Frequently Asked Questions

Q ) How long have you been writing books?
A ) I think I’ve always been writing books…in my head. Now that I have more time to put the ideas on to paper, I find that I’m writing them almost every day.
I’ve only been writing them for publishing and competitions since 2004.

Q ) How did you publish your book?
A ) Publishing a book takes a long time and a lot of hard work. I write the words or text.
Then I work with an illustrator who does the drawings because I’m not very good at drawing. We then work together, talking about the pictures and the text and how it can all come together.
A person called the editor helps with the layout and we talk about the best ways to bring the story to life using words and pictures.
A person called the publisher then decides how many books will be printed, what book sellers and shops, schools, libraries and people will buy them.
It is not easy to get a book published and takes a lot of hard work. It can take almost a year to get a book printed and on to the bookstore shelves.

Q ) How did you plan/organise your ideas for your books?
Where do the ideas come from?
A ) Lots of ideas spin around inside my head and I love playing with words especially rhyming words.
I think of the things people say and do…just ordinary things but I see them in a different way…I use my grand-daughters as inspiration or the sources for my writing…I try to think…What would they like to read? How can I put that into words they can read or would like to hear read to them by an adult like parents and teachers or grand-parents?
I ask myself if readers would find it interesting, funny, sad but with a really good ending. I also decide who will be my audience…who will be reading the story and choose the words very carefully.
Picture books are usually 16 double pages…that’s 32 pages of pictures and writing between 500 to 800 words. So every word has to be the carefully chosen.
I write all my ideas down in a mind map. List all the words I want to use and play with them…swapping, changing and making sure they sound just right.
Once I have the story just they way I want it….it takes me about 10 drafts (rough copies)…I talk it through with the illustrator and then it needs changing and lots of work so that the pictures and words blend together.

Q ) How long did it take to write the book? A ) I first got the idea for Grandad’s Gift when I visited my grand-daughters on their cattle property and went for walks in the bush…watching, listening, smelling and feeling everything in the bush…the animals, the sounds they make, the things my grand-daughters said. I also got the “feel” of the land…in drought, in flood and the work done by stockpersons working the cattle, caring for their horses and the land. I also talked with people in that area and they told me of the work done by the aboriginal stockmen and how they worked with the landowners to build up the cattle properties.
I have horses and a property and love the land…I just wanted to put it all into a picture book so that children can value the gifts handed down to them from their grand-parents (especially Grandad) who has worked the land and is a terrific horseman.
I started the book in July 2007 and it should be finished in May or a little later this year…so it takes a whole year.

Q ) Do all your books rhyme? A ) The books I write for 3-5 year olds do rhyme because that is what very young children like to hear. They are learning to read and learning about words so rhyming is very good for them. It also allows for funny bits to be included.
Books I write for older readers like 6-10 year olds don’t rhyme but tell a story that has a message or theme for them to think about.

Lyn Lawrence