Meet the talented Michelle Lin, #kidlit author/illustrator.

CAROL GORDON EKSTER: I met Michelle Lin at Kindling Words East this past February. She was one of those kind lovely humans who stands out. Her debuts are coming soon, and I couldn’t wait to highlight here at Writers’ Rumpus. 

Michelle, tell us how you found your way into the world of illustrating and writing picture books.

MICHELLE LIN: Hi Carol! Thank you so much for thinking of me for this interview; it’s an honor to be featured. I first had the idea to illustrate and write picture books about fifteen years ago. I had set up a business illustrating greeting cards and was selling them online, to brick-and-mortar stores and at fairs. A question I was frequently asked was whether the cards were for children, which made me start thinking about illustrating picture books for children.

However, I knew that the odds of breaking into children’s publishing were against me, and at that time, I felt that it was too risky to jump into children’s picture book illustration full-time. Instead, I continued running my greeting card business, up until my son was born in 2016, and then I started a new business (discussed below!). I did continue to illustrate for the new business and also fed the illustration bug by drawing parenting comics inspired by my experiences as a new parent and posting them on Instagram. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit and we were stuck at home with our two kids and I *couldn’t* draw for over a year that made me finally decide to prioritize illustration and ultimately, picture book illustration.

CGE: You have two debuts coming out! Congratulations! Your illustrator debut, THE BIRD I BECAME by J. Drew Lanham, Enchanted Lion Books, Spring 2027 and your author-illustrator debut, ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A GINGERBREAD HOUSE (tentative title), Familius, Fall 2028. Tell us a bit about your debut process and the story behind the story of your first written and illustrated picture book.

ML: Thank you so much! When I received the manuscript for THE BIRD I BECAME, I started making exploratory sketches of the birds, the location, and key moments in the story. I also studied picture books that featured birds as part of the story and did quick master studies of the spreads in those books to get a feel for how others approached illustrating birds in terms of composition and perspective. I then moved on to character studies, but after some discussion with Enchanted Lion, we felt it was better to focus on the storyboard first and have the characters naturally evolve from that process. And I am happy to say that this method worked better! I’m currently revising the storyboard and hope to move onto the final art this summer.

My author-illustrator debut, as you might guess from the title, is a story about a girl who really wants to make a gingerbread house. Her parents, however, don’t know what they are, since they didn’t have them in Taiwan. It’s inspired by my childhood. Like my protagonist, as a little girl, I really wanted to make gingerbread houses and gingerbread men, most likely from reading about them in books or hearing my classmates talk about them. My mom didn’t know what they were, though, since – like my protagonist’s parents – they didn’t have a tradition of making gingerbread houses in Taiwan. And, since there was no household internet at the time (yes, I am dating myself!), my mom had to improvise. She toasted whole wheat bread, cut them into gingerbread men shapes and then made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches out of them. For the gingerbread houses, she bought graham crackers, whipped cream, and candy from the store, and we used empty milk cartons as the scaffolding to make our graham cracker gingerbread houses. Spoiler alert: My protagonist’s “gingerbread house” turns out differently from the one I made as a kid!

CGE: Were these quick and easy sells, or were there twists and nerve-wracking turns before contracts were signed?

ML: In terms of the actual offer, it was quick and easy. Enchanted Lion approached me and asked me to illustrate Drew’s book. I submitted a rough dummy with some final art samples (not of the story, but from my portfolio) to Familius’ call for marginalized creators and received an email from them three months later asking me for a call, during which they extended an offer to publish the book. However, without naming names, there were some twists and nerve-wracking turns before the contracts were actually signed! In one case, I waited for four months to receive my contract. I now realize that this is pretty standard for the industry, but as a newcomer, that made me quite nervous at the time! I also had to negotiate the advance on my own (with help and advice from other authors, whose guidance I am extremely grateful for)!

CGE: You have started such an interesting business! And you only told me about it because before knowing me, you included my picture book, SOME DADDIES, Beaming Books, illustrated by Javiera Maclean Alvarez, 2022, in one of your Rad Dad Boxes. What a perfect Father’s Day gift! Tell us about this business and what the inspiration was behind it.

ML: Thank you, Carol! Yes, I was so pleasantly surprised to find out that you were the author of SOME DADDIES! I included your book in my December 2024 box for my dad customers with big kids, so it was very recent and fresh in my mind. My customers loved the book!

The Rad Dad Box promotes dad-baby bonding and dad self-care, all in one convenient monthly box. The basic box has a dad-themed children’s book (like SOME DADDIES), an age-appropriate toy meant to be played with together (occasionally we will include a dad-themed baby onesie instead of the toy), Dad swag (like Dad-themed socks or a Dad mug), and a personal care item or a snack. Our bigger box includes all the products in our basic box, plus an extra toy and an extra Dad item.

I was inspired to start this business when I was pregnant with my first child in 2016. As the due date came up, I was looking for a gift for my husband to celebrate his soon-to-be status as a father. I stumbled upon the world of subscription boxes online and found that there were many boxes for babies and for moms, but none (at the time) for dads. I thought to myself, why not start a subscription box for dads? Our son was born pretty soon after I had this idea, and we were thrown into the crazy, all-consuming world of newborn parenting, but when he was around 3 or 4 months old, I started to come back to this idea, and in November 2016, I launched the box!

CGE: Do you have a dedicated time to deal with your writing and illustrating life?

ML: This past year (August 2024 to now) has been the first time in 8 years where I’ve been able to work on anything full-time! I usually work on my writing and illustration from 9 am-3 pm during the week, although some of that time is also dedicated to The Rad Dad Box.

CGE: How are you feeling about the marketing aspect of being a #kidlit author/illustrator?

ML: I feel like my experiences as a business owner have prepared me for some of the aspects of marketing as a kidlit author/illustrator, but not all. There’s still a lot to learn. So I feel confident in some areas, but not so much in others!

CGE: What are your top tips for our #kidlit #amwriting #amillustrating audience?

ML: Keep writing, keep illustrating, and most importantly, keep learning and improving. Rejections aren’t necessarily about your skill, sometimes they’re about finding the right fit. As a business owner, I see lots of products that are beautiful and well-made and that I’d love to include in my box, but I can’t because it doesn’t fit the theme or the budget or my customers’ tastes (which vary widely). It doesn’t mean that they aren’t lovely.

CGE: What does the future hold for Michelle Lin?

ML: Oh, that’s a great question! I have a long list of picture book ideas and portfolio piece ideas that I am constantly tackling, and from this, I’d love to finish more of my dummy books and send them out into the world to find new homes. I want to create more sequential illustration pieces in my portfolio (some of the current pieces are the start of a sequence, but I just haven’t been able to complete the sequences yet). I am looking into improving my hand-lettering skills. I recently assumed the role of co-Regional Advisor for my region’s SCBWI chapter, so in that role, I am trying to build community among the kidlit creators in Kansas and Missouri by holding more in-person meetings, online co-working sessions, and webinars.

You can connect with Michelle here:

Website  

Instagram

Substack

The Rad Dad Box  (Please order by June 6, 2025 for guaranteed Father’s Day delivery)