: Re: Author and Illustration owner I paid an illustrator to do the art for my picture book and I now own the artwork. Am I then allowed to submit to agents as an author/illustrator? How does this

@Moriarity138

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Since you do already own these illustrations, you can use them as a self-publisher, or, in the case that a traditional publisher does want both, you should be entitled to all the royalties without splitting them. However, the original illustrator should still be credited. It's at-the-least unethical to claim their work as yours, even if you have legal ownership of it. Also, you should definitely make sure you have all rights and expectations for the images (and the compensation) spelled out in a signed contact.

Contrary to popular belief it is NOT necessarily better or easier to sell a picture book with illustrations attached. If you ARE an author/illustrator, your best bet is to submit a portfolio, establish yourself as a proven illustrator, and then pitch a book where you've also written the text. Author/illustrators are the gold standard of the industry, true, but the usual career path is to master one side of the slash first, then the other.

It probably won't hurt you to submit a manuscript with pictures attached, but it may not help either. If the story is intimately attached to the pictures, you can provide sketches, but don't expect fidelity to them. If you are primarily a writer, don't commission illustrations unless you are self-publishing. At best, your commissioned illustrations will probably serve as a "proof of concept" that will help the editor visualize your final book. Most publishers like to pair new writers with proven illustrators, and vice versa. Furthermore, they can probably afford much better illustrators than you can.

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