Picture Book in Progress

Hi guys, its Dalni back again!
 This week’s post will be about the picture book I’m working on! I’ve written the story for it, and am now working on the illustrations. It’s about three quarters of the way completed. It really just started as a fun little side project, but now I’m really hoping to finish the book and have it published. More than anything the picture book started as an excuse to do some drawing. I drew some sketches, and those developed into characters, and once they became characters, that’s how their stories started evolving. I started thinking about what they would be like if you met them; what their traits would be, how they would behave, and what kind of back story they would have.
 
I’d like to make this picture book into a series, with each of the characters ending up with their own individual story. The story I’m working on currently centers around Delphie, a shy little mermaid who has trouble talking to the other mer-kids. I’ve written and staged the entire story, and I’m a little more than* halfway through the illustrations. I can’t wait until I can bring this project to life!
 

Click here I think this story will be really relatable for a lot of children out there. Delphie is close to my own heart. I was very shy as a child myself and sometimes a little awkward in social situations. That lead to a kind of anxiety forming around trying to make new friends. I know there must be a lot of other people out there with a similar struggle. As I got older, it became a little easier, and now I love to meet new people! I’m hoping that this story will help kids realize that making new friends isn’t so scary after all, and that the other kids probably want to play with them as much as they want to play with the other kids! I hope that this story will help inspire children to branch out, and be the first step towards helping them shed off the feelings of fear and isolation that can come with shyness or anxiety.
 
I think the hardest part about this little story writing adventure of mine will be actually getting it published. I’ve heard about self publishing, but I’m not sure that that is the route I’d like to take. I’m honestly a little lost about how I would go about getting this story published. I’ve done a little research, but that actually just seems to be confusing me more! There’s a lot of old, or conflicting information out there, and it seems like things may have changed a lot in the past few years in regards to publishing. I’ve read that I need an agent to be published, or else no publisher will look at the manuscript; considering it “unsolicited”. I’ve also heard however, that it can be a good idea to forgo the agent, thereby avoiding paying a portion to an agent, and try to find publishing houses who accept unsolicited manuscripts from new authors.
 
I’ve also heard that it may not be the best idea to illustrate your own story, and while I’m not 100% attached to my current drawings, I’d love be to able to both illustrate and write the picture book. I may be just getting ahead of myself. Once the book is actually finished is when can hammer out all of these confusing issues. Until then I will continue work on this little project! I know you will all be patiently waiting for it to be done. If you have any questions or comments, or know a little more about publishing than I, feel free to leave me a comment! Thank you all for reading; until next week!to edit.