The write stuff

Whether it’s a convertible, a balloon or a teddy bear, people see different objects when they gaze at the clouds. For MBA student Justin Chafe, the same can be said for the moon. When Chafe’s girlfriend said she saw an old man’s face on the celestial body, he could not see it; instead, he saw a bunny.\nSeeing this image sparked Chafe’s interest in creating a children’s story about a bunny who has a dream of being an artist. The end result was “Bunny Rabbit on the Moon,” a book he wrote and illustrated that was published in August.\n“Growing up I had an interest in writing a book,” Chafe said. “I would enter young author contests in school.”\nJeanie Bush, a part-time page in the children’s department at the Owen County Public Library in Spencer, said the book’s main character, Little Mookey, is an adventurous bunny who keeps trying new things. After accomplishing one goal, he sets another. Bush said Little Mookey believes that it would be great to fly to the moon and create a sculpture there. \n“I want this book to show kids that if they have dreams, they can have fun, be creative and achieve them,” Chafe said.\nThe idea of seeing a bunny on the moon had the potential to be a funny story about why there is a bunny on the moon, Chafe said. He said he started doing research and found that as an unknown author, he could only make a tiny profit. Therefore, he looked into self-publishing, where the potential for profit was more favorable. \n“If you get a publisher you don’t have to put up any money, but with self-publishing you have to,” he said.\nChafe said he spent about $7,500 for printing two thousand copies. He established a business through a limited liability company, or LLC. Chafe said it was easy to set up an LLC because it gets taxed like a sole proprietorship, a one-person business. \n“There are fewer liabilities in the way that the burden of risk is on the company,” he said.\nChafe spent two years working on the book as a hobby. He wrote the book for his three nephews: Andrew, Zachery and Nicholas. He said he is unable to see them often, so he wanted to do something for them. \nChafe was able to get an International Standard Book Number, or ISBN, through RR Bowker, a company that sells ISBNs to manufacturing companies. He said the book was printed in China, because the cost was $3,000 to $4,000 less than trying to get it printed domestically. \nChafe has signed with the wholesale book distributor, Baker and Taylor, who is helping him get his book distributed at Barnes and Noble. \nSo far Chafe has sold a little more than 100 copies of his book. In addition to getting his book distributed to booksellers, Chafe also is taking the time to do book readings. On Thursday, Chafe had a book reading for children at the Owen County Public Library. \n“I believe that Justin’s diligence and perseverance helped him to self-publish this book,” Bush said. “Just as the character in his first childrens’ book, he set a goal of completing this book project and did not give up until it was accomplished.” \nChafe said his business background helped him because he has experience with marketing. While attending graduate school, he worked for a biotechnology company where he was in charge of the product catalog. \n“I did not have to overcome any mental hurdles because I knew how the printing process worked,” he said. \nFor more information on purchasing the book, visit www.Amazon.com or Chafe’s Web site, www.bunnyrabbitonthemoon.com.