Monday, February 20, 2012

Interview for Treasure Kai Book And How To Make Book Apps

Come and join me as I talk with author Karen Guinn Robertson on Stories From Unknown Authors about her book Treasure Kai and the Lost Gold of Shark Island on http://blogtalkradio.com/storiesfromunknownauthors at 2pm est on February 20th.

Author's Guide to Book Apps and eBooks for Illustrated Children's Books







Author:

It all started with a dream. In 2007, Karen had a dream about a new kind of book where kids got to physically interact with the book to drive the story forward. From that dream came Treasure Kai and the Lost Gold of Shark Island, an interactive book that combined the magic of stories with the fun of little toys and treasure. After much success in Australia and winning a Gold Mom’s Choice Award in the US for Treasure Kai, Karen decided to launch “Treasure Kai” as a series of apps. Originally from Texas, Karen lives in Sydney with her husband and two sons. She loves spending time with family and friends, writing and creating, reading, entertaining, walks on the beach, eating out and has a passion for dark chocolate! Visit Karen’s website, Digital Kid’s Author to follow her blog.



Treasure Kai cover only 663w Copy 150x150 Shop


Get your copy of the book that started it all! This interactive, choose- your-own adventure book has thrilled thousands of kids worldwide. Featuring eight treasure chests holding toys that are clues to finding gold, each time kids turn the page, they get to open a treasure chest and either find the gold or find a toy clue that leads them on the next adventure.

Description:

For children's authors, writers and illustrators wanting to turn stories into book apps or eBooks, children's writer, Karen Robertson presents the book she wishes she would have had before she turned her book into a book app for iPad and iPhone. With the mobile device and eReader market growth exploding (think iPad, iPhone, Kindle, Nook), there's never been a better time for children's writers to present their stories as digital books.With lower production costs than printed books, no inventory to manage, global distribution, higher royalty percentages and marketing freedom, digital publishing is an opportunity every children's writer can consider.

In this eBook, Karen provides insights on how to assess whether the digital opportunity is right for you, determine what you'd want your eBook/book app to be, what functionality you'd want and why, what your development/production options are, who you might work with and what costs are involved, what your production plan would be,tips on marketing and more.

She presents a warts-and-all look at her experiences turning her book into a book app, including the things her team did right and the mistakes they made that you must avoid.

This eBook is written by a children's author for other children's writers so you can assess the opportunity for yourself. It's not a technical document, in fact Karen is as "non technical" as they come! Rather, she provides a list of questions to ask potential developer or production partners and even provides a list of companies that specialize in publishing book apps for illustrated children's books.

Karen has written and spoken about this topic for the Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrators (SCBWI), Self Publisher's Online Conference, Children's Book Council of Australia, Write4Kids TV (Children's Book Insider), NSW Children's and YA Writer's Festival and other writing organizations and blogs.

She sends out free updates to eBook buyers as she adds more information, suppliers and resources to the eBook.

In 2011, Karen converted her Gold Mom's Choice Award winning book, "Treasure Kai and the Lost Gold of Shark Island" into a book app. It hit #5 in iPad books in June 2011. She's created a dedicated website with edutainment content for kids. See a video of her book app at http://www.treasurekai.com and blog at http://www.digitalkidsauthor.com

Review:


The concept of this book was well thought through. The children's book of this book app is fun for all children. Children are able to use the treasure chests on the side of the book to bury their treasure and take certain pieces out as the story is being read to determine where to go next. What a fun and creative book that will entertain children for hours. The book apps are fun and educational. Children will spend hours learning about history and treasure. These are great adventures that children will want to know more about.   

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