@Melissa-Bailey-0 It's really good to hear from someone who's been there. No I haven't done any illustration work from start to finish for a client. Honestly, at this point I'd be pretty scared if I got a job doing a whole book. I think I could make it a next project to work through a book dummy and see where that takes me.
That said, I'm mega unemployed and I also need to get some income going. Even if it's not anything close to a dream gig. As you said, I need to weigh some pros and cons about crowdsourcing work. I'm excited to look into Reedsy that @StudioLooong suggested. Are there others that you have strong opinions pro or con on?