The Business Idea: MemeTales: Democratize the creation of children’s books

I am a mom. Believe me – that opening line is more important and absolutely essential for this post.

I adore my kids and really, taking care of them is one of the most enjoyable and untiringly refreshing things I have ever done. Having kids and staying home was just the perfect way for me to light that proverbial entrepreneurial fire under my backside. Really, kids make you feel wonderfully creative if you have some time and learn to enjoy them. As I sing, dance and make stories up for my kids, I come up with crazy ideas. Strangely enough, the sense of helplessness also forces me to think up creative solutions …

Here is my pitch -

Does your child love stories? Do you find yourself making up stories at the drop of a hat, just to share it with your little one? Do you think stories are a great way to bond with your child and tech him/her the values of life? Do you wish you could share those stories with other kids and the world?

And this is not just for parents. Just anybody that interacts with kids is inspired to become a storyteller. Aunts, uncles, writers, illustrators, artists and just anybody who is a child at heart, who has a passion for writing and creating.

Stories are such a powerful way of connecting and communicating a message. And who better to write stories than the people who are inspired by life and children?

I felt just that passion. I wanted to write my children’s books, have it illustrated by my sister and share it with the world. It did not take long for me to realize that I had set out on a rather difficult path.
Children’s books are incredibly hard to create, publish and share!

So I have set out on the journey to create the solution myself. To democratize the creation of children’s books.

What is MemeTales?

MemeTales is my start-up. Inspired by my need as a parent/author and my sister’s need as an illustrator. I believe creating and sharing children’s books should not be as complicated as it is today. My idea is to “democratize creation, sharing and marketing of children’s picture books” – MemeTales will bring together storytellers and illustrators to create downloadable 99c(just an estimation) books and everyone involved will make money.

Why MemeTales?

You want to make something special for your child. You want to share the books you have written.
To help artists, illustrators and authors make money.
Self publishing is expensive upfront. Especially when you do not know how the book will do in the marketplace.
Its hard to find good illustrators.
Illustrators are expensive.
Its hard to market self published books and make money.

How does MemeTales work:

If you have a story that you tell your kids or grandkids, you post it using our tool.
People bid to be on your team
You lead the team to make a book
Your book will be sold in the marketplace as a downlandable PDF for 99c
You make a cut with the illustrator for every book sold.
You can also buy books written by others.

What now?

Leave a comment here or email me (m@thinkmaya.com) so we can inform you when we have updates about the company. We hate spam and will not use it for anything else, period.

If you have a story that you’d like to have illustrated, please participate in the beta. Send us an email or use the contact form.

If you are an illustrator you want to participate in some of these projects, please get in touch with us. We can take it from there.

So I have 2 requests for you:

1. What do you think about my business idea?

2. What are your thoughts on the fact that I have shared my business idea to the extent that I have?

photo credit: tom chandler

ankur kakkar

hey maya , i just finished reading this post and realized that i should have mailed you AFTER going through all the posts !!first things first , yes a truly awesome endeavour.I am in it totally .... although i have no idea about how to write for children and i have never written or told any child any story :PBut i am willing to give it a TRY !!thanx ..

Maya

Umberto - totally totally agree with you. I did not grow up with as many stories as Pree (my husband ) did ...and I always think about how all those stories will be GONE in a couple of generations if not preserved ....

You should write those stories NOW ...before you have your little ones and share it with the rest of the world ....

The beauty of folklore is that it is passed on down through generations - but with all of us moving so far and away from our u immediate families - this link is being broken ....and we need to do something about it. What better way than to use the maturity in technology ??

Umberto

This opens up so many possibilities! We don't have kids yet, but when we do, we could use storytelling not just as a device to entertain my kids with or instill moral and civic sense, but also to connect with their dual cultural legacies. My grandparents told me so many stories of their own childhood and it saddens me that my kids might not have the benefit of that constant proximity to their grandparents in India. Perhaps this could be a way of passing on the family 'folklore' from both the parents, American and Indian.

Manoj

Excellent..I would love to be part of this.I tell stories.I draw them too.I've sent a mail to you.Do let know your opinion.Thanks for reading.

Sara at On Simplicity

This is absolutely appealing to writers and potential writers. Having the marketing side covered would be a huge boon, and I imagine would encourage a lot of participation. Keep me posted, and I'd love to be a part of this!

<abbr>Sara at On Simplicity´s last blog post..Hot Links: Staring Contest Edition</abbr>

Tom Volkar / Delightful Work

Maya, it's great to see you rolling and I do love the idea of you handling the marketing for the writers and the artists. That idea is definitely a win-win. I also like the idea of giving the option for a hardcover as well. The price that on demand publishers are charging for really low quantities has drastically dropped lately. With your volume you may be able to get a great deal from them. To me that the whole key to your success will be really getting the volume up there. I think the idea is more than sound enough to take off.

Jeremy Day

Hi Maya,Wow! I didn't know you had these other sites until I looked at your SU profile. I think your business idea is pretty good. And asking for reader feedback is great. I think if you put all the advice together and think about what will really work you will get a great result.My 2 cents......I think finding the correct price point is important as well as studying any competition. I was shopping for kids books the other day for my niece and I was surprised to see how much they cost. I thought kids books were less expensive than the business books I read but they aren't! I ended up buying a book for $10 but most of them were closer to $20.I think Avani has a great point about customization. I think that could be a big hit.If I were you I would charge at least $5 per download and also give parents the chance to buy actual books for a higher price. There are a few companies that specialize in self-publishing now. My friend got her book of poetry made that way.All in all, you have a lot of research to do, but as more people find your site and comment you should be able to tweak it for success. Best of luck to you Maya!Cheers,Jeremy

Maya

Hi Avani,

Hey, appreciate your feedback more than you know it :)

The idea is to make the process easy - so parents would take little time out to get their story out there. And talking as a parent, I do think it will give them a sense of accomplishment and pride - from sharing.

