Children's authors, young entrepreneurs, and lovable Disney fans... These charming and creative sisters from Sydney are conjuring up worlds of wonder from their imaginations through their written works and sparkly charm. The author life is not an easy one but Shannon and Tayla Stedman have found a way to share their children's fiction with the world, delighting young minds with the utmost vibrance along the way.
Who are the Stedman Sisters and what do you do?
We are Shannan and Tayla Stedman – sisters and children’s authors from Sydney, Australia – and are at all times surrounded by our pack of puppies... it’s kind of our identifiable feature. Made up of equal parts tea and glitter, we seem to run solely on the power of creativity and our wild imaginations… plus all that caffeine. Writing is our biggest passion and we enjoy creating unique and loveable characters that inspire kids to dream big because where’s the fun in dreaming small?
Images courtesy of Shannan and Tayla Stedman
Because we love a bit of wordplay- how would you each describe yourselves in 3 words?
S: Creative, Loyal, Friendly
T: Creative, Bubbly, Motivated
You do have some VERY exciting news to share!!! What might that be.....
Yes, we do! Thank you so much. Late last year, we signed a four-book deal with Scholastic Australia for our junior fiction series. It was a dream come true to sign with a traditional publisher who is so highly regarded in the industry. We are so excited for everyone to see what we’ve been working on.
Can you tell us what your junior fiction series will be about?
We can’t release too much information just yet… but we can say that it follows a sassy and confident ten-year-old girl named Lola Hart on her first double digits birthday! It will hopefully have readers laughing out loud, especially when Lola’s very unusual cat, Stampy is involved. The series also has a huge online focus as well which we feel is so important for kids right now.
The writing process can be quite lengthy, what is it like working with your sister?
Well for starters, having two of us definitely shortens the process. With two people working on one project, we get things done in half the time though we do seem to drink twice the amount of tea. When we write, the word count creeps up quickly and then we are able to edit each other’s work, so we seem to have a fairly polished draft much quicker than if we were writing alone. It’s also really helpful because we can hold each other accountable and keep each other motivated – that way we don’t waste much time and can stay on track.
Do you ever base your characters off real people?
We definitely draw inspiration from the people in our lives and we do like to give little nods here and there. The main character, Lola, in our junior fiction series is heavily based on our little sister, Makayla and Lola’s cat, Stampy, is based on Makayla’s cat of the same name.
I think we can safely say you've got a very experienced background in writing fiction. What is something writing has taught you?
Patience. Most definitely patience! The publishing industry is certainly a slow one, and although we are very speedy writers there is still a lot of waiting involved. Also, we’ve learnt that you are not going to get a perfect draft straight away. Writing takes time and multiple edits, so we have to be patient with ourselves, too.
Images courtesy of Shannan and Tayla Stedman
You also have experience as children’s entertainers (another incredible avenue to the imaginary world) what has working with children taught you?
That was honestly such a fun experience for us. We ran our business – Happily Ever Laughter – for six years and in that time made so many amazing memories, learnt a lot about children and ate way too much birthday cake. One thing that has been particularly helpful with our writing is that we feel very aware of what captures the attention of kids and how to keep them interested and entertained. Children are curious, inquisitive beings and want lots of details which we learnt from the countless questions we would get asked about our characters and their backstories. Because of this, we always make sure to include a certain amount of detail and specifics in our writing – the more random the better!
Do you guys get mistaken for the Olsen sisters a lot? Because I definitely see it ...
If only! We’re yet to get that comparison, but wow that is the biggest compliment ever because we are SO obsessed with Mary-Kate and Ashley. They had such a big impact on us growing up (we quote their movies on the reg) and we have a lot of respect for who they are not only as creators and businesswomen but how they’ve accomplished everything as sisters. Major inspo!
It's a magic world, but it's also an emotional one. Do you lead with your head or your heart?
S: Definitely both!
T: Yeah, agreed! Balance is always key.
As writers we're so passionate about what we do and we want so bad for our work to be our own idea of perfect. How do you overcome feelings of doubt or hesitation in regards to your writing?
When you’re working alone, it’s very easy to have a lot of doubt, but it helps that we do work so closely together. We’re able to bounce every idea off each other and collaborate to make our ideas as refined as we can. It’s also important not to be disheartened by what else is out there and to not compare your work to others. There’s a lot of noise and talent in this industry and it’s really easy to get distracted by it. We always try to focus on our own writing and what we feel makes it unique and special. We’ve found that if we love what we are writing about, then that passion is translated through our work and shows on the pages. Your voice is your biggest asset so make sure it’s true to you!
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
S: You can never be overdressed or overeducated.
T: Always do your least favourite job or task at the start of the day.
Website: www.stedmansisters.com
Instagram: @stedmansisters
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Twitter: @stedmansisters
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