Summer Doldrums to Winter Excitement: Tails of Whimsy is Back in Action

The truth is, every business appears to follow a cyclical pattern. In licensing, January to May can be crazy, gearing up for presentations and pitches for KidScreen, Book Expo, Toy Fair and Licensing Expo. And then, people in the licensing business go dormant, almost a recovery period, until Brand Licensing Europe and MIP Jr. in Cannes crank into gear each fall.

 

Daryl attending Licensing Expo 2016

Of course, people do come in to work and new projects go into development. But, summer is a quietly creative period where follow-up from shows can result in licensing deals and properties optioned can begin to take shape.

Daryl and I are thrilled that we have such strong representation at these shows. Through our animation agent David Wollos, The Book Mytes is now in first and second rounds of reviews at an unusually high number of animation studios. It is very promising that so many producers have requested this pitch bible. However, this can result in very long waiting periods before an option deal can surface. 

But when they do, Wow!, it’s very exciting. And then work begins in earnest. This summer, smart producers like Chris Hamilton and Fred Schaefer at OddBot, the LA-based studio that optioned The Mighty Machines of Mackie McKeens,  got down to earnestly address the content and characters that Daryl created. A team of talent began to bring the characters to life. They added humor, history and backstory to Mackie, Mika and the Mini-Bots.

But the talented Samantha Berger, who wrote the fabulous children’s book Crankenstein, also added magic to the mini-pitch bible that is currently being presented to networks. Samantha has won both a NAPPA Gold Award and an E.B. White Read Aloud Award for Crankenstein. Her work thus far on Mackie McKeens is, in our humble opinion, nothing short of BRILLIANT!

 

Working with the talented author Samantha Berger

So, this is just a peek into the progress of Tails of Whimsy since summer. The rhythmic pace of fall shifting into winter has kicked into gear and so have we. 

Heading to Licensing Expo 2016!

Hello friends,

Licensing Expo 2016 is next week, June 21-23 in Las Vegas, and we’d love to see you there!

Tails of Whimsy is not exhibiting this year but Daryl is walking the show with an iPad full of our content, and he still has some appointment times available. If you’d like to meet, email daryl@tailsofwhimsy.com. He is bringing four properties this year and has meetings with publishers, studio execs, branding agents and potential licensees.

*The Mighty Machines of Mackie McKeens has been optioned for animation. The picture book with fanciful, fun, and vivid pictures plus rhyming text is available for publishing and to see at the show.

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*The Wundernauts will launch at the Radio Days booth E196. Be sure to stop by and get a Wundernauts tote bag. This new children's property is available for animation, publishing, and licensing.

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*The Book Mytes, in both picture book and pitch bible formats, is brand new and available for animation, publishing and licensing. Our agent, David Wollos of Think Tank Entertainment, will be with Daryl for these appointments.

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*Scooter News Network. Still in development, we have polished proof-of-concept to show on this live action news magazine show about animals and the environment for kids 4- 9 featuring our puppet Scooter D Pup.

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Dig into a sneak peek of "The Mighty Machines of Mackie McKeens"

Journey to whimsical places with "The Wundernauts"

Unlock adventure and a love of reading with "The Book Mytes"

We’ll also be available for conversations about branding Tails of Whimsy, our storybook studio and, of course, The Art of Daryl Slaton.

There’s plenty to look at and discuss. We hope to hear from you and to see you at the Show!

daryl@tailsofwhimsy.com

lsglickman@gmail.com

  

Cheers,

Daryl Slaton and Louise Glickman (Slaton)

daryl@tailsofwhimsy.com

lsglickman@gmail.com

facebook.com/tailsofwhimsy

@TailsofWhimsy

LinkedIn

Tails of Whimsy Partners With OddBot to Produce “Mackie McKeens”

We have BIG news and we’ve been bursting to share it with YOU!

Los Angeles-based animation studio, OddBot, Inc. has optioned “The Mighty Machines of Mackie McKeens”  from Tails of Whimsy to develop the property as an animated television series. 

What exactly does “option” mean? OddBot is a well-known, Emmy nominated animation studio in Los Angeles that handles animation for companies like Disney, PBS Kids (Sprout), Warner Brothers, Amazon and even American Greetings. In this case, they loved our property, “The Mighty Machines of Mackie McKeens,” so much that they wanted to develop it themselves. 

