Short Summary
Hi everyone! My name is Ninakupenda Gaillard (also known as Nina) and I'm excited to share this project with you that has been years in the making. I created the original concept of this story when I was in high school with a friend in my environmental studies class. It wasn't until I attended Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) for a Bachelors Degree in Sequential Art, that I was able to fully develop this story and turn it into an actual children's book. I always liked the idea of combining fantasy and educational elements in a children's book as a way to help kids enjoy learning; Talia and the Droplets was my way of doing that.
Talia and the Droplets, at it's core, covers the story of a girl learning about the water cycle. But it's also about a girl adventuring away from home for the first time and making friends along the way. Kids ages 6 and up can relate to Talia, especially ones that are an only child, like me. Kids younger can also enjoy the story and it can help them easily understand the water cycle at a young age.
This campaign is important to me because I've always dreamed of putting a physical book out there with my own story and artwork that I can be proud of as an artist. I spent months working out the details for this campaign and worked through a lot of anxiety in order to finally launch this. Having this project succeed would be a great achievement for me as well as artists like me.
What We Need & What You Get
I've already invested in forming my own company so I can self publish this book, but I still need financial help in order to print the books through a printing company. In order for me to pay for the physical creation of Talia and the Droplets, along with all the perks and other fees, I made a budget of $1,712 to get everything done. For printing the books, I plan to use a site called Print Ninja to make 250 paperback books (which is their minimum) with 32 pages in each. Since I'll be offering free shipping when you buy a book through the campaign, I plan to use any contributions towards shipping fees as well as packaging products. I also will use the money towards making the perks (prints and stickers) as well as Indiegogo's fee and advertising on social media. Below is a chart showing how I plan to split up the money I receive from this campaign based on prior research I did.
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By funding my campaign you can not only get a physical, paperback copy of the book, but also other perks along with it. Some of these perks include a bookmark, small and large prints, stickers, and even personal art commissions created by me!
Because I decided to do a flexible goal, even if I don't reach the full amount, I still can use whatever money I make towards finding a company that can print a smaller amount of books for the people who did buy them through the campaign. I also would still fulfill any perks that were bought at any level. No matter what, I definitely will find a way to get this book printed and delivered to those who bought it.
The Impact
I've been wanting to share this book with the world for almost a year now, but I kept putting in on the back burner due to stress, anxiety, and working on other freelance projects. I really wanted to get this book out sooner but no matter how much I tried, it never felt good enough to me to publish. I had to come to the realization that my desire to get physical copies of this book made was stronger than my fears that it wouldn't be perfect by my standards. Because it's not about it being a perfect book, it's about kids enjoying it. It's about them seeing the art and laughing at some of the silly faces I drew. It's about them finding delight in the story along with the educational lessons hidden in there until the end. At the end of the day, I just want to make art and stories that make people happy and for anyone who buys this book, I want them to feel all the joy and love that I put into this project to make it a reality.
Risks & Challenges
The main hurdle when it comes to making a book is getting the illustrations done. Luckily, I'm both the artist and writer of this book and all of the main artwork has been taken care of. While the campaign is going on, I'll finish making the prints and stickers that will be perks so those will be done before the campaign ends. Another hurdle could be printing delays since it's an overseas company. At most it takes 8-10 weeks to have the books printed and then shipped to me. I will post updates on this campaign when there are any developments. I'm rather resourceful. So if some reason the printing company I chose can't complete the order, I have other options I'm considering in order to print books for those that paid for them.
Other Ways You Can Help
Even if you can't contribute, thank you for taking the time to read my campaign! It would mean a lot to me if you could share it with your friends, family, or even your local elementary schools. You can use the tools here on Indiegogo to share this project on any social media of your choosing. It only takes a few seconds and any help would be much appreciated.
Thank you!
