Children’s author first for local publisher
A PUBLISHING house which aims to give authors a fairer deal than traditional companies has released its first book.
Ormskirk-based Hello Sunshine Publishing (HSP) has backed West Lancashire author Emily Daine by choosing her Ahoy There, Matey children’s book as its first publication.
Aimed towards children aged 3-7, the book aims to combine themes of fun, escapism and friendship through the story of a lonely boy who discovers a magical eye patch.
Luke Chandley, founder of HSP, said he was delighted to be able to support Emily as the house’s first author.
He said: “For our first author contract, we wanted something imaginative and exciting.
“Our aim has always been to create a world that captures the attention of children everywhere, regardless of gender or ability.
“The best thing we could have done was to work with Emily, and that was clear from our very first conversation. Her excitement and conviction, mixed with craft for writing, made the decision an easy one. Ahoy There is an exciting first project, and we can’t wait for you to see it.”
Luke says the HSP’s business model is designed to give authors a fair proporation of earning from their work. The initial percentage of sales they receive from their book is around double that of traditional business houses and crucially that is awarded before their royalty is paid back.
That differs to the traditional market practice, while Luke also says that the percentage awarded to authors increases when certain sales are achieved.
“We’re not offering more money for ridiculous sales figures that authors can’t hope to pass – we’re working off a basis that the more copies sold, the lower our costs are as a business, and the more we can return to the author.
“It is traditional publishing, but with better figures. We don’t take any money from the author up front, or at any point, and we market the book ourselves.”
Ahoy There Matey had a soft launch in December and is now available online through HSP’s online shop Amazon and ETSY.