So instead of the networks coming to OddBot with a project to animate, OddBot will create treatments based on Mackie and pitch it to the networks. Because of their close working relationships with these networks, they may even work directly in partnership with them to bring the series to fruition.

All of this takes time and patience, but with any luck, kids ages 2-6 will see “Mackie” on screen. We are working on getting picture books ready to submit to publishers, and toy manufacturers have already shown interest. So, if you just had a baby or a grandchild, it could be that at some point they will be watching “Mackie” on TV or their preferred digital device!

Follow us in this great adventure at:

www.tailsofwhimsy.com

www.Facebook.com/tailsofwhimsy

http://darylslaton.blogspot.com/

Learn more about OddBot at:

www.oddbot.net

We have a new name on Facebook: Hello from Tails of Whimsy!

We sure have been busy around here: Daryl is abuzz in the studio working on new projects; our new book The Book Mytes was recently shopped around at KidScreen in Miami; Louise just returned from traveling the globe (more on that this spring!); and we’ve expanded a bit on Facebook. We sure do love the thrill of a new year.

Our original Facebook page, Scooter and Boots, was all about animal rescue and the amazing community of people who help pets find their forever homes.

Our updated Facebook page, Tails of Whimsy, expands on where we started with Scooter and Boots.

Scooter the dog and Boots the cat—two of Daryl’s illustrated characters—will still be part of our Facebook world, and we’ll also be sharing more about Daryl’s illustrations, the power of reading, and our adventures in publishing, animation, and licensing. Cool stuff.

So what does this mean?

Well, if you already like us on Facebook, you might have noticed that we’ve updated our name and our look a bit. And if you haven’t liked us yet, come on over: we’d love to hear from you!

https://www.facebook.com/tailsofwhimsy

Essentially, if Scooter were explaining our updated Facebook name, he’d probably use this metaphor: our original page was like a bowl of delicious ice cream. Our updated page is like a bowl of delicious ice cream… with peanut butter and sprinkles and blueberries and whipped cream and a cherry on top.

We couldn’t agree more, Scooter.

Interview: Meet Licensing Exec David Wollos

We recently had a chance to send a couple of Q&As to our savvy licensing agent, David Wollos, and the following are some of his insights into the licensing world. David will be representing Tails of Whimsy’s The Book Mytes at KidScreen in Miami, Feb 8-11. 

Thanks for all you do, David!

David Wollos will be representing our new book, The Book Mytes, at KidScreen in Miami Feb 8-11.

Tails of Whimsy (TOW): What is licensing? 

David Wollos: According to the Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association (LIMA): Licensing is the process of leasing a legally trademarked or copyrighted entity known as an intellectual property for publishing, animation, and products. Tails of Whimsy is the licensor of all of Daryl’s storybooks and characters to major companies, studios, and manufacturers for commercialization and brand extension. (David is our agent for The Book Mytes and our consultant on other properties.)

TOW: Can you name a few properties and brands that you have helped build? What was your role? Which are you proudest of?

DW: I was involved with the initial TV and video distribution of such properties as Transformers, GI Joe and My Little Pony. My fondest memory has to do with Bucky O'Hare, where I was involved in key negotiations with the BBC. This resulted in BBC broadcasting, licensing, and home video distribution.

Licensing Expo 2013 is where we discovered the power of licensing.

TOW: How do you find the properties you represent?

DW: I regularly attend Kidscreen Summit, NY Toy Fair, Book Expo, Licensing Expo, and on occasion Mipcom in Cannes, France, all trade shows designed to bring deal-makers together with content providers. I met Tails of Whimsy at Licensing Expo 2013 and have served as agent and consultant on several of their properties.

To set up an appointment about The Book Mytes with David Wollos at KidScreen, contact him at david@thethinktankemporium.com or (516) 379-0795.

Catch a sneak peek of The Book Mytes, the whimsical, cuddly creatures who are literally “into books!” The playfulness of The Book Mytes instills in children ages 4-8 a curiosity about words and a love of books. We’re excited about where The Book Mytes are going: email us if you’d like to learn more.

