Today I’m excited to share my podcast interview with illustrator and author Aura Lewis. She shares her story of making a huge career shift to focus on the arts, how she developed her first book, got a book deal, and then in the last year signed deals for 6 additional books!
You can listen to the podcast by clicking ‘play’ below, or in the following places:
Some of what we discuss in the interview:
- How she made two shifts in her career: “I was almost going to become a therapist, but made sharp turn to become a graphic designer. I worked in that field for 7 years. But it wasn’t really aligned with what I wanted to do. It took me awhile and a lot of different experimentations to realize I wanted to do illustration. That was a huge shift. It came out of the process of trusting my intuition and the voice saying ‘do this'”
- The idea for her first book began as a project in graduate school.She said: “I didn’t know if it was good enough to be a book, but I knew it was good enough to show people.”
- She found her agent through her own network, reconnecting with a colleague she hadn’t seen in years.
- Even though she was getting her degree, she dug into research into the children’s book market through online research and podcasts, saying “I wanted to give myself the education I didn’t feel I was getting.”
- Aura embraced collaborators as she developed her book, and she said it made a huge difference.
- She describes how luck and timing are a part of this process, but of course, the entire interview showcase show much work she has done to be ready for the right moment when it happened.
- How she handles social media, even though she is an introvert.
- Describing the career path of illustration and authorship: “”It’s scary, no one ever promises you another book.”
- She discussed how she schedules her time in terms of writing and illustration and managing projects with the rest of her life. She spends 9am – 2pm doing the bulk of her work, then schedules appointments and social engagements after 2pm when she has less creative energy.
- … and so much more!
You can find Aura at:
auralewis.com
Instagram: @auralewis
Her books:
- Gloria’s Voice: The Story of Gloria Steinem―Feminist, Activist, Leader (People Who Shaped Our World)
- The Illustrated Feminist: 100 Years of Suffrage, Strength, and Sisterhood in America
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