This one's for you....

Sorry I have been a bit slack folks. No excuses either.

First things first - for any UK followers my book A Winter's Day in 1939 is now available as an e-book on Amazon UK. Yay!!!

Second - the clock is ticking down to the release of my next picture book 'While You Are Sleeping' illustrated by the very talented Greg Straight and published by Duck Creek Press. The book is released on October 1st and I will post details for the launch soon. This is a bedtime book to share with young children, with fun illustrations full of gorgeous details complimented by spare poetic text. I am really looking forward to holding this in my hands and being able to share it.

And third - I want to do a big shout out to the very cool crowd of children from Viscount School in South Auckland who performed my story The House That Went to Sea (Duck Creek Press, 2011) at the Auckland Storylines Family Day last Sunday. What a talented bunch of kids. I was completely blown away by the cleverness of the production, the cool special effects, the mermaid song (this mermaids on water, to the tune of 'This girl is on fire'), the pirate battle, the costumes, the sound effects (big ups to the violinist shark!) and of course the acting - I was dead impressed. If I can wrangle a recording of the show I will try loading it up here.

And the family day was terrific. I love being a part of this celebration of children's books. And it's great to have the opportunity to connect with young readers and their very cool and supportive parents. Thank you too to my most marvelous minder, and fellow writer, Katie Furze who was excellent company for the day and a terrific minder.

 But the family day has also always been an opportunity to catch up with old writer and illustrator friends and make new ones. This year I met Rachel Spratt, creator of the Nanny Piggins books, Stacy Gregg, author of numerous Pony Club books, Greet Pauwelijn, publisher (Book Island) and Isaac Drought, winner of last year's Joy Cowley Award who was launching his winning picture book Alphabet Squabble. Every author and illustrator I meet makes me feel even more convinced that (despite the crazy and difficult elements ) I was picked by the right career. Every author and illustrator I meet helps me paint a more comprehensive picture of the book world. I would not be where I am now without the advice, the information and the support and encouragement I have received over the years from this fantastic community. Even yesterday after lamenting my writerly laziness to a writer friend, she said just the right thing and helped me put my situation in perspective. If I was allowed to only ever give one piece of advice to help another writer reach for their dreams I would tell them to become a part of the writers community.  It is the best way to learn what you need to know. It is the best way to hear about new opportunities when new opportunities seem thin on the ground. It is the best way to keep your head above water when drowning seems like a real possibility. And I'm not talking about just a critique group here (although joining one of these can be enormously helpful too) - you need to be talking to authors and illustrators at all stages of their careers; people much published, gaining momentum, starting out, and unpublished. You only get the full picture if you see it from all angles. If you only hang out with other folk at the same stage as you are, you may remain unaware of the dangers and the pitfalls, and be ignorant of the possibilities and proactive things you can be doing to propel yourself forward. I love having peers who understand where I'm at, icons to look up to and learn from and new folk who I can share information with. We are a very nice bunch.

And last but not least today I want to say a heartfelt thank you to the people who support us. Being an author and/or illustrator has always been a tricky profession. We are at the mercy of our rejections and acceptances, over our success and failures and the complex machinations that drive our careers. Most of us don't earn a living wage and our contribution to the family coffers is often token at best. So to all the husbands, wives, partners, girlfriends, boyfriends, parents and families...for the financial and emotional support; your continued belief in us and your encouragement THANK YOU - we couldn't do it without you.

Your chances are as good as ever...

In response to my last post, Kath lamented that getting published in NZ today as a newcomer seems impossible. What are the chances?

From where I sit Kath I have to say the chances seem as good as ever. Chances were never good, but newcomers still do get published every year. In the wake of the recession, publishing lists were cut and several boutique publishers (Mallinson Rendel, Longacre) were absorbed by a couple of the big international publishing names (Penguin and Random respectively). Publishers across the board were tightening purse strings and Scholastic NZ, the biggest children's-only publisher here closed to unsolicited submissions, an uncommon position in this country. And it certainly may appear that the same names are turning up on the covers of the books in the bookshops.

However if you know your local authors well you can spot the new ones too. Anna Gowan and Leonie Agnew are new faces in the junior novel area. Juliette MacIver is new in picture books as is Chris Gurney and Belynda Smith. I'm sure there are others that have slipped my mind.

Several avenues exist for new writers such as the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon and Tessa Duder Awards for junior and YA fiction. You cannot enter for these awards if you are previously published. While the Joy Cowley Award for a picture book is open to the previously published, this is how many new writers are noticed by Scholastic who participate in judging the entries and publish the winners of the Joy Cowley and Tom Fitzgibbon (Harper Collins publish the winner of the Tessa Duder Award). Scholastic have published the books of other finalists as well. I was twice a finalist in the Joy Cowley Award and while this didn't result directly in publication of my entries at the time, it was a huge boost for me as a writer and resulted in some fantastic feedback which has seen both stories being published more recently. Entries close on October 31st for these Awards every year.

And we now have new boutique publishers springing up. David Ling's Duck Creek Press  has taken on a new picture book writer and new illustrators in the last few years and Pear Jam Books, just launched by author Jill Marshall, is publishing 14 titles this year of which 5 are by previously unpublished authors and another couple are by newish authors.

I got my break with Learning Media and Australia's School Journal who first published several short stories I had written during a Writing for Children paper I did at Massey University as part of my English Degree. One of the most important things I did to help myself along was join several writer's organisations (Storylines, NZSA, Kiwiwrite4kidz) which introduced me to other people experiencing the same difficulties and challenges that I was on my quest for publication. We share triumphs, disappointments and tales of survival. We also share tips and information that make our journey easier.

So don't despair. A blog I follow in the UK by the much published author Nicola Morgan recently featured a post in which she spoke about her twenty year journey to publication. She was first published well before the global recession but it still took her twenty years to reach that first contract. It is very tough to get published. Sometimes it takes a while to find your niche, your voice, your style. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right story for the right time - the one that starts you off. If you are serious about being published as a children's author then you have to hang in there. Keep writing. Take heart. Join with the rest of us and we can hang in there together.