Big Ideas,
Real Impact.

Your story is waiting to be told! Let’s create something meaningful together.

Yellow wooden pencil with green and yellow eraser and black tip

Self-publishing is the quickest way to have your book published. First, here is a checklist to see if you’re ready to talk about illustrations with me:

  • Your manuscript has been edited and you have an idea of how many pages your story will need. This is really important with Picture Books as I plan the spreads around this. For novels that just need a cover design, it is good to know about how many pages your book will be because I’ll need to know the width of the spine eventually.

  • You have a book designer to plan the text and help you with uploading files to KDP and Ingram. If not, I can suggest someone.

  • You have an idea of the dimensions of your book.

  • You’ve gathered references to show me for some direction. If you have no idea, that’s okay!

  • Your timeline for completion of illustrations is at least four months.

  • You are ready to put down a deposit to hold your spot on my calendar if we agree to sign a contract and move forward. This is $600. I will provide a quote for your book after we talk and I have all the details.

  • You are not planning on pitching your manuscript to a publisher. As much as I love to do illustrations, in this case a publisher will not want to look at a manuscript that has already been illustrated. Publishers like to pick their own illustrators.

  • You are ready to learn more about marketing your book. As a self-published author, it will be up to you to get the word out that you have a book to buy! I can share some tips and give you some things to make marketing easier.

A cartoon image of a cheerful hamster wearing a yellow construction helmet and orange safety vest, standing next to a yellow bulldozer.

Working with me

I love the collaborative nature of working on a book with an author! We usually come up with great ways to engage your readers together. People have shared with me that their child or grandchild likes to carry the books I illustrate around everywhere! I love hearing about the connection kids have to the books because what you’ve written is special.

As I stated above, doing a Picture Book is about a four month process. Doing Cover Art & Design will be shorter for novels. I also offer Character Designs and spot illustrations as a stand-alone options too.

For a picture book, the work includes:

  • Character Designs

  • Thumbnail Sketches and Storyboard Art

  • Cover art and design

  • Finalized black & white drawings

  • Color Spreads which can include a combination of full spread illustrations, full page illustrations, vignettes and spot illustrations.

  • Possible patterned end papers if you are doing traditional printing

  • An “Extras” folder with single illustrations for your book designer to use for the extra pages of your book like the copyright page, title page, dedication page, bio page and any extra pages at the back. You may also use this extra art for your marketing purposes.

Projects are scoped to fit your book, with payments spread across your timeline. I give you a schedule with projected due dates for each step so that the project stays on time and you can coordinate the timeline with your book designer.

Whether you have a clear vision for your book or just a feeling you can't quite put into words yet, that's okay, that's exactly what I'm here for.

If this sounds good and you’re ready to discuss it more, please reach out and we can plan a time to get on a Zoom call together. I can answer your questions and then prepare a written proposal of what is covered and the cost according to your specific project. I will also share a copy of my contract for you to look over before committing to working with me.

Looking forward to meeting you!

Reach out to schedule a meeting
Sketch of four cartoon cats with large heads and small bodies, each with glasses, from different angles, with the word 'Giles' partially visible at the bottom.

Character Turn-around

Two cartoon-style cats standing side by side against a yellow background. The cat on the left is orange with a striped tail, wearing a blue and white striped shirt and pink skirt. The cat on the right is white with gray stripes, wearing glasses, an orange shirt, and green shorts.

Character Color Designs

A hand-drawn storyboard for a children's book titled 'Ginger & Giles', including sketches of cats and various scenes.

A Storyboard with Thumbnail drawings, sometimes called a Book Map

Illustration of animals on rooftops knitting with red yarn, including a gray cat and a yellow-orange cat, against colorful building facades.
Collection of children’s sketches for a book titled 'Ginger & Giles,' featuring various drawings of two characters, a cat and a girl, in different scenes and styles.

A full color spread

Cover Idea Sketches

Pattern of yellow butterflies, pink cherry blossoms, and green leaves on a light pink background.

An example of a pattern for endpapers or extra pages

• Testimonial •

I can’t put into words how much working with Bethany Hissong has meant to me as a debut author, but I’m going to do my best.

From the very first call, Bethany didn't treat me like another project. She took the time to get to know my characters (she even read my novel to better understand ideas for illustrations!).

I came to her with scattered ideas, a handful of visual inspiration images that didn’t seem to relate to one another, and jumbled word ideas floating around in my brain. Yet every time, she turned my scattered thoughts into something that left me speechless—in the best way, of course! From character designs, scene illustrations, patterns, and motifs I now use across all my marketing, and my full book cover, Bethany brought Cedar Grove to life in a way I couldn't have imagined on my own. She made my book better.

What sets Bethany apart isn't just her talent (she’s the best!)—it's her heart. She cared about my story as if it were her own. She has cheered me on through every step, celebrated every milestone with me, and still does, even though our contract has expired.

Her attention to detail is unmatched, and her communication throughout the process made what could have been overwhelming feel easy and collaborative instead.

It's obvious Bethany loves what she does, and I am so proud to showcase her work to the world. I will recommend her to anyone and everyone who will listen, and I can’t wait to work with her again on many more projects!

— Kaitie Gill, Self-publishing Author

www.kaitiegillwrites.com