The following are the words of Tammy (Seebecker) Brown, Archway Publishing author. Tammy’s book Herman the Mouse is dedicated to her first grandchild, Charlie. She is expecting a second grandson in March and a sequel is already in the works; “I’m Glad It’s Just Me!” – “Herman Gets a Baby Brother.” For more about Tammy and her book check out her website and her Facebook page. Download the Archway Publishing free publishing guide for more information on our supported self-publishing services. 

Illustration with Archway

My first piece of advice to someone looking into self-publish is to research! Google, read, ask questions, and take notes. I referred to my notes throughout the search of different publishers. I didn’t choose Archway because they were the least expensive and I didn’t choose Archway because they were the most expensive. Rather, I chose Archway because they were the publisher that fit my needs. More importantly, they impressed me the most. Archway Publishing were the most accommodating with what I wanted as an artist and writer. They adjusted the Illustration Package I chose using my own drawings and accommodated accordingly since my writing had already been edited. Through my concierge, I was involved with word placement, the Art Department, cover design, and printing of my book.

Original to Digital

What I loved most about creating Herman the Mouse wasn’t just writing the story, but drawing the illustrations. As an artist, I gained an entirely new perspective on what was involved using your own illustrations for a book. When an original artwork is scanned, some of the color and detail is lost. The fewer times you scan the closer to the originals the art will stay. When your original is scanned onto a computer it becomes broken up into what our eye sees as RGB or Red, Green, and Blue. The image needs to be transferred or printed onto paper with inks that are CMYK or Ceyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key Black. A publisher needs the image in CMYK to print your images. It is impossible to get a 100% color match to RGB. Set yourself up to prepare for the change and adjust as best you can.

The Process and Product

After more than a year’s worth of work, it is hard to part with your original artwork. But with computers and digital scanning, I was able to keep my precious originals in my portfolio, scan them RGB or SRGB, and Archway had the capability to turn them into CMYK for me.

When I am creating my book illustrations, my favorite part is the detail on every page and the bold colors. I want the reader to look at the book two, three, maybe four times and see things they did not see the first time through. I am working on another book for Herman, but I would love to illustrate for other authors as well.

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