About
$856
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From the Author
People have been telling me for years that I should write a children’s book, and I finally decided to give it a shot. My 3 children loved having stories read to them when they were small, and though many of the books they loved were great and fun to read, there were always some that left me shaking my head and hoping I wouldn’t have to re-read them very often. I am a big fan of children’s books that rhyme. I love reading books that are entertaining and can be read with a fun rhythm. Colorful and cute pictures are also important. I am writing books that I wouldn’t mind reading over, and over, and over…which hopefully will be the case. I decided to have these first 3 books each have titles with ABC in them, partially because then I could have a book for each of my amazing children and also because I liked the ABC concept. I got really lucky that my husband was able to find an absolutely incredible illustrator to create the pictures for my books. I am SO EXCITED to see the finished products. It’s like the artist saw right into my mind and drew exactly what I wanted. This is a really fun undertaking for me and I hope to continue beyond the initial 3 ABC books, with holiday books and then whatever pops into my crazy mind after that. Thank you for taking the time to consider backing my project and I can’t wait to share these with the world!
From the Publisher
This Kickstarter is to raise $750 to produce and indie-publish a set of three children's books. The softcover books will be 8.5x8.5 inches, and each book will contain 22 story pages - 11 rhymes by Erika Gardner and 11 illustrations by A. Rudolph, plus an activity page.
The cover art, when placed side-by-side will showcase A. Rudolph's artistic talent by spanning all three covers.
The projected retail price for each book is $6.99, and each individual book will only be produced as a softcover. Any digital editions will only be available to backers of this Kickstarter.
The rhymes for all three books are complete, and book one is done through the inking stage.The planned publishing schedule is the first week of each month of the last quarter of 2018.
"Aubrey's Beautiful Crown" should release the first week of October, "Alyssa's Blank Canvas" should release the first week of November, and "Anthony’s Blue Crayon" should release the first week of December.
Cost Breakdown
The biggest portion of the cost to fund this project is paying the artist. A. Rudolph is giving us an excellent rate on the artwork because she believes in the project. I’ll be covering the rest of the project out of my personal funds; any overages from the Kickstarter will go toward covering additional costs, and any extras. If the amount pledged reaches $1000, then we’ll start doing stretch goals – as long as these goals don’t interfere with the schedule of delivery.
Here is a breakdown of the $750 to match the artist payment:
- $400 formatting (three paperbacks and a hardcover.)
- $125 ISBN from Bowker (for hardcover.)
- $49 Ingram Spark setup (for hardcover.)
- $36 padded mailing envelopes. (Variable based on backer quantity.)
- $75 Kickstarter fees. (5% to Kickstarter & 3-5% for card processing.)
- $25 Shipping from the manufacturer.
- $40 Slack funds to cover unforeseen incidentals.
Risks and challenges
The goal is to have all three books available for Christmas 2018. We expect the first book to wrap up production the first or second week in September, and book two a month after that. Book three is expected a month after book two, putting it in November.
Createspace will be the printer for the softcovers, so the cost of unit production is fixed, as is media mail shipping via USPS. This is the primary reason that continental USA is the only area for shipping. Shipping to anywhere else is cost prohibitive, and the buyer would be better off waiting until the books are available via Amazon for their great shipping rates (free to prime members.)
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Funding period
- (20 days)