WRITING & ILLUSTRATING my own CHILDREN'S BOOK after being REJECTED 

I was in a similar situation. I submitted my stories to dozens of agents and publishers over the years, with no success. So I decided to launch my own publishing company and my first picture book will be released in early June of 2024 with more stories ready to go. It’s a great feeling doing it on your own, doing it the way you want to do it. More power to you and best of luck.

Large quality work takes time. Give yourself the time you need. If funds get low work on making money, then go back to it. You might not finish in the time you want, but it will be of the quality and standard you want in your work. Nobody will comment on how you got the work done in the anticipated time frame. They will comment on what you produce. What you produce is your reputation.

I have no idea why RU-vid suggested this video to me but OH MY GOSH you are soooooo talented!!! I was shocked when I watched you painting and I cannot understand why no publisher responded to you. I am truly sorry for you but also think you are better on publishing it yourself! All the children's book look so similar nowadays but your style truly stands out! I do believe it will work out for you!! ❤❤

I'm shure your book was supposed to be rejected so you can make it fully yours, which is even better and more personal. It IS a masterpeace, so I don't believe that your illustrations weren't deserving it to be rejecting. Love your work 💙

I looove this attitude! I think waiting for any agencies /labels (in other industries as well) to be "kindly accepted" is overrated. Good luck!

I absolutely understand why you are doing it so big. Like the illustrations that use Adobe or Procreate for the tablets and PC, they can zoom out to get the fine detail that they want. Once they zoom back in, the detail is smaller but it makes a big difference in the piece. It’s the same with how you are doing it. Since you are not able to zoom in and out. You are in the “zoom out” phase of your illustration. Once you photo it, it will be in the “zoom in” stage. Love what you are doing. Great work.

the painting reminds me of Laura Stern!! it’s so cute! Laura Stern is a super popular german children’s book series about a little girl called Laura that helps a hurt little star that lost one of it spikes.. pure nostalgia!!! Your painting turned out really beautiful

I’ll buy one. 100% I will. Sometimes you just have to take things into your own hands!

It’s really great to see an artist who is genuinely passionate about their work. You hear a lot about people who do things solely for monetary gain or five-seconds of fame, but it’s clear how much you love what you do. I truly admire how much detail and attention you put into a single piece of artwork. Good luck with your book!

This video randomly got recommended and it made me happy, I hope this dream comes true for you and the book is a massive success!

Retired writer here. I've had 37 books published by 2 major publishers, and a 25 yr career so.. some inside advice. 1st, Children's books are actually the hardest genre to sell. You must have the age group target locked in before you start. (I-3, 3-5, 6-8 etc) Find a book on the shelves now that is similar. those are the houses and editors you submit first. (Same goes for any book) See The Writer's Market for names, addresses, requirements of each Publishing House. 2. Illustrations and manuscript by the same person is a big difference. If you do not have illustrations, the publisher will choose and you have little say in the matter. Submit manuscript and art as ONE manuscript. Be open to editorial changes, even art work changes. That's the price of writing. You have to know how to and be willing to, edit yourself. Another point in your cover letter is to add in references to what you have produced and sold of your other works. No work, just the links and refences. It's showing you have reliable professionalism. An agent will help open the door and get on the desk of the editor you want. To Editors, the agent means you passed the first gauntlet of publishing. You submit to the agent 1st, and if you have submitted to a House prior, you must tell the agent. Have TWO books, ready to go. I have never met an editor who wanted to buy the one-book only writer. They always want 2 books from a new author. The sales of those 2 will determine your 3rd book purchase and release. They need to know you can produce and do it on time. Accept that rejection and growing a thick skin is the hallmark of being a published writer. I once had 2 series proposals = 7 stories, rejected in one day. As a new writer, that would have ended me, But I'd had 18 books by then. So... I revised them and sold them bother to other publishers.

wow im blown away!!! i simply dabble in watercolour and I hadn't even imagined you could do this on such a SCALE! BLOWN AWAY!!!!!! absolutely incredible work💘 it's so nostalgic and sweet. i love the vibe of it i hope you can stay on track and finish it next year😮 much love!!

Girl, good luck!!! I wish you the best and it's so lovely that you bring us along for the ride. RU-vid seems a better medium for this than Instagram I really hope all your dreams come true

RU-vid suggested me this video and I watched it without blinking. Love your work and love you vibes! I will be following your journey ! Good luck !!!

You will refine a process and build up speed as you go. Awesome results and mega-scale! Beautiful work.

SO inspiring and visionary! And your art style is incredible: warm, nostalgic, and expert all in one. This will be a core memory for the children who read it!!

Don’t rush yourself! I know you really want to finish and publish, but if you rush yourself you will be upset with yourself afterwards that you didn’t give every page all the love and attention it deserves. I know because that happened with me and a comic book series I was making for my class. I rushed making 4 volumes of comics fully lined and coloured in one month. I finished, but wasn’t fully proud of it.

