Illustrators

Sorry, but it ain't up to you, especially if you have nothing in print yet.

99.9999999999997747839436% of the time, the publisher hires the illustrator, but on the bright side, if you sell your first manuscript to one of the really big houses, they'll pair you with a first-rate illustrator. Your own name might not be known but an illustrator with a following could tip the scale in your favor.

You probably won't have any input on the illustrations but that's standard operating procedure. Every publisher has a house style and every illustrator has an individual artistic vision. That means the author has to be the most willing to give, but it's worth it. You might not even see the illustrations until the publisher sends you the galleys.

It's the nature of the biz, and if you're willing to live with it and have a story worth publishing, you'll do just fine.

Joe is 100% correct.

That's right. Actually, it's a relief. If you have a good children's book - and it's accepted - no need to worry about the illustrator. They'll assign one for you. So, you can submit it and stop worrying about it and start working on your next one!

You're not alone in thinking that editors want illustrations with the ms. Someone I know handed me their manuscript (a picture book) to look over. He had it laid out as it would look when/if published. A certain amount of words per page, and beautiful illustrations done by his good friend. (I actually like the illustrations better.) I smiled, handed it back and said, "Submit just your ms., in proper format. That's all most editors want to see." He took offense and I haven't heard from him since. At least you took the given info graciously!

Just make sure you format it properly. Most kid lit editors like Courier 12 pt. font. Double space between lines. New paragraphs get indented. Name and address on title page, left corner, word count on right corner. Don't worry about how many words on the page. Just number the subsequent pages like this in the upper right: Title/ your last name/ page.

Good luck!