Frequently asked questions (FAQ’s)
1. How and when did you start writing?
I started writing when I was very young – just for myself. I wrote poetry and plays and lots of letters. I didn’t start getting published until I began working for a newspaper as a cartoonist. Sometimes they let me write a story or a column.
2. How long have you been illustrating picture books?
I started writing and illustrating picture books after I stopped doing political cartoons in about 1989.
3. How do you get your ideas for your books?
I get ideas from lots of places. Anything that interests you can be the start of an idea for a story. Just ask yourself, “what if?” Your story can build from there.
This picture (taken in 1989) of the three little Salley cousins helped me with the writing or The Pink House. Annie, the little girl in the front, is the narrator of the story of our family's annual vacation trip to Edisto Beach, South Carolina.
4. Is writing and illustrating books fun?
It’s lots of fun for me. I don’t like to do anything that isn’t fun. You may have fun doing something different, and that’s ok. It’s just for me, writing and illustrating comes easy – almost like play, so that’s what I like to do.
5. What kind of art materials do you use when illustrating
books?
I use lots of different materials. Some cartoonists use old toothpicks dipped in ink. For my picture books I use Prismacolor colored pencils, watercolor and sometimes acrylic paints. Sometimes I use a mixture of materials. For my books in the future I am doing all the artwork on my computer, like my son, James, did for the Francis Marion book.
6. Is it hard to get a picture book published?
It is very hard to get a picture book published these days. So very many more people are doing them now. Most big publishers are using only the authors they know, or authors that are famous on TV or in the movies or in sports. It’s hard to get a publisher to even look at a manuscript. There are some smaller publishers who are not so strict. When one publisher rejects a story, the writer should sent the story to another, and another, and another. You should not give up, even if you get rejected many times. Now, lots of people are “self-publishing”. That means that an author, like me, can publish their own work, but must also do all the marketing. We have been in business for about 12 years, and have published 6 books with sales of over 50,000 copies.