Josh Langley's Blog, page 13
September 25, 2017
Playing with different techniques
I’ve been playing with different art techniques and forms over the weekend. Two completely different results emerged as you can see and each had it’s own unique feeling as I was doing them. It’s about the process as much as it is the end result. I’m still working on the flower painting, however the minimalist black dribbles one is done. It needs nothing more. I can see this hanging on a stark white wall in a hallway or bedroom. It needs a big space around it.
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September 24, 2017
What really happens when you write a kid’s book (in pictures)
Is it all pigtails, glitter and rainbows? Rainbows yes in my case, but there is also blood, sweat, tears and copious amounts of wine involved.
I’m going to take you on a behind the scenes pictorial journey of making my second children’s book, It’s OK to Feel the Way You Do’, and show you what really goes on when you write and publish a kid’s book. I’ll even show you the initial sketches for the illustrations that no-one normally gets to see mainly because they look like a dog’s breakfast!
THE IDEA
The initial idea of It’s OK to Feel The Way You Do stemmed from a conversation I had with my partner and he suggested doing a follow up book to Being You is Enough about feelings and emotions. I spent about a month brainstorming the book concept before putting pen to paper and writing the draft script on a word.doc. I consulted with friends, school teachers and parents to get their input as well . Below is where that first fateful conversation took place and the wine that may have been involved. (Bakkheia Wines)
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THE PUBLISHER
I pitched the book concept to my publisher, Big Sky Publishing and thankfully they accepted it. The contract was quickly signed and I got on with fleshing out the inside.
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THE ILLUSTRATIONS
The initial sketches are always rough, but the fun thing is, you can do them almost anywhere; at cafés, in the front yard or in the office.
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I then used a Wacom Intous Sketch Pad to recreate the sketches on the computer. (more wine)
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Some of the finished Illustrations.
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PUTTING IT TOGETHER
I then married the text with the images to get an idea of what the finished manuscript will look like. It’s at this point it starts to feel like a real book.
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EDITING
Then it’s time to edit the manuscript and drink more coffee or wine depending on time of day. The manuscript can go back and forth between you and the publisher / editor about 20 or more times. It’s also at this stage I have other people cast their eyes over it to get their input. No matter how organised you are, there’s always a mad dash to get the manuscript finished by the deadline. More wine is usually involved at this point as well.
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OFF TO THE PRINTERS
Once you and the publisher are happy with everything about the book, it goes off to the printers by the above mentioned deadline and you then have an excruciating 2 month wait before you get to see the real thing. But it’s well worth it when you do. It’s now when you switch from wine to champagne.
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ON THE SHELVES
And it’s even more exciting when you see it in a bookshop for the first time!
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THE BOOK LAUNCH
Book launches aren’t necessary, but they’re fun to do and I really love meeting my readers.
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PUBLICITY AND PROMOTION
It’s then time to hit the publicity trail and get some exposure for the book. This also includes interviews on radio, newspapers, blogs, websites etc and book reviews from various sources.
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READER FEEDBACK
And the best part of the whole process? Readers start to send you photos of their kids with the book.
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IT TAKES A VILLAGE
It may take a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to create a book for that child to read. I’m ever so grateful to the people who have being a crucial part in bringing this book to life. The message of ‘making friends with your feelings’ is so important for kids (and adults) and I feel very privileged to be able to do my little bit to help. Big thanks Andy Macleod, Debbie Cann, Kathy Day, Chelle Taylor, Diane Evans, Sharon Evans, Jodee Bennett, Nicky Delaney, Big Sky Publishing and Woodslane Distribution.
It’s Ok to Feel the Way You Do is available at all good bookstores throughout Australia.
As well as online.
[image error] BOOK DEPOSITORY.
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September 23, 2017
Review by Books and Publishing Australia
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It’s OK to Feel the Way You Do
Josh Langley
Big Sky Publishing
Reviewed by Meg Whelan
Released October 2017
Paperback
ISBN 9781925520965
RRP $14.99
Category: Younger readers
It’s OK to Feel the Way You Do is a gentle journey through the emotions that everyone feels at some point—happiness, anger, sadness, loneliness, pride, fear and anxiety. It guides the reader through the experience of these emotions—from the way gratitude feels like ‘the sun is shining in your heart’ to how anxiety can feel ‘like your tummy is being tied in knots’—and offers simple, practical ways to manage these emotions while making a point that there is no right or wrong way to feel. Solutions such as ‘flap your arms like a chicken’ to deal with anger and watching thoughts floating by when feeling anxious are unintimidating and achievable. While the format and illustrations won’t appeal to everyone, the text offers a broad approach to dealing with all the ups and downs of life. It is an excellent resource for discussing emotions in a positive, helpful way with children aged five and up.
Meg Whelan is the children’s book buyer at the Hill of Content Bookshop
BUY NOW
Available at all good bookstores throughout Australia.
As well as online.
[image error] BOOK DEPOSITORY.
[image error]ANGUS AND ROBERTSON
[image error] BOOKTOPIA
[image error] DYMOCKS
September 16, 2017
Book Signing at Collins Booksellers Bunbury
Enjoyed meeting lots of people at the launch of ‘It’s OK to Feel How You Do’ at Collins Booksellers Bunbury.
September 11, 2017
Life, Death and Feelings: Author Josh Langley tells all to the Bookbuzz family.
“I can’t wait to share this month’s author talk.
This guy has followed a path all of his own towards success. And his story is enough to give a lift to the wings of would-be authors, or would-be anything for that matter.
