Imagine holding your very own book, written and/or illustrated by you, in your hands … Imagine spotting it in the wild in the library or bookstore … Imagine getting invited to your favorite local bookshop or school or radio station to do a reading … Imagine this being your job – that you’re getting paid to do!
Just some of the hundreds of books agented by Lilla Rogers Studio. Ready to hold the book YOU illustrated in your hands – and get paid for it? Grab a career-making course in our giant annual sale.
Books are a fabulous market for both artists and writers, because they’re constantly in demand, hugely satisfying to work on, and a great source of income. That’s why, after decades of seeing what’s in demand and what’s selling in the art market, Lilla now offers not one but THREE book courses – all currently 30% off in our big sale:
- If you want to build a lucrative and rewarding career in the dreamy world of picture book illustration, then you need Illustrating Children’s Books, currently 30% off!
- If you’re always making up stories and characters and you want to see them in print for other people to enjoy and generations of children to fall in love with, then you need My Kid Book Pitch, currently 30% off!
- If you want to share your passion with the world in a beautiful illustrated non-fiction book, then you need My Arty Book Pitch, currently 30% off!
Or save even more with our fantastic Get Me a Picture Book Deal Bundle! Give yourself the best possible chance at landing yourself that picture book deal you’ve been dreaming of with the amazing value Get Me a Picture Book Deal bundle – two LIVE and two self-paced courses aimed at helping you create a powerful portfolio and ready to send pitches, all with a whopping 40% off!
Here’s what you get:
- LIVE! Illustrating Children’s Books: Spend five intense weeks with top art agent Lilla Rogers and renowned children’s book art director and author Zoë Tucker, who together will help you to create a brilliant children’s book pitch to help you land your dream gig. By the end of the course, you’ll have a finished pitch containing everything an art director needs to see to give you work.
- LIVE! Bootcamp Special: Character Play: Join children’s book art director and author, Zoë Tucker, and creative director, art agent and toy creator, Riley Wilkinson, to create unique characters that you can license for children’s books, toys, games and more.
- Illustrating Children’s Books PLUS: This self-paced course is the perfect addition to the live Illustrating Children’s Books course.
My Kid Book Pitch: This course will give you everything you need to write your own authentic, unique children’s picture book and avoid the slush pile.
Find out more about this fantastic bundle here.
Q. Yeah, but do Make Art That Sells courses actually work though?
We’re thrilled to say that YES, they do! We’ve got tons of student success stories to share – you can read them here, or check out some NEW student success stories below!
Sophie Benmouyal
Make Art That Sells student Sophie Benmouyal got in touch to let us know about several book deals that she’s got directly from work she created for Make Art That Sells. Why? Because our brilliant teachers show you what you need to show in your portfolio so that art directors and publishers can give you work – and Lilla’s innovative teaching methods trick you into doing your very best art!
Cover and spread from Sophie’s first book deal, which she landed after reaching out to the publisher with art she did for Illustrating Children’s Books.
Sophie told us: “My first deal was from Canadian publisher, Orca Book. The book is called Go, Sloth, Go and it will be released in May 2025. I sent Orca Book postcards with images I created in Illustrating Children’s Books after my first Make Art That Sells course and they reached out some months later.”
Sophie continued: “My second book deal was with French-Canadian publisher Auzou Canada. One of their editors saw the portraits I drew for Redrawing Black History and thought the style would be perfect for one of her nonfiction books. The book is about 15 “rebel genius” people from Quebec and will be published in March 2025. The book I’m currently working on is with Floris Books. They really liked the scene I drew for Illustrating Children’s Books.”
Art from Sophie’s second book deal, an illustrated non-fiction book for children. Sophie landed the job after an editor saw art she created in a Make Art That Sells class.
Finally, Sophie said: “Lilla helped me to become more confident with my style. I allowed myself to explore in a way I had not really tried before. I loosened up a lot and stopped trying to make my work looks like others, and it was really exciting and encouraging sharing our progress in the Facebook group.”
Sophie got the picture book illustration book she’s currently working on after the publisher saw this scene she drew in Illustrating Children’s Books. The course teaches you everything you need to get jobs like this!
Sophie concluded: “Lilla also helped me to gain confidence in reaching out. I sent several postcards and received nice feedback and eventually … book deals! The only thing I regret is that I lack time to work on all my Make Art That Sells assignments. It’s such a nice community and the assignments always help me to try new things or to push myself further.”
