J.A. Jablonski - Writer

Hey fiction author peeps. What's your take on illustrations in your books? I'm considering including charcoal/pencil drawn portraits of key characters & a campus map. (It's an academic mystery.)

#WritingCommunity #FictionAuthors #Fiction #BookIllustrations #MysteryWriters

Feb 1, 2025 at 3:05pmWeb
Show thread🔥 Mireille Sillander 🔥Feb 1, 2025
@JAJablonski Personally in favour of more books having more illustrations.
Publishers and bookstores may try to categorize it as for younger readers than it's actually for, but I believe we need to bring back illustrations for adults too.
Show threadJ.A. Jablonski - WriterFeb 1, 2025
@Mimesatwork Agree! I recall reading an old edition of Dickens' *Bleak House* with what may have been etching-style illustrations. Made it a much richer read. (Then again, I recently got a 50th Anniversary edition of Ursula K Le Guin's *The Dispossessed.* The few illustrations were SO meh. Actually detracted.)
Show thread🔥 Mireille Sillander 🔥Feb 1, 2025
@JAJablonski Yeah the right style is a whole different art form than doing the actual art for a book. And then there's differences in taste, of course. Nevertheless, lets bring the illustration back!
Show threadNathan Lowell (he/him) 📎Feb 1, 2025

@JAJablonski

I'm a pretty hard no on internal illustrations because they don't flow well in digital. They might also add to delivery costs.

Too many different devices from phones up to pretty sizeable tablets, full color and gray-scale. What should be a cool feature too often becomes an obstacle between the reader and the story.

I use any graphics like maps, etc, as a kind of DVD extra on my website so that people who visit find little gifts.

Show threadJ.A. Jablonski - WriterFeb 1, 2025
@nlowell Very much agree on the e-book format. Just too horrendous! And I love your website easter egg/bonus approach. What are your thoughts re: print books & illustrations?
Show threadNathan Lowell (he/him) 📎Feb 1, 2025

@JAJablonski

I don't use them there either. My goal is to keep the presentations as similar as possible regardless of format and follow the rule "Simple is better."