Interview with Nancy Traversy, founder of Barefoot Books Publishers

In addition to writing for Blogging Baby and my personal website, Chookooloonks, I also publish an online magazine, Indigo Leaf Magazine, featuring the work of previously-unpublished writers.  One of the most revealing things I've learned since publishing Indigo Leaf is the amazing quantity and quality of the writing of many of the parenting bloggers who are out there -- not just as featured on their personal blogs, but also in the creative works so many submit for consideration of publication.  It has been a wonderful discovery.

So when Blogging Baby had the opportunity to interview Nancy Travesty, founder and president of Barefoot Books Publishers, I leapt at the chance. Barefoot Books is a small, entrepreneurial, women-run children's book publisher in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Nancy agreed to give us a glimpse into the children's publishing world, for those of us who are interested in writing books for kids.  So, without further ado:



Nancy, thanks for offering to speak to Blogging Baby!  Tell us a little about Barefoot Books -- how did you get started in this business?

I founded Barefoot Books in the UK back in 1992 after working many years in the design industry in London.  Having just had my first baby daughter, Meaghan (who is now nearly 14!), I wanted to work from home and combine my financial and business education with the management skills I had learned running small creative businesses in the early part of my career.  I decided to start my own management consultancy practice helping young companies involved in the arts and media with their financial, sales and marketing plans and was approached by Tessa Strickland, whose brother is a friend of my husband, to start a children’s publishing company.  Tessa’s background was in adult publishing with a focus on eastern religion and spirituality and she had three children, aged two, four and six.

Tessa and I had both traveled extensively and shared an interest in other cultures.  A Canadian by birth, I came from a family of artists and designers and loved all aspects of color, design and the visual arts.  We were both parents of small children and believed that there was a gap in the market for imaginatively written, beautifully illustrated and impeccably produced children’s books that capture the diversity and richness of the world’s many cultures in a playful and accessible way.

How is Barefoot Books different from other publishers?

I often think that traditional publishing is a bit ‘ivory tower’ – the large houses create their seasonal publishing programs with very little feedback from the customers who actually buy their books and they rely heavily on the big box retailers, including the major chains, for distribution.  We do not sell our books and gift products through the mass market channels but prefer instead to work with smaller independent partners – bookstores, museums, gift stores, children’s boutiques, catalogs, librarians, educational suppliers, etc. – who believe in our products and our mission. We have also developed a network of Barefoot representatives – we call them ‘Stallholders’ – who sell Barefoot in their homes, in schools, and in their communities, often for fundraising causes. Finally, for those customers who want to buy Barefoot directly from us, we sell through our mail order catalog and online.

How many manuscripts do you receive each year?  How many do you generally choose to publish?

We receive an awful lot of manuscripts each year – sometimes up to 500 a week….maybe more!  We are very selective about what we publish and have very strict selection criteria.  Our program falls into three main categories:

• Fun First Steps – Engaging Young Minds
• Tell Me A Story – Inspiring Imagination
• One World, One Spirit – Broadening Horizons

I would say we publish fairly evenly across these areas with about 20 new hardcovers a year along with new editions (paperbacks, board books, CDs, etc.) and complementary puzzles, games, puppets, and other gift products.

Have you noticed any trends in children's publishing?  Are there different genres encompassed in the term "children's publishing?

There has certainly been a trend away from traditional children’s picture books towards fiction and chapter books, definitely influenced by the Harry Potter phenomenon.  There is also a real interest in interactive books that combine education with high design, e.g. the Egyptology, Wizardology, etc. series which have been a huge success.  And, of course, the mass market children’s characters will always sell well – the Borders children’s buyer told me that one of her best sellers continued to be "Walter, the Farting Dog," which I find a bit sad. 

Publishers, vying for limited shelf space, are looking at ways to add value and create visual impact to catch the consumer’s attention, so much more emphasis is being placed on design and ‘gimmicks’.  I am not sure the customer is necessarily getting more value with these books, and personally believe that beautiful pictures are just as important as amazing stories in children’s reading and social development.  Barefoot Books celebrates "art and story’" and we believe that children should continue to get inspired from wonderful illustrations even after they start reading chapter books.

I've heard it can take a long time to get published -- months, or even years.  Why is that?

This definitely varies between publishing houses and very much depends on the length of the book and, in the case of a Barefoot Book, on how quickly the artist can illustrate!  On average our shorter books, mainly those in our "Fun First Steps" series, take between six and nine months to develop and then, depending on how we decide to market them, a further three to six months to manufacture and distribute.  Our longer anthologies, which range from 80 to 160 pages, take much longer to develop with the illustrations sometimes taking up to two years to complete.  We tend to match up manuscripts with artists and prefer not to receive books that have already been "packaged."

