The best and worst things about being an author/illustrator…

Classreads is honoured to have Sophy Henn as a guest...welcome to stop #1 on the Pizazz Vs The World Blog Tour!

I love my job and cannot believe how lucky I am! I get to think up characters & stories, and then draw them… every day! My studio (or the spare room as it is otherwise known) is in my home which is very handy as I can fully indulge my tea habit without fear of judgement!

While I’m not quite back to normal levels post-lockdown (though more and more which is a joy) I do get to leave the house to do events. It is always thrilling to see children react to your books. I really love the age group that I work with, they don’t pull any punches, so you know when you are losing the room! Conversely, when they are enjoying the event you know it’s genuine and that feeling is amazing. When I started this job (about eight years ago) I had no idea that I would be speaking and drawing in front of such large groups of people and so often. I cannot lie…it terrified me! But lots of pep talks from lovely authors/illustrators later and the realisation that these things rarely go as planned (so lean into the spontaneity) have found me LOVING this part of my job!

Another awesome aspect of my job is working with some extraordinarily talented and very wonderful people, which is a delight and very motivating. I have met my heroes and found some new ones and can honestly say everyone has been completely lovely!

The only slight downside I can think of is the fact you are always at work, I am trying to get better at having strict working hours, but when your brain won’t comply, and your studio/spare room is in your house it can be tricky! Oh, and the admin, but then we all hate admin don’t we?

Sophy Henn, October 2022