AFTER THE WHIRLWIND Tessa Gearing

 

 

Now that the whirling debut dust has settled, Lui Sit invites Tessa Gearing to talk about one thing she's learnt since becoming a published author.

A year on from my picture book -  There's an Alien in my Lunchbox  - being published by Andersen Press, here I am, trying to think of ONE thing I have learnt during my debut year. There are so many things, but I think I can squeeze them into:
"Push yourself. Do as much as you can, even if it's out of your comfort zone. But know when to stop."

Tessa at her launch

'Pushing myself' this year meant organising a book launch, contacting local media, getting myself on Instagram, taking a leap into school assemblies and workshops, accepting online events, creating PowerPoint and craft sessions, meeting a whole lot of people, and smiling with confidence when I'd rather curl up somewhere quiet on my own. 

'Knowing when to stop' was literally just that. Stopping everything.

Throughout the year I had a little voice in my head that kept saying, "This could be the only book you ever get published." That might sound defeatist, but it really focused my mind. If this was going to be my only published book, I wanted to make the most of every part of the journey. People constantly asked me, "Have you written another book? What comes next?" It felt like I hadn't had the chance to celebrate this one yet!

As someone who came to writing later in life, I knew I wasn't going to have a whole lifetime of writing ahead of me. I felt really lucky to have my book out in the world, so gloriously illustrated by Chris Jevons. There were many times when I doubted this would ever happen.

Celebration cupcakes!

As my debut approached, I was warned by other writer friends that publishers are very busy and may not have a lot of time to devote to a new author, so it was up to me. Andersen Press were great at the online announcements and sending copies of the book to bloggers. I decided to crack on with my launch at the local bookshop. I ordered alien stickers to give out, made cakes with aliens on them, put up posters and balloons, and had a little table and chair set up outside in the sunshine.

There is always that moment doing events when you wonder, will anyone come? Luckily I work in a primary school and have lived in the same town for forty years, so people did come, and the bookshop sold out! Fifty-five copies in one afternoon. I was over the moon.

Queue for signing

Social media was challenging, but I knew how important it was for marketing. I chose Instagram as the most comfortable platform for me. I remembered from the SCBWI Debut Authors' Bootcamp (so useful), the advice about putting yourself out there, choosing the right platform for you, not comparing yourself to other people (easier said than done), and networking with other writers. It was wonderful to celebrate some amazing highlights of the year - doing an event at Waterstones, being picked as debut author of the month on LoveReading4Kids, and having my book read on Channel 5's Milkshake! Story Den - wow!

Next, I began library and school visits.

Working in a school as a teaching assistant is not at all the same as leading a whole school assembly! That was definitely out of my comfort zone. I feel nervous every time I have to do assemblies, but I try to push through the nerves with an enthusiastic smile. I've had a big green alien made to take with me to events and hugging him really helps.

Tessa's school visit buddy

Getting each school's touchscreen to work with my laptop was challenging, as I am not the most technically minded. I ended up going in the day before if it was a local school, to get the tech sorted and see where the toilets were! But always being prepared for the tech to fail was useful, knowing you can do a workshop without it (I have enlarged cards and props which I take).

The pay-off with these visits of course was seeing so many enthusiastic faces, answering different questions and chatting to children aged four to eleven about characters jumping out of books and what it's like to be a writer. Watching the children design their own aliens and talk about the adventures they would go on, was wonderful.

Visiting a local school

I put my pictures on Instagram, made a scrapbook of everything I had done, booked events further and further away, and kept trying to write new stories. And then -

I got shingles.

I don't know why I got shingles (followed by post herpetic neuralgia). Perhaps I was doing too much, but everything had to STOP.

The shingles was so painful I couldn't wear any clothes above the waist. So school visits weren't going to work! I couldn't drive or even think about writing. My whole focus was on - how can I stop this pain?!

I've always been the sort of person who wants to say yes and please everyone, but sometimes you have to admit defeat. I cancelled all my visits, and when people asked a few weeks later, 'Are you feeling well enough now?' I had to say, 'Sorry, not yet. Hopefully in the Autumn.'

 It was very strange, but almost liberating, to close the door and just concentrate on getting well. And it worked. After six months of various treatments and rest, I am on the way to recovery. I have managed a library visit and a craft workshop, making aliens. I will gradually begin school visits after half term. There's an Alien in my Lunchbox has just been published in paperback, so I will need to start promoting that. I have ideas for a new picture book and am thinking about a chapter book too.

Looking forward to returning to schools

What a year it has been! Full of excitement and challenges... and a thunderous crash. I suppose that is the nature of a whirlwind, it tosses us into the air and who knows where we will land?

*Header image: Ell Rose and Tita Berredo

*Photos courtesy of Tessa Gearing

Tessa Gearing grew up in South West London. She has worked as an actor in touring theatre
and on the radio, run storytelling sessions for under fives and worked part-time as a teaching
assistant in a primary school. In between she travelled around the world. Tessa settled in Mid
Wales with her husband and they have two grown-up children. After completing the Golden
Egg Academy's Picture Book Course in 2019, her picture book There's an Alien in my Lunchbox (illustrated by Chris Jevons) was accepted by Andersen Press. It was published in August 2023. You can find Tessa on Instagram.

 

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Lui Sit writes MG, non-fiction, adult short stories, and memoirs. Her debut MG  - Land of the Last Wildcat -  is being published by Macmillan Children's Books in May 2025. She is agented by Becky Bagnell of Lindsay Literary Agency. Find her on her website, Instagram or Threads. 

 

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Ell Rose is the Illustration Features Editor of Words & Pictures. Find their work at www.fourfooteleven.com. Follow them on Instagram and X.
Contact them at illustrators@britishscbwi.org

Tita Berredo is the Illustrator Coordinator of SCBWI British Isles and the Art Director of Words & Pictures. Follow her on Instagram and X or www.titaberredo.com.
Contact her at: illuscoordinator@britishscbwi.org

 

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