creating high quality books are unable to get their books in the hands of the people who need to see them. When authors and illustrators say that they are worried about their jobs this has more to do with just AI making neat pictures. Just like photography killed the editorial artist, AI will put a lot of illustrators out of business. The technology is just too revolutionary. AI is able to generate illustrations which rival even the best traditional artists at almost no cost.

Human illustrators cost money for a reason because doing illustration is a lot of work. I got my master’s degree in illustration and book design, and I spend hours on each illustration I make. I’m proud of the work that I produce. At the moment, I use AI for ideas. I won’t use it in my books, because I want people to know that when my name is listed as illustrator that I did all of the artwork myself. Maybe someday I will use AI to make even better illustrations. Perhaps I’ll use it to add backgrounds, shadows, or to create entirely new images. I have no idea, but I am sure that I will have to find a way to work with this technology or get out of the way.

So why does AI make illustrators so upset? In the end, I think most of us are not angry at AI. We know that AI has a lot of uses and is here to stay. We are frustrated, however, with people who misuse it for their own gain. We are annoyed at people taking credit for artwork that they didn’t create and those who use cheap illustrations instead of paying an expert to do the job. We are irritated that the artists whose work is being used by AI are not contacted, acknowledged, or compensated. We are angry at how recklessly AI is being used in our industry and how that recklessness is damaging our livelihood. We are upset because we know that a lot of us may not be working in illustration ten years from now. The industry as we know it is gone. AI is here and our world as illustrators will never be the same.

Go to KelleyDonner.com, Kelley's official author/illustrator page.

 

Have You Ever Wanted to Write a Children's Book?: 10 Tips for Beginners

Have you ever dreamt of publishing your own children's book? Would you love to see your book on a shelf when you walk into Barnes and Noble? Have you ever wondered how difficult it is to sell a book on Amazon? Well... there are a few things that you should know first. 

Here are my top 10 tips for beginners:

1. Have reasonable expectations

Too many people make the mistake of thinking that anyone can create a children's book. Part of the reason for this is the number of celebrity picture books on the market. Nevertheless, the reality looks very different. Children's book publishing is a very competitive field. Think of it like this. If you put your book on Amazon, for example, your book will be one of about nine million books. This means that if you do not advertise your book, no one will know that it exists. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't publish your own book, just that you shouldn't expect it to be a bestseller or sell thousands of copies. Publishing is a business. You will need to consider if your objective is to make a great book or to sell one.

2. Know the term "Vanity Press"

There are various ways to get your book published. A traditional press is very difficult to get into and usually requires an agent. They pay their authors an advance when they sign them plus royalties. Self-publishing, on the other hand, means that you do the publishing process by yourself. Nevertheless, a lot of people who self-publish outsource some of the work, such as editing, layout, and printing. This is where hybrid publishing comes in. They offer various publishing services for a price. For example, they may offer to layout your book for you and publish it for you on the platform of your choice. What is a vanity press? A vanity press is a hybrid press with the intent to just take author's money without offering much in return. Unfortunately, there are a ton of vanity presses out there (see list here). 

3. Don't rush it

Most authors spend months to years perfecting a book before they bring it to press. If you have only spent a couple of weeks, your book is nowhere near finished. Join a critique group, have other authors read your work, or pay for an editor to help you out.  Even bestselling authors send their texts to editors to be improved and this process often takes longer than writing itself. My tip. Edit. Edit. Edit.

4. Illustrations can make or break a book

If you are self-publishing, get a great illustrator! When your washing machine breaks down, you hire a repair person who is an expert to fix it. Your illustrator should be an expert, too. Illustrators work hard at their craft and should be paid for their expertise. If you think minimum wage is reasonable, your book will look minimum, too. This is why traditional publishers have their own in house illustrators who they know are experts in their field. If you want to sell lots of books and you are not an artist, do not do your own illustrations. Also, finish all of your editing before you find an illustrator. 

5. Show your book to strangers

Your family and friends will always say your book is great. They love you and don't want to hurt your feelings. You need to find people who do not know you who are willing to read your book. Join a local writers group. Go to your local library and ask your librarian if she knows of any people who would be willing to anonymously critique your book or mentor you. Ask if you can read your book for story-time and see how children react to your book.

