Storm Whale is
my first children’s book to be published by Allen and Unwin – and I have never
been more excited! But as someone who wrote her very first children’s book at
the tender age of 9, I’m one of the world’s greatest examples of that old adage
– “there’s no such thing as overnight
success”!
My
parents advised me “if you want to be a
writer, get a degree and do something sensible first” and, being a somewhat
argumentative wordsmith, training as a lawyer seemed the obvious choice. After
20 years as a litigation lawyer, first in Queensland, then in London - during
which I spent my holidays writing stories, since this made me happier than any
bonus my firm ever paid me - it wasn’t until my then husband was transferred to
Hong Kong, and I became a full-time mum, that I was able, at last, to focus on
my writing. Albeit in snatched moments as one child swiftly became two!
My
first publishing success was as author of a funny column for a Hong Kong
parenting magazine. After entertaining the publisher’s guests at his annual
Burns Night supper with a spirited rendition of my poem about a Feral Bagpipe
(yes, I play the bagpipes), he was on my doorstep next morning asking if I’d
written anything for kids. I showed him my pink plastic bag where I stashed all
my stories, he selected one, and by 2004 I was touring Hong Kong schools with
my first children’s picture book, A Dirty
Story! A year later, An Even Dirtier
Story was published.
In
the meantime my family life had imploded, and as a separated spouse I was
obliged to justify my continued existence in Hong Kong to the Immigration
Department. Having cut my teeth as a published author, I was ready to go it
alone. I set up my own publishing business, and then began climbing the steepest
learning curve I’ve ever experienced!
I
wanted to create something fun about their own culture for the Chinese kids in
the schools I was visiting, and so began my Chinese
Calendar Tales series. Eleven years, a new French husband and twelve books
later, I think I can say that I know the publishing business very well indeed,
from every little step in book creation to distribution and beyond!
But
being a self-published author with 14 books behind her is very different to
being an author in the hands of a big company like Allen and Unwin! It’s been
such a thrill working with its extraordinary, all-woman creative team, with
their many years of experience in creating children’s books of exceptional
beauty and quality. And such a pleasure to stand back and watch in awe (and
peace!) as the rights team and sales team do their fantastic work. So I’m daily
learning how to simply be an author – when to suggest, when to keep quiet, and
above all, when to slow down and smell the roses of authorship! My experience
as a publisher has been invaluable in helping me to understand the publishing
business; now at last, I’m returning to my first love, the writing of stories,
and I’ve never been happier.
You can learn more about Sarah's exciting collection of books, here.
Keep an eye out for our review of her debut picture book, Storm Whale.
