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I am an Author – How will this platform help me?

Pratham Books is a finalist in the Google Impact Challenge. Our idea is to create an open source platform for children’s books. We need all our readers and supporters to VOTE FOR OUR PROJECT IDEA so that we can win this grant and make this dream a reality.

Our project will build collaborative web platforms that solve the three major problems that affect children in India – a very low number of books available for them, a lack of linguistic diversity of books and a lack of access to funding for libraries and books so that children can experience the joy of reading.

The ‘I am …’ series written by Mala Kumar will give you an insight into how this platform can be useful to you – as an author, an illustrator, a storyteller, a publisher, etc.  Today’s post is from the viewpoint of an author.
I am an Author – How will this platform help me?

A digital story is always within reach. As an author, you always own the copyright. You will have the satisfaction of being read all over the world, even in places where there are no bookshops or libraries. Your story would be read by many more children than you can imagine. An open license platform allows your story to be reproduced, printed, translated and shared with ever-widening circles of readers, thereby increasing your readership manifold. In fact, you can build an audience independent of the publisher!
The platform will allow you see all the stories already published, ensuring that you present a story that is creatively fresh.
Your story would not only be available in the format you presented it in, say as a word document, but also as many digital and audio versions, all aimed at reaching more children worldwide. Imagine your story being read on mobiles, for instance! You could view the openly licensed illustrations and suggest a style that would suit your story best. And with the promise of new forms and new mediums in the future, frankly, the possibilities are unlimited, and the number of reads, unbelievable!


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The posts we are sharing about the project will help you understand our vision as well as the scope of this project. Related posts:

1. Introduction
2. Let a Thousand Tongues Speak – Increasing language diversity in children’s books

You can also spread the word by :
1. Spreading the word on Google+
2. Sharing it with your friends and family on Facebook
3. Tweeting about the campaign
4. Writing a post on your blog about why you believe in our mission and why you want readers to vote for us. Here’s an example from one of our champions.

Illustration courtesy : Alicia Souza (from the book Sam’s Christmas Present)

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DISCLAIMER :Everything here is the personal opinions of the authors and is not read or approved by pratham books before it is posted. No warranties or other guarantees will be offered as to the quality of the opinions or anything else offered here