Fact file:
- Name: Stephanie McAlea
- Job: Cartographer and publisher
- Born: Salford but I consider myself Welsh
- Lives: Chester
- Education: Mostly self-taught apart from a failed stint at university
- Family: Single transgender woman with one daughter
My Day
I get up mid-morning as I work for myself and I’m usually consulting with clients in the US or Australia until the early hours.
Cartography is not an exact science. Sometimes a client might say: “I want a map of Suleiman the Great’s empire.” To me, that means drawing and re-imaging the maps of the time, including their ragged and inaccurate coastlines, but to the client, they probably mean a modern coastline with the borders of the time placed on the modern coastline and features. I use my PC for the vast majority of my work and it’s rare I get to draw a map freehand because all my clients want digital files.
Usually, at the start of the day, I plan my work and estimate how much time it will take. I have a large whiteboard with current projects that get wiped off when completed. At the moment my whiteboard reads: Dark Ages England for Chaosium Inc; Victorian World Map for Uhrwerk Verlag; Mombasa 1927 for SixtyStone Press; World Map for Battlefield Press; Map Series One for my Patreon account and The Dragons of Britain issue 2, an Arthurian magazine I produce. I’m quite busy.
'Always use contracts'
A client will contact me on Facebook or through my company blog and then ask about my rates. They’ll give me the size of image, whether it’s colour or greyscale, and I’ll quote them a price based on time and complexity. Then they will send me the brief.
I might discuss certain ideas with them such as ‘Have you thought about having this in colour?’ or ‘What resolution would you like this at?’
After exchanging contracts (it saves possible heartache later on – always use contracts!), I’ll know I have a deadline to work towards and I’ll write it on my whiteboard. Then I’ll start drawing, tracing the mouse or the pen over the surface and forming the background of the image.
I work in layers so at first I’ll draw the frame and move upwards, like placing layers on a cake. The coasts, then the sea, then the mountains, then the hills and rivers, then the towns, and finally, the labels telling the viewer where everything is.
Once that is done, after about six or seven hours, I convert the image into a picture format the client can use and then send it over the internet. If they’re happy, I’ll send them an invoice. If they’re not I will tweak and redraw until they are. It’s usually up to a year before I see the book on the shelf.
All about the money
I’d love to produce more hand-drawn maps but prospective clients are usually put off by the high price tag. A hand-drawn map will cost you £1,000 in a roll, or £2,000 for a framed version.
I pop and buy groceries and chat to the girls in my local McColls shop so I feel a bit more human. Working for yourself can make you anti-social so I take steps to get out during the day. I work on a commission for a few hours, it could be a fantasy map for a novel, a game board for a game, or maybe a map for a civic authority. I then take time out to head into town for an hour and get a sandwich for lunch. I do a little people watching outside the library and I get stared at some times but Cestrians are good folk and generally supportive and friendly.
I then head home and work until about six. I take pains to work on something different like my latest book The Things We Leave Behind and then usually finish about 9pm. I then wind down in front of iPlayer. Sometimes, as emails come in from clients in different time zones, I can find myself going back to work for a few hours. Recently I’ve had three deadlines to keep an eye on and was up until 4am drawing a map of Cairo in 1927.
Dress: Sometimes I wear a jewellers glove so I don’t smudge ink on a map I may be working on. I’m quite a girly-girl so I’m never usually in just jeans and a top.
What is the favourite part of your job? Seeing something I’ve drawn in print or reading a good review. And getting paid. Definitely getting paid.
What is the least favourite part of your job? Waiting six weeks for US cheques to clear.
What would be your dream job if you weren’t doing what you do now? Concert harpist.
How do you relax when you are not working? Practising on my harp or listening to Celtic folk music.
What is your favourite film? Amelie, a French film with Audrey Tatou. A film for all true romantics.
What is your favourite book? Join Me by Danny Wallace, about a guy who is bored and starts a kindness cult by accident.
What is your favourite song? Karma Slave by Splashdown.
If a film was made of your life, who would you like to play you? Alexei Sayle in a dress.
Have you had your 15 minutes of fame yet? I once gave away 1,500 chocolate muffins at Chester Cross. This year I was nominated for an ENnie award for cartography, the biggest award in my field.
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