FAQ With Kate
My friend Kate with @creationsbyKK and I had a call this week that I wanted to share. She joined the Delightful course this December, and I am so excited to help her self-publish her first picture book.
Kate specializes in watercolor and lettering and has some experience the Adobe Creative Suite. She’s incredibly talented and passionate. I couldn’t be more amazed on her growth in her business Creations by KK in the past year, including a line of watercolor ornaments and prints for her town of Leesburg, Virginia.
At this point, she has her completed draft of her story and is ready to move into illustration.
This is based on the questions and topics that came up during our conversation I wanted to share them with you in case you had any of the same questions. For more information about self-publishing a picture book, see the Delightful course.
Question: What are your thoughts on me using physical watercolor for my first book over Procreate?
Answer: I have a few thoughts on this. I love the idea of using physical art over digital. So much artwork has moved digital that the flat look of digital seems to be the rule more than an exception. Well-done, well-digitized physical artwork would then be refreshing.
However, there are things you wouldn’t think about in your first book. Even in my second, I had to move things around on the page after I did my initial illustrations to be able to add in type so it is visible and to avoid the gutter space. And with bleed, you may want to adjust your design after finishing it.
I suppose my answer would be yes, do it. But be methodical. Sketch out each spread and lay them out into InDesign with your type before you spend days hand coloring each page. This is a slower route. You’ll need to edit each illustration heavily in Photoshop before bringing them into InDesign. You would also need to adjust your timeline to accommodate that extra time.
Question: On hiring an editor, I have had a few experienced people look over my work. However, none of them specialize in picture books even though they have experience in editing. Should I still hire an editor?
Answer: Short answer, yes. I worked with so many people on my book before seeing a professional, and it blew my mind what she found wrong. Editing is a frustrating process. I will not lie and say I enjoy working through draft after draft, trying to find the diamond in the rough. Try to find someone you can get editing from. There is a list of resources for locating professionals to work with in the Delightful course. That’s a starting point.
Question: I am thinking of ordering 600 books, but then I hear that you had 1,300 orders for your second book when you launched. Do you think I am ordering enough.
Answer: Some of this is specific to Kate, but I think she could order twice that many. Maybe even more. Presale before you place your order can help you measure interest, but there is no real way to know how successful your book will be until people start reading and sharing it. Consider if you will sell wholesale or not, as well. Since Kate already sells wholesale, I know she will want to carry some books in the shops she works with.
Question: On hiring out, what do you do yourself versus what do you pay people to help with?
Answer: As much as I would love to hire someone to run my marketing and social media, it’s all me. Since my brand and me are intertwined, I fear hiring someone would still land much of the work on me. I would consider hiring someone to strategize social media and marketing campaigns as I believe that expertise is something to value here. I just haven’t graduated to that level yet.
I do hire help with shipping during busy seasons. I run most of my sales through my online store or through wholesale I need to ship out. It’s super time consuming at times. I have also hired a babysitter for Sundays so that I may have focused time on writing and planning.
Question: What social media platforms do you use?
Answer: You know I mostly rely on Instagram, but I also use TikTok. I’ve noticed my posts do drastically different in terms of likes and shares based on the platform. I’ve also noticed a huge reduction in interactions on Instagram in the past year for me that feels outside of my control.
I do think it’s important to cultivate my newsletter and strong website as much as social media. Instagram decides who sees my posts and reels. People decide if they open my newsletter, but it’s there for them when I send it. It’s a direct line to the people who care about what I do.
Question: Now that you are a mother on top of everything else you do, do you think your timeline will be different for this next book?
Answer: Short answer, yes. I am having to really budget my time. I think it will be easier once the writing is done and the illustration planning is complete. But I can’t think clearly when I am balancing. I need to be able to find moments of focus.
Some things that came out of the questions I asked Kate:
-She’s spent the time doing the activities presented in the Delightful course and found that she has such a stronger understanding of book structure. I loved talking to her about her cover and end sheet plan. I think that it’s one of most exciting parts of planning book design.
-We also talked about how time-consuming and challenging the whole process is. But it is completely possible. Both of us have seen long projects come to fruition and felt the warmth of pride in that success. Once you’ve seen yourself capable, it is easier to see yourself that way again. For those of you who are feeling overwhelmed, remember this doesn’t happen overnight. You have time to go step by step through the process. It is completely possible, and you are completely capable!
