How I Illustrated and Published a Children's Book!

[@gotcathy]

Thanks so much for the support! My latest video is all about how to setup a pop up shop to sell my book! kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZLFaYuKlLyrlcU

[@ItsAshaMac]

I can't help but notice that you don't have a copyright page. I would consider adding one. This seems like a creation you should protect. Also, I love the alphabet page you did at the end. Perfect!

[@gotcathy]

I actually did add a copyright on the back cover!

[@gregorybullock5953]

@@gotcathy And it's essentially automatically copyrighted by default anyway.

[@thewave3953]

Awesome, I live in China and this book is a great melding of our cultures. My kids will love this.

[@wendytai7309]

Thanks for the video Cathy. I’m a primary chinese teacher in Australia I and found this very interesting and easy to follow. I also love your book and will purchase to read to the children in my classes.

[@gotcathy]

Great to hear! Go ABCs (Australian Born Chinese)!

[@Godisglorious1]

You did very beautiful artwork. Illustrating food that looks good enough to eat is a rare gift. Congratulations! 🎉 I hope you keep it up, even just for fun and thank you for sharing about the process. ☺️

[@gryph3714]

I think it would have been a cool addition to include the name of each vegetable or fruit written in Chinese characters for an additional cultural education. Congrats on the book!

[@gotcathy]

That's a great suggestion. Maybe for a future edition of the book!

[@pawsoffriendship525]

I was going to say the same !

[@purelystef]

Yes my brother would love that

[@CicelyReneeDoesLife]

@@gotcathy Ooo and another addition would be to add your favorite recipes for each letter.

[@sydneyrearick5396]

You did awesome on your first book!! I wish I had your foresight to not make my first book so complex with characters, a full narrative, and hand painting combined with photoshop edits, but we all have a different process :). My second book is a more simple format with digital illustration only and I am enjoying the process so much more - I think you nailed it on the first try!

[@gotcathy]

That's so nice of you to say. Ya, my first try was definitely very complex and had a narrative as well. I just got so overwhelmed. Kudos to you for doing that on your first try!

[@vickiesmith5682]

I am so impressed! I just thought about actually being an illustrator myself.. so much to learn!

[@gotcathy]

definitely, i hope you learned a little bit about illustrating!

[@allisonstone6748]

Adorable book! Lovely illustrations and colours in general. This book is so cool and bright 💛 Thanks for telling us about process, it was so interesting to learn about your experience. 💛💛💛

[@becomingandgoingbooks]

This book is brilliant! I am so happy I came across your channel. I really liked G ginger and O octopus. Thank you for sharing your skill. 😀👍🏾

[@MariJadeWrites]

This is so cool! :D I drew and published four coloring books so far, and now I am working on a fifth. A picture book is in conception as well, hopefully I can make it eventually as well :)

[@babybbbb]

I looooooooove this. I’m making a children’s board book. I’m pumped and excited...

[@tristanb.1074]

What a thoughtful overview and a huge congrats, quite the accomplishment!

[@gotcathy]

thanks so much!

[@byslowstudio]

I absolutely love your editing style and how creative you are! Seeing your whole process and how much work you put into this project was super super cool. Will definitely be purchasing one and congrats on your publication! :)

[@gotcathy]

Aw thank you for all your kind words!! 😊

[@A107S]

I’m not Asian but I am fascinated by your Culture. I like to learn and cook authentic Asian food. My sister-in-law is Thai and has taught me some of her recipes. And my kids are quite a custom to eating these types of Foods. I’m totally buying your book. LOVE THIS IDEA! Also I hope to be a Published children’s author as well. That’s how I found this video.

[@coleycole77]

I’m not an ABC and I absolutely love this! Teaching Chinese kids using their cultural foods and educating non-Chinese kids about another culture. All around excellent idea!

[@The_nqeewn]

Awesome JOB. Congratulations 🎉🎊

[@rubymichelle]

Hi Cathy! I love this! My name is Ruby and I am a freelance illustrator trying to break into children’s literature! I’m also currently working on writing my first book as well! I used to teach preschool and I always thought it would be so cool if one of my books was read during circle time! I love how detailed and organized your process is and i’m definitely taking notes on that! I will for sure be picking up your book! (Saw a lot of my favorite foods in there as well! 😊) Thanks again for sharing! 💜

[@gotcathy]

I agree, that would be so cool to read your own book to kids! Best of luck!

