Your harshest critic is always going to be yourself. Don't ignore that critic, but don't give it more attention than it deserves.

I don't really read children's books or deal with children's books, so I don't have any relationship with them other than my own.

Whatever expectations I had for myself, none of them have come to pass. I grew up thinking I was going to be an actor, which I am. But I thought I'd be a very serious sort of Shakespearean guy going from town to town having sex with various Juliets all over the country.

Kids love to be silly, they love to laugh, so I think it was natural for my kids to like the sort of books that I write - and it's the only kinds of books I'm capable of writing.

My process is surprisingly straightforward. I find myself with little to do over a stretch of time and I say, "I should write children's books today." Then I sit down and write a children's book, and if it takes more than, realistically, three hours, I feel like I've done something wrong.

Hosting a show, even a talk show or a game show, there's so much business you have to conduct. There's so much guiding you have to do.

Whatever I write I publish. Because that's where the money is.