"Numbah 2: It's iconic" Girl I LOOOVE you lol. I'm working on a graphic novel, and I've been considering drawing each page by hand on a large scale. I'm so inspired. Thank you!

This is incredible, never have I ever commented on a video, NEVER! But needed to let you know how much I admire you!❤

love that you decided to go ahead to illustrate and write this book on your own despite the rejections, good luck! your watercolour work is amazing 🤩

With dedication, passion and talent like yours it is sad that you cannot spend full time making the world more beautiful with your illustrations. They are so perfect and inspiring.

you go girl! i'm so proud of you i LOOOVE that attitude. just wow. may blessings come your way

This is spectacular and ambitious! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a watercolor painting at this scale and level of detail. I am so enthralled and your work is gorgeous. I look forward to following your journey and congratulations!

This is sooo awesome and I actually get to watch it unfold from the beginning!! Can’t wait to see your future progress!!

Im so impressed that you wont let anything stop you and I wish you the best. The illustration is incredible and reminded me a bit of a german tv show i watched when i was small called lauras stern. This book will probably also be a core memory for many children in the future🩷I wish you much success with the book

Beautiful work!!! As a fellow watercolourist I know how much time and effort goes into each piece!

i love this, so beautiful i’m crying you are so talented and i can’t wait to see this evolve ❤

This is simply stunning, congratulations, hope the best for you really, your style is such a breath of fresh air and I love it

omg i absolutely adore your art style!!! it feels so whimsical and nostalgic and the colours are stunning and really takes me back to books i used to read as a kid. can't wait to follow you on this journey 💖

I've never done publishing works traditionally before, I had absolutely NO idea the pages had to be so big!? Or was this just a personal choice due to detail? It looks amazing it's just so huge I wasn't expecting that haha. Large watercolours used to be so common - more classically speaking of course, many were about 3 feet x 2 feet in size so they could achieve almost oil-like detail. It's nice to see!

Your art is fabulous! I wish you utmost success with this book and all of your future books!

Underrated. The amount of detail is amazing and the story line is awesome. I reallly wish you luck in getting published! ✨

I’m a fan. I’m so charmed by what I see so far. Hearing your story makes me so much more excited for the launch of your book.

The art is phenomenal, cant wait to see the end result, will be buying your book, your such an inspiration!!!

Your colors and gradation are very beautiful! Thank you for sharing!

I love this, it’s so beautiful to see you pursue your dream. And the time and effort you put into it will pay off in due time, I just know it!!

wow. THIS IS SOOOO INCREDIBLE. I came across your video on my recommended and I am so glad that I decided to click because this is so inspiring!! I know you will achieve all your goals that you have in mind, I can't wait to see the finished product!! This is such a unique and amazing project

It's cool, I am completely with you on the scale, on doing it the way you do - all by yourself , with the thousands of treasure-like details, thoroughly and exactly with watercolor... It is amazing and beautiful and you will pull through I am sure!!❤❤❤

I just had you pop up on my recommended list here and decided to watch. I am so excited for you and I’m so excited to read this book. I’m going to have my first grandchild this year. I am going to continue to follow you to watch for its release. Good luck to you.

Omg this is beautiful!! This is such a long-term hard work project and it is so impressive that you are putting so much into it. I can't wait to see the progress-- and even if it takes longer for you to put it out! If it keeps you doing it to slow down and give yourself a longer timeline I think that is worth it!

The rendering of the little girl’s face is STUNNING. I am utterly blown away by the detail and meaning in each stroke. Well done!

I love this! The idea everything truly inspiring.

What a beautiful piece of art! I wish you much success with your book

You are so talented!! Cannot wait for the book to be released, it’s going to be such a hit! 🤩

I love your patience and commitment. Good things take time❤

this is so inspiring in sharing just the journey i love this… excited to see where this goes ❤❤

Beautiful!! You are doing a lovely job!! You are going to get much stronger as you go along, and faster. Blessings! Enjoy!

I once illustrated a cookbook of recipes from my mom, for my brother as a gift. It took well over a year and a half. And I worked on a muuuuch smaller scale. So to me end of next year seemed like a pretty accurate time frame.

I love this so much! I’ve been working on a childrens book (also self illustrated in watercolour) and this really inspires me!! 🥹 your work is amazing

Absolutely gorgeous, i love your art style 💕💕

wish you all the best for your journey!! this is amazing! :)

Proud of you!

Im only 17, but when you're going to publish the book, I'm the first buying it I love the concept and I feel like if I give such beautiful book to my future child, they would immediately get hooked up with reading Thank you for your hard work, you will become such a great inspiration for children

I cannot wait to preorder the book! I’m also extremely inspired by you and going for it as well as making a TY chanel because its so beautiful to watch! YOU GO BABE!!!!

