Does the illustrator receive the same percentage as the author of the book?

Question

i don't deny that the illustartions are important..but the tale is far more important..because the bible is not compound of images..

Answer 1

Having just done two picture books ghostwritten for a major sports star, I would have to disagree with the person above me. The illustrator does get a higher percentage of the royalties. Her pictures do not show up "once every ten or fifteen pages" - they are on every page, and for the first book (which I did not ghostwrite) it took her about month per picture (page) to prepare them. In a standard 48 page picture book where the drawings usually cover two pages, that can add up to as long a a year or two just to do the drawings. She got much faster with the second book, having already established the "identities of the characters". I think it too her about 8 months but she is still "tweaking and adding detail and making her drawings work to fit the words now." Her work is invaluable. It wouldn't be a picture book without her. Good illustrators are in so much demand that often an author will delay a book until the artist they want is available. I have seen her work for the book coming out in Spring and she is worth every penny. Her job is FAR more difficult than the author's - making the pictures fit around the words and making them tell the story. I only wish I could should you some of her work for the new book. She is outstanding. Pax - C

Answer 2

Unless the illustrator is renowned for his/her work, it is highly unlikely that he/she would receive anywhere near what an author would get. Furthermore, many illustrators work on a "flat-fee" basis, which means that they may not get any royalties, unless they have a contract indicating otherwise (some contracts stipulate that royalties may be paid after a certain number of the books have been published, or if the book gets to the "best seller" list, or if the book becomes a play or movie, etc).

The first link, below, doesn't cover illustrators, but it's a good (and long!) read about pay in the industry, as a whole. The second link gives royalties for both authors and illustrators in Australia (also very long!).

Your local library will have books on "book publishing" and "how to market yourself in the publishing (or art) industry".

Answer 3

The illustrator, are you kidding? You mean the guy who draws the little pictures that show up every 10-15 pages or so? No way. I am sure that they are payed a flat rate for their services. They do not receive anywhere near what the author does. The authors generally have contracts with the publishers and their compensation will vary depending on their popularity but the illustrators are surely just brought in on a book by book basis to produce pictures at a flat rate. Maybe some of the really good ones are under contract with the publishers as well but I highly doubt that they share in the royalties.

OK, perhaps we are talking about different kinds of illustrators. Naturally a picture book is different, the illustrations are what the consumers is actually paying for. I assumed the question was in reference to the illustrators for standard novels where they throw a picture in every 10-15 pages or so. Those kind of illustrators can't possible be compensated in the same manner as the author.

Answer 4

It depends on the project.

For some projects, we pay the illustrator a flat rate. For others, we pay the illustrator a percentage royalty. It depends on how important the art is to the overall product, and how much art there is. If something is very graphic intensive, the illustrator may actually get more than the author. It completely depends on the type of project involved.

Answer 5

Picture book and chapter book, yes. Textbook, probably. If the royalty is 7%, you would each receive 3.5%.

Answer 6

Each publisher works out separate contracts for each contributor.
If one is well-known and the other isn't, then the publisher has to pay more to the bigger name.