[@kerrikolby6124]

So sweet! I love your idea of your book and the information was helpful :) I was thinking instead of sharing half the profit with Amazon, I would just print out the pages myself and then basically book bind my pages. 40% in addition to the cost for printing... dang!

[@AngelTrazo]

Learned about your book through Asian Hustle Network! 🥰 this is sooo cute :)

[@gotcathy]

I'm glad you liked it!!

Great venture, keep it up, your work really inspired me. Thank you.

[@comehomestoptalkingaboutit3901]

I don't know how to use fancy art technology. So I am proud of you. My ebooks are on Amazon. For some reason, I cannot get past the stage of transforming my ebook into an actual book. So I say congratulations

[@ljones1908]

what is the name of your ebook?

[@kitsuness83]

Thank for sharing for your book and my favorite is the last page. The colors pop but pleasing to the eyes. Totally a perfect wrap up. Hugs . congratulations on your success

[@gregorybullock5953]

Your book & idea are brilliant.

[@kevchristian]

Thank you for writing this book! I love the illustrations. Would be perfect if the pin yin and Chinese characters were on there in addition to making it a board book. Thank you

[@babybojanglesjr]

Very nice and inspiring! I would like to try out the Xiao Long Bao.

[@gotcathy]

You definitely should, even Trader Joe's has some good ones now

[@lexislittlenook2861]

You are so talented and this is such a creative fun book!! I'm a children's author/illustrator too :) I'm glad you made this video!

[@gotcathy]

Congratulations Lexi on the book!!

[@melissamendez7042]

Love your book! You are an amazing illustrator!

[@gotcathy]

Thank you very much!

[@mikebeights5653]

This is so great! What a wonderful niche and fun way to share your culture and story! Congrat's on the book- good luck on your next endeavor!

[@sershinnaicker4633]

Well done on your publication. It sounds like an awesome book.

[@blueberrypancakes7330]

Thanks for this useful information. Very cute story how you decided to publish your book.😊

[@ChristineChern]

Here from AHN! Congratulations on completing this project, Cathy. I will admit that when I first saw the post I was like oh man another person out here trying to capitalize on Asian identity 🙄🙄 but I see now through your video that this was truly an artistic project for you and you absolutely deserve to be published traditionally!! I am going to be starting as an elementary school teacher next year, and I will definitely save this to use as a resource and hopefully recommend to parents. (hope by that time you're available more widely too) look forward to seeing where else you go, and amazing job with the video too!!

[@gotcathy]

Hey again Christine! Oh interesting that you thought that, ya definitely not trying to capitalize it, just trying to share what I know, what I grew up eating. And an elementary school teacher? That's awesome! I'm sure you'll be able to impart a lot of your own identity and culture onto your kids!

[@marychurch4133]

Hi Cathy, I have wanted to write a children's book forever but could never come up with a good storyline until now. I need your advice on how to do my own illustrations. Finding the right digital medium is my problem. Firstly, there are hundreds to choose from with ranging prices from $$ To $$$$. I'm not an artist, but surly I can trace. Looking for a digital form/software to learn to develop my characters. Not sure if I can do it myself so i don't want to jump into real expense. I have an android phone, a nice laptop (I never use). What advice do you have? BTW...nice video on your journey to publishing your ABC book.

[@lilyazaleamc]

I learned about your book through SAT and just bought it on Amazon even though I’m also 25 and don’t even have kids yet 😂 I love this concept so much!! This is such a creative idea and one that speaks so directly and uniquely to the ABC-experience. I’m definitely going to read this story to my future kids! On another note, I’ve always loved art and have started drawing more regularly during the pandemic. My dream is to create a children’s book someday too, and this video was super helpful in understanding how you developed this book. It actually gave me more confidence that this is something I can achieve one day too, and not just some crazy pipe dream. Congrats on the book and thank you for sharing this process with us!!

[@gotcathy]

Oh I'm glad! I didn't find many videos that shared the entire process when I was starting, so I didn't want to hide any details. Best of luck with your book, can't wait to see it!

[@jumalencar]

I just loved the book, and the whole idea and creative process! Congratulations! You just helped me a lot right now, I was stuck in my profession, and this gave me a new breath! Keep ir up!

[@gotcathy]

Glad I could help!

