Crowd funding succeeds where publishers fail

Umina author Kate Toon has raised over $9000 in 10 days to publish a children's book and the campaign is set to continue until Wednesday, August 17.

Ms Toon, along with the book's illustrator Will Pearce, launched a crowd funding campaign on the www.pozible.com website to fund the publishing costs of Wobbly Jim and a Parrot named Sue.

The move to crowd funding was the result of publishers turning down Ms Toon's pirate book due to a belief that pirate books were overdone.

"I wrote the book for my four-year-old and was lucky enough to get it signed by major Australian literary agent Curtis Brow," Ms Toon said.

"But the book was rejected by the big publishers.

"They loved the writing but said pirates were overdone."

Ms Toon and Mr Pearce's aim was to raise $8,300 by offering rewards such as copies of the book, signed illustrations and poems.

"I'm delighted that the book will now hit the bookshelves.

"We even have an eBook version planned," Ms Toon said.

Ms Toon has published one previous book via crowd funding.

Gone Dotty is on sale in book in book shops across the Central Coast.

Media release, 31 Jul 2013,

Kate Toon, Umina