6.  Spend time coming up with a superb title

First and foremost, your book needs a good title. This should not just sound good, but should also explain to those who do not know you or your book what they are going to expect when they read it. Also, make sure that your title does not sound scary, does not have any negative connotations, and is free from anything that could be considered controversial. A good title stands alone. In addition, look up your title on Google and Amazon and see what other books and products have similar names. This is an important step that shouldn't be forgotten as once your title is uploaded, it is almost impossible to change.

7. Your cover is more important than your book

When people see a link or advertisement to your book, the first thing they will do is look at the cover and read the title. Often this is only a tiny thumbnail image on a mobile phone. If the title is illegible or does not catch their attention, they will not even read your blurb and they will definitely not buy your book. Your cover should tell us about what we will expect in the book. If you are doing your own cover, take time to look at other popular books in your genre to see how a good cover looks. A cover is not just an image and a title, its layout, typeface, and understanding industry standards. Zoom out until your image is very small and see if it still works. My advice is to only do your own cover if you have experience in book or graphic design. Unfortunately, you can usually always spot a first time author by the cover of their book. A good cover sells a book because you only get one chance to make a first impression. 

8. A great blurb says it all

Amazon, for example, only shows the first 2-3 sentences of your blurb and then writes 'more...' You need to catch people's attention in those first few sentences so that they click on either the 'more' button or buy your book. Hook your reader. Tell them why your book is so great and give them a taste as to what your book is about. While putting together my Best Coronavirus Children's Books blog post, I looked at hundreds of product pages and the majority of pages I saw were from first time authors.  Many, were teachers, parents, and medical workers who decided to try to break into the children's book market for the first time. Although some of the newcomers surprised me with their concepts, ingenuity, and talent, others had absolutely no idea what they were doing. Nowhere in your blurb, for example, should you put yourself down and say that you are not a professional writer or illustrator. This may be true, but keep that information to yourself. If you are a teacher, than promote yourself with your experience working with children. If you are a parent, use that. And, don't forget to write in the third person. 

9. Consider self-publishing

Personally, I am a fan of self-publishing. Platforms like Amazon KDP are free. Why should you spend thousands of dollars on a hybrid publisher when you can learn how to do it yourself and save all of that money? Learning how to self-publish is also not that difficult. It just takes a little time and effort. Plus, there are many advantages. You will receive full royalties instead of having to share them with a publisher. This is a huge difference. Traditional and many hybrid publishers take a huge chunk of your paycheck. You also own your book and its rights. This means that if you decide to sell your book somewhere else or change a part of it, you can. Self-publishing puts you in the driver's seat.

10. Don't stop now

In order to be successful, treat publishing like a business. If you really want to make it in self-publishing, you will need to have more than just one book. Like many, I didn't begin really earning money until my fourth or fifth book. It takes time to get to know the industry. If you are serious about publishing children's books as more than just a hobby, join the Society of Children's Book Writer and Illustrators. They offer invaluable courses on how to write and illustrate, critique groups, and have chapters all over the world. I would never have gotten to where I am if I hadn't joined this wonderful group of people.

If this all seems to overwhelming, I understand. When I first got started it seemed like a lot to take in. This is why I began offering webinars and consultation services. There were so many things that I had wished I had known when I began that I know now. 

I hope these tips help to get you started. Good luck! You'll find more information about A Little Donnerwetter Books and how to sign up for my latest webinar "Have you ever wanted to write a children's book?" on my author website at KelleyDonner.com.

An Elf Erased My Picture

This year, my kids and I decided to join forces and create a children’s book. The result is An Elf Erased My Picture, a story about a mischievous elf who grabs an eraser off a shelf and begins erasing a boy’s picture as he jumps around the page. My 8 and 11 year old helped by drawing the illustration for the boy’s picture. I drew the other illustrations. It’s a fun read aloud and at the end, you can help the boy to draw back his picture. 

