Real Case Studies of Book Projects

BOOKS & NONPROFITS WORK WELL TOGETHER

Stranded, Stormy’s Adventure by Mary Wright, illustrated by Cindy Guire
The author financed the production of the book and donated the proceeds to a nonprofit. The book was produced as a fund raiser and to heighten community awareness of the nonprofit. The author also got a large grant to take the book into the schools to educate students through a marine science lesson and each child in the presentation was given a free book.

Houston Architectural Ballade by Valentin Gertsman
This book was umbrellaed by a nonprofit to showcase an artist’s photography. Funding came from various community business sources who received a quantity of books to utilize as corporate gifts.

Out of the Nest, Cuckoo 2000 by Fran Fauntleroy
This cookbook was produced by 6 philanthropic ladies in Houston who sold it to various businesses to give as Christmas presents. They sold 6,000 books in less than 3 months. A portion of the proceeds were donated to a nonprofit to help fight breast cancer.

STORYTELLER WANTS TO DO SCHOOL VISITS

The Eggstra-Ordinary Surprise by Sheila Phillips, illustrated by Lynnett Alderson
The author, a storyteller, wanted a way to get into the school systems to do her storytelling. She produced a book about Easter and wants to produce other books about different holidays to maintain a year-round school presence.

AUTHOR / EXPERT HAS IDEAL SALES OUTLETS

Old Earth? Why Not! By Jim Nienhuis
This book was formulated over several years as a labor of love to prove a theory which the author has about creationism. It was a controversial topic so he knew a publisher would want no part of it, so he wanted to self-publish the title himself. He has a radio talk show and a dynamic website and intends to market the book solely by word of mouth and his talk show to his niche market.

Beating the Odds: Journaling Your Way to a Satisfying Relationship by Nancy Whitaker
Ms. Whitaker is a licensed relationship therapist and formulated this journal of soul-searching questions for her patients to help work through their own problems. She is known throughout Houston’s media as a relationship expert and has the ideal platform to market and sell her books.


Rita MillsRita Mills, owner of The Book Connection, project manages the creation process through the printing of all types of books, and outsources printing services worldwide.

She utilizes more than 30 freelance professionals with book-specific experience in all areas of writing, editing, design, illustration, marketing and public relations to produce, market, and sell trade-quality books. Rita has worked with many of these freelancers more than 12 years. She knows her personnel’s capabilities and assigns various projects according to specific expertise and the skill set of the freelancers.