We recently connected with Cherry Mo and have shared our conversation below.

Cherry, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I was first recommended by a fellow author-illustrator to join the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. I remember attending my first virtual conference, and it shed so much light on how the industry works! It was so inspiring and motivating. Afterwards, my next goal was to land an agent. There were trials and errors; I asked around to see how the process works, how to improve my work, how to build a portfolio for children’s book, what an agent is looking for, how to find a good agent– it was a lot of research and effort involved. Looking back, I’m really grateful for all the critiques and advice given, as every single one made a difference and offered a new perspective. I also joined a children’s book course from Children’s Book Academy, and that helped me solidify my submission package to query agents. After signing with my wonderful agent Emily van Beek, I got my first book deal, and it’s just been a dream-come-true.

Regarding how to speed up my process– along the way, I did question my own ability and what I’m doing. Perhaps I could have sped up the learning by just keep on going forward without the self-hindrance. Self-doubt can be a big self-created obstacle. I was my biggest critic, and eventually I saw that I do have something special to offer in my art, and that I did not need to compare myself so much with others, but to learn from them!

The most essential skill was probably being willing to learn and absorb. Even if there were times that I did not resonate with the feedback given on my work, there was still something to learn and review. Being open to different thinking and opinions (and not necessarily applying everything suggested), helped me to improve my work and broaden my perspective on my work and the industry.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I am a children’s book author-illustrator, and my debut picture book HOME IN A LUNCHBOX comes out Summer 2024 from Penguin Workshop. I got into the children’s book industry with a love of art and storytelling! There were many stories brewing inside me. It was exciting to see that these stories could be shared through the medium of children’s books and that children could benefit from them. My stories are inspired by my personal experiences, which I have come to find that children are going through very similar experiences, both externally and internally. I’m grateful to be able to connect with readers on such a personal level through a craft that I love!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is to be able to connect and communicate with an audience without words! My illustrations are my thoughts and heart translated onto canvas, and for the audience to sense what I feel, and even better, to be moved or inspired by my something so personal to me, is very rewarding to me.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn wanting to be the best in order to really be the artist I want to be! There was a period of time when art was no fun. I did not want to create, and there was no creative juice left in me. I look back and I wonder, what happened? There was a lot of confusion within me and I was afraid to create. I gave myself a lot of pressure, that I had to be “good”. “Good” means being better than others. But I learned that art is not like this. I loved art again when I was able to let go of competing with others and get back to the basics of why I wanted to be an illustrator in the first place. Art was fun because I loved the joy that comes from creating. I loved expressing myself and drawing whatever I wanted, no matter what others think, no matter how my art places amongst other artists. My art is my art! My art expressed my journey and my thinking, and I hope that in expressing these, others can benefit as well. If I have a clear direction for myself and my art, there is no need to compete with others. Since my work is unique to me, it didn’t make much sense to compare what I do to what others do. In learning to let go of the inner pressure I gave myself, my art has actually become much better, much freer, and I have so much fun in creating every artwork now, because of this freedom I gave myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cherrymo.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/hellocherrymo
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/hellocherrymo

Image Credits
Cherry Mo