August 2025 – Generation Mars

August 19, 2025

Crafting Generation Mars 16 (illustration)

Share examples of your ideas with your illustrator. Make mockups: physical, existing imagery, AI (if, like me, you can’t draw).

Share relevant excerpts from your manuscript with them. Share the whole manuscript if they want it. You have to give them plenty to work with.

Aside: Stop worrying about somebody stealing your work. The likelihood of that happening is vanishingly small. You’re never going to move forward if you worry about that.

images: 1) a physical mockup of the ice mine in Book Three, 2) a mockup map of the area around Dawn using public domain satellite imagery of Mars, 3) an AI mockup of Nour, a character from Book Three.

August 12, 2025

Crafting Generation Mars 15 (illustration)

You have to give your illustrator creative freedom, but remember that this is your project, and you are the creative director.

Finding a balance is tricky. It’s the hardest, yet most rewarding, aspect of working with an illustrator. Be open to their ideas, but don’t be afraid to stand up for yours.

Charlie Chaplin GIFfrom Charlie GIFs

August 1, 2025

Crafting Generation Mars 14 (illustration)

As the author, it’s important to own the copyright on your illustrations. You want to be able to remix them yourself and use them for future purposes (promos, merch, whatever), without having to ask permission.

Specify this in the contract. This will cost a bit more, but it’s worth it.

Also allow the artist to retain the right to display them in their portfolio. This helps them and can be good for you as well if they have social media reach.

image: Photograph of Greg Wilson taken by Ian Tilton. It was used as artwork for the Credit To the Edit album compilation by Greg Wilson released on Tirk Records. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greg_Wilson_C2TE.jpg https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en