A step-by-step guide to build a successful collaboration
In our blog, we love to host all kinds of stories: we interview authors and publishers to understand where their ideas originated from, we engage partners in conversations around the ecosystem we belong to, we metaphorically open and read the books that we have the privilege of representing… Today we would like to do it all at once.
The story that you are about to read has all these ingredients and more: it is a story of people who are passionate about what they do and work very hard in pursuing their goals. It is a story of serendipity, synergies and commitment. It is the larger-than-life story behind one of the projects that we are most excited about: Soft Opening.
Step 1 - The idea
Can you share the story that led to the creation of Soft Opening?
Zsuzsi: Áron knew that I loved to draw melancholic animals in my idle hours—that was our main point of departure. We knew that we had more to tell than a simple story for kids: we also wanted to entertain the parents (without confusing the kids!). That is how we created an unconventional children's book about Walter, a cuddly wombat and his friendly ensemble. Then we filled the book with tons of tiny details: hidden references and interesting backstories to engage and entertain kids and grown-ups alike. To make it even more fun, we spiced it with invisible ink and a UV-flashlight to assist our adult readers in their pursuit for hidden stories that are only visible under blacklight.
Step 2- The story
It was crucial to separate the story intended for children and the comments, backstories and music playlist intended for the adults to make it coherent. Our protagonist, Walter the chunky wombat, wakes up with a rumbling tummy in a strange world where it seems absolutely ordinary that animals wear fancy designer clothes and drive Italian mopeds, and no one raises an eyebrow if a goat runs his off-the-grid veggie business from a camper trailer. After recovering from his first shock, Walter sets out on a journey in search of... a decent burger! His adventure is full of surprises, strange encounters, and important life lessons (for wombats and humans alike).
Soft Opening, a book full of surprises.
It was Zsuzsi’s unique illustrated universe, creativity and quirky sense of humor that inspired us to begin the project in the first place. As we are big fans of all things handcrafted, all illustrations were drawn and coloured manually. The end result is a colorful ensemble of irresistibly cute, relatable characters. - Áron
Step 3 - The final touch
After a while, we realized that we had more to share about Walter’s world than what we can fit into a regular children’s book. Since we were in great need of a tool to expand the story’s horizon, we started experimenting with invisible UV-ink. We had to figure out everything by ourselves, and one of our biggest obstacles was figuring out the technology for UV (blacklight) printing. We tested dozens of different papers and UV-inks to find the right combination, but it was really exciting to see this invisible world unfold and add the finishing touches to our narrative. These hidden stories are intended for our older audience, and are only visible under blacklight. They are either surprising explanations or somewhat unorthodox comments that would normally not make it into a conventional storybook.
“The playlist compiled for the book also serves the purpose of making Soft Opening exciting even after many readings. Last but not least, we as authors were also very entertained by the whole process, free association and the fact that in addition to a classic children’s tale, we can give a little extra for adults.”
Step 4 - The Journey
The process was at least just as important [as the story]: we had never written or illustrated a book before, so we didn’t have the faintest idea of how the publishing industry works. We originally self-published Soft Opening with the help of crowdfunding on Kickstarter and, a year later, we also published it in our mother tongue, Hungarian under the title Puha Élet. However, when it came to wider, world-wide distribution, we soon hit the wall – partly because of the pandemic and partly because of our lack of experience and connections in the international publishing industry. It's not an easy field to conquer as an outsider, especially if you come from a small central European country and this is your first book ever.
Step 5 - The right partner
Are you up for the challenge of finding every single secret hint?
When we arrived at BCBF, we felt quite lost as we were carrying around our little wheelie luggage full of Soft Openings. We were wandering around the fair with the idea of finding a publisher or an agent for Soft Opening, but we did not really know the drill (this was our first book fair) and we had not scheduled any meetings beforehand. We soon found out that most of the people were there to sell and not to buy. We did not make any serious progress, and we were starting to get discouraged when we discovered the Agents' corner: it was just like an oasis in the desert! To be honest, it was pure luck that Monica had a short break between meetings and agreed to spend it flipping through Soft Opening and chatting with us.
“When we discovered the Agents’ corner: it was just like an oasis in the desert! To be honest, it was pure luck that Monica had a short break between meetings and agreed to spend it flipping through Soft Opening and chatting with us. ”
Allison: the two authors of this beautiful project dropped by our table in the International Rights Center in Bologna. They had a brief conversation with Monica, and then she showed it to me. I was also immediately enthralled.
We walked fast after them to invite them to a sit down for a longer conversation about how we might be able to help them license their beautiful and unique project internationally. We admired their entrepreneurial spirit and how they worked together on this children’s book that is a delight for children (uncover hidden messages with flashlight) and for adults (many adult popular culture references that evoke nostalgia). They said they would think about our offer to represent them after meeting all other targeted publishers/agents but returned a few hours later to sign up with DropCap and we are off and running.
Step 6 - The future
What convinced you to embark on this journey with DropCap?
Monica and Allison's honest enthusiasm and pragmatic professionalism and expertise convinced us that Soft Opening would be in the best hands. We are really fond of this whole project so it was extremely important for us to find someone who appreciates and cherishes our work and helps this project to live up to its true potential.
We are not really thinking about numbers or languages. Nevertheless, with the right representation, the book can be successful anywhere around the world. It is both unique and universal at the same time, so we truly believe that anything is possible (which is also the main motto of Soft Opening)!
