How to be a Children's Writer and Illustrator

What does it take it take to be a children's book author and/or illustrator? Right now I would say the ability to get up way too early and stumble around in the dark to pull on mismatched but warm clothing and then find enough bleary eyed coordination to push two vital buttons: the kettle and the computer. Or the kettle and the studio light switch.

There are other things. Notice in my title I didn't say successful. I'm not there yet. I can only tell you how I arrived where I am and say I appear to be heading the right general direction in so much that I am a 100 times more a writer and illustrator today than I was about a year ago. Up till then I was a mum who who had part time jobs and a concertina file full of stories written over the last 5 years. I did the odd bit of artwork for myself and others. And I had joined an authors society whose newsletters were so full of literary jargon they just made me feel stupid. And that's it. Except to say I was very frustrated. The stories I had written were yelling in my head to see the light of day. I wanted to send some off to a publisher yet I wanted to illustrate them myself. Publishers make it quite clear they would prefer you did not illustrate your own work. I agonised over that for ages(you've got to really drag these avoidance techniques out) then decided to send in just the stories and then once published, hopefully have the pull to ask to illustrate book number two or three myself. Get your foot in the door first, I thought. I attended a weekend away for children's book writers and illustrators. Gosh didn't I feel like a right ping-pong at a basketball convention. The workshops were great and I got to meet some very well known Australian authors and illustrators BUT I have to say it was all very clicky and I really felt like an ignorant novice. Well, that's because I was! And really in so many ways I am still a novice but I have done a large amount toward not being ignorant since then. Aside from the networking I mentioned in an earlier blog which is so, so vital, I research other people in the industry. I look at their books, look up their websites, go to book launches and events. For my writing, I write something every day and read as much as I can find time for. For illustrating I look at other peoples illustrating, I copy some of it to understand their style (hey, it worked for Van Gogh), I try different mediums and take the odd class to learn how to use a new medium properly. But the most important thing I do now, is take my work seriously. I had decades of excuses as to why my creativity could not also be my living and I am just as busy as I ever was but as tacky as it sounds, I've found my bliss. Now I've opened the door to my passion, I'm taking the bloody door off the hinges because now I only intend to succeed.

(The painting shown is a politely modified version of a piece by talented artist David Wenzel that I had long loved)