Meet Josh Langley, author of books for children and adults that ask the question, and explore the answers to, seeking happiness and where life goes beyond death.
Welcome Josh. And thanks for joining the Bookbuzz Family today. I was super curious to read that you were not at all academic as a youngster. In fact you failed school twice. Yet you went straight into advertisement copywriting for radio. How or what made you fall into that, or seek it out?
Thanks for having me. I know it seems like a strange leap, but there was a gap before radio where I’d spent a few years being unemployed and worked various menial jobs to pay the rent. In my early 20’s I felt very lost and bewildered by life, then out of the blue I came across an ad in the newspaper for a radio course. It had been a secret desire of mine to work in the media industry and now this was my chance. Thankfully my wonderful Grandpop loaned me the money and only a week after the course finished I landed a job as breakfast announcer in a small regional town and that launched a 20 odd year career.
I’m constantly encouraging people who may not have done well at school like me…… Keep reading
August 15, 2017
Kinderling Radio
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Children’s Author Jaquelyn Muller, was interviewed on Kinderling Radio about kids books that focus on emotions and feelings and mentioned the imminent release of It’s OK to Feel The Way You Do.
“Using books to help kids understand their feelings is an effective way to help our children learn to manage emotions. Feelings can be confusing when we don’t have the words to express them. They can also be overwhelming and scary when we keep them to ourselves. Knowing how to describe our feelings is important for our social-emotional health and development. So knowing it’s okay to express them and share them with others is important.”
‘You can listen to the full 11 min interview here: (OK2Feel is mentioned at 6.20 in
https://www.kinderling.com.au/news/books-help-children-understand-emotions
July 5, 2017
I used memes to show how crazy our society is
It’s like we celebrate being unhappy with our lives. We share memes about how we hate our jobs, hate Mondays, hate our boss and the weekend is the only thing worth living for. But do we do anything about it?
Maybe it’s about time we did.
June 4, 2017
Writers festivals and why they’re important to up and coming writers.
If you’re a budding writer, then there’s an imperative to get yourself along to your nearest writers festival so you can rub shoulders with people of your own inclination. It’s how we get inspired, stay motivated and realise that we’re not all alone in our desire to express ourselves.
I was again part of the Margaret River Writers Festival, but in a different capacity this year, joining six other kids authors in the story telling tent talking to kids and parents about Being You is Enough. I also shared a book stall with wonderful Children’s author Erin Wilson and Author / Illustrator Sally Fawcett.
Festivals provide the opportunity for people to hear an authors backstory of how they got to be where they are now, giving hope and possibility to others that they maybe able to do the same. Suddenly these lofty people which seem beyond the reach of normal everyday people are made real, raw and honest and their stories of how they overcame rejection, hearing about their creative process and writing discipline can be an inspiration.
Authors are people too, even they have to poo. (Being You is Enough)
Book your tickets for your next nearest writers festival, you won’t regret it.
May 14, 2017
Suicide and depression
The rate of suicide and depression in this country is staggering and I hope can help in some small way to address the issue. I’m not an expert in the field, but I know from personal experience that every little bit of self understanding helps and being able to talk openly about what’s going on helps too. That is one of the reason why I’ve written ‘It’s Ok to Feel The Way You Do’ which will be released in October. If just one person finds the courage to open up and seek help, then that’s a wonderful thing.
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April 25, 2017
How to stop abusing your inner child
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This is me at 2 and bit..
I was a curious kid, always asking questions and exploring. Mum said I was a hugger too, always going round hugging people. I daydreamed, made up stories and played with my dinky cars. I also wanted to be loved. To show love and to be loved. Simple as that.
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That little kid is still inside me. He is me.
So why would I verbally abuse him?
Why would I tell him he was useless?
Why would I teach him the belief that he needs to make everyone else happy before he can be happy?
Well that’s how we treat our adult ourselves.
The way we talk to ourselves is akin to verbal abuse and psychological violence. Listen to how many times you put yourself down, tell yourself you can’t do something, tell yourself that you’re a dumb arse, talk yourself down the darkest road of despair and even scream at yourself.
Imagine if everyone vocalised their inner monologue. It would be hell riding on a bus or walking down the street. You’d think you were in an insane asylum. Just because we do it in the privacy of our own minds doesn’t mean it’s Ok to do. Unfortunately we’re conditioned to do it. No-one has told us otherwise.
And the crazy part is, most of all that self talk you’ve picked up from somewhere else, like your parents, teachers, TV and society in general. And you believed it without even questioning it.
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But here’s the good news. All that damaging self talk is not you. If you’ve picked it up, you can put it down.
As Louise L Hay mentioned in You Can Heal Your Life, if we want to start to be kinder to ourselves, we need to start talking to ourselves in a kinder way, as though we’re we’re talking to our 5 year old self.
That’s what I’ve started to do. (and that’s why I wrote Being You is Enough, mainly for kids, but also for my adult self.)
Using mindfulness, when I start to hear myself start sprouting some fear based dialogue, I imagine my 5 year old self standing there holding his dinky cars and he’s scared, he’s afraid and just wants to be loved. Now how can I continue to abuse him when he’s like that? So in my mind I reach down and hold him and let him know he’s safe, protected and deeply loved. By doing that I’ve changed a pattern and changed the energy around that pattern. Instead of fear, I’ve replaced it with love. Love for myself.
And if you hear yourself say, ‘I don’t deserve that love’, then imagine your 5 year old self saying that and how would you react? Yes, you’d want to hug and reassure them too.
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