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| Photo by Nicholas Purcell |
I don’t remember ever making that decision – I have always written and illustrated. In fact I would get in trouble in school for handing in rambling novella-length stories because I hadn’t planned them well enough and for drawing pictures in the columns of my homework. In my early teens, I would write and illustrate my own books and often give them to kids I babysat.
My first published book ‘Speak Chinese, Fang Fang’ began as a hand-made book for a young Chinese-Australian student I was tutoring, and it was only at the prompting of a librarian friend that I even thought to send it to a publisher. I was freakishly lucky to be picked up considering I knew nothing about publishing at that stage.
What do you enjoy the most about both?
I love writing stories. I never tire of the thrill of creating a beautiful sentence and the satisfaction of fitting all the pieces of a story together to make it work. Also, finding a character I can grow to love and understanding the world from their perspective. Writing is also portable and manageable – I can pretty much do it anywhere at any time, whereas illustration requires much more space, physically as well as time-wise. I need to have a clear block ahead of me in my studio to work on the illustrations of a picture book so I can completely lose myself in the quiet introspective space I need to create its tone and continuity. Having said all this, currently, I am mainly writing short pieces, working on a novel is something else again. A novel is a commitment to months and sometimes years of anxiety for me, which is why I write them so rarely.
What was your road to publication like?
Embarrassingly smooth. If I had known before I sent my first picture book off to a publisher how hard it can be to get published, I may not have even tried. I’m glad I never knew.
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6 Comments on Interview with Children's Author/Illustrator Sally Rippin, last added: 8/27/2011
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How lovely that Billie B Brown gets invited to parties. That's too cute. And, it's good that you didn't know about publication. Sometimes when I sit with writers and we talk about all the details of what publishers want, I think it hinders our process. Thanks for sharing your story.
Hi Stacy,
Thanks for your lovely comments about Sally's interview and for following my blog :)
I agree! I read a lot about how to write which is a good thing, but I think it's time for me to put the books aside and just write.
Hi Stacy, yes thanks for your comment. I agree, I certainly feel more pressure now to meet other people's expectations, rather than just my own. Having said that, I feel the more I learn the better writer I become.
Sally
Thank you Sally for allowing me to interview you. I'm so delighted, being a huge fan of your illustrations and your books. My daughter, Sienna talks about you like you're good old buddies. She has every Billie B Brown book and she wants to be your latest book, Spotty Dress.
As her reading ability progresses she still wants more Billie. I hope there's more Billie in the pip line for the next reading level.
You know you've touched your reading audience when children invite your book character to parties and they can't wait to read their next adventure.
Well done, Sally. Sienna loves reading now and it's because of Billie... and you of course. :)
How wonderful, Sally, to have the gift of writing, AND of illustrating. When the two meet up in children's picture books, I am almost dizzy with delight!
Thank you Renee and Book Chook. Mostly I just feel extremely lucky that I'm able to make a living from something I love doing!