DIYREPORTER: Tell me about the concept behind the books.

MFC: I write all the time. And I’ve been devoting my last few years to writing and I’m workng on a number of projects. Sort of post-9/11 brought a lot of my feelings as an Army brat to the fore, feelings that I wasn’t even aware that I had. And I wrote what was a long poem for kids, because I was very concerned about how children of military personnel were going to be treated. My Dad did two tours in Vietnam and I know how tough the world can be when people feel like making a political point is the most important thing in the world, even more important than a child’s feelings.

So I wrote this poem about it that was from a child’s perspective. And I read it to my sister and my mom, and they both cried. And I never share stuff like that, but I’m thinking, this is a children’s book. So my mom sent it to a couple of friends who were married to military friend and they both said, "We wish we had had this for our kids."

DIYREPORTER: Hence the idea was born.

MFC: That’s pretty much how it was born. And then I said, I’ve done all this digital and marketing stuff and I build web sites all the time for projects and marketing campaigns that I’ve been doing in the music business. So I thought, I’m going to do this the same way I did my last album project. I’m going to build a web site, make this available for free. I want people to have it right now, because they need it now. And I want to make sure it’s available to everybody who wants it. As many people as can gain access to the web and site. So I did that and within a week, I was just totally overwhelmed. It was, like, "Can I get a book? Where can I find a book?" There is no book! This is it.

So within a month I had to start a publishing company, which I’ve never done in my life. I had a record label, I’ve had a publicity company and I’ve had a management company. And I think that helped me in thems of understanding how to do something on my own. I’ve always been an entrepreneur. But publishing was definitely new and I’m still learning the ropes.

DIYREPORTER: What’s different about starting a publishing company than starting a record label?

MFC: Not a whole lot. I’ve found that the way I’m marketing and selling books, I’ve already gotten experience on the music side. I know how to do bar codes because I’ve sold CDs. There are many things I know how to do because I’ve had a record label.

DIYREPORTER : Selling entertainment goods is basically easily mutable.

MFC: You’re absolutely right. The only differences were with manufacturing. When I started a record label, that’s where my big learning curve was, too, manufacturing products. And that’s where it’s been on this end, too.

DIYREPORTER: So the project timeline is....?

MFC: I put it online on January 15th. And I’ve now had a publishing company for about a month. I’m making it available for free and it continues to be available for free. It’s my belief -- and it was my belief in regard to music -- that it’s not necessary to hold on so tightly to ownership. I don’t think you necessarily sell your intellectual property as the product. I think the product is the product and the intellectual property is what you market.

For instance, I was working with a band called Gene, and they had very little money, but we had access to a company that would do webcasts and, essentially, we webcast a live show that was recorded for an album. That was free. Anybody could go online and do that. And it continued to be available online for a while, even after it was streamed, so people could watch it and hear it. It was used as a way to encourage people who were interested and cared to buy an album of that recording.

DIYREPORTER: So, if you’re giving away the book, how do you intend to make money from the project? Or do you?

MFC: Well, that’s the thing. I didn’t even intend to sell it. By giving away the book for free, I actually found there was a demand for a printed version. People were putting in orders before I even had a book. But it’s important to me that they can have it whether or not they can afford it. Military families don’t make a lot of money. I need to cover my costs. I’d like to be able to pay my expenses.

But I don’t want to profit at the exclusion of someone in this community. I want to make sure these books are available for them for free, and they continue to be. I don’t think that’s slowed down sales. I can’t help but go back and forth between this experience and my music industry experience in that I don’t know that making things available for free actually discourages people from buying. I think it’s an excellent promotional tool. I don’t think anybody would have known my books existed if they weren’t available for free.

DIYREPORTER: What are you doing, marketing-wise, to get the word out?

MFC: It’s all online marketing. I’m only marketing by going in, finding the community, making friends. It’s much easier to do..and this is where it’s not nearly as effective if you’re just some sort of random marketing company pretending to care about something. It’s one thing for me to go into a military community news group and I’m talking to people who are stationed in places I’ve lived or who have had the same life experience that I have. I’m a member of that community. So I think that helps a lot. And that was definitely my experience in music, too. I was a huge fan of the bands I worked with, too.

DIYREPORTER: Who were some of the bands you worked with over the years?

MFC: I worked with a lot of British bands and DJs and techno stuff. Really tight communities. When you’re marketing to those communities, you learn a lot about targeted marketing. You learn how to find communities and who they are. I worked with a lot of gay-related artists, so I worked heavily in the gay community and the dance community and the international community. So that experience in targeted marketing has been really helpful in regard to this book.

But it’s also the fact that I’ve done publicity to a mainstream audience, because the purpose of these books is not just as a product for these children and families, but it’s also in an effort to educate the mainstream public. A sort of representation of this community in the media, even in a children’s book.

DIYREPORTER: Do you plan on using this first series of books as stepping stone for a further series?

MFC: My next book is going to be about moving. And then I’m working on illustrating a book that I’ve completed that’s not for military brats, but it’s just a children’s books. The beauty of where things stand now, technologically speaking, is that all you do need is your own motivation and commitment to figuring it out. Which is why I can’t figure out why the major record labels can’t figure it out.

For more information on the Books For Brats series, contact Little Redhaired Girl Publishing 917.640.2844 or booksforbrats@aol.com