Are you ready for the 2026 PBParty contest, author/illustrators? Past finalist and new PBParty judge Brian Kirby helped so many author/illustrators with tech tips in the past. He put together a lot of helpful information (along with some of our other incredible author/illustrator judges) to help you succeed. Thank you all so much! 🙂
Here’s a link to everything you’ll need for the author/illustrator Google entry form on March 17.
Let us know in the comments or in the PBParty Participant Facebook group if you still need help after trying out all these amazing tips!
PREPARE & SHARE A PICTURE BOOK DUMMY
Sharing a picture book dummy online can seem intimidating, but it’s actually straightforward.
Your goals:
- Create a clean, properly sized PDF
- No AI
- Protect it with a password
- Share it securely
- Present it professionally
Export Your Dummy as a PDF
Export your final dummy as a single PDF document. Keep page sizes & margins consistent and make sure text is readable. The dummy should include 2 “finished” illustrations. (Tip – editors and art directors will have the most opinions/input about the cover, so it is a good idea to choose interior illustrations as your finished pieces.)
Confused about page layout & formatting? Debbie Ohi created great templates to help: https://debbieohi.com/resources/printready/printready-templates-book-creators/
Keep the File Size Reasonable
🚨 Large files are frustrating to download! 📢❗
Ideal file size: 3-5 MB
(Under 10 MB max.)
Tips to help reduce file size:
- Export at 150-200 DPI (still good for screen viewing).
- Compress images carefully.
- Use PDF compression tools.
Password Protect Your Dummy!
Restricting access with a password helps protect your intellectual property and ensures only intended recipients can access your work.
You can:
- Add a password directly to the PDF.
- Or host the file privately and share a protected link.
If you don’t have Adobe Acrobat, there are other options to add a password to your pdf.
On an iPad, you can encrypt a pdf by opening it in Preview and selecting “lock”:
Free tools to compress, protect and combine pdf pages:
- Adobe Acrobat Online (password + compression tools) https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/online/password-protect-pdf.html
Adobe has many free tools, but can restrict use to once a day without a paid account. (You can always try clearing your cache/website data and refreshing the site if you need to use the tool multiple times.)
- PDF Compressor – https://pdfcompressor.com
- Smallpdf – https://smallpdf.com
- PDF.net – https://pdf.net
- Combine PDFs – https://combinepdf.com
After compressing, always re-open your PDF and zoom in to check that artwork and text still look great! You don’t want to lose too much detail, or make text illegible.
Share the File Securely
You can upload your PDF dummy to file-sharing site, like:
- Dropbox
- Google Drive
or…
- Your own website (make sure it’s password protected!)
Set sharing permissions to:
- “Only people with the link”
- Disable public indexing
- View-only access (no editing)
Never set it to fully public.
Final Checklist Before Sending
✅ PDF is under 5MB (10 MB max)
✅ Pages are in correct order
✅ Page sizes and magins are consistent
✅ Password applied
✅ Link permissions tested in a private browser window
❌ No AI
PREPARE AN ONLINE PORTFOLIO
- Show 15-20 of your strongest pieces.
- Make your portfolio the first thing visitors see when they visit your site.
- Include contact info.
- Keep navigation simple.
- Avoid clutter and too many styles.
- A balance of human characters, animals, and perhaps anthropomorphic (human-like) animals is great.
- Include diverse characters.
- It’s a good idea to include a variety of full-spread scenes, single-page illustrations, and sequential spot illustrations to demonstrate narrative skill and character consistency.
There are decent free portfolio themes & plugins if you have a wordpress site. (i.e. Modula gallery)
Free / low-cost website builders:
- Wix
- Carrd
- Behance
- Portfoliobox
- iamagtools
The last best option to host a “portfolio” online would be linking to a social site such as Cara OR instagram.
SUBMITTING ILLUSTRATIONS
Illustration files should be named with the format TITLEnumberINITIALS – so if Eric Carle were submitting, his illustration files would look like this;
TheVeryHungryCaterpillar1EC.jpg
TheVeryHungryCaterpillar2EC.jpg
Artwork submission tips:
- Each submitted file size must be under 1MB
- Both artworks must be from the same manuscript/submitted dummy
- No text or word balloons (background signage is fine – leave out any text that would be READ.)
- Please submit illustrations only if you are the illustrator of the work.
- AI-generated images should not be used.
- Make sure your final artwork is polished.
- Show your character in different poses and with different expressions in your art samples.
- Use the test illustration Google form to make sure they go through, so they won’t have any issues on submission day. https://forms.gle/yVvnswX9pM8aKMj46
If you are exporting an illustration from Procreate, best to duplicate your artwork, then resize the canvas to create a smaller version for sharing while keeping the original file intact. Always check the art at 100% zoom to make sure it is not too blurry or pixelated.
Protecting Illustrations from AI Scraping (Optional but Increasingly Common!)
Some illustrators use protective tools before sharing work online:
- Glaze – https://glaze.cs.uchicago.edu
- Nightshade – https://nightshade.cs.uchicago.edu
These tools add protections that make it harder for generative AI systems to replicate your work.
SUPPORT EACH OTHER & BUILD COMMUNITY 📢
Ways to connect:
- Join the Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/689893392456709
- PBParty critique giveaway donors https://go.bsky.app/PBBKrSY
- PBParty Agents, Editors & ADs https://go.bsky.app/FPrTsGi
- PBparty participants on Bluesky: https://go.bsky.app/NfWkPrb
- PBparty finalists on Bluesky: https://go.bsky.app/MQZCWyi
Thanks for adding your tips to Brian’s, and for coming up with the tips in this slide we used in the PBParty Prep Zoom, judges Marietta Apollonio & Stacey Byer! 💖
The judges and I can’t wait to see your amazing entries, soon! Here’s some good luck fairy dust. ✨✨✨
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