The idea for this book actually came from a Christmas card that my son Lukas, who was then only 7, made using linocut. It was a cute little image of Santa on his sleigh with four reindeer. I always loved this card. At the time it made me realize that no matter how hard I might try to draw something childlike, no one is better at making adorable childlike images than an actual child. Therefore, when I got the idea for An Elf Erased My Picture, I realized that I was not the best person to draw the boy's picture.

My first thought was to have my son Lukas, who drew the original Christmas card I like so much, draw the boy's picture. However, he was no longer a little kid. Lukas is already 11 years old and 11 year old's like to draw things realistically. I also didn't want to ask him to draw as if he were younger. Luckily, I also had a younger child in the house. Max is only 8 and also loves to draw. So I asked Max if he could draw me a picture of Santa and his sleigh flying over a house. I showed him his brother's Christmas card to give him an idea of what I wanted. And man did Max deliver! His image was fantastic and just what I needed for my book. Because both brothers were actually involved in the inspiration and creation of this book, I added both their names to the dedication (Older brother Jonas already has a book dedicated to him, so he didn't mind). 

My second challenge was time. I had a great idea, a boy's picture, and a text that I quickly spit out at my computer, but I still needed loads of editing and illustrations. Why don't I think of Christmas ideas sooner? I decided not to waste any time and I drew and painted all of the illustrations within a week. Then I got my mother on the phone, the best rhyming editor out there, to help me refine my text. Somehow we were able to get the whole thing put together in only three weeks. An Elf Erased My Picture was ready, just in time for the holidays.

I think it makes a great gift for teachers as well as for little budding artists and Secret Santa. You can get it currently on Amazon or order from your favorite book sto
re. Here is the ISBN: 978-1-955698-02-03 and the link for more info: https://www.kelleydonner.com/an-elf-erased-my-picture

School is More Than a Building

A new children's book

This past year has been tough on all of us. My kids really hated being stuck at home and were overjoyed to be back in school again. I hadn't realized just how hard it was going to be for them being out of school for so long. They missed their friends, their teachers, and everything about the way their school day used to be. The day they went back, I felt inspired to write a story. It's called School is More Than a Building. 

A great school is so much more than a building, it is a place where...

The pandemic has made it painfully clear just how sensitive children are to the world around them and how important schools are for many children’s health and well-being. Not all children come from a happy home and for many schools are a place of refuge and escape. It is important that children are aware that schools are not only a place of learning but a safe place where there are people that they can trust and go to if they need help. Please help me in making schools a positive place for children where they are able to learn in an environment where they feel safe and loved.

You can watch my story-time video including a sneak preview into the world of illustration and a drawing lesson on my website KelleyDonner.com. In addition, you'll find a resource pack for primary schools with lesson plans, activity sheets, and art lessons. 

School is More Than a Building is now available on Amazon, and from most major book retailers such as Barnes and Noble, Target, Follett, and the Book Depository.

School is More Than a Building
Published on May 27, 2021from A Little Donnerwetter Books
ISBN 9781955698993 Paperback
ISBN 9781955698009 Hardback

A Very Corona Christmas: Santa Stays Home

One Crazy Year

This has been a crazy year. Nevertheless, I have been amazed by how differently everyone has been experiencing it. I know a lot of people who have complained this year that nothing has happened. No vacations. No conferences. No nothing (I apologize, but sometimes a double negative just sounds appropriate). However, I feel like just the opposite is true. Yes, we haven't gone on holiday. Yes, I wasn't at any events. But, yes, this year everything has been different. Although many of these things have been stressful for me, they have also pushed me to see things from a different perspective. 

What Would Santa Do?

One morning while talking with my children about Christmas, I began to think about what Santa would be feeling and seeing this year. So together with my children, we brainstormed what life would be like at the North Pole in the midst of such a chaotic year. It was fascinating to hear the children's perspective of how Santa would react to the Covid19 epidemic. Of course, they were worried about Santa's safety. He's rather old, and children know already that it would not be good for an elderly person to get the coronavirus. In addition, my kids expected that a lot of the same things that they experience, must happen at the North Pole, too.

