I illustrated a few spreads of a book I had written and took it to a publisher, Penguin as it happens. A friend knew someone there and gave me a leg up. In the 1980’s it was still possible to actually get to see a commissioning editor.

She liked my illustrations but not the story, so she offered me a book to illustrate. That went well so she gave me a second one. Then some other publishers noticed my work and eventually I could give up my day job and just illustrate all the time.

I suspect getting to see someone these days isn’t so easy, so I would research publishers you like by going to a big bookshop and looking at books. Read up on their websites how they look at submissions. They vary.

The important thing is to be persistent and listen to what the publishers say. Negative feedback is especially important. Positive feedback is readily available from you mother, but it’s not very useful.