Like most people, I am busy.
The grind of a career, military service (I am an Air Force Reservist) and family is constant and exhausting. Amidst it all though, I have a desire to be creative and exercise my imagination. Last summer I resolved to use any spare time I could find to author a children’s picture book.
For years I carried around an idea about a bunny who borrows a pair of wings and learns to fly. I wanted to develop and share this story. In August my daydream became a reality when I published “How the Bunny Learned to Fly”.
Bringing together all of the pieces necessary to publish a children’s picture book was a daunting challenge at first, especially because I am not an illustrator and have very primitive drawing skills. I began by breaking the project down into small tasks and then tackled each piece with Fiverr Gigs.
Creating an engaging children’s book requires purposeful design and good-looking illustration. I was delighted to find that sellers on Fiverr were able to help me satisfy these requirements. In total I used 40 different Fiverr Gigs to:
- craft the storybook illustrations
- typeset the book title for the cover
- solicit edits and feedback on draft versions
- create a logo/identity for the publishing company
- generate an avatar of myself for the author’s page
- develop free coloring/matching activities to accompany the book
- compose sheet music and record a song to reinforce the reading experience
The quality of the sellers on Fiverr is really amazing. I am humbled to have been able to bring together so many creative people from all over the globe to collaborate on this project. In total, I found teammates from fifteen different countries to assist with this undertaking, all through Fiverr.
These freelancers were first class and allowed me to realize my dream of becoming a published author. The book is selling really well on Amazon and has garnered many positive reviews. The story even won two Royal Dragonfly book awards recently, in the categories “Picture Books 6 & Older” and “Newbie – First Time Author (Fiction)”.
I hope my success with “How the Bunny Learned to Fly” serves as an example of many hands making light work, and the Gig economy helping achieve an ambitious goal.
I labored on this project over the course of many evenings and weekends while working full time, serving as an Air Force officer, being a husband, father, and dog owner. I hope my foray into authorship will inspire other busy people to find the time to share their ideas and inventiveness with the world.
Sean Maday is a technologist and an Air Force officer, but most importantly he is a proud husband, father, and dog owner. The Maday family lives in Superior, Colorado, and whenever possible spends time on Lake of the Woods in Northern Minnesota. Sean joined the Fiverr marketplace in 2015 with the aim of finding freelancers who could help advance his dreams of authorship.
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