Taking Both Routes

Joel Kontro and Santa's Dream by André Noël Chaker.

What do Kickstarter, Santa Claus and Finnish book publisher WSOY have in common?

Crowdfunding or traditional book publishing? It’s a question these days for many new authors who are considering all options to get their books out. But for Finnish book publisher WSOY and popular speaker and writer André Noël Chaker, a Kickstarter campaign and traditional book publishing are both key to Chaker’s upcoming book that aims to inspire children to fulfill their dreams with inspiration from Santa Claus – who of course lives in northern Finland!

“The Kickstarter campaign is actually for the English version of the book and for the possible 3D augmented reality animations that would make the book like a modern version of the old pop-up books,” says Joel Kontro, editor for the book at WSOY. “The Finnish version will be published by us next autumn, regardless of the campaign’s success. André has the rights for the English version and WSOY has the rights for all the other possible language versions. WSOY’s role has also to do with helping André with the story as it’s still partly in the making.”

Chaker, who was Speaker Forum’s speaker of the year in Finland in 2012 and is a well-known non-fiction author in Finland, contacted WSOY originally. “It was easy for us to jump on board, as André has become a reputed name in Finland and his previous books have been successful here,” says Kontro. “However, the main reason was the fact that the book will be a compelling mixture of children’s literature and narrative non-fiction, with the aim of inspiring kids to dream and to fulfill their dreams.”

From WSOY’s point of view, the whole Kickstarter campaign can be seen as a new form of marketing, as it helps to make people aware of the book and to build up expectations prior to publication. And of course, WSOY will make use of all the possibilities that social media adds. “Accompanied with our own contacts, André and his vast personal and business network is key to the book’s marketing endeavors,” says Kontro. “For WSOY this is a great opportunity to seek new ways of reaching out to our potential readership in the ever-changing media environment.”

Crowdfunding of books is something Kontro expects will continue to grow in the future. The public is becoming increasingly familiar with the practice and it ties right in with making purchases online, he says. “In the case of this particular project, crowdfunding is used for trying to add something extra to the traditional book, i.e. the enriched content, and for early marketing,” he says. “And what’s more, it offers an invaluable test case for us. In general, crowdfunding, in which the funding usually comes through pre-orders, is certainly interesting from a publisher’s perspective as it gives an implication of the book’s appeal before the book hits the market.

Check out the Santa's Dream Kickstarter campaign here and read more about the project.