Where Are The Butterflies
Written by Lauren Tarrant
Illustrated by Jennifer Horn
Two adventurous children embark on a quest to find out why the butterflies have not arrived. Their journey teaches them a deeper understanding of love and how all things and all people are connected.
In bringing this book to life Lauren purchased the Complete Publication Production & Co-Ordination Package. I worked with her from “I’d like to self-publish my manuscript” to printed books delivered and ready to start selling copies via her new website.
The Design Production for the Book Where Are The Butterflies
The production of Lauren's book design was put together within 9 stages. Read below for a summary of the key stages and steps we took in helping Lauren bring her beautiful book to life.
Production Timeline
First up, the publication project management. Aka, the boring but super important stuff, especially if you want to avoid what could be a 9 month project dragging into a 2 year marathon.
For Lauren's book I put together and managed a project timeline that set achievable deadlines and helped in keeping everyone involved accountable and on track. Whilst also being understanding and flexible, to allow each creative person involved time for creative freedom as well as planning around our lives and commitments outside of this project.
Illustration Moodboards & Talent Sourcing
In finding the perfect Illustrator for this beautiful story, it was important to determine the appropriate illustration style which would enhance and compliment Laurens beautiful manuscript. I curated three moodboards for Lauren to choose from, each a different Illustration style. The chosen moodboard was then used as a benchmark for guiding the choice of Illustrator and Illustration type best suited for the book and its target market.
The Illustrator talent search then commenced. I contacted multiple Illustrators and saved Lauren a heap of her own time, as I emailed and chatted back and forth with a handful of potential Illustrators about their rates, availability and how their work would be supplied etc. We found Jen, and it was like a match made in heaven.
Illustrations pictured here have been beautifully made by various Illustrators, worldwide. Unfortunately I'm unable to credit all of the Illustrators shown in the moodboards here. I'm so sorry, there are just so many. If you see your work here it's because I think it's amazing. If you would like me to take it down from my website please send me an email, I'm more than happy too. X
Storyboard, Pagination & Working With The Illustrator
Just as it’s important to have an engaging storyline, the way the storyline is shown is crucial to telling the story.
I put the initial storyboard together, mapping out the pagination and layout of the book. This involved determining what size each illustration could be, how many pages the story needed in total and if we needed any additional pages for additional educational prompts and resources, etc. Once the initial storyboard was approved by Lauren it was shared with Jen and she worked her magic to help bring the story to life with her beautiful illustrations and creative ideas.
Jennifer Horn, Lauren Tarrant and I worked as a team throughout the illustration production stages. Bouncing ideas off each other, adjusting and tweaking the little details until Illustrations were ready to be used in the Layout Design stage.
Layout Design, Typography &
Print-Ready Files
Here is where it all came together. I worked with the Illustrations and the final manuscript, designing and laying out each page, with typesetting, typography, and other graphic design principles to achieve a considered, professional design.
For the book cover. It started with putting multiple cover mockups together using Jennifer's sketches to help us envision how the cover could come together. Once the cover concept was chosen and the illustrations were ready, I worked with type, colour and hierarchy to complete the design.
Right click and send to print? Preparing print-ready artwork files is a bit more complex and time consuming than a click of a button. I carried out all print preflight checks, ensuring the colour profiles were set up correctly and all images were at the dpi and resolution required for crisp-quality printing.
Oh yeah, how was it being printed? We weren't worried as it had already been booked into the professional printers schedule.
Way back at the beginning of the production process, I was in correspondence with multiple potential professional printers for Lauren's book. I obtained multiple quotes for both hard cover and soft cover options.
We looked at pricing differences on print finishes, quantities and postage costs from the factory to Laurens home. With all of the printer's pricing and print jargon decoded into one easy to compare spreadsheet. Lauren was able to easily choose the company that suited her best, without having to deal with all the admin and correspondence that finding a printer on her own would entail.
I'm grateful to be able to also support Lauren with Marketing Assets and promotional material to support her as a
Self-Published Author. At the time of writing these services have included:
🦋 Photoshopped Mockup of her book
🦋 Book photography
🦋 Website Design
🦋 Social Media Promotional Images
🦋 Pull-Up Banner Artwork
Website Design
Pull Up Banner, Photography & Social Media
Do you have a publication with an important message that the world needs right now? Do you have big dreams for a professionally designed book that stands out.
You’re in the right place, and I’m so thrilled you’re here.