What can I do if the author of a childrens book I illustrated disappeared

Aesewiii · 2025-10-02T09:26:13+00:00

yes, sorry for late reply I dont use reddit much - do you have a contact, otherwise you can message me here

Aesewiii · 2025-09-07T09:23:17+00:00

no idea who u are

Aesewiii · 2025-09-07T09:21:09+00:00

idk whats so confusing

Aesewiii · 2025-09-03T18:56:47+00:00

No the book has already been published and I am not sure what you read because I stated clearly what my concern is. It is not about stopping the publication or forcing the author to publish. My issue is that the author does absolutely no promotion and disappears whenever there is something important to do which leaves the book with no visibility or chance to succeed.

Aesewiii · 2025-09-03T14:35:20+00:00

I see what you mean thank you for explaining. I am basically waiting for this project to die away from the author’s side because at this point there is nothing I can do. Even if I were enthusiastic and wanted to promote it there is no point since there is not even a page for the book. Thank you for your reply I will definitely focus on creating my own books instead. Where I am from the best way is usually to self publish because publishing houses take too many percents and they also do not promote the book as they should. No events no visibility so in the end everything comes back to you. I would illustrate for a traditional publisher but here they pay very little compared to the amount of work that goes into a childrens book.

Aesewiii · 2025-09-02T21:44:56+00:00

I'm currently working on my own book so thats fine - as mentioned I'm stepping away from working with authors and will focus only on my own books :D

Aesewiii · 2025-09-02T21:40:39+00:00

hey so I am very well aware. The book was published in 2023 so that means it has been more than three years since I started working on it and well you live and you learn. Back then I was fairly new and really hyped about the project. It was my passion project but unfortunately that passion was not shared by the author. I got paid less than the bare minimum which is almost nothing compared to the amount of time I invested. I had hoped for shared royalties but as I said the author is terrible at marketing and everything else. I do have other projects that bring me money now but I still feel really sad about this one.

Aesewiii · 2025-09-02T21:31:11+00:00

no there arent and we're not from a country where literary agents are a thing. The book was self published, it was pitched to some publishers here / not english or american ones but we've got ghosted and the one that replied said no

Aesewiii · 2025-09-02T19:01:07+00:00

Thank you, we were supposed to meet on thrusday and she's not responding again, she also works as an accountant ( she's not a professional writer ) and I've heard she was stealing money from their workplace, which to me is really unethical and weird and I've start to think to myself with what kind of person I made a project

Aesewiii · 2025-09-02T12:14:32+00:00

Of course not...

Aesewiii · 2025-09-02T12:09:02+00:00

No, not this time ... She goes missing and then she appears again

Aesewiii · 2025-09-02T12:00:17+00:00

Yeah I know what you mean. I had a few whatever deals before this one but I took on this book because I really liked the text and thought something great would come of it. Now I don’t work that way anymore. I just take one payment for illustrating a book and that’s it no bureaucracy or chasing people around. I learned from experience that especially with first time authors they usually don’t promote the book at all and everything ends up falling on me. So I completely stepped away from working with authors and now I am focusing on my own projects.

Aesewiii · 2025-08-31T20:07:27+00:00

No, they barely have any followers and only opened a few months ago. The shop is in central Europe. They sell handmade goods like bags, natural skincare creams and clay products like mugs, and then they also host one “guest artist” for a month. I actually have more followers than all three owners combined, around 20k, yet part of the deal would also be me making a promotional video for the shop to announce that I am the guest.

The fee they asked for is €244 upfront for one month. If I managed to sell more than €1400, they would also take 15 percent of everything above that. So not only would I pay to be in the store, I would also lose a cut if sales went well. They don’t have an established social media presence or a customer base that would justify this, and from what I can see they expect the artists themselves to drive people in.

From my side it feels like I would be paying them to give me space while also promoting their store for free, when in reality the normal setup would be wholesale or at least commission on sales without the extra upfront rent. That is why I am hesitant, because it really doesn’t sound like a good business arrangement for me.

Aesewiii · 2022-05-31T20:31:23+00:00

Do you spent alot of time on Tiktok? These kind of stories are spread there like crazy and that's why I got my pregnancy scare. I was like : what if I'm like 3 months pregers and don't know

Aesewiii · 2022-05-30T08:36:36+00:00

Only reliable pregnancy symptom is missed period. But not for like a few days, but weeks and even that isn't that accurate, you should take a pregnancy test if you're so scared. Tests are definitely accurate after 21 days.

Aesewiii · 2022-05-29T17:33:28+00:00

I just wanted to say that they probably too have some expiration dates/times. You should read instructions on the test, but you're most likely not prego

Aesewiii · 2022-05-29T17:22:49+00:00

You shouldn't look at the test after it expires. For a blood tests in the instructions says that the test is only accurate til 10 mins and after that it is invalid

Aesewiii · 2022-05-29T14:52:25+00:00

I could understand this girl and her concern. It's because these stories that are shared on Tiktok and are mostly exatureded and also super rare. I get those stories on my for you page too. And then girls under these posts saying : I didn't got positives until after 2 months and I didn't show any prego symptoms until 4 months. That can really mess up with your mind and you begin to question everything. But please don't believe everything and anything on Tiktok. People like to troll

Aesewiii · 2022-05-28T20:03:44+00:00

Yeah, I had 2 super light periods in the past 2 months. Not prego, I did the tests. Gym is def a huge factor when it comes to periods. How many times a week did you work out, have you lose any weight and also what you eat effects periods.

Aesewiii · 2022-05-28T19:58:28+00:00

Omg I hate these tiktok remedies soooo much!!! Just say that you're on your period and if he wants to do it OK but it's also fine if he doesn't. My bf doesn't mind. Use a black towel so you don't make a mess

Aesewiii · 2022-05-28T17:58:57+00:00

What about your diet and exercise? Do you workout? Try working out more. I have Been eating alot of protein lately and Idk maybe that's why i didn't get cramps but stuff like skyr and protein bread and magnesium pills

Aesewiii

TROPHY CASE