I have found an excellent tonic for being awake at an early hour. You just eat a big plate of pasta for dinner the night before and voila (or viola as my son says) you never really got to sleep and eyes already open it's just a matter of hauling your carcass out of bed. Pour some hot tea down the throat and here I am.
OK I thought today I'd tell you about all my writer and illustrator friends. .......................Actually I don't have any. If you dreamt of being a writer or illustrator and woke up to find yourself in a room full of people with pencils or pens behind their ears, lucky you. However when I decided to do this sort of thing I knew no-one. A massive piece of advice to give- NETWORK,NETWORK, NETWORK! Have a look at your own people assets to begin with. The people you can easily chat with around your area (if you are on a remote island this may not be possible) are librarian's, teachers, bookshop owners, printers, people at galleries, artists, friends who may have a relative in any of these area's or in the publishing industry. Talk about your work to people. You don't have to give away your stories or show all your pictures but let people know what you do. Many of these people will put you in contact with others and you begin a little database of contacts. Keep a record of all this. You never know when you might use this. By the way you are not using people, but becoming a link in a network chain where you in turn will connect others.
I am lucky enough to have a graphic artist friend who though not involved with books herself as such, knows a few people who are. Successful people possibly won't want to be your buddy as such but many are happy to give abit of advice or perhaps give you another name. It all helps. Borrow books on the subject, theres tonnes at your library.
Next, join groups of people with similar interests and also organisations put together to serve people in the industry you want to be in. Prices vary on all thses things so ask people what they recommend and put your money firstly with best value given. For instance, I joined a local branch of The Federation of Australian Writers. By doing so I became an affilliate member of the New South Wales (my State) Writers Centre. Between the two bodies I get lot's of info, meet people and get members rates to lot's of workshops and functions. I also joined the local branch of the Childrens Book Council of Australia where I recieve another lot of benefits. I subscibed to two on-line publications- Buzz Words and Pass it On, both dedicated to the childrens book industry in Australia and very helpful and interesting and at a very reasonable cost. Check out your local versions of all this if you haven't already.(They are a tax deduction if your work is a business). So be brave and make your passion public- only a few will run away and if you're quick you can chuck a business card in their bags as they retreat!