Elves watching kids
on Zoom

Soon, it was clear to me that there was a story to be told. How would Christmas look this year for Santa? I sat down at my computer and didn't leave until I hadn't written the entire text to A Very Corona Christmas. Every few minutes one of my children would come in and ask me if I was finished. I would have to read to them how far I was and then they gave me their input on what I had already written. Soon, I got a lot of, "Mom, you have to add this..." and "Don't forget to add this..." I also got critique now and then, too. If it weren't for my kids, this story would have never happened. Once again, I am thankful for their inspiration and great ideas.

Santa baking bread
during lockdown

A Very Corona Christmas

Once my story was done, I sat back and thought about what I wanted to do next. I realized that this book should be published. Children this year really need something to look forward to. They deserve to have a great Christmas. A Very Corona Christmas would be perfect to remind kids that Santa would never let them down, even during a pandemic. Nevertheless, I needed illustrations. It was already mid-October. I knew, I would need to have the entire project finished in about 7-10 days. I honestly didn't know if that would even be possible. The illustrations for Little Jack Thomson's Magnificent Brain took me most of a year. Was I crazy to try to illustrate a book in a week? 

Santa-tizer on
Santa's new sleigh

I decided that I was going to at least try. I started sketching. Then I googled Santas and elves and sketched some more. I looked at some other illustrators that I really enjoy. I love Laura Numeroff's books, such as If you Give A Mouse a Cookie, and how the illustrations pop out of the white background. I also enjoy Benji Davies characters and their simplicity. Personally, I also think that good illustrations tell a story that the text cannot tell by itself and have little jokes that only adults might understand (as long as they are child-friendly, of course). David Shannon is a perfect example of this. Although I have a tendency to get too detailed, I really concentrated this time on trying to make the illustrations simple and not to over-think. I knew I didn't have much time and I wanted the story to shine through. 

Santa reading a
letter from the President

9 exhausting days later, my book was finished. I hit the publish button and off it was sent to the big library in the clouds. This time I even surprised myself. I hadn't realized that I was capable of writing, illustrating, and publishing a book in 8 days. This year has been crazy and has pushed me in a way that I didn't know was possible. Life is short. There is no time to waste. If you have an idea, it's time to make it happen.

A Very Corona Christmas is now available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.

 

A Pandemic Silver-lining

How Writing a Covid19 Children’s Book 

Changed the Way I Publish

February was not a good month to be sick with a cough. Nevertheless, I had one and it ended up being one of the worst colds of my entire life. At the time, Covid19 was just becoming an issue and my continual coughing caused more fear than sympathy. Therefore, I went into lockdown before it ever became a bad word. Then my kids came down with my colds, homeschooling began, and questions about this mysterious virus began to get real. It was impossible to keep the kids in the dark. They began to worry and their questions became harder and harder to answer. Will we get to go back to school? When can we see our friends? Why can’t grandma visit? Is grandma going to die? Will you die? Can I die? These are not easy questions to answer, especially when no one really knew that much about Covid19.

Lockdown Inspiration

One afternoon while playing around with torn construction paper, I suddenly realized an easy way to explain to my six year old about the virus. Just as many of my stories come to me out of the blue and overtake my thought processes, this one wouldn’t let go. The story of a happy, carefree green line whose life changes suddenly when one day some of the orange and purple lines in her town begin to turn crooked. I began tearing paper, scanning it in, and writing down the story that had appeared in my head. Within 24 hours, I had assembled the beginning of a book which would end up becoming one of the most popular children’s books about the coronavirus. I called it TheDay the Lines Changed. 

My Advantage

By early March stories about the notorious coronavirus began to arrive from all corners of the globe. I began to realize that the story that I had written to console my boys had marketing potential. Large publishers need months to years to bring out a story as they require the collaboration of various people from book designers and illustrators to marketing experts. As someone who had already self-published a couple of children’s books and done my own writing, illustrating, and book design, I realized an opportunity. I quickly got to work. My last book had taken a year to write and illustrate. Nevertheless, within a week I had published the first draft of The Day the Lines Changed on Amazon. I decided to give the first two months earnings (March and April) to local charities which support children’s mental health. After April, I figured if the book was still making some money, I could use the extra cash to pay off my Master’s degree. At the time, I thought I would be lucky if I sold a couple hundred books and I never imagined that the pandemic would get so out of hand.

