Note: I edited this on June 2nd to clarify that I’m only referring to school events I book myself, and that this decision does not affect all of my other events!
It’s been six months since I made the decision to leave my job at a children’s publisher and become a full-time author. It’s been an incredibly exciting, strange thing to navigate, and I am so glad that I did it – I know I wouldn’t have been able to write my fifth book without making the change. I’ve had time to visit more schools, and go to more literary festivals, and write more emails and hold more public events…
But about two months ago I began to notice something. I was very tired, all of the time. I could not work out why this was happening. I didn’t even have another job any more! I was probably not trying hard enough, and this was bad.
But then I looked at my schedule, at all of those school events and festivals and signings, and noticed something. I haven’t had more than one day off per week since I left my job. In fact, there have been some weeks (some months) where I’ve had no days off. I’ve been writing and visiting schools five days a week, and then travelling to festivals and signings every weekend. And I suddenly realised why I was so tired.
This lightbulb moment came at almost exactly the same time as I saw my editorial schedule for the next year. I’ve got Book 5 to finish by the end of June, and then a lot of exciting projects (more about these very soon, I promise!) to work on before the end of the year. And that’s why I’ve decided to close to (self-booked) school visits until the end of the year. I’ll be taking school event bookings in the New Year, and can’t wait to be back on the road meeting all my brilliant readers for World Book Day 2017.
What does this mean? Not much, actually! I won’t stop writing, or doing events, or meeting my fans. On the contrary, I’m making this small change to my schedule to allow myself to spend time with you and time with my books. I think it’s the best way forward! To find out more, read the handy FAQ below.
Q: What are self-booked school visits? Does this mean you’ll stop visiting schools?
A: By self-booked I mean visits that I organise directly with a school. I won’t be taking any more bookings until the new year – but I will of course be doing school visits organised by my publisher. I’m doing a big five-day tour of schools in November to promote my fifth book, and I’ll go on another tour of schools in the spring. So you might just get a visit from me anyway!
Q: I love your books! Does this mean you won’t be doing any more events?
A: No! Closing to school visits means that I can keep on doing public events in bookshops and at festivals. There will be a regular programme of public events around the release of the fifth book – keep checking the calendar at the bottom of my About Me page to see where and when I’m appearing. I’ve updated it with my schedule for the summer already!
Q: So you’ll still be promoting your fifth book?
A: ABSOLUTELY! That was never in doubt, and I’ve already got lots of events in the pipeline. If you want to meet me, there’ll be lots of opportunities.
Q: Will you be at any festivals this summer?
A: I’m not going to be at Hay or Edinburgh, unfortunately – but check my schedule to see where I will be appearing!
Q: I’m a librarian or a teacher and we’ve already agreed a date for an upcoming self-booked event. Will you still be coming?
A: Yes, I will. I’m going to honour all of my existing commitments – anything else wouldn’t be fair.
Q: I’m a librarian or a teacher and we’ve been in contact about a self-booked event – but we haven’t yet agreed on a date. Can we still go ahead?
A: Please email me about this – I’ll work on a case by case basis, and try to accept what I can! Don’t panic yet.
Q: I’m a librarian or a teacher and I’d like you to come visit my school for World Book Day, or later in the spring. Are you open then?
A: I’ve got a few slots free for the week of WBD, so it’s worth trying – but I can’t commit to anything else in the spring of 2017 until the new year.
Thank you all for being so understanding and lovely. I have the world’s best fans – and I know you deserve the best books I can write!
