Six things I’ve learnt this year about being a children’s author. Moira Butterfield

My blogging Xmas present to you is a list of things I’ve learnt this year about being a children’s author. Short and sweet, but hopefully one of these may prove to be useful.

1. It’s become ever more ruinously expensive to get to London for meetings with publishers and agent, but I can save some money by trainsplitting the ticket. Hopefully that might work for you, too.

It would be cheaper to go to London by reindeer, via Lapland....

2. It's important to take opportunities to learn from others, and so I found myself, not once, but twice, at one of the inspiring performance workshops run by Cat Weatherill at the Society of Authors headquarters. Highly recommended. In 2019 I'm going to make sure I keep an eye on the workshops and talks being offered by the SoA, and by our very own wondrous writing guru Jenny Alexander, who luckily ran a workshop in my home town this year. 

Hello! Can I join your workshop?

3. Chatting at a general level to kids, parents and teachers is hugely helpful at the very beginning of developing a new idea. In 2018 it really helped me steer my thinking in the right direction and it helped me get the quickest ‘yes’ from a publisher I’ve ever had.

Talking to kids, parents and teachers is good! (Though once I start writing, I'll probably shut up). 

4. Instagram is creatively helpful if you follow the right folk – illustrators in particular – who put up some absolute jewels that inspire.  I try to limit looking at it to twice a day, however, as it's all addictive, as we know. And, yes, I did a helpful Instagram workshop in 2018 (year of the workshops - they are all tax-deductible by the way). 

5. Mixing with other authors and illustrators, even if only on social media, has upped my game. Their successes and thought processes have helped to spark me up and do better.

You helped me up my game! 

6. Blogs must be short and to the point, or I just won't read them. Well done for getting this far! Have you learnt something this year that you'd like to share with other authors? 

Happy Xmas!

Moira Butterfield 
Author of all sorts of things for ages 4+, such as Welcome To Our World, published by Nosy Crow. 
2019 sees more highly-illustrated non-fiction and picture book publications from me.  
www.moirabutterfield.com 
Twitter: @moiraworld
Instagram: @moirabutterfieldauthor