Drawing on Success: The Importance of Illustrations

You’ve probably heard the famous saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”  This phrase is especially true when talking about the importance of illustrations in books.

Though the words of your storyline are important, illustrations are like the glue that can help hold the attention of the reader. Today, we want to talk about just how important pictures are to the foundation of your book. 

When you think of illustrations, your mind might immediately jump to those colorful images that envelop the pages of children’s books. Although this may be true, illustrations aren’t solely directed towards children’s books. In fact, illustrations, including pictures, can benefit many other book genres.

To begin, an illustrated book is simply one in which the text is every-so-often interrupted with an image. Despite the fact that sometimes people think of illustrations as a supplemental aspect of a book, the practice of using pictures to tell stories has been around since cave paintings and hieroglyphics were the primary form of storytelling. 

When you combine words with illustrations, whether it’s a drawing or an actual picture, the reader can gain a better understanding of the topic. For example, if you have ever read a do-it-yourself book, chances are there were an abundance of pictures to help the reader visually grasp the project at hand. And what would a cookbook be without tempting photographs of the food you’re about to make? Brightly colored images in a children’s book are only the tip of the illustrative iceberg in publishing. Illustrations can add a lot to books in many genres.

In regard to book promotion, illustrations are a great selling point. Regardless of whether you are a young child or an adult, illustrations have the ability to make a book more fun and easier to read, and help hold the reader’s attention. Pictures also enable the reader to explore the world within their imagination and make connections between what they have just read and a visual image. When a reader connects what they have read with pictures, it can make the book more real to them.

In short, illustrations can be used in books of all genres. Whether it’s a book about self-help, health care, historical figures or anything in between, illustrations can be a perfect tool to enrich your book.

Whatever your illustration needs may be, Dorrance Publishing will enlist the expertise of one of our artists who will design creative images to support your storyline and help bring your book to life!

Copyright Dorrance Publishing 2014