We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah Doran a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.
Military children are grossly under-represented in children’s literature. Having grown up the daughter of an Army Chaplain and then serving in the Army myself, as a Blackhawk helicopter mechanic and crew chief, military life basically runs in my veins. Several years ago when I was doing my under graduate work in Elementary Education, I recognized the huge lack of resources for military families and children. My heart to serve military families grew, but I still didn’t know the best way to do that. Once I married my love of writing with my heart for mil families, the stories began to flow. The Peppered Sky is inspired by my memories of watching my dad perform in airborne training operations as a jump master. Creating high quality literature which represent military children and provide non-military children a glimpse into military family life is my primary goal and purpose. No one will argue the unique challenges that military children face every day, and there is certainly a place in literature for those stories. My aim, however, is to create stories that celebrate the positive and rewarding aspects of the military lifestyle.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Sarah Doran is a military children’s book author, wife and homeschooling mama. She lives in Central Texas with her family and mischievous cats named Autumn and Maggie. Serving military families through quality literature is her goal and passion. Sarah’s memories of growing up as a military child and her service in the Army as a Blackhawk helicopter mechanic and crew chief inspire her stories. Enduring multiple separations during her father’s deployments, attending Department of Defense schools, moving multiple times across the United States and overseas, deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan during her own service, and marrying another service member, Sarah is intimately familiar with military family lifestyle and sacrifices. She writes to encourage warmth, joy and understanding for military children and families.
The Peppered Sky, Sarah’s first book, was released March 3, 2023. Celebrate military family life with Haleigh and Mason as they adventure into a world of airborne drop zones, military aircraft and U.S. paratroopers! Sarah’s next book, Sleeping Giants, is in its early phases of publication. Sleeping Giants follows military child Finn and his helicopter mechanic mom to the hangar for a day of adventuring on Apaches, Blackhawks and Chinooks!
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
Self publishing a children’s book initially seemed like an easily attainable goal, especially with all of the tools and technological resources available to authors today. Honestly, I had no idea how much work and money went into creating a quality piece of literature. Not having illustrative talent was also a huge issue, since picture books need high quality, engaging images to help connect with young readers. Thankfully, my illustrator understood my predicament and connected me with another author of hers who had recently run a very successful Kickstarter campaign to help front the costs associated with self-publishing. This Kickstarter connection was such a dynamic resource for learning the ins and outs of running a campaign and how to do so successfully.
For those less familiar, Kickstarter is an incredible platform which connects creatives, inventors and start ups with project “pre-order” backers. If the project is fully funded, the creative can then utilize the funds to produce said project and the backers then get the first fruits. In a self-published author’s case, the project usually includes early access to the book, plus other “rewards” such as book totes, bookmarks and t-shirts. I spent 3-4 months planning and investing financially into the Kickstarter to ensure that my vision for the project was effectively presented in an engaging and informational way. I spent money on a designer who created a short book trailer video, a few infographics and used the trial illustration from the illustrator to create my campaign for The Peppered Sky book. Sharing the project and my mission through social media, local newspapers, podcasts and friends was also a vital part of the process. Through 166 Kickstarter backers and the grace of God, I raised over $20,000 in 30 days. The funds covered the expenses for the Kickstarter itself, my book’s illustrations, design, Kickstarter rewards, shipping costs and initial print order.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Authenticity cannot be understated. I grew up a military child, I served in the Army, and I was a military spouse. Both my illustrator and designer come from military families and my books are printed in the U.S. Writing and publishing from a place of authenticity resonates with my readers. Ensuring the details of the uniforms and the airborne drop zones are accurately portrayed and utilizing my teaching background to effectively promote critical thinking in students, my book and the related activities and resources at the back of the book are all put together in a very intentionally authentic way. Apart from authenticity, though, taking the time needed to create something truly beautiful and worth while, with passion and purpose has been monumental in building my reputation in the military children’s book market.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.authorsarahdoran.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/author_sarah_doran
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.sarah.doran
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahedoran
Image Credits
Cortney Bruce Photography (Family photo) Leslie Saxton Photography (Branding photos)