Another thing to be aware of, when dealing with Intellectual Property Rights is that there can be consequences for a lack of challenge. If you allow the piracy to go unchallenged, there is, in many states, a legal doctrine that equates your lack of challenge to effectively releasing the work to...
I would add not to make the mistake of thinking you have to move the storyline X% per chapter. Some things may move in a couple of paragraphs. Other things may need multiple chapters to become fully fledged. Catching a child trying to steal doesn't require a lot of explanation, particularly...
Pretend for a moment that your main character is your BFF. What would that person be doing on a typical Tuesday? Would it be shopping or laundry or milking a goat... See if you can get much on a page.
I can't speak for anyone else BearBear but I have possibly enough artistic ability to do stick figures or petroglyphs or runes and that's about the extent of my visual arts skills. That's why I don't illustrate anything. I know what my characters look like. I know what their settings look...