Author-Illustrator Spotlight: Jenny Maj

January 4, 2018

Today we have the pleasure of featuring author, teacher, and plush toy designer, Jenny Maj in the author spotlight!

Be sure to enter her giveaway for her book, FALAFEL'S GARDEN (U.S. addresses only).

Tell us about your background and how you came to write and illustrate for children.

Growing up, my mom told me on a number of occasions that I would be a children’s book author and illustrator. I even made a hand-bound book of illustrated poems when I was in the third grade, but I honestly never considered writing or illustrating as professions I might pursue.

After graduating from college, I went into teaching. I initially planned to serve as a science teacher for the Peace Corps, but I was deferred for health reasons. I ended up getting a job as a high school art teacher, and I taught in public schools for 4 years. I taught high school for two years and elementary for another two, but I had to leave my job due to chronic illness in 2012. Being unable to hold a traditional job led to me to learn how to sew. Once I started making plush toys, I naturally began coming up with background stories for some of the characters I made, and that eventually led me to create a children’s book.

Congrats on your book FALAFEL'S GARDEN. Tell us about the story & what inspired you.

FALAFEL’S GARDEN is about a gardening llama, a socially anxious sheep, and a foodie horse. When I started making organic plush toys three years ago, Falafel the Llama, Baxter the Horse, and Griswold the Sheep were the first characters I made. I wrote brief story lines for them and painted ‘pop-up’ scenery for them to live in. I felt they deserved more than a few sentences for their stories, but I had just gotten into sewing and was too preoccupied with creating new stuffed toy designs to focus on writing. A couple of years later, after some encouragement, I finally focused on writing a book for Falafel, Baxter, and Griswold.

You self-published the book through Kickstarter and it was fully funded in four days. What are your top recommendations for a successful Kickstarter campaign?

Take the time to make a good video. It doesn’t have to be professionally done—you can even shoot it with your cell phone—just don’t skip making one. They’re critical to succeeding on Kickstarter.

Check out successful children’s book campaigns (and unsuccessful ones, too) before creating your own campaign. Kickstarter allows you to find projects by “most backed” or “most funded” using their search function, and it’s incredibly helpful to see what has (and hasn’t) worked for other people.

Market your campaign in every way imaginable. If you have a great project photo, you might get a decent amount of hits on the day you launch your campaign. But after that, you’re on your own. You need to have social media posts, blog posts on your website, posts on other blogger’s sites, interviews with news outlets, etc. lined up so you have something driving traffic to your campaign every day it’s live.

What are your top recommendations for someone thinking of self-publishing a children's book?

Have your manuscript critiqued and hire a good editor. If you plan to print your book on your own, request lots of samples from a variety of different printers. Ideally, try to talk with someone who has personally worked with the printers you are considering using.

Tell us about how you made your book eco-friendly.

FALAFEL’S GARDEN was printed in the US on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper using vegetable based inks. In order to have the book printed in an eco-friendly manner, I had to take the self-publishing route and find my own printer. The process of finding an eco-friendly printer capable of printing a children’s book was far more difficult than I anticipated. Everything it entailed is a bit long for this post, but I’ve written about it in depth on my blog. (Check out 8 Tips for Printing an Eco-Friendly Book).

What projects are you working on now?

I’m not working on anything writing-related at the moment. Most of my time recently has been focused on creating plush toy sewing patterns and helping with a project for a local non-profit.

What is one thing most people don't know about you?

I really want a pet alpaca! Unfortunately, they’re herd animals. I don’t think I can have a herd of alpacas in the suburbs, so I’ll have to settle for my cat for now.

Where can people find you online?

My website: www.fluffmonger.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/fluffmonger

Instagram: www.instagram.com/fluffmonger

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClGGBWZxQPygXDgaspG1Y7A

Twitter: www.twitter.com/fluffmonger