Today’s
guest post is by Henry Herz and his
sons, Josh and Harrison. Henry’s love of the fantasy genre began in elementary
school with “Where the Wild Things Are” and “The Lord of the Rings,” and continued
by playing Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer.
Josh Herz is a middle-school
student whose hobbies include parkour, building with LEGOs, and painting
Warhammer miniatures.
Harrison Herz is an elementary
school student who loves basketball, WWE wrestling, and playing XBOX. Both are
big fans of The Lord of the Rings, the annual Comic-Con convention, and have an
entrepreneurial bent.
With
design help from their dad, they started three web-based businesses selling
LEGO party favors, custom cast bases for Warhammer, and painted concrete yard
sculptures.
The
Herzes are (distant) relatives of Madeleine L’Engle, whose book A Wrinkle in Time was ranked #3 on the
top 100 children’s books of all time by Scholastic’s Parent & Child
Magazine. Writing must be in the DNA!
Nimpentoad
is the fantasy story of a courageous and resourceful little Nibling who leads
his tribe through the perilous Grunwald forest, overcoming obstacles and
encountering strange creatures along the way. This post is about the creative
journey of Nimpentoad by a father and his two young sons.
NIMPENTOAD
When
my sons were five and seven years old, I wanted to share my love of fantasy
with them. Struck by inspiration one day, I came up with a way to share the joy
of entering the magical realms of fantasy. I would write a fantasy book for
them.
What
I did not anticipate was that my boys would give me feedback on the story. They
devised some of the character (Nimpentoad) and creature (Neebel) names, and
made plot line suggestions. And who better to help make the story appealing to
kids than other kids?
My
sons also helped with the art direction. Our artist would give us a rough
sketch, and we would provide feedback on details and color palette. My goal of
interesting my sons in fantasy transformed into encouraging them to participate
in the creative process.
Of
course, collaborating with kids is a very different affair than collaborating
with an adult. Their work ethic is, shall we say, less disciplined. This can be
mitigated by making the working sessions more like play sessions - we're
telling a story, not crafting a manuscript. And once we began creating the
artwork, the boys' interest grew as they saw images of Nimpentoad and the other
fantastic creatures come to life.
Eventually,
we had a good book, but no readers - the challenge facing all self-published
authors. So, we then embarked upon the most arduous part of our journey –
promoting Nimpentoad. While I handled the web-based promotional activities, I
wanted my sons to be involved in the live events.
Once
again, I had to train and encourage them - this time to become good public
speakers. By starting with small groups, like elementary school classes, they
learned to be comfortable in front of a crowd, and to make eye contact and use
voice inflection to enhance the reading experience for their audiences. They
have also participated in several phone interviews for web radio shows.
Once
they mastered public speaking, the next learning opportunity for my sons was
mastering the sale. We've found selling our book at farmer's markets to be
surprisingly successful. Imagine trying to coldly walk past two charismatic
young booth operators who ask, "Would you like to see the book WE
wrote?"
But
as before, they needed guidance. They had to be coached about engaging
effectively with passersby - smile, sit up, and speak to them. My sons learned
how to answer commonly asked questions about the book and their participation
in its creation. And how to change a twenty dollar bill, or deal with someone
who tries to haggle on price.
At
the risk of infringing on child labor laws, I booked my sons as much as their
school schedules would allow. We’ve done readings, giveaways and signings at
San Diego libraries, elementary schools, farmer's markets, La Jolla YMCA, the New
Children’s Museum, the San Diego Comic-Con, Mysterious Galaxy Books, Readers
Books, Warwick’s Books, and Barnes & Noble. We will be signing our book at
the upcoming Orange County Children's Book Festival - one of the largest of its
kind in the US.
At
the San Diego Public Library 46th Annual Local Author’s Exhibit, my sons asked
for autographs from Chris Ryall (of IDW Publishing) and famed graphic novelist
Eric Shanower. Both of these gentlemen then graciously asked for my boys’
autographs. First class!
At
the La Mesa Centennial Readers & Writers Festival, we shared a booth with
Ron Noble, animator of Rugrats, Rocket Power, and Wild Thornberry’s. He was
very kind, and my boys left that day with personalized Wild Thornberry
sketches. First class!
All
these experiences have further enriched the journey for my sons. They
understand some of the aspects of running a business and publishing. They are
now comfortable meeting new people, doing public speaking, and rubbing elbows
with famous authors. It has been a great ride.
The
Nimpentoad authors have been written about in Entrepreneur Magazine and Wired
Geekdad. The book's artwork was a semifinalist in an art contest sponsored by
Warner Brothers (and judged by The Hobbit movie staff). Nimpentoad recently
received its 72nd Amazon 5-star rating. The book is available in paperback and
Kindle format. Our website is http://www.nimpentoad.com
Thank you,
Henry, Josh and Harrison! Your story is an inspiration!
Gail
