The Process

Being my first time creating and publishing picture books, the process was very open and organic and "go with the flow."

Going into the project, I decided to give the illustrator full creative control over the books' images and visual concepts. Having made a hearty attempt at my own illustrations, i knew how difficult it was not only to draw the pictures but to also come up with what pictures should be there.

it was decided by the illustrator to do 3 books simultaneously, which, looking back, seems totally wild, but that was the decision. I didn't think anything of it at the time, however, and Marybeth chose 3 poems from the pile she liked best and began her work.

After a few months, she showed me the first round of images for "Tomatoes!" and "Sky Ahead", and to say I was blown away would be an understatement. I could not believe the high quality, attention to detail, and workmanship in every page.

Feeling a strong inspiration at the start of the pandemic and the beginning of the quarantine, I quickly wrote out "Stuck Inside", and Marybeth chose to swap out the 3rd poem in order to illustrate it, feeling a similar inspiration.

At this point the majority of the work was on Marybeth and her efforts proved fruitful. After about a year we had nearly final copies and a gentle editing process was done, three rounds of printed proofs, each one tighter and brighter than the last.

Soon enough things came to and end and I had the ultimate luxury of receiving my freshly printed books in the mail.

The project was our own in every way and from start to finish and we stayed true for our desire for artistic integrity. It took us a year and a half from start to finish to complete the books, work through all the paperwork for publication and eventually publish them.

It wasn't always easy and things didn't always run smoothly, but every single incident proved a learned experience. The books are of the highest caliber and cannot be distinguished from books from a "traditional publisher". Working with a professional artist was certainly the key to getting this level of quality.

Morning has begun, so time to sign off... more to come, so stay tuned!

Thank you for reading!

~Meaghan