FAQs

I have a great idea for a picture book – could you illustrate it?

Probably not. Publishers prefer to pair authors up with illustrators themselves, once they’ve fallen in love with and commissioned your completed story. And, currently, I’m not accepting commissions to illustrate self-published books, because I have plenty of work on already.

I’m an aspiring illustrator – can you give me any tips?

Yes – at least, I can pass on bits and bobs learned so far… get in touch via the contact form (in CONTACT) and I’ll try to get back to you soon as reasonably possible. If you’re after a formal folio assessment, however, I charge an hourly rate for this.

I want to write and illustrate a children’s book too! How do I do this? How do I get it published? Can we meet and chat? I’ll buy you a coffee!

I’m currently too busy for a coffee date! And I have a machine at home which makes tolerable coffee. Also, I’m a creator, not a publisher. I can’t help you get your book published. However, there are some useful answers to Frequently Asked Questions on this topic on the SCBWI site here.

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And often other authors and illustrators have taken the time to answer questions more fully than I have above. THANK you to them! Here are some great answers to the above on James Foley’s site here. Mem Fox has some down-to-earth advice here. And there’s some basic advice on the CBCA website here. However, a simple Google search will unearth many, many wonderful and free articles giving advice.

I have a blog. Can you send me one of your books to review?

I only get a few copies of each book from the publisher, and these are for family and friends. But if you’re an established reviewer, do please contact the publisher of the book you’d like to review and they may send you a copy in exchange for an honest review. The other option, if you’re in an urban area of Australia, is to order the book from your public library (or, even better – buy it). I hope you like the book – whichever one you choose!