GUEST AUTHOR: Lulu Taylor

Meet Lulu Taylor from @picklesandstitches

She is the wonder behind two beautiful books:

♡ Etta Rose

♡ Captain Picklehead - Mouse Mayhem

Sharing her words and wisdom of being a self-published author!

What inspired you to write your book:
While it wasn’t necessarily on my radar to be a writer, I think I’ve always had stories in my head and heart that were just fizzing to come out…. I just didn’t know they were destined to be actual books! I don’t think it is an over-exaggeration to say that there is always an idea, phrase or rhyme in my head, and quite an alarming amount of my brain capacity gets taken up with turning every little thing into a song (just ask my family LOL). I have such a love of silliness and fun, and if you team that with my seemingly unstoppable obsession with turning everything into a rhyme or song, I guess it was the obvious progression for all that to turn into writing children's books.

Do you have a method/process when writing the text:
I am the owner of a creative brain, I can’t fight it, it is both a blessing and believe it or not, sometimes a bit of a curse. For me, that creative brain has a bit of a hard time staying on task for long. So, what that means is that it doesn't work for me to say “I’m going to sit down and write for x amount of time”. Writing is sporadic, spontaneous and very much dependent on when inspiration hits! My stories generally get started from an idea from some (silly) thing I've said, which sits with me for days or weeks and I keep a notebook where I keep gathering ideas until I have enough to start constructing the story and then I just let it organically develop. I do not put pressure or deadlines on myself, it is the killer of creativity for me and I want writing to be fun, not a chore.

Was there anything you struggled with:
As is with the struggles I have in every aspect of my life, it is my overwhelming self doubt that hinders me the most. I am the biggest bundle of insecurities that you will likely ever meet. It makes it really difficult to gain the courage to say “hey world, I’ve done this thing, I’d like you to see it”, and even more so, to commit to spending money on backing myself! Honestly, if it wasn’t for my husband encouraging me, believing in me, and saying ‘just go for it’, I don’t think I’d have been brave enough to even dream about publishing and I’m pretty sure I’d still have stories in my heart and not on real life pages for people to read.

More specifically to writing, my latest book (Captain Picklehead) gave me real grief, and I just couldn’t quite get part of the narrative formulating for the story I knew I wanted to tell….. One day after what seemed like an eternity, something ignited the right fuse, and in my head was the missing piece! Oh happy days! I remember running down the hall to find my notebook and write down the idea before I lost it!!

What were your biggest highlights:
Most definitely, working with Bec is a huge highlight! It has been the most fulfilling, enjoyable, inspiring process that I could ever have wished for. Every step of the collaboration with her fills my joy cup. She is so warm and reassuring and full of all the good vibes that it makes it such a fun, stress free adventure. Seeing the first illustrations of my Etta Rose character coming through from her literally brought tears to my eyes. The care and excitement that Bec has for my characters is so heartwarming and many, many, MANY happy tears have been shared with her throughout my publishing journey.

Also, I can’t lie, the amount of love and positive feedback I got when I released my first book completely blew my mind… Mothers writing to me saying how their child/ren loved my book and felt so connected to Etta Rose, and how grateful they were to see themselves in a character made me so proud to have put this story out into the world! 

Did you have any formal training? Courses or books you may have used:
I do not have any formal training. I relied very heavily on google searches, a dear friend who is a writer and the knowledge of Bec to figure out how to publish a book. I eventually discovered a great Facebook group for ‘Children's Authors and Illustrators’ that has proved invaluable in getting the answers to all the questions that arise on the journey to getting a book from being an idea in your head, to a printed, published, hold in your hands, book.

Do you have any tips for other aspiring authors:
Absolutely I do, and that is, YOU CAN DO IT!! And, you SHOULD do it, because yes there are times it seems too hard, sometimes it sucks and things go wrong, and you feel scared and insecure, but as someone said to me, “somewhere in the world, is someone who needs to hear your story”. Please, take that message with you, and put it firmly in your heart that there is a reason you have been blessed with a story to tell, and the world will be a better place by hearing it! No matter how insignificant you may think it is, believe me, it will be heard by the people that need to hear it!

From a very practical perspective, when I started this chapter (lol sorry, not sorry) of my life, I actually had no idea whether or not it was financially possible to get a book made. I’m here to tell you, that if that is what is holding you back, don’t let it. We are so fortunate to live in a time of user friendly technology, where there are companies who provide services where you can print a single copy of your book at a time if that is all your budget allows, and at a price that is totally doable. Yes there are costs, but it is far less than I imagined and there are definitely ways to get your beautiful words out into the world…. So go for it!!

Anything extra:
I feel like I owe a debt of gratitude to a couple of absolutely remarkable teachers that I had in my early education. One in particular was Mrs Wratt, who taught me when I was about 8 or 9. She would sit us on the mat and tell the most fantastical, colourful, hilarious stories that she had created and that had me completely mesmerised. Another was Mr Horgan, he was a great teacher but actually pretty harsh and didn’t mince words when he let you know his views on your writing. I will never forget the day that he rejected my rather lackluster poem about ice-skaters at the Olympics…. He sent me away with it, basically saying it was dull and to go and try again. Whether or not he saw something in me and was pushing me to be better, I don’t know, but I do know that the poem that I produced after that rejection was good…. Really good! I was so proud of it, and it instilled in me a drive to always be more creative, emotive and thoughtful with my words. He may have been harsh but I’m sure he sent me on a trajectory that has now brought me so much joy!

When I think of happy school memories, those story and writing times feature very heavily. I’m sure that it was this precious time that ignited a love of words and storytelling in me that would help shape me into the person I am today.