Mike Motz - Children's Book Publishing Services

The four simple steps that take place from our initial contact right through to artwork delivery or finished printed book/ebook.

It outlines your responsibilities as creator and client as well as the aspects of the project that I'm responsible for. The process may look daunting at first, but the vast majority of my clients can't believe how simple it is once they've experienced it. It is my desire to make the whole process of the artwork production for your book as simple and as fun for you as possible.

Step 1: Our Initial Contact

Please read over the information on this website.
It has been written to educate you on the adventure you are about to begin!

Email me for a quote with this information:

- the Illustration Style that you'd like for your story
- the written descriptions for all the illustrations for your story.

Here's an example of how to write the illustration descriptions:

Page 1
(Note to Illustrator: In this illustration Uncle Joe is shown with Bobby and his cousins setting up games while everyone gathers around the picnic table, view of barn in the background)

Text for this page:
Uncle Joe is in charge of games. He knows just what to play.
Bobby's cousins will be there, too. What a terrific day!

Page 2
(Note to Illustrator: In this illustration Aunt Sophie is shown in her new shoes at the bus station picking up Cousin Stewart)

Text for this page:
Cousin Stewart will take a bus to get there from the city.
Aunt Sophie will wear a sparkly shoes. She likes to look so pretty.

Written descriptions are your thoughts as to what you have envisioned for your story and must be included to give the illustrator a "step in the right direction" as to what you are looking for in the illustrations. You may think that your story's text adequately explains what the illustrations should look like but that is not the case. By adding illustrator notes now you'll be saving yourself and the illustrator potential headaches down the road. If you believe that your notes will not allow the illustrator to use his creative freedom this is also not the case, if the illustrator has better ideas for the illustrations then they will include it in the pencil sketches.

After I've read the information in your email quote request I then provide you with a quote for illustrations for your book.
If you find the quote that I supply you is to your liking then we proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Let's Get This Party Started!

The Contract and Deposit Payment

Once you have confirmed that my quote is acceptable, I then create the contract for the work. The contract is written in plain English, not legal doublespeak, and outlines the work to be done, the payment methods, and when each installment payment (three in all) is due. This contract is then emailed to you for your review. If the contract is acceptable, you then print the contract, fill in the required information, sign it and either email it or regular mail the contract back to me.

Payment for projects is accepted with International Money Order (available at your local post office), cashier's check (available at your bank), or credit card or money transfer through PayPal (www.paypal.com). I use PayPal for all credit card verification.

Please note: No work begins until the deposit has been received.

Step 3: The Real Excitement Begins!

The Creative Process

Once your book's size has been finalized, sketching can begin on the illustrations for your book. As the illustrator completes the black and white rough pencil sketches I email them to you for approval. It is your responsibility to review the sketches and if you'd like changes made to the sketches then list the changes in point form in a reply email. Change requests will only be accepted by email.

If you approve of the sketches then please state that in your reply email. The client is allowed one revision to each pencil sketch before additional charges apply. If a revision is required due to the fault of the illustrator then additional charges will not apply for the resulting revision.

Once all the black and white sketches are completed and approved by you the second installment payment is then required.

Once the second installment payment has been received work begins on the finished colored illustrations. As before, like with the black and white sketches, I email the low resolution (email-friendly) color images to you for approval and you reply with either a change request or approval of the image. For the color illustrations you are allowed one revision to the colors (only) in each illustration. Should you require additional changes to the color beyond that one revision or should you require changes to the original sketch (before color was applied) then additional charges will apply. As before, if a revision is required due to the fault of the illustrator then additional charges will not apply for the resulting revision.

After all the color illustrations have been completed and approved by you then the third (final) payment is required.

Step 4: The Final Stage

After I receive the final payment from you, I will place all your book illustrations in my DropBox* folder and email you a link where you can pick them up and (if you've purchased one of my publishing packages) begin the artwork for your publishing package. When the publishing package artwork is complete, I'll email you an electronic proof of your finished book for your approval. Once approval has been received from you on the electronic proof then your book goes to print using Amazon's wonderful CreateSpace book publishing service. Your book will then be available for sale on Amazon.com and other booksellers (should you choose).

If you have any questions about these steps
I'll be happy to answer them for you.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Email: motzartwork@gmail.com

*DropBox (www.dropbox.com) is a super easy file transfer system that works a lot like the way you move files between folders on your computer. I put the illustrations in my DropBox folder and send you an email link to where you can pick them up. It's safe and fast, and if you have your own publisher they can pickup the illustrations from the DropBox folder too, which means that your book will get published faster... and that's a very good thing.