I was rejected so many times. I remember a book that I did called ’Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving and it was rejected 23 different times before a publisher finally took a chance on it. And it was very difficult with the rejections, especially so early in my career. I started to feel like maybe this wasn’t the right path for me. But one of the things that you really have to do is stick with it, you know. Not everything comes easy and you have to keep putting yourself out there and keep trying.
I think the thing that made me continue is having earlier success. I had already had one book published, and I was still doing the visiting author thing and doing a lot of school visits and meeting a lot of children. And I think for me back then and still now that was my favorite part of the job is meeting so many wonderful teachers and wonderful students and connecting with so many people through my artwork. So that was one of the things that encouraged me to not give up, to keep putting myself out there, keep trying.