Lawyer Moonlights as Needle-Felt Children’s Book Author

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

For many lawyers, accountants, and other professionals of the world, there is a creative side that tends to lie unexplored, unless they actively work to develop it. Some of those professionals find that they eventually grow weary of that track they trained for and then worked in so hard. Others are perfectly happy with it, for the most part. When I say, for the most part, what's missing is that creative outlet. That chance to make something and perhaps even make money from it.

Since that's what we talk about here inside of school, it's not just following a passion, it's following a passion and a skill. And then connecting that passion and skill to something that other people care about too. Also, sometimes it's just great to have something to focus on after you finish the hours at your stressful job. So whatever it is, I really love today's story because it's all about a Canadian lawyer who works with his twin brother to create a profitable series of children's books. And he does this by using needle felting.

So when I say, create a series of children's books instead of write a series of books, you'll understand when you hear the story, I had to research needle felting for this episode, but I now think it is very cool. So welcome to Side Hustle School. My name is Chris Guillebeau. We're calling this one Lawyer Moonlights as Needlefelt Children's Book Author. It's really fun. Stay tuned.

Twin brothers Holman and Jack Wang spent part of their childhood writing and illustrating books, just for fun. As the years progressed and their studies turned into full-time careers in law and teaching, they brushed aside their artistic interests. But then, much later in life, the two brothers found themselves reminiscing about their lost art. They wanted to find a way to revisit it. It was Jack who came up with the idea for creating Cozy Classics, a series of books that used primers to tell abridged versions of literary classics like Pride and Prejudice and Moby Dick.

Holman loved the idea, but there was one problem. Neither of them had done any type of drawing or painting in nearly 20 years. So while the idea was solid, he didn't see how they could compete with professionally trained digital artists. They had to think outside the box and create something worthy of standing out. Holman then floated the concept of needle felting figures and photographing them in various scenes for the illustrations.

He had heard of this medium before, but had never tried it. So he decided to consult the number one tool for learning new skills, YouTube. He watched several videos on this technique of needle felting and essentially taught himself how to do it. So what is it? Well, needle felting involves taking loose wool and repeatedly stabbing it with a specialized barbed or notched needle.

The movement of stabbing the wool entangles the loose fibers, allowing the wool to get denser and eventually turns it into felt. As the wool is felted, it begins to take some structure so you can sculpt shapes. Sounds complicated, at least to me, but Holman was up for it. He learned early on that this technique involved great patience, so that he would fashion his own Halloween costumes out of cardboard. So he knew he had an aptitude for working with his hands.

And since he had been through law school, he also had the art of focusing and studying down to a tee. It took several months to stitch together the first book. Each wool figure took anywhere from 20 to 40 hours to create. Then the process for styling and photographing each scene required four to six months. Holman and Jack met with a publisher through a friend of a friend who loved the concept, but didn't think it would go over well by doing literary classics.

That publisher wanted them to alter their vision and change it from Pride and Prejudice to The Adventures of Lizzie and Darcy. Holman and Jack were not willing to compromise their vision, and they turned down that offer. They eventually found another publisher who bought into the vision, and that's when their first two books were picked up and published. After they had those published books under their wool, they were more confident of their skills and eager to keep going. They submitted their artwork to the Bologna Children's Book Fair, which happens to be the largest children's book fair in the world.

Each year around 3,000 artists submit their work, and only 75 are chosen for the show. To their delight, their artwork was selected, and they were on their way to Italy. While there, they met with Chronicle Books, a well-known publisher based in San Francisco. Their team was impressed with Holman's needle felting skills and wanted to know what books they were creating next. Rather than naming another literary classic, they decided to shoot for the moon, and they yelled out "Star Wars." This was a moment of saying the right thing at the right time to the right connection.

Chronicle Books had a connection to Lucas Films, who is behind the Star Wars movie legacy, and wanted them to pitch a concept. Holman and Jack came up with a take on the original Star Wars trilogy, using just 12 words and 12 needle felted illustrations for each book. Lucas Films loved the concept and approved the licensing. Since then, the success of Cozy Classics has continued to climb. After launching their Star Wars collection, they were invited to do a Google Doodle, celebrating Laura Ingalls Wilder and Little House on the Prairie.

And Holman just launched two new books about the unique jobs that moms and dads get to take on for their kids. Now this is a side hustle, of course. It's a creative project, but it's also money-making. Just how wealthy, or wealthy, let's say, has this nine-year side hustle become? Well, since launching Cozy Classics, they've earned more than six figures from book sales and royalties and speaking engagements.

While the amount varies, they're currently averaging about $25,000 to $30,000 each year. Not enough to quit their jobs, but that's not the goal. Aside from the book sales, Holman has been invited to speak at many events that include presentations for kids. He enjoys showing them how to use this exciting medium, and he's now working on their next set of projects. So while I was working on this story, I took a look at the books, of course, which are just super, super cool.

You definitely want to come and check them out on the show notes page, or in your favorite local bookstore, of course. And it reminded me of something that I often hear from people. I hear from a lot of people who want to write books, which is great, because I'm an author. I love writing books. A lot of people are really focused on building their profile, building their platform.

And they hear, or they imagine, that they can't get a book published without having X number of social media followers. And some people are probably even told this. You need to have, I don't know, I've heard these different numbers, 5,000, 10,000 followers, 50,000, whatever the number is. And I think a project like this shows that, you know, while it's good to have a following, for sure, and depending on the kind of book that you want to write and what your goals are, et cetera, that is important. However, at the same time, like a really great idea, like a great idea is still valuable.

And if you want to write a book and you don't have a lot of followers, well, maybe instead of focusing so much on getting more followers or subscribers or whatever, you should focus a bit more on the idea. And, you know, why is this going to be a great book? Why is this novel or interesting, unique in some way? Why is it different? Why is it going to change the world or at least change the lives of the people you're trying to write for?

I think that is so important, you know? And remember that a lot of authors are actually not known until they actually have a book out. And then their followers come to them because of their books instead of the other way around. So you don't necessarily need to have a lot of platform to get a book deal. A great idea is still valuable.

In fact, I think it's actually in some ways more valuable, all right? There's a lot of authors who have a lot of platform, write a book, and then nobody actually buys the book. Or maybe they do sell some books, but, you know, the book isn't that great. It's not actually really changing anyone's life. So if you've got a great idea, don't give up.

Don't give up on your idea. And, you know, just like we saw in this story, you don't have to compromise. If you feel like you have a clear vision and you know what you want to do, and somebody else comes along and says, "You know, we don't want that. How about you do this other thing?" You are perfectly within your rights to hold out and say, "You know what? I'm just going to wait.

I'm not going to take that offer because something better might come along." All right. That's my encouragement for you today. Those show notes are at www.cidestleschool.com/866-866. I hope you enjoyed this one. I've got something fun for you tomorrow as well.

It's all about this guy who makes mugs made out of ice. Super fun. I've been working on it this afternoon as I've been recording this episode. So I look forward to bringing that to you. And I hope you have a great day wherever you are in the world.

Once again, my name is Chris Guillebeau, and this is Side Hustle School. From the Onward Project.