Many authors are choosing to go the self-publishing route, believing that it will be far less complicated (and quicker) than going the more traditional route of signing with a publishing house.  What are your thoughts on this?

I think this might be more viable for straight fiction however, having been running a small publishing house for nearly 14 years, I would say it certainly isn’t easy to do it yourself!  There is a lot of expertise required in all areas of picture book publishing – from the editorial, design and development phase to production and negotiating with printers (we mainly manufacture in the Far East).  Then come all of the complexities associated with finding and understanding your sales channels, effective marketing, and strong distribution and fulfillment.  So overall, unless you have a very specific niche market, I would not recommend self-publishing for children’s picture books.

Many of the readers of Blogging Baby are also writers, if only as authors of personal blogs.  For the subset who are interested in having a children's story published, what advice would you give them?  Are there any tips you can give these writers in presenting their work to a publishing house such as yours?

Again, I would reiterate that the process is not easy and can be very time consuming.  However, if you feel you have a manuscript or an idea that is worth publishing, then you should definitely persevere.  It is critical to do your research on the publishing houses that you are submitting to.  Ask for their recent catalogs, visit their websites and understand their publishing mission and selection criteria as best you can.  As mentioned previously, we prefer not to receive ideas as a package and would also like to know if you have thought about the market channels where you think your book might sell.  Make your submission stand out and look as professional as possible. Always include a self addressed, stamped envelope if you want your submission to be returned.

I  understand that often children's authors are matched with illustrators to make their stories come alive.  for those of our readers who are artists interested in illustrating children's books, how would you recommend they pitch their art to a publishing house such as yours?

It is easiest if illustrators either have a website where they can display PDF’s or e-mail digital images of their work (ensuring the file sizes are not too large!). That way, the editorial team can easily circulate the illustrations to everyone in the company who is involved in the product development process.  I would also recommend that, if they work in more than one medium or have various styles, they submit as many options as possible.  You never know what we might be looking for!  Again, always try to get a sense of the ‘look and feel’ of a publishing house, if one exists, and make sure your work looks like it might be a good fit.

What's the most difficult part of your job?  The most rewarding?

The most challenging part of my job is running a small, very creative business where you know your target market is out there but it is very difficult to reach them through the conventional publishing distribution channels.  It is also hard dividing my attention between the creative aspects of my work – product development and marketing strategy – and the important role of business management and financial control. Publishing is a returnable industry so I would say the most stressful moments come when we are trying to collect payment from customers and they choose to return overstocks instead of paying.  You certainly feel that you are in a game you can’t control. 

It is incredibly rewarding when we receive feedback from customers who love our books and other products. Knowing that we are making a difference through our publishing program keeps me going.  I will also never tire of the thrill of the moment when a new title comes off press and we receive the advances fresh from the printer.  As we have relatively long development times, we always have some fantastic projects in the pipeline and I love seeing these through to fruition, showing them to my family at various stages and getting their feedback.

What are some of your favourite books that have been published by your company?

This is a really hard question.  I think one of my favorites is definitely THE GIGANTIC TURNIP which we published in 1998 and which has since been translated into 15 languages and has sold more than 300k copies worldwide.  It represents the perfect combination of outstanding, distinctive illustrations with a wonderful, very child friendly and funny cumulative text.  I also love THE ANIMAL BOOGIE, probably our best seller of all time in the US and UK markets, because my children came up with the idea one summer when they sang the accompanying song over and over until it hit me that this would make a great picture book.  TALES OF WISDOM AND WONDER really epitomizes Barefoot’s mission as a cross cultural collection of stories that all make you ‘stop and think’.  Hugh Lupton’s storytelling is absolutely enchanting and Irish artist, Niamh Sharkey, has won many awards for her fantastically quirky pictures.  More recently, we published THE BOY WHO GREW FLOWERS, written by Jen Wojtowicz for her autistic brother and stunningly illustrated by Canadian artist, Steve Adams, which has a really warm and meaningful text which reminds us that what makes us different is what makes us wonderful.

And finally, out of curiosity, what are some of your favourite children's books of all time?

Another difficult question!  As a child, I loved adventure books so I read every Enid Blyton book around.  I also loved fairy tales and was very proud of my Grimm and Anderson collections.  I hope that one day some of the folk and fairy tales which we have published will also become classic children’s favourites. Today, I wish I had published WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE and I also greatly admire anything by Lauren Child who has such a distinctively humorous and accessible style.

Nancy, thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us at Blogging Baby.  Perhaps sometime one of our readers will become published through your house because of this interview -- you'll have to let us know if this happens!