Have you explored trying an illustration/story trade or collaboration, if so, do you feel that they are worthwhile on your end?

There are a lot of artists who I respect, but I’d honestly be more interested in commissioning artists to produce images to go along with stories than I would be in a trade. I have, however, done collaborations with other writers off and on, like the story “Curse Cards” from last year. As for them being worthwhile, it all sort of depends on the person I’d be working with.