How to find your people

Why cultivating a creative community will change your career

Wordsworth famously ‘wandered lonely as a cloud’ but in reality he wasn’t alone on that walk. He was actually accompanied by his sister Dorothy who recorded it in her diary. He was also part of a wider literary set of friends.

Although authors and illustrators do spend significant parts of our time working on our own, it doesn’t mean we have to be lonely.

In fact, I believe that meaningful connection to other creatives, book lovers and readers is incredibly important. Not just for our well being and sanity, but for our careers too. Let me explain…

Is writing/illustrating really a lonely job?

It can be. I spend a lot of time in my head thinking about stories and characters even when it looks like I’m doing something else, like the supermarket shop or walking the dog.

One of the things that surprised me about becoming a published author was just how social it is. When you think about writers and illustrators, you imagine them working away at their desks on their own for hours at a time.

While I do exactly that, and honestly am really happy doing so, becoming an author was a lot less lonely than I imagined.

I have made so many author and illustrator friends over the years, ones I’ve met online and at events and festivals. (Lots of the people we’ve interviewed here are ones I’ve met along my writing journey.)

As well as all of the lovely people at the publishers I’ve worked at and with, and my agents, there is also an incredible world of book reviewers, teachers and booksellers out there amplifying voices and forging connections between book creators and readers.

I’m lucky that both James and I are work from home (although in different parts of the house - I like silence while I work and he likes music). But we come together at lunchtime to eat and chat about what we’re working on. We also have our dog Jack who keeps us company.

Other creatives we’ve interviewed sometimes choose to work in a studio so there are other people around them, or join virtual or in person co-writing sessions. There is no right or wrong answer, it just depends what works best for you.

Why connection and community matters

I’ve been part of book groups, writing groups and different communities of writers both online and offline for years.

Not only do we chat about work and non work related stuff, we help each other out where we can; re-posting social media posts, writing quotes for new books, going to each other’s launch parties and offering support.

I love my creative friends, they help writing feel less solitary and being able to talk honestly about the industry, ask questions and brainstorm new ideas has made a huge difference to both my writing and mental health.

There is just no substitute for the sense of connection forged when you have something in common with people.

However, these creative communities of book loving authors, illustrators, librarians, teachers and reviewers are also essential when you have a book to promote as there is a woeful lack of review coverage for children’s books in the national media.

As SF Said noted recently, children’s books might account for over 30% of the market, but they get just 3% of the coverage.

Without the help from others within this industry, launching a book would feel a lot lonelier.

How to find your people

As someone who didn’t feel like they fit in at school, I have since discovered that book people are my people.

But I also know that it can be hard to make new friends as an adult and hard to know how and where to find creative friends.

Whether you live in the middle of the countryside, or a bustling city, whether writing/illustrating is your full time job or a side hustle, there are plenty of ways to meet like minded people:

• Look for local in person writing/illustration courses you could attend. I did one at City Lit 20 years ago and am still in touch with some of the writer friends I met there.

• SCWBI have a huge global community which meet virtually and online.

• You can join the Society of Authors before you’re published. They arrange virtual and in person meet ups.

• Attend local book related events from festivals and talks to launches at bookshops. The more you immerse yourself in the children’s book world, the more people you will meet and the more chance you will have of forming connections.

• Be brave. I’ve gone to events not knowing anyone and it is hard, but chances are someone else there is feeling the same way. You have nothing to lose by striking up a conversation.

• Get chatty online. Drop us a message in comments or chat. Reach out to other creatives. You never know where these connections will lead.

Think big

I often hear grumblings when there is an announcement about a new celebrity writing a book. Celebrities tend to get huge advances, a lot more shelf space and significantly more publicity than most of us mere muggles.

Publishing is a business and businesses need to make money so I get why this happens but in truth I think some of the resentment from authors and illustrators stems from the fact that these celebrities often don’t feel like part of the children’s book community.

There is no sense of solidarity, no attempt to amplify voices or help each other out in any meaningful way like most authors/illustrators naturally do.

But it seems to me there is a very obvious solution that would benefit everyone – authors and publishers alike.

They just need to think about it differently.

When you go to see live music, there is always a supporting act on first. Why can’t this model be applied to publishing? If every big name or celebrity author event at a literary festival such as Hay or Edinburgh was paired with an underrepresented or emerging writer/illustrator, imagine the impact it could have?

The less well known author could introduce their book for a few minutes at the start – it would help raise their profile, introduce their work to new readers and grow their audience.

As I said before, authors and illustrators naturally help each other out anyway - you can also see this in the way that writers recommend other writers on Substack. What I am proposing is that this gets built on and is encouraged and facilitated by publishers.

Imagine if publishers had conversations with their top bestselling 10% of authors and celebrities about ways they could help the other 90%. From promoting writers on social media, to going on tour together, I’d love to see a more collaborative, community minded approach being encouraged by the powers that be.

Helping each other, helps us all

I think there is plenty of room in the market for all writers and illustrators and believe sharing space in this way would mean more sales for everyone, not less.

If more brilliant books are published, there will be more of them for kids to fall in love with which means more kids will grow up with a love of reading.

Those kids will become adults who buy and read books which means the market will continue to grow, publishers will sell more books and authors will earn more money. The Reading Agency recently reported a ‘growing reading crisis’ amongst adults so this feels like more important now than ever.

Imagine if the key to the success and survival of the publishing industry was ensured by fostering a greater sense of community between creatives?

Of successful, bestselling authors giving a leg up to those below them? Of doing what comes naturally to most writers anyway – communicating with readers and recommending books they love.

Helping each other really would help us all.

How can we help you?

We’re keen to help foster a greater sense of community amongst children’s book authors and illustrators here at Words and Pictures and would love to know what you would find helpful alongside our monthly zoom chat where you can ask us anything.

Please take a moment to answer the poll and let us know:

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Why subscribe to Words and Pictures?

• We’ll share everything we know about making books and how the industry works in a new post each Monday.

• Every month we’ll hold a live session for community members to ask us anything and everything they want to know about writing, illustrating and getting published. The next live session is Sunday 18th May 8.00pm GMT.

• There will also be free interviews every Friday with authors, illustrators and publishing professionals as they spill the ink about life behind the scenes making books.

• Every month we’ll also highlight submission opportunities and exciting new releases in the world of children’s books. The latest round up is here. Do keep an eye out for the next post later this week as there are LOTS of new opportunities coming...

Mentoring and feedback

If you’re looking for help with your children’s book writing, Naomi offers bespoke mentoring and feedback.

This is what some of her recent clients had to say about working with her:

'This is the clearest, most constructive, most comprehensive and thus the most helpful I have ever received. By a very long way… Your feedback was worth every penny.' R. Burton

'I had a sense that parts of it weren’t working but I couldn’t pinpoint why. Your comments helped clarify that—and made me feel more confident about how to move forward. Not just with this manuscript, but in my storytelling overall.' Valentino Marazziti

If you’d like to find out more about working with Naomi, just hit reply or leave a comment.

Naomi and James x