Interview with Sally Garland

Sally Anne Garland is a prolific author/illustrator who has been working with both Advocate Art and Caroline Wakeman Literary Agency for many years. Her authored books include The Moon Seed, The Chalk Garden and Poppy’s Perfect Crayons. She has rave five-star reviews from The Guardian, Kirkus, Reading Zone, and more. Here, we ask Sally about her experience as an author/illustrator.

Q- How long have you been working as an author and illustrator?

I was first freelancing as an illustrator before I began writing my own stories, which I have been doing now for about thirteen years.

Q- Who are you represented by and how long have you been repped by them?

I have always been represented by both Advocate Art and Caroline Wakeman Literary Agency.

Q- What was your very first published book as an illustrator?

The first book I illustrated was called Fiddlesticks, written by Sean Taylor and published with Simon and Schuster.

Q- What was your first book as an author/illustrator?

It was called Share and published with Tiger Press. It was originally a portfolio project, and I remembered being so excited when it was picked up, but I had loads to learn.

Q- Is there any book you have written that you feel particularly proud of?

I am really pleased with The Moon Seed published by Sunbird Books, and

also Bear Was There published by New Frontier Publishing. I feel that the story and the illustration work well together in both books.

Q- Would you be able to share your process? How do you go about starting a new book idea?

I tend to have three or four little notions or observations in my head that I mull over for a while.

It’s usually something funny, quirky or different from the norm that has caught my attention. This usually becomes the hook for the story: if it has grabbed my attention, then hopefully it will catch someone else’s.

I then try to put these ideas into different contexts, and usually there is a sort of mental click when one of these scenarios comes together in an interesting way and becomes a stage for my story.

If you are an illustrator, I think you naturally do this already. Probably in most illustrators’ portfolios there is a piece that has the potential to be a springboard for a book idea.

Obviously, the character or characters are hugely important, so I really try to focus on getting them right as they will drive the story and ultimately feature on that all-important, eye-catching cover.

I try to make characters relatable – for instance, super cute or endearing stupid – so readers become emotionally invested and hopefully keep turning the pages.

The story arc of a narrative picture book tends to be the journey of a character/characters with a challenge to overcome; the struggle to overcome it until they eventually do.

Once I get a rough outline for a story and I have what I think is a potentially good character, I quickly zip it over to CWLA to get their initial thoughts and reaction. I do this to see if it really does grab attention and also that it makes sense to others in the real world.

Over the years, I have very much used CWLA as my sounding board and they have always given invaluable advice as to where they think my story could go, as well as helping shape the illustration material so it is as market and pitch ready as it can be.

Sometimes a book idea can be picked up really quickly, and other times you need to be really patient as it can take a while. I think it is a good idea to always try to have a bank of ideas to work on so you can move on with the next potential story. After all, the more you have out there, the more chance you have of landing a book deal.

Q- What is your #1 tip for aspiring illustrators looking to become an author as well?

Most illustrators are already instinctive storytellers, albeit visual ones. The challenge is to find that literary voice that reflects your illustration, along with developing a good work practice that allows you to generate as many original story ideas as possible.

Source ideas not from what is already selling in bookstores (although it is important to be aware of the market), but from the things that you are naturally interested in or passionate about. Children (and for that matter, publishers) are drawn to genuine enthusiasm and authenticity. If you are excited about what you are writing, then that will naturally come through in both your words and image making. It will also make your stories original and unique to you and hopefully relatable and enjoyable to little readers.

The ITSme Society is a collective of top creative agencies that represent award-winning talent worldwide. The ITSme Society agencies represent illustrators and writers across 7 agencies: Advocate Art, Astound US Inc, Illo Agency, Artistique, Yeon, CWLA, and Collaborate.