Hey Nouners,
You may have seen me (Brandon James Scott / @brandonmighty) on twitter or around the discord. I’ve been making Nouns-inspired art like my Myth of Noun collection on Superrare and my Nouns at Work collection on Foundation.
The Myth of Noun & Nouns at Work collections
I am an artist with over fifteen years of experience in children’s entertainment via animation and publishing. I’m writing this proposal because I think the world needs a Nouns children’s book - and I’d like to make one.
Goals
Introduce the fun, positive energy of Nouns to a young audience (and their parents). Create a wonderful nounish illustrated experience in physical form. Open a path to the traditional publishing world for Nouns.
tentative title/cover mockup
I am a Noun
I am a Noun (tentative title) will be an illustrated book for young children where we meet, learn about, laugh with, laugh at, argue with, understand, admire and ultimately love the Nouns. It will read like a curious journey with occasional reader involvement instead of a traditional linear story. For those familiar with children’s books, think along the lines of Julie Morstad’s Today, Oliver Jeffer’s Here We Are, or Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever - these books take a big idea and explore them visually and nonlinearly.
The book may start with asking a simple question to the reader: What is a noun? Our Nouns characters will have their opinions on this, which will lead to more questions, and more opinions - often at odds with each other and the narrator, with the reader stuck in the middle of it all. The book will be curious, funny, smart, absurd, and nounish… always. And it might end with another question for the reader: What kind of noun will you be?
You already have an idea of what it might look like. I don’t see the book as fully painted as my Myth of Noun pieces - probably more minimal like Nouns at Work with characters on simple backgrounds. And like the art I’ve done, I will base as much as possible on official Nouns traits. I’ll also be adding new characters (people, places, things…) and will put the Nouns glasses on almost everything.
It should be noted that the story will not directly reference the dao, nfts, crypto, ect. I would consider this project a very gentle trojan horse for nouns for a brand new audience.
I will also encourage and welcome any input from the Nounders as I develop this story to keep the nounish vibes in check. ⌐◨-◨
Package
This is not funding for a finished book, but rather funding for the development of a book submission package. Once a successful submission and sale takes place, the publisher would acquire publishing rights and offer an advance so that I may finish the rest of the book.
I have literary representation (Emily Van Beek at Folio Jr. literary agency) who has already shown interest and encouraged me to pursue this idea. I will work with her to fine tune this submission and once we’re both confident that it’s ready, she will work on my behalf to find a publisher for it.
I’d like funding from the DAO so I can devote time to write, illustrate and develop this idea into a package that would include:
- A finished manuscript
- A book ‘dummy’ (a sketched out layout of the full book)
- 2-3 pages of finished art
- Cover art
This amount of material makes up a strong package which solidifies all the main creative decisions (the concept, the story, the content and flow of the pages, and the final art style) for a confident submission.
The goal would be to have material ready to submit to publishers in fall 2022.
Funds Requested
15 ETH
Caveats
- There is a small possibility that the normy publishing world may struggle to support a project based on a nft collection, or using a public domain ‘brand’, or because we just don’t get it all those weird heads. I don’t believe any of these things will happen because A) I believe I can create a wonderful, unique book that publishers will want, and B) I love the Nouns, and I believe many others will too.
- I’ll be relying on my agent for her experience and advice with regard to submitting, and any and all publishers, from the big 5 to smaller indie publishers may be considered. In the event that a traditional publishing deal proves difficult, self-publishing could be another option, in which case I would return to the DAO to explore further funding for production and distribution with a separate proposal.
- The DAO should anticipate that any book published with a traditional publisher will most likely end up in a more traditional copyright situation and not CC0.
TL;DR - I’m asking for 15 ETH to develop a robust submission package for a Nouns children’s book for traditional publishing.
About Me
I’ve worked for over 15 years in animation as an art director, director and creative director at Guru Studio on a range of hit animated series including Paw Patrol, True and the Rainbow Kingdom, Pikwik Pack, and Mecha Builders. I’m also the creator of my own series, the Emmy-nominated Justin Time.
I’m the illustrator of I Was Born a Baby and I Live in a Tree Trunk with Harper Collins, A Bear, a Bee, and a Honey Tree with Astra Publishing/Hippo Park, Cow Says Meow with HMH, Snow Falls with Penguin Random House/Tundra Books, and The Dog Who Wanted to Fly with Annick Press. I am represented by Emily Van Beek at Folio Jr. literary agency.
You can see more of my work and experience on my website, brandonjamesscott.com
Thank you for reading and considering this proposal!