Thank you for the idea with the customization. I am creating an ideas page and yours will be one of the first to go out there :). The idea seems great for a future implementation - I am trying to keep it very simple for the first roll out.

Thanks Avani :)

Maya

Hi Barbra,

I will certainly keep in touch. Thank you for your note here.

As Avani says her comment, kids are very adept with technology. My little one interacts seamlessly with my iphone and some things on the computer. I think the key is to keep the interface very simple. And that is my goal.

I also propose that we openly share the books (complete books online). I think more people tend to buy things they know about. Keeping the right price point will be key - if the price is right, I would choose to buy things and keep them accessible - rather than go online every single time to read my stories.

I would love for you to participate in the beta. Please keep in touch and I will keep you in the loop regarding the developments here!

Avani-Mehta

Maya, absolutely loved your idea. It's very much in time as well. My niece figures out all kinds of gadgets before I do :) Kids are that fast these days.One question that pops up is that would parents take out time to get their made up story in print? Considering time constraint and hesitation that their story might not be good enough to make the cut.One idea that came up - is it possible to have photos and names customized? For instance, if I buy the story then my name and my niece's name comes up as main characters in the story and faces as well? Would be a great personal touch if this can be done.

Barbra Hesson

It is an interesting idea. I have been writing children's stories, articles, novels, and contacting publishers for about 15years. I have had some articles published but it is extremely hard to get anything else published. I have talked to many authors/publishers at conferences etc. and unfortunately they all say the same thing, good luck getting your foot in the door. Self-publishing is out for me as it is too expensive and you are solely responsible for all your own marketing.I'm not sure if people (parents?) would be willing to print off a story? Sit at a computer to read it? Would a child sit at a computer and read? I don't know my kids are all grown up and they do other things on the computer. How would they know if it is a story they want to buy? Would they get a little preview? I wouldn't want to spend any money if I hadn't first read it and determined content and if it was any good.Keep in touch, I am interested.Barb and aspiring author.

Maya

Writer Dad,
Thank you!

Writer Dad

Fantastic idea, Maya. I'll email you when I have a moment.

Maya

Hi Hayden,

<div style="text-align: left;">
Thank you so much. Yes, I have seen WriterDad's work. I was working on the plan for my business when I found him. He is such a fantastic writer! And his weebooks are great. </div>

His work is what made me believe in my business more :) - he is a true inspiration for me.

Actually, I sent off an email to him just this morning!

He has done what I intend to do in some ways. The difference is that I want to enable writers like him to find illustrators, work with them and then market their books. I think it is inefficient to put the burden of marketing on individual writers - both for the consumers and the writers/illustrators. Ideally, if books do very well here authors can choose to have their books self-published - they might even be discovered by publishers!

I appreciate your feedback Hayden. !

Hayden Tompkins

A blogger named WriterDad is doing this too. (http://writerdad.com) He is calling them 'Wee Books'. (http://writerdad.com/writer-dads-wee-books) He has a setup on his website so you can at least see what and how he is selling, and for what price. (I think between $1 and $5?) I'm not a parent so I haven't really paid attention to the weebooks. You should definitely email him, though, and grill him about his business!

<abbr>Hayden Tompkins´s last blog post..Carnival of Personal Development</abbr>

Maya

Test comment.I am trying to test and see why the comments are not taking formatting.

Maya

Hi Mare,Thank you for the resources you provided. I will share them in an upcoming blog post. I also suggest that people consult your blog - for all the inspiration that it provides. I appreciate your support!Hi Nicole,As I envision it now, parents will have the ability to share the stories with the kids on the computer as well as download them if needed. My little one is born-digital - she does not see the difference between analog and digital - really. She interacts with the iPhone with great ease ... So basically, I want artists, authors and parents to be able to share the stories - I think "how" will be worked out based on what people choose - we will give them a few choices while still keeping the whole concept very simple.Any idea can be stolen - but I do think my personal experience contributes a lot to the vision I have - and that is unique to me.I really hope that people step up and participate here - and no matter what I get out of this process(it can only be good!) I want to leave something back to help people like me in the future.Thank you for your feedback. Greatly appreciated!

Nicole

Interesting idea! I don't know enough about the children's books publishing business to know why this need exists, but I believe you! Is the idea that we, parents, will print out the PDF to read with our child? Or, is this something you envision parents and children will read at the computer? My son looooves to read! And, he looooooves my homeade stories that I make up at bedtime! Part of what he likes about the latter, though, is the fact that I'm making it up, I think. But, I definitely know what you mean about wanting to share a lesson or having a goal in mind with the story and getting that "on paper" and illustrated is a great idea!As for sharing the business idea online. I think it depends on the industry because if you have a technological invention, you wouldn't want someone beating you to market. Implementation and Marketing is everything in many businesses, though, so even if someone else "stole" your idea, doesn't mean they would necessarily get further than you with it. I think the collaborative aspect is very intriguing and I have subscribed to your feed to follow your story. Anytime I can add my 2 cents in, I will!Good luck!!

Marelisa

Hi Maya: Just yesterday I was watching one of the TED.com lectures on how novel ideas are coming more and more from the customer, as opposed to coming from large corporations. Because of the technology that exists today people are more and more able to turn their ideas into reality. Software developers have used the concept of open collaboration for several years now, to great success. I also found a book on amazon.com the other day where the authors basically relied on input from others to write the book, which they received via twitter and other social media. Let me see if I can find these resources again and I'll send them to you via e-mail. I think it's awesome that you're taking the first steps toward making your business venture come true.