Why I’m Redrawing my Debut picture book (And what it taught me about indie publishing)
Well, let’s start at the beginning. Back in 2024, when I decided I would become an author, everything began with one spark. My child handed me the very first idea for a children’s picture book. Yes, my debut was born from my child’s imagination, and I turned that spark into a full story he could hold in his hands.
Did I know anything about what I was getting myself into? Absolutely not.
I walked into the world of publishing almost blindfolded. All I knew was how the story would go and that I had A4 watercolour paper and paints ready for when I began illustrating. Little did I know that painting full page illustrations on A4 watercolour paper was going to cause me more issues than I ever expected.
So I did what any newbie does. I created. I wrote the story, then picture by picture I hand drew and painted each one. They looked amazing, vibrant, colourful. I invested in having my debut edited by a professional after all the changes I made myself. Many drafts, many rewrites, until it was ready for the editor. Then three more rounds of edits with the editor to shape the perfect story that is available today.
The illustrations were professionally scanned, and that’s when the next surprise hit. I had used fluorescent paints, glitter paints and normal colours all in one picture to give it that magical feel. I didn’t realise that scanners, no matter how professional, wouldn’t pick up those colours the same way the painting looked. Even so, the scans still turned out vibrant and beautiful. Or so I thought.
I didn’t know much about the printing side of things, or even what I needed to make my book a book. So I went on Amazon and bought so many books on how to self publish, how to market, how to everything. I read each one, and wow, there was a lot of information. I had barely scratched the surface.
After letting it all soak in, I bought the Affinity universal package so I had all the software I needed. Using Affinity Publisher and Affinity Photo for my debut, I came across my first big issue. The trim size. I needed the book to be landscape but smaller than A4 so the image would fill the page properly without stretching. Looking back now, I know I should have painted them on A3 or even A2 to get the perfect book, but it was too late. I had over twenty pages already painted. So I played with trim sizes until everything looked right. For double pages, I had to get creative.
I also have a personal issue with white paper. It always looks unfinished to me, but I didn’t realise that this is standard in the industry. So what did I do? I made sure every page had full colour.
I sat there thinking I had done it. I had a book in front of me, well, on my screen anyway, and a cover made. It looked great until I tried to upload it and everything went wrong. So began the tweaking, the proofs, the adjustments, until finally it was correct.
People don’t often talk about how hard their journey was. They only talk about the wins. Wins are wonderful, but they don’t help aspiring authors. So here’s what happened next. After approving the proof, I ordered two hundred copies only to find every single book had a fault. I returned them all and got stuck in a dispute for a refund. The printer will remain anonymous. After that, I moved to another printer. After trial and error, I finally had books to sell.
One day I walked into Waterstones thinking I could buy my own book because I saw it on their website. It was listed through Gardners since I had my own ISBN. But I couldn’t buy it. More research was needed. More books. More learning.
Why did I keep hitting a wall?
Well, I’m not the type to give up. I learned that to reach bookshops I needed IngramSpark, and if I was going to do that, I also needed Amazon KDP. I had already put my book on Amazon myself through FBA, but I thought KDP might be a better option. That’s when the next snag appeared.
My current trim size isn’t available on KDP or Ingram. They also don’t offer gloss paper, only matte. Because my debut was hand painted and scanned without digital tweaks, it needed gloss paper to make the illustrations pop.
Three months after releasing my debut, I had learned even more. More research, more discoveries. It turns out I would need a whole new trim size for KDP and Ingram. Then I thought, why don’t I turn my debut digital? Leave white where it’s needed, even though every fibre of my being resists it, because I want it to look professional and match what traditional publishers produce.
So now I am in the process of redoing my debut as digital illustrations and colours, and on a new trim size that is compatible with KDP and Ingram.
From all of this, please don’t be discouraged. You will run into snags, many snags, but each one teaches you something. Each one helps you grow, just as they did for me.
In the meantime, my debut remains the original hand painted version. When the new digital version is released, the original will become a limited edition.
Going digital will allow me to get my books into bookshops, schools, libraries and reach places I can’t reach right now. It is more work, but the amount I’ve learned and the growth I’ve experienced is out of this world.
Keep reaching for the stars, because like me, you will reach them one day. Then marketing will become your next challenge. A fun one, I promise.
If you would like to buy a copy of my book Dreamy Goes to the Moon, the hand painted limited edition, you can do so here. If you want free printable activities for kids, you can grab them here. If you want to sign up to my email list for exclusive deals, behind the scenes updates and early news about upcoming books, you can sign up here.
