Penny Schneider

I attribute my success to not giving up. My dad would say, you know, you work hard, don't give up, and your dreams will come true. When I first started writing children's books and was getting rejected, every no I got, I would dig deep into myself, take another class, work on my craft, and do it again and again, fix it and fix it. Every rejection just made me get better. The world of publishing can be tough - you need a thick skin because you're putting your words and your art out there, leaving yourself so vulnerable.

The best career advice I've ever received was from my dad, who would tell me, don't give up, you work hard, don't give up, and your dreams will come true. That advice has carried me through everything.

My advice to young women entering my industry is don't give up, and learn as much as you can. I'm a big researcher, so I would research everything - you name it. I research all the characters, the science facts behind them, which is how I discovered things like crabs don't have ears and are technically deaf. This helped shape the new character in ARTY TOO. I'm a forever learner, a forever student, because I feel like you can always get better, and I love learning. Even if you learn a little bit from something, I feel like it's worthwhile. Take classes, take workshops, keep working on your craft. Every rejection, every no, should push you to dig deeper, take another class, and improve. The world of publishing requires a thick skin, but if you keep learning and never give up, you'll get there.

One of the biggest challenges in my field right now is AI. I do everything myself - I write my own stories, I draw everything in pencil first, traditionally, because that's my favorite, to draw in pencil, and then I draw it digitally, work it up, and put it in InDesign. I don't use AI at all. I feel like in different creative avenues, AI is harming the whole industry. It's taking away the personal touch, and while people say it's programmed by somebody and it's just a tool, it doesn't let you as a user use your personal skill set to the max because the AI infuses itself into the work.

The most important value to me in both my work and personal life is not giving up. This value is really an umbrella for so many other things - it means being loyal, trustworthy, and being somebody that values what you present to the world. In my teaching, I always tried to create my students not only to know things, but to be good people. I believe it's really important when you create art for someone, you're doing something more than you realize - it's so impactful, it really makes a difference. I'm a big believer in art and all the things it can do. I also believe in being a forever learner and always working to grow and get better.