Learning by Doing

Unlike most children’s books, coronavirus children’s books were an absolutely new idea. I began to look on Amazon everyday. I would type in “coronavirus children’s books” or “pandemic picture books” and see which books continually came up. I began to get to know the competition, which grew by the day. Quickly I began to see why some books sold more than others. The cover looked more professional, you could look inside the book and read the story, the idea was great, or the blurb especially appealing. I began tweaking my story. I improved the cover. I improved my blurb. I increased the look inside function to 70% so that people could read my story. I made a story-time video on Youtube. I began to advertise and post on social media. I started doing interviews. I learned basic analytics. Soon, my numbers began to improve. 

I also decided to contact other authors of coronavirus children’s books. I looked at who was in the top ten and I sent them each a letter. I introduced myself and asked them why they wrote their book and their story. Soon, I began to see a trend. We were mothers, teachers, and all had some artistic experience. In addition, we were all privileged enough to be able to have had the time to do what we did. Writing, illustrating, book design, and marketing all take precious time and usually amount to little income. None of us had a traditional book contract, but we all had the ambition to venture into the unknown. We had all decided that the benefits outweighed the risks. Interestingly enough, for many of my colleagues, this was the first book that they had ever self-published.

As Covid19 began to really hit the US hard, teachers all over began to talk on social media about what they were going to do when they went back to school. Having worked as an educator for many years, I knew I could help out. I used my research to write an article on my blog The Best Coronavirus Children’s Booksfor back to school. I began to receive more emails from teachers wanting to use my lesson plans in their class. More than any newspaper article or interview, social media post or podcast, word of mouth about my book began to fuel sales. By August I began to sell 40 books a day and at its peak, I was selling well over a hundred. In September, The Day the Lines Changed was featured in the Washington Post as one of the top coronavirus children’s books on the market and had made over 10,000 dollars. My book had gone further than I had ever imagined possible.

Moving Forwards

Publishing a coronavirus children’s book has taught me more in 6 months about publishing than all of the writing classes and seminars I’ve been to in my lifetime. A book is so much more than its text. When I wrote The Day the Lines Changed, I didn’t know what would happen. But, I knew that if I didn’t take a chance I would never know what could happen. The worst case scenario was that my book would fail. I was willing to accept that. It is only after you have accepted that you can handle the worst case scenario that you can begin to look at how you can achieve the best. At that point, you can only move forwards. Thank goodness I did.

For more info on The Day the Lines Changed: KelleyDonner.com

How to Make a Realistic Island Model

This past weekend we had the most dreary weather imaginable - cold, wind, and drizzle all day long, perfect weather for getting creative. My ten year old son had an assignment for school to create a realistic model of an actual island. This couldn't be a made up island, it had to be an actual replica, so we decided to take on the challenge. Everything in the island was made made from stuff we found around the house including cardboard, aluminum foil, sponges, glue, Modpodge, and paint.

My son loves Jurassic Park and wanted to do Isle Nublar even though it is not an actual island. Therefore, after much discussion, we decided that making a replica of the big island of Hawaii, where most of the film was shot, was the next best thing. After explaining to him that we could not make the model as big as our kitchen table, we compromised on making a replica about as big as a piece of A3 paper. 

All three of my boys got really into this project and helped out. In the end, they were all really proud of their work and thought that their island looked about as real as it could get it. I was very impressed. If you want to make one of your own, here's how.

How to Make Your Island

Step 1: Making the base

We began by looking through images on Google for pictures of Hawaii. We finally found a topographical map of the island and printed it out at the size we wanted.Then we cut out a few of the main layers from the page and used them as patterns for cardboard cut-outs. For the mountain peaks, we crumbled up aluminum foil.

For the water, we used a base of cardboard.  Don't forget to trace the area in the middle where the island will go later. Then glue rolls of aluminum foil to make waves and hot glue them onto the base. Try to make the waves look as if they are crashing toward the island. When you have made enough, take another piece of aluminum foil and press it over the entire base.