Amazing work! And great project! I have a great feeling about it! Looking forward to following your journey ❤

Stunning work!❤

Awe that is beautiful,keep going.🌺🌺🥰

Younare a champ for doing this. I tried doing story illustrations digitally, gave up haha, and it is so much work. i can't believe the time and concentration, doing it all by hand. I wish you alot of luck publishing it!

This reminds me of a german children book series called Lauras Stern ''Lauras Star''. This is so cute !! Well done, i hope you succeed !!

so inspiring!!

omg it's amazing!!!!!

I understand wanting to paint this large for joy but make sure you test print at scale because a lot of the details you are painting are so fine they just won’t print effectively in a book size. And it might save you heart break or time. Also (as a book designer and illustrator) I highly recommend planning your type setting too and how your text and image play together. Hope you have fun on your journey and succeed in your goal.

Yeah ! She is absolutely Great 🌸✌️

the second i have a proper income coming in im gonna sign up for your patreon because your work in incredible and your work ethic is inspiring!

This looks amaaaaazing❤

Absolutely incredible illustration omg

Wishing you the best of luck on your endeavor 💗💗 nothing more admirable than artists who embark on journeys they know will be a challenge but choose to do so anyways! Beautiful artwork btw ✨🫶

Beautiful work! Congrats! ❤

‏It was very amazing and interesting, thank you dear🥹🤍

What a video!!!! ❤❤❤❤ a dream of mine as well. V inspirational

Omg you are so talented came across your channel just few minutes ago and lemme tell you i am instently subscribing!!!!

Beautiful painting, thank you . This is going to be a successful book.

Fantastic and iconic❤

Absolutely beautiful!!!!! I only whish !

Very beautiful work Chantal, and what a project, it is amazing. You are so driven, your book is going to be awesome. You've set a goal, reachable with hard work, but please be kind with yourself if things take more time than expected. It is often the case, especially for a first project, and with high standards. You inspired me a lot in the process of opening my own workshop/gallery, with a part time job also. As you say in Australia, take it easy mate ;) Thank you. Pierre from France

Love your work keep it up😍

You’re going to be so successful for putting your destiny in your own hands. You give me so much hope for my future and taking control of my future. Thank you so much and I wish you so much success and a whole series of children’s books ❤❤❤❤

thanks to the algorhythm. I am going to buy this book! I am exited! Greetings from Berlin - Germany

Ouahou it is just amazing beautifull ,congratulation

I completely understand (as a great lover of detail myself), that you want to make sure the important detail that you love, will be seen in the printed book, but you also need to realize that the finished size of the book has to be taken into account. It is unnecessary to paint the original any larger than about 3x the size of the book's page. Please keep in mind, that any extra detail beyond what the printer can physically print at the finished page size for the book, will not be seen because the data will not be there after it is reduced in size. The initial photograph (or scan) would capture the detail, but it will be most likely be digital. The minimum resolution should be 300 dpi and, you will need to see it ideally, in CMYK format. And then color-corrected to get as close as possible to your original paintings, as well as possibly having to remove any watercolor paper texture that may show up (if you don't want it). Light or pale colors are harder to reproduce digitally and take more time to color correct. Also, any fine art prints that you make to sell, will probably be much smaller than the original size that you have chosen to paint at, and will suffer the same loss of detail to some extent. It may be a good idea to hire a person skilled in art book or children's book production in order to guide you through optimizing the design and layout of the book and the rest of the process, or at least for their expert advice and tips at strategic points in the process. Which could save you lots of time and trouble overall. ❤

I keep a small collection of children's books because of how beautiful and detailed the illustrations can be! Good luck on your journey, i will be keeping an eye out for the release!! 💞

Love Love Love what you're doing and how you're doing it! You've got this!!!! :)

Congrats on making your own children’s book. You got this.

Taking career advice from social media always goes well!

you're amazing!

Watching your video completed my day 😊

This is amazing

I love when people speaking about problems when they have work space like this :) anyway your art is amazing, love it! 100% you are on good path with your own book!

I hope it will be a worldwide best seller, go for it😊

Imagine years later once your book has taken flight how much these OAK paintings will go for?! Collector pieces they are and at the very least an amazing curated gallery show! just phenomenal!.

Amazing artist ❤

I will definitely buy!

As a fellow artist who wants to show the world her art through the lens of social media, I'm so excited that I found your page. You just earned a long-time subscriber. Can't wait to see more of your journey!

this is insanely impressive damn

I enjoyed this so much and thank you, I’ve written a children’s book (a series really) had it edited, but haven’t published it because I have to do. Y own illustrations, and I’m not an artist but something inside of me keeps telling me I can You have inspired me to try 💕

It is Fine Art!

Keep going. 🎉🎉🎉 Celebrating the creator.

I started to think about creating children's books in the past year and it didn't even cross my mind to send anything to publishing houses because it seemed like an obviously bad idea. Self-publishing was obvious best choice.

Fabulous! :)

So beautiful! Many blessings to you and patience - you will finish - don't give up. Linda H