Question 1

Is it really true that anyone can write a children's book? Don't I need some proper qualifications?

Accepted Answer

A publisher will never ask to see any 'formal' qualifications in writing or illustration – they'll judge you purely on the merits of your story of illustrations.
 
If it's good and (importantly) they think they can make money from publishing your book, they will!

Question 2

How long will it take me to write or illustrate a book?

Accepted Answer

That depends on you, the time you have available and your writing or illustration style. For example, if you were working on this full-time you should be able to have a finished manuscript with a couple of days-worth of work (presuming you had an idea to start with).
Illustrators obviously take a lot longer to do their work, but to produce a book dummy (detailed during the course) for submission might only take a week's worth of work, depending on the complexity of your illustration style. Finishing the artwork ready for publication (once the book is commissioned) usually takes anything from a couple of weeks to a couple of months... again depending on your artwork style.

Question 3

How much experience do I need before taking the course?

Accepted Answer

Very little!
 
If you're a writer, you only need an active imagination and the ability to write in a reasonably articulate fashion (but spell-check and grammar-check are great aids).
 
Illustrators need to be able to draw 'reasonably competently', but even here you can have fairly naive skills. You should be able to draw people (entire bodies), faces with expressions (but they can be fairly basic), animals, houses, pieces of furniture etc. That doesn't mean you need to be a Leonardo-level master in painting skills... if you take a look at the work of David Shrigley, the cartoons of Spike Milligan, the Edward Monkton range of greetings cards or Jeff Kinney's 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' series you'll see how it's possible to achieve a lot with very limited skills.

Question 4

Have many of your students been published?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Many of my students have now found publishing deals with a mainstream publisher or gone through the self-publishing route, or found an illustration agent (if they've decided to go into something other than children's books). Some were already writers or illustrators in another field, but many others have started from scratch, as complete beginners.
Look out for books by Jo Rooks, Zehra Hicks, Rosie Reeve, Abigail Tompkins, Esther Coombs, Charlotte Ager, Elena Topouzoglou, Alana Washington, Yao Hsin-Yi, Philippa Rae, Simon Darkman, Tom Mackewn, Bronagh Gumbrell, Caroline Blanchette, CNT Johnson... apologies for anyone I've forgotten.

Question 5

Can I really make a living out of writing or illustrating children's books?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely! I've been doing exactly that for the last 30+ years. The publisher's initial commission is just the start, because (presuming the book sells) you'll receive on-going annual royalties from the publisher and other organisations (for reproduction rights) for every year the book stays in print. If the book sells well the publisher will usually try for sequels or related books. If you're luckier still your book will be picked up for animation or dramatization, and that's when money really starts to flow in, because you receive much higher royalties from merchandising rights.
Even if you’re self-publishing, it’s still possible to be successful – I detail some of this during the course but I’m also currently making a free YouTube video on this subject alone.

Question 6

Can you look through my ideas and give me some feedback?

Accepted Answer

Sadly, no. This aspect is not included as part of the on-line courses because if you think about the amount of time I'd have to spend giving feedback to every piece of work from every student it would take me forever. 
 
I used to offer feedback for writers and illustrators as a separate service, but ill health has forced me to step back from my day-to-day activities, which is why I put everything I know into the online courses.

Question 7

How do I know that a publisher won't steal my story idea?

Accepted Answer

This is a common concern among fledgling authors and illustrators. But in reality, I've never come across a case of this actually happening. Publishers are always looking for new talent that they can nurture and with whom they can form a long-term relationship... chances are that if you've produced one cracking story you'll produce more that are equally good, so it wouldn't make sense to steal an idea. Then of course they’d have to re-write it in-house and commission an illustrator to do the artwork, and if they're having to pay for that, they may as well have paid you in the first place. 
Having said that, there are still ways in which you can (and should) protect the copyright in your work and ideas and I detail these during the course.

Question 8

How long will it take me to complete the course?

Accepted Answer

This is a similar answer to how long it takes to produce a book: it depends entirely on you and the time you have available. If you have plenty of free time you can easily watch the videos, read the transcript notes and complete the exercises for the writer’s course in 6 days (illustrators usually take longer to complete their work but if you have the time, it might only take one or two days longer, depending on the complexity of your style). You might run up against the odd problem such as how to solve a particular plot-point or character style, so build-in a little margin. Completing the Combined Course will obviously take longer because you're writing AND illustrating the book.
But if you're juggling a busy home life and maybe doing your course work around a job, it will obviously take longer than someone who's able to dedicate an entire day to each stage of the course. 
Just work at your own pace - it doesn't really matter if it takes 6 days, 6 weeks, 6 months or 6 years.

Question 9

Can you help me find a publisher or agent?

Accepted Answer

Sadly, no... it doesn't really work like that. I'm an author-illustrator and I submit my story ideas to a publisher on an individual basis, exactly like you would. I have the advantage that a publisher might already know my other books (or can look them up), but otherwise I rely on the same submission process as you. 
 
What I CAN do during the course is show you the best ways to identify and target the most suitable publishers for your work, which will save you a lot of time and improve your chances of success. 
 
I also teach you the best ways in which you should present your work, in the formats that a publisher will require, and teach you which ideas a publisher will find appealing for maximum sales and translation success.

Question 10

How do you manage to work from home?

Accepted Answer

Work-life balance can be challenging for writers or illustrators, but it varies depending on your circumstances. For example, I've always worked from home (illustrators always do) so I've never known anything different. Before I had a room - or even a desk - to work on, I used to work on (not in!) the bed every day.
 
A small room you can convert into a studio is the best option, then you can leave everything out overnight, but even those illustrators or writers with fancy studios often prefer to work with a wooden board on their knee, or these days it's often an iPad.
 
The majority of my students have children to deal with and you just have to plan your work-day around them. I've known students who have been very disciplined with their time, working to rigidly-set hours, while other just muddle-through and work in the evenings or at the crack-of-dawn... it entirely depends on your temprement.
 
Writers have things a lot easier these days because having a phone enables you to write almost anywhere, which is great if you're trying to fit your writing around another job. One of the recent Booker Prize-winners wrote her entire novel on her phone during a daily train commute, and one of my children's book writing students does exactly the same thing. I've personally dictated ideas into a phone whilst on the dog walk or when in the car... much easier than having to carry a notebook and pen around with you as we had to do in the pre-mobile phone days.

Question 11

Are you sure they're real glasses? And what's with the shirts?

Accepted Answer

Yep, and I own approximately 20 pairs of the same spectacles which I leave all over the house, studio, in jacket and coat pockets, in the car, etc. 
As for the clothes, well one of the big advantages of working in the creative industry is in people's expectations that you will look 'creative'. Which means you can get away with anything.

Writing & Illustrating Children's Picture Books

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