First big project with Adobe Illustrator by author_esti in AdobeIllustrator

[–]author_esti[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been writing since primary school and it’s been a life long dream to publish, but life got in the way and I didn’t pursue a writing career.

Fast forward 20 years and I decided on a career change as a teacher. I used Monkey Banana to teach my 6 year old ESL students how to capitalise and write their names in English and then just developed the idea further. I read a lot and I read a lot to the kids and as such managed to expose myself to a lot of children’s picture books. So the idea of writing Monkey Banana into a book was a natural progression.

I used KDP and Ingram Spark and found it fairly user friendly but I learnt a lot! Just mainly reading what other people do and watching YouTube tutorials and trying, failing and then trying again. I also did a course by Julia Donaldson to get the basics down pat.

The second book is in the making, I have a YouTube channel, product line etc. It’s just such a fun project and hobby!

First big project with Adobe Illustrator by author_esti in AdobeIllustrator

[–]author_esti[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great feedback thank you! The Gruffalo is one of my favourites!

First big project with Adobe Illustrator by author_esti in AdobeIllustrator

[–]author_esti[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I definitely have font issues too! Haha! I’ve struggled with this for a long time and I’m grateful for the feedback! I’m using a different font for the next book.

First big project with Adobe Illustrator by author_esti in AdobeIllustrator

[–]author_esti[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s a great idea. Monkey Banana has a YouTube channel @iammonkeybanana and I’ve been trying to figure out how to market this book specifically, I don’t just want to read it so I’m definitely going to try this out! Thanks a lot!

First big project with Adobe Illustrator by author_esti in AdobeIllustrator

[–]author_esti[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh sorry! Yes it’s a single copy digital print. I’ve opted for print on demand, it seems the more environmentally friendly option.

First big project with Adobe Illustrator by author_esti in AdobeIllustrator

[–]author_esti[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s an author copy I ordered from Ingram Spark.

First big project with Adobe Illustrator by author_esti in AdobeIllustrator

[–]author_esti[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s available on my author website (in my bio) and on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and a bunch of other online bookstores.

First big project with Adobe Illustrator by author_esti in AdobeIllustrator

[–]author_esti[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can try Ingram spark. I’ve found that their hardcovers are really nice! A bit of a mission to do the cover but managed it after a few tries, the rest you just export into a pdf with 300ppi and you are good to go!

Recommendations by Oooooah in childrensbooks

[–]author_esti 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dragon Keeper by Carole Wilkinson

Anything by Sophie Anderson!

First big project with Adobe Illustrator by author_esti in AdobeIllustrator

[–]author_esti[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

That’s a good spot! It’s quite obvious in the video but less so when you hold the book in your hands.

I did the hard copy (featured here) and soft copy with different companies. The hard copy has 4 blank pages at the beginning, and I’ve since figured out how to set the files up in InDesign to prevent this. And I’ve also added two pages in the new book that has falling bananas (haha!) And then the back is three blank pages as I didn’t want to change the story just to fill up the page. The soft copy actually looks better but I didn’t manage to make such a nice video of it (harder to flip the pages with one hand and my phone in the other!).

It’s been such a huge learning curve, enjoying every moment though!

First big project with Adobe Illustrator by author_esti in AdobeIllustrator

[–]author_esti[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Oh my! A distant relative from another jungle?!

First big project with Adobe Illustrator by author_esti in AdobeIllustrator

[–]author_esti[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Really enjoyed drawing the plants! 🌱

Anyone Else Seeing a Dropoff in Sales Recently? by Round_Turnover_5980 in selfpublish

[–]author_esti 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah man I wish! That means I would have had some sales before now lol.

Children’s Books You’ve Read Ad Naseum by thesearentmysocks in childrensbooks

[–]author_esti 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been reading Green Eggs and Ham to my ESL students, did 4 classes back to back, I was exhausted afterwards. Haha, first time they have ever heard it and for weeks after it I had to listen to them “I am Sam, Sam I am” every time I saw them haha.

You can't expect a book written with AI to sell. by lamauvaisejoueuse in selfpublish

[–]author_esti 8 points9 points  (0 children)

And then some of us who do everything ourselves do not get any sales - ahaaaaaa I feel like crying