Why self-publishing kickstarted my childrens lit career

Why self-publishing kickstarted my childrens lit career Why Self-Publishing Kickstarted My Children's Lit Career Native Finn,  Tuire Siiriainen  is an illustrator and the founder of Blueberry Pie, a self-publishing company. With the help of a Kickstarter campaign, she published her first book through her company in August 2016 - a personalized children’s adventure called "Message in a Bottle." Read on to hear how the campaign was fully funded in just two weeks.I was born in Finland, and have always seen stories around me. A lot of my inspiration came from my surroundings - forests, lakes, countryside cottages, and animals - but especially from children’s books. Rather than Roald Dahl and Dr. Seuss, my favorite authors growing up were Astrid Lindgren (author of the Pippi Longstocking series), or Mauri Kunnas. Books about strong, Nordic children doing stubborn and seemingly foolish things have inspired me up to present day.During university in Belgium, I studied marketing - which is a form of storytelling itself. While in school, I rediscovered the magic of drawing and returned to the picture books of my childhood. When I reached the end of my studies at the age of 23, I knew that I wanted to create my own picture book.From a book idea to self-publishingI was never fascinated by the idea of traditional publishing. To me, it seemed slow and stiff, and even though I’m the first one to acknowledge the value of a printed book, the ways of publishing them felt out-of-date.Then I discovered the world of personalized children’s book and heard about print-on-demand (POD). It hit me instantly - this is how I want to create my book! I saw the unexplored possibilities of POD technology that would allow highly creative and inventive story concepts to come to life. "I saw the potential of POD  for  bringing creative and inventive story concepts to life." @MIABBook The StoryIn the summer of 2015, my partner Wojtek and I came up with the idea for our first children’s book, Message In A Bottle, during one of our forest walks: A lone bottle with a message inside is found on a beach by an animal. On the bottle label, there is a name and an address. The animal decides to deliver the bottle to its rightful owner, and with the help of many other animals around the world, the message in the bottle finally reaches its intended destination - and the mysterious message is revealed.The message in the bottle is created by the giver of the book, whether it’s a family member or friend. And the name and address on the bottle belong to the real child - the reader of the book. This is where the personalization aspect of the book come into play.Gathering a teamWe hesitated regarding whether or not I should illustrate the book because I had no professional experience - but, we knew I could draw. In the end, my drawing passion, paired with the need for constant marketing artwork, led us to picking our illustrator: me.Our digital agency had been working on the â€Å"Message In A Bottle† website since May 2016. They had the big challenge of creating an online platform where it would be easy to personalize and order the book. This meant submitting the child’s name, address, country and a personal message for the bottle, personalizing the world map page to show the route Kiki took to deliver the bottle, previewing the personalized book and creating a print-ready file to be sent to the print house.In July, all of the illustrations for â€Å"Message In A Bottle† were completed. And after countless website tests and print proofs, our website went live end of August.Since the launch, we have delivered over 100 personalized books to children all over Europe: the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Germany to name few. It’s the reaction of children that has completely touched our hearts. Hearing how much they lo ve their own personal book and how Kiki has become a beloved character in the whole family has been the most amazing reward.One year ago I had no idea where to start in terms of publishing a children’s book. Now I can’t wait to begin my second one!Fore more resources on writing and publishing a children's book, don't forget to check out these posts:How to Publish a Children's BookHow to Write a Children's BookHow to Find the REAL Target Market for Your Children’s BookVisit the Message In A Bottle website to personalize and purchase your own copy!If you've run your own campaign, what have been your positive or negative experiences? Did you have any learnings or takeaways from the experience?  Leave your thoughts, experiences, or any questions for Tuire in the comments below.