See more of Sophie’s work on her website and Instagram.
Katherine Castano
Katherine is currently working on a book for the Punderland series for Sourcebooks, and she’s also in the process of self-publishing the beautiful book that she wrote and illustrated in My Kid Book Pitch.
Katherine told us: “Lilla gave me the launching board I needed to finally tackle a goal I’ve had for as long as I can remember- to illustrate AND write my own children’s book. Emma and her pet snail, Remy, were introduced to the world in My Kid Book Pitch last year. After developing the characters for five weeks in class, I fell in love with Emma and Remy and decided I wasn’t ready to let them go.
Katherine continued: “Not only did My Kid Book Pitch help me to hone the framework of my story and develop my characters, but it gave me an invaluable community. I was in desperate need of feedback and editing help near the end of this process. I reached out to the Make Art That Sells community for assistance through the class Facebook page, and a handful of my classmates jumped in to help. They offered insights and feedback that truly improved the end product, and I’m so grateful for them.
Katherine added: “After about a year and a half of following Remy’s twisty, turny, slimy trail throughout the forest, it’s finally time to introduce Emma and Remy to the rest of the world. I hope you love this pair as much as I do! The paperback version of Remy, Where Are You? is currently available to purchase on Amazon and you can follow along for more updates on my Instagram.”
See more of Katherine’s work on her website and Instagram.
Brenda Harris
Brenda has landed several picture book illustration jobs after building her portfolio with Make Art That Sells courses, and is now writing and illustrating her own books as well as finding her creative community.
Art by Brenda for My Arty Book Pitch. Want to write and illustrate your own non-fiction book? Grab this unique course now for up to 50% off in our giant sale!
Brenda told us: “Make Art That Sells was the beginning of my journey as an illustrator! Initially, it helped me believe in my dreams and ditch the excuses. By providing a caring, safe space for me to meet other creatives I was able to befriend and join forces with other artists. Soon we created our own groups like Friday Doodle Club and Illoguild.”
One of Brenda’s completed worksheets for Lilla’s business for creative people course, the MATS MBA (Money BadAss). Brenda says: “CRAZY to look at that now! It was one of the first things I did in class.”
Brenda added: “Among all that goodness and fun, I was also learning so much about the illustration industry! It was as if I was tricked into learning! With all the fun prompts and inspiring live zooms, I slowly grew my kid lit portfolio and soon I was offered REAL illustration opportunities.”
Brenda said: “My first book was Proud Deaf Girl, written by American Sign Language teacher Karen Wellman. It was a self-published book and the perfect project to challenge myself to draw tons of hands (which we all know can be soooo hard)! Then I was hired by Elva Resa Publishing for a book series called Operation Aviation written by Air Force pilot, author, and mom Teri Weber. There were no hands to draw in this one, but lots of cute plane characters working together to complete their mission. Fly with Mytai, Toad the Tanker and Moose on a Mission all came out in English and in Spanish of this year.”
Brenda’s second picture book illustration deal was creating the art for a whole series of books. Sign up for one of our raved-about courses today and learn how to get jobs like this!
Brenda finished: “Now I’m in the process of creating my own author/illustrator stories and seeking an agent for representation. I feel incredibly confident in my abilities and grateful for Make Art That Sells. To think, it all started when I was pregnant with my second child, tired of working as a graphic designer, and wishing I could draw more. One brave moment allowed me to sign up for a Make Art That Sells class (the MATS MBA (Money BadAss) to be exact) and that led to all the baby steps that followed. I’m very grateful to my fairy-art-mother, Lilla Rogers and the rest of the Make Art that Sells team! Now I get to make lots of art and draw more than ever! I make my own hours and get to pursue something that really makes me happy.”
See more of Brenda’s work on her website, Instagram and Substack.
Want to create a powerful book illustration portfolio and land amazing paying gigs like these? Don’t miss out – sign up for Get Me a Picture Book Deal Bundle today in our huge annual sale!
Don’t forget – you won’t get our courses cheaper than this!
Lots of love
The Make Art That Sells team xxx
P.S. Discover the book that you should write with art agent Lilla’s insightful quiz! Not sure what to focus on first? Art agent Lilla has come up with an insightful quiz to help you pick the perfect book for you. Click here to download your copy.
What type of book should you create? Find out in this playful but powerful quiz from art agent Lilla – click here to download your FREE copy