[@tiffsonline]

Love this! I saw Michelle's instagram post and stalked you and binged your vids 😂 love the way you film and edit 👌 subscribedddd

[@gotcathy]

Aw thank you! That's so nice, glad you like my videos

[@TheEmbodiedGodess]

I love that, I am going to structure my art style. 🎨

[@jackienoland78]

Absolutely beautiful. I especially loved your reading of your book. I'd buy your books for my grandchildren.

[@gotcathy]

Aw thank you for the support!

[@tammydouglas1012]

Congratulations!🎉 Wonderful book!

[@ashleyshayday1526]

I am curious about how to become a childrens book author and the pros and cons on publishing traditionally through someone else and how to do that besides Amazon. Or how to self publish. I have heard from other Authors that it is extremely important to market and promote your book BEFORE you publish it. Now as kid before i could read zi loved being read to and heaeing stories so much that I started drawing picture books that told a story. As time went on as a kid I use to draw and sketch alot but I eventually stop drawing as much and got rusty. Ive never been to art school or had studied art. I dont know the first thing aboit how to pursue it. Im an 80s baby and I spent the first 20 years of my life with no internet. There is alot I just dont know about computers. To be honest, Ive never even seen somebody do digital art until you showed a small clip of you doing it. That looked so cool! I am curious on what ipads and what peograms are best to download for digital art for childrens books. I would like to start drawing again. But Im no professional and Im in the dark on all the tools out there. But I would really like to leadn more information and tool's and advice for both writing and illustrating your own childrens picture book. I dont know what all you need as a new author other than a good editor after you write the book. Infact there is a chikdrens book author who is a professional editor, yet she always has somebody else edit her books because shes too close to the project and might niss something. For example, she thought she was doje with her book and she sent it off to have it edited howevwr the editor said the book was good but there was no conflict. And so the author forgot and had to had that in. So I know you need an editor and a illutrator unless you are educated and know how to do it yourself. I am curious on what education you have to have helped you gain these skills. I nean I have heard most illustrators go to college to gain more art skills etc. But the thought of going to college and paying alot of money just to write and illustrate a book when I hear yoir not going to be paid alot for writing a childrens novel. Your basically just doing it for fun and to help kids. Not to get rich. Unkess your super talented and become famous and go on to write romance novels or something. But I want to learn about what I need mainly as beginnger childrens author and what I should study and how I can check out books today too see what kids are into today and see if there is an area and subject matter that I feel passionate about talking about. I also dont know how much money it will cost me to have the right type of ipad and programs etc that I need to write the book but also how to learn techniques for illustration. Im looking at this as a side hobby. Since I dont see a stable career path and income. So can somebody point me in the right direction on how to create not only a childrens book, but also a cookbook? Maybe even a cook book for kids? And how to go aboit leadning the art skills needed to become a childrens illustrator. And perhaps not have to share your work with a actual illustrator or traditional publisher. And how do you go aboit copyrighting it so nohody steals it? Im so in the daek because ive never known anybody personally who was an author. Nor have I ever thought Id have the guts to even look into it. I never had alot of faith in myself. But Id like to try to step out of my comfort zone and maybe write some childrens books.

[@funchi777]

great job and thanks for all the info, good luck

[@polinaraw]

That is absolutely amazing!! Love the idea and the execution 😍

[@gotcathy]

Thank you so much!!

[@naelync629]

Great work, I love the concept of the book. I'm sure traditional publishers would love it too!

[@christinachampion1219]

Love the title and concept! Your book is great and your video about it was interesting. All the best!

[@gigipaquette]

I am So Proud of You! What a wonderful way to connect and share culture and the love of food we all have. Great job and your illustrations are BEAUTIFUL! Have a wonderful day!

[@gotcathy]

Thank you so much for your nice words!

[@gotcathy]

And thank you for supporting me on ko-fi. That was so nice of you, I really appreciate it ❤️❤️❤️

[@godcenteredwellness]

This video was phenomenal. Thank you so much for sharing your process with such beautiful presentation. This really impressed me

[@gotcathy]

Comment below your favorite food from the book, is there one I should have added? I'd love to know

[@AngelTrazo]

Personally would have loved B is for BOBA hehehe 🥰

[@rubymichelle]

My favorite is the Xiao Long Bao! Bao is also the name of my dog lol. 🐶

[@gotcathy]

@@rubymichelle omg love that for a dog name!

