Why Illustrations Matter in Books

I’ve always loved books. My first job was in the library at the college I went to. I had applied to be one of the workers at the desk helping people find the books they were looking for. But after a few days the woman that was in charge of the bindery department asked me if I would like to do something else instead. They’d chosen me because I was an art major and they were sure that meant I’d be good at paying attention to small details. I got to sit in a quiet room and make minor repairs to the bindings of damaged old books. I learned to trim and flawlessly apply that clear plastic lamination that they add to paperback books to make them more sturdy. If there was a book with a missing or damaged page, I’d have to order the same book on loan from another library, carefully make a double-sided copy of the page I needed, trim it down to the right size and then delicately glue the page into our library’s copy of the book. In the bindery, I got to see so many books I might never have decided to look up on my own. My favorite ones were the older books. Most of the time, I wasn’t allowed to make any direct repairs to those because they were too fragile. Usually, when they came across my desk it was just to process them to be sent out to a binding service. Sometimes their elegantly detailed covers would be worn out beyond what I could do for them in the library. These always made me sad because the binding service would give them a brand-new hard cover but it was always a plain cover in a random solid color with plain white text. I think it would have been nicer to include at least a picture of the old cover. Then people who read the book later would still be able to see how much time and effort someone had put into designing and crafting the cover. 

In terms of reading, I think the thing I hated most about growing older was that, for some reason, as you get older, it seems like a sign of maturity and sophistication if the book is less decorative. Most of us start with picture books and then progress to books with only a few words. After that, we learn to read, and as we reach each reading competence landmark, there are fewer and fewer pictures until finally, we are adults, and books have nothing but chapters and that same boring text in every single one.

As far as layout goes, my favorite era for books were the ones I read in middle school. They would always have a detailed and interesting cover, but also there were often grayscale illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. In the books I had to use for high school and college papers, I missed the charm of the chapter illustrations. But as I moved toward the grown-up style books, there were sometimes little artistic gems hidden in those too. You know the ones I mean : when there is a section break within a chapter. A lot of times there’s just a boring line or several dots. But I love it when there is an ornamental break. Whenever I see one of the ornamental breaks in a book it makes me happy because it reminds me of the intricately planned old books because they are special. 

Years ago, when I first heard about self-publishing, I was excited by the idea of being able to publish something myself. But I was also eager to see what creative things other authors might do with complete creative control over their manuscripts. When I looked into it, the formatting services I found all charged a fee per image to be included in any publication. It wasn’t a fee related to securing or verifying the copyright to the images or something else reasonable. It was just a processing charge. For me, that put the possibility of publishing out of reach because what I had in mind was a children’s book. There would have been 32 images not counting the front and back cover. I couldn’t afford it then so I had to wait. I assumed that all the plain text I saw from small publishing houses and independently published books were visually unenchanting for the same reason. 

Fortunately, that isn’t the case anymore. Now anyone who can make a PDF file can publish a book on at least some platforms. Nearly every word processing program and even note taking applications will allow you to export to PDF format. Which means that anyone that can type can publish a book. Where is yours? I probably want to read it. I read books all the time now, but I think it’s strange that more people don’t add graphics to their books. We (everybody—the whole world) live in a visual society now. We like to see different things, but we all like looking at pictures. 

I was deliberating over that when an author I know asked me if I wanted to read a book she was preparing for publication. I liked it a lot and I was excited for her. She showed me the chapter headers that came with the publication preparation software she was using. It was a graphic of some flowers, but the idea of her using that standardized artwork made me sad. The image didn’t have anything to do with her book and since it was part of the software lots of other people would use it before and afterward. She had worked so hard on the novel. It was special. Every little piece of it should show how unique it is. So we decided that I should draw her two different chapter header illustrations as well as a section break image. Also, I drew the human figures for her cover to go over a collage that she made. It was immensely satisfying to create these little details that will make her book stand out from other publications. I realized that this was both the most enjoyable thing as well as the accomplishment I am most proud of so far this year. I might be just as excited as she is about the book coming out! I know that I would love to find other authors that would like the same services for their books. I’ll have to make a portfolio for these kinds of designs. If you know anyone, I’d give them a really great deal right now.

If you like romance stories, you should check out Finding the Right Note by Kella Roberts. It is set to be released on June 15, 2025. You can read the back cover blurb at this link for more about the plot. Apart from that, what I like about Kella Roberts’ writing style is the fast pace of the story. There is never dull moment so it pulls you right along. Each of the main characters were relatable enough that they reminded me actual people I have known. Also it genuinely made me think about storytelling again. I haven’t published anything in years, but it made me want to write. So, for the past month I’ve been plotting out a three book series that I will begin writing soon. 

I hope whatever it is that truly makes you happy gets reignited for you whenever it starts to feel like it’s losing its charm.