Happy Thanksgiving from Tails of Whimsy!

From all of us at Tails of Whimsy to all of you and your sweet critters: Happy Thanksgiving!

We give thanks for kind-hearted people like you who rescue, foster, adopt, and love our beloved pets. Cheers to all you do for animals in need!

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Illustrations by artist Daryl Slaton

It Takes a Village!

Tails of Whimsy has been blessed with friends and helpers as we move towards animation and publishing. We would like to thank a very talented bunch of professionals for their expert advice and hands-on work over the past, very busy six months. You are helping us move forward quickly with vision and a more assured footing than we could have believed possible.

Rob Pulleyn: A lunch with Rob awhile back gave me a bird’s eye view into the pitfalls of publishing Daryl’s storybooks and why getting traction in the field is like a slow ice melt. He inspired me and gave us the insight to move forward PLUS contacts right here in Asheville that might be willing to offer hands-on skills. Rob, everyone I met with mentioned how much he or she misses you and Lark Books. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and contacts with Daryl and me.

Joe Rhatigan: Former Children’s Book Editor at Lark, Joe is itching to get back into publishing full time. He continues to write, edit and package books of his own and/or others with a long list of credits to his name. Joe shares our passion for children’s stories and has worked with us on another round of edits for Scooter and Boots to the Rescue and The Mighty Machines of MackieMcKeens. He helped us prepare for our first showing at Book Expo America this year and to make (and meet) important contacts at in the industry. Most of all, he served as our “tour guide” as we ventured along aisle after aisle of writers, editors, publishers, printers, and booksellers at BEA. The new challenges of digital, print on demand, independent publishing and more provide new options for Tails of Whimsy to bring our books to parents, teachers and kids everywhere. We love Joe’s passion and unique, creative vision. And we love working with you. More at JoeRhatigan.com

Beth Sweet: More than the endearing name implies, Beth is a social media whiz with energy, vision and the organizational skills to get our stories out with special zing and on time! Beth inherited work on our Scooter and Boots Facebook page, with its fan base of 10,000+, when her friend and our former go-to Amanda Carestio of JB Media left on maternity leave and moved to Colorado. At Lark Books, Beth handled social media and marketing for their vast array of publishing pursuits. With Tails of Whimsy, Beth is helping us grow our social media presence using all of our character and storybook assets.  Though we continue to build Scooter and Boots on Face Book and Twitter, you will be seeing more about them as well as Mackie McKeens, The Book Mytes and Wundernauts in our blog posts, our upcoming E-News, and forthcoming retail sites for books and products. Beth, we love how you have acquired the “voices” of our characters. Keep on posting!!! 

Dawn Cusick: Inevitably, the magic of the trade show wears off and it’s time to buckle down to basics. Dawn, another Lark “graduate,” has helped us set a path to publishing, avoiding unnecessary steps that waste time and money. Dawn publishes amazing science books for kids through her independent publishing company, EarlyLight.  She has shed new light on Mackie McKeens as an editor and publisher and has encouraged us to take the extra step of adding supplemental educational pages to our book. This provides special value for teachers, librarians, homeschooling parents and others. Wisely, she has suggested that we minimize costs and maximize exposure as we expand our horizons. Thank you, Dawn, our special friend and advisor. You are an amazing teacher. Learn more at DawnCusick/LinkedIn.

Vicki Whiting: Following up on Dawn’s editorial suggestions for supplemental content, I immediately contacted the brilliant Vicki Whiting at KidScoop News to identify a clever and experienced curriculum writer for The Mighty Machines of Mackie McKeens. Bummer: She was leaving the office for a 10-day family trip. Miraculously, Vicki offered to do it herself while on vacation! Right on time, I received the most amazing projects for kids based on STEM core curriculum: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Vicki Whiting is president, editor and founder of Kid Scoop News, a monthly newspaper for children and KidScoop, a weekly newspaper feature geared to children ages 7 to 12, which appears in over 300 newspapers with a combined circulation of more than 7.5 million. If you teach children, home school your kids or embrace creative learning activities, you will love this resource.  And Vicki, we love you, your energy and vision for education.

Yes, we have so much to be grateful for at Tails of Whimsy. Thanks to our team and all our friends!