[@lilacdoodz]

Thank you for making this video! I am looking to create a kid's ABC book and it was helpful to see your process. I hope you hear back from the traditional publishers!

[@deawinfrey2058]

Print it on Ingram Sparks. I want to do a board book and they are the only option.

[@rdiwu1947]

wow, thanks so much for that candid insight into publishing! we bought the book for our little girl. love it!

[@gotcathy]

You are so welcome! Thanks for buying it!

[@mrso0611]

I really love this book! It may be beneficial to apply for writer/ illustrator grants and get your books printed through a manufacturer. I noticed that most books are made in China. You can easily search online for a book manufacturer. Grant money, if you win, could pay for your prints....just a thought :)

[@ageretube3035]

I’m so proud of you!! Thank you for sharing is informative video!

[@jecamartinez]

Found you through the children's book Facebook group--this is incredible and I loved watching the process! Congratulations!!

[@gotcathy]

I'm glad you enjoyed watching the process!

[@mamom3]

This was wonderful-I listened to the entire video! Great advise too

[@surumepopstar8815]

Oh...great book!

[@Dreemchser]

Absolutely adorable ❤

[@maxrobertson2834]

I love this! I know it’s been 2 years but could you show the upload process? I have been trying to make a children’s book but getting it from procreate to Amazon is seeming to be a challenge…

[@modernmusicstudio303]

Great video and great book! I love that you chose to incorperate foods that you grew up with. I think it's a great way for kids that don't grow up with these foods to learn more about other foods and cusines from other cultures. amazing artwork and such a great idea!

[@gotcathy]

Aw thank you, I agree, exposing kids to other cultures is super important

[@thesky4eva]

Your book is lovely. Congratulations on your first!!! I can’t pick my favourite food, they’re all too yummy. The cover is probably my favourite art wise.

[@gotcathy]

Aw thank you! I'm glad you like the cover, it was tough to pick which foods to put on the front!

[@zeroamericanhero]

This is so simple and amazing

[@SomethingYouSee]

Excellent book! powerful concepts! thank you

[@omarhandmade]

Congratulations.. inspiring.. for years I dream of writing and illustrating children books but I've done nothing .. this is encouraging .. good job and hope you publish your second book soon ..

[@AramideLoisOsho]

Hey! Did you eventually write your book? I was like that too for many years and finally I’ve started writing. I will be done writing in a few days/ weeks and will get to publishing. All the best

[@amyyang5432]

The book is very beautiful ❤

[@yunidiar]

this was so helpful! congrats on your first book!

[@relaxaationvibes8502]

Love your book! 😍

[@camillatubertini6322]

Great idea, beautiful book and well-made, inspiring video! Thanks for showing your process!

[@mmsutantowrites]

Your video was recommended to me by the KZbin algorithm, probably because I've been searching on the writing process for picture books :) What a cute book you made! I live in Indonesia and I wish I could buy it here. My favorite is letter is a tie between Xiao Long Bay and Zong Zi.

[@gotcathy]

Glad it helped, good luck with your own picture book!

[@fbee2555]

Than you for the sharing your journey . Love your editing and video style 😊

[@gotcathy]

Aw glad you enjoyed the editing and video!

[@authorcraigcothren]

Great concept book. Why did you not employ someone Stylize your Signature and make it much bigger and Blacker ink so people can read it? To build a brand having a very readable stylized signature would helpful for you.... imho of course

[@kiarahelen6006]

You go girl!

[@tiffanyblackman8603]

That is awesome! Congrats on your hard work. Beautiful book. I plan to buy it as I try to promote diversity of books. Just gorgeous.

[@gotcathy]

Thank you! I agree, diversity in children's books is so important!

[@chanmelody2839]

I love your illustrations!!! Which vector drawing app did you use for your published book?

[@gotcathy]

I didn't use any vectors, just hand-drawn on the ipad with the app procreate

[@boyandbelugee]

Lovely book! Thank you for sharing your journey! ❤️

[@jakobbourne6381]

Wondering what kind of books would be nice to give to kids? a custom version of educational books such as *personalised childrens books* - something to pique their interest more into learning w/out dropping the fun factor too much especially when themed for the recipient

[@christina413]

Congrats on your book! What an amazing accomplishment 🤩🎉

[@gotcathy]

Thank you so much!!

[@xy4669]

great stuff, you go girl!

[@BCGraphixArt]

Amazing idea!!!!!

[@strangewater]

You rip! Thanks for taking the time to make this video. About to publish my first children's book and this was super helpful. Congrats on the book it looks and reads great! Love all the colors

[@gotcathy]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for all the nice words!

[@ally5522]

@@gotcathywhat app did you use for drawing!?

[@gotcathy]

procreate! @@ally5522

[@parrisink]

I've never tried or heard of a lot of those foods, it would be a really fun video for you to invite a friend who's also never had them and we watch them try them for the first time! Probly also be good book promotion too.

[@jessicasmith6938]

That’s awesome !!

[@Kind_Rebel]

You’re so thorough and amazing! Well done & thank you 🤗

[@gotcathy]

Thank you so much!

[@Liars1992]

I love this!!

[@hanamufti]

The colours are really beautiful in this too! Did you use RGB in procreate? I've heard KDP needs CMYK but when I print a test at home with RGB the colours are much more dull than they appear on screen. Would really appreciate your advice on this!

[@jamyb1872]

omg ur so awesome, n ur book is cool!!! thanks hun

[@julial.4476]

Thank you for sharing 🙂 your book is lovely!

[@user-fs5nu4jp5f]

Love this as a kindergarten teacher!

[@gotcathy]

yay I'm so glad!

[@CamrynDuBose]

This is amazing!

[@JKABCreations]

This book is so adorable. Great idea! Can you tell me what program or software you have on your ipad that you can draw with? Sounds like so much fun! thank you!

[@gotcathy]

procreate!

[@JKABCreations]

@@gotcathy Great! Thank you kindly. You are very appreciated. God Bless.

[@MaureenRuiz-Cederboom]

You did AMAZING

[@JohnSmith-kb3ll]

Good job, thanks for the video.

[@pennymademom2703]

Great video! But how did you get the print on demand option? Mine is saying I need 72 pages…

[@ve4043]

What size is your that book? Awesome concept!

[@gobstopper0821]

I love your illustrations & really just appreciate how you shared the why/how you ended up creating a children's book... One of my dreams is to be a children's book author and would really love collaborating with illustrators like you and creative minds...! Thanks so much for sharing your art and taking that chance. So glad I stumbled upon this on Subtle Asian Traits.

[@gobstopper0821]

Btw I think the Jackfruit+kumquat pages were my fav 🧡

[@gotcathy]

That's awesome, you should definitely pursue that dream! Haha, jackfruit was pretty tough to draw because the texture of the spikes is so weird

[@diaryofdaksha]

I am an Illustrator! Send me your budget on @dakshagiri.png on Instagram 😊

[@Joeoi]

What s the format of the book 8 × 8 inch ? I wonder how to make one s drawing fit in a specific format template and what is the best way as I made illustrations of several different sizes however they gonna be in the same book

[@gotcathy]

its 8.5 by 8.5!

[@powerbininja8270]

this is great Cathy! Thank you so much! What size did you use for your procreate pages? I'm helping my daughter write her first book about Dolphins. Thank you 🙏

[@gotcathy]

it's 8.5 inches by 8.5 inches!

[@powerbininja8270]

@@gotcathy thank you thank you!

[@powerbininja8270]

@@gotcathy thank you for all your help Cathy! In procreate did you make all the page sized = 8.5 X 8.5 and not worry about the bleed/trim?

[@MeziahRuby]

This is so cool!! That timelapse of the process 😍

[@gotcathy]

Thanks, glad you liked the time lapses

[@sanpls]

This is amazing. Great video

[@gotcathy]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ReginaApple007]

So should I get it made through Amazon and then send publishing companies copies of the final product?

[@gotcathy]

oo that's a good idea, I personally just emailed them samples of the digital art, but physical copies would be cool if you have the time and budget for it

[@ashishurankar4056]

Congrats on publishing the book. Is there any specific page type you used for children book publishing to ensure the pages are durables and can be handled by babies

[@sadiyaui]

Print on Hardboard

[@bashirawileyx3]

Very impressive! I want to illustrate and write my own books too but I have no idea what apps to illustrate on.

[@gotcathy]

I use Procreate, but just get your ideas down with pencil and paper if you need to!

[@bashirawileyx3]

Thanks!