Behind the scenes with Vivi the Supervegan
It can be difficult for vegan children to find vegan characters that they can relate to. Lisa spoke with Tina Newman, creator of Vivi the Supervegan, about how she gave vegan children the superhero they were waiting for.
We’re starting to see a number of children’s books talk about veganism, but usually they are more educational whereas this is a story that features a vegan central character. Why did you take that route?
Being a mum of 2 young children myself, I know the kind of books that they really enjoy. When we went vegan 3 years ago, I suddenly realised that the majority of the books on our bookshelves were not vegan-friendly so I had a look for some new books for my daughters. Even though there are a few out there, most of them are more educational and aimed at a slightly older audience. I felt there was a place and a need for a children’s story book with a vegan message but which still has a sense of magic, fun and mischief throughout which children love and makes it more engaging and appealing to them.
What writing experience did you have before Vivi the Supervegan?
I had never written a book before! This was all a completely new experience for me. Apart from taking my A-levels in English Literature and Language and sharing some of my vegan poetry on social media, this was an absolute first for me as far as published work goes!
If a non-vegan child was to read this book they could be left asking their parents some quite uncomfortable questions. Was this your plan from the start?
Yes. I really wanted my book to appeal to a wide audience! My main hope in writing my books is that they will encourage and empower vegan children by giving them positive role models that they can relate to. I wanted to help them understand that they have the power to bring about positive change in this world and inspire them to want to help others to make changes too. Besides this, I really wanted my book to plant seeds and be a conversation starter for non-vegan children and families. I wanted to deal with veganism in a subtle way so that it doesn’t automatically get people’s backs up, but to give the reader just the right amount of information to get them thinking. I wanted to give children the opportunity to question things and even challenge the adult who may be reading the book to younger children to get them thinking about issues that they may have never even considered before.
How did you test if people would be interested in a vegan children’s book?
I spoke to quite a few parents before I went ahead with the project. Most of my friends and family aren’t vegan and even they were very positive about my book and thought that there would be a demand for something like this. All the vegan parents I spoke to were all very keen on the idea too and agreed that the world definitely needs more vegan books for our kids and the future generations! To be honest though, even if I hadn’t got an overwhelming response for how high the demand was, I think I would have gone for it anyway! That may sound silly in terms of ‘business moves’ but it was so important to me to get a book series like this out there that I was determined to make it happen.
You self-published Vivi the Supervegan instead of finding a publisher. What were the main challenges in taking this route?
Gosh, the whole thing was quite a challenging process! Apart from the financial side (which is a big investment when you are self-publishing) I would probably say that the time element is one of the biggest challenges. There are definitely many pros when you self-publish; you are not being dictated to by anyone, you have the freedom to choose what kind of illustration style you want and things like that. However, literally everything falls on you from sourcing illustrators, editors, printers, graphic designers and doing all of the marketing and advertising yourself which is extremely time intensive and a full-time job in itself!
The book looks amazing! How did you find an illustrator?
Thank you! I am very happy with the finished result! I spent a lot of time researching illustration styles and I had a rough idea in my head of how I wanted it all to look. Once I had a shortlist of illustrators I loved, I got in contact with them to see if they had any availability and if they were up for illustrating my story. Once an illustrator agrees to take on the work you basically send them your manuscript, start a dialogue about what you are after, agree on the contract and terms and take it from there. It is a very exciting process seeing them interpret your story and bring your characters to life!
I know that you’re an animal rights activist also. Do you view the creation of this book as an act of vegan activism?
Absolutely! I went vegan in September 2017 and I went to my first activism event in the November. I literally threw myself into anything I could get involved in as I was so desperate to help. Since then I have been involved in many different activism events and outreach approaches. However, I really believe that we can all do activism in our day-to-day lives. You should never underestimate the impact of the conversations you have with the people around you at work, on the school run, in friendship groups and so on. I definitely view my book series as a form of activism but I generally try to spread awareness and educate others in as many ways as I can: through my personal and business social media pages, support groups that I have helped set up, the conversations I have, even some of the clothes I wear (oh and I would definitely say my ‘choose compassion’ cow tattoo that I have inked on my forearm is always a good conversation starter!)
Has the feedback you’ve received from producing the first book changed what your future plans are for where you take Vivi next?
I had always envisaged doing a book series; I never wanted it to be just the one story. However, having had such a positive response with my first book it is definitely encouraging and has confirmed to me that this is a good thing to be doing. Since my first book was published in 2019 I have been asked by numerous people about getting my book translated into different languages and whether I will be bringing out a merchandise range! These are all amazing things that I would definitely love to be able to look at doing in the future.
This has also inspired me to dream bigger. I really feel that children’s books and TV programmes need to become less one-sided and more balanced. My biggest dream for this project would be to turn Vivi into the first children’s vegan TV series. Most things in the world of young children are predominantly geared towards the different ways we exploit animals; whether that is through the nursery rhymes and songs we have all been brought up singing, programmes and books we watch and read – they all tend to be about zoos and farms and what we can ‘take’ from animals. I want to try and help by bringing about balance and provide a vegan inclusive series which encourages love and compassion and promotes a message of peace.
What new skills have you had to learn to make the project a success?
I feel like I have learned a whole new skillset! But apart from having to tackle all of the different publishing stages which I basically had to learn as I went along, I feel like the networking and marketing side of things are two of the biggest skills that I have learnt and I am still learning each day! Another big aspect which is all very new to me is having to ‘put myself out there.’ Although I am a confident person I am not a fan of public speaking, so suddenly being thrown into the world of podcasts and interviews has definitely been pushing me out of my comfort zone too! But as it is all to do with something I believe in and am passionate about it is beginning to get a bit easier.
Actually writing a book is only half the battle. How have you marketed the book and what has worked best?
It really is! I think that is something that most people don’t realise as well. Lots of people keep asking me, so what are you going to be doing when your kids go back to school and I always have a little chuckle to myself! Apart from getting cracking on writing my third book, my days literally consist of marketing and advertising in all its different forms. It all takes so much time to produce a product from an idea and then get yourself known. I designed my own website www.vivithesupervegan.co.uk with an online shop so I could sell internationally and I have been using the various social media platforms to engage with people. I have found that Instagram has had the most success with reaching my target audience and connecting with different vegan families.
What has been your proudest moment of the project so far?
Ooooh that is a tough one! There have been a few moments where I have definitely felt very proud. Obviously, the day that a big lorry dropped off a palette of boxes to our house and I opened up the first box to see my book inside was a pretty surreal feeling! The launch day and launch party was an amazing day too, but I think my proudest moment was when I woke up one morning back in March to messages from parents all over the world sharing pictures of their children dressed up as Vivi for World Book day – that was pretty awesome!
Knowing what you know now, would you have approached the project any differently, and what’s your biggest tip for someone looking to create their own vegan book?
I am not sure I would have approached it any differently to be honest. There have been steep learning curves and hiccups along the way, but I suppose that it is inevitable with any project. My biggest bit of advice to someone wanting to write a book would be to do your research and look in to both options for publishing; see if the traditional publishing route is the road you want to go down or if you would prefer to self-publish. If it is something you want to do then go for it regardless! It is not for the faint-hearted and is definitely not an easy process if you self-publish, but if you have the dream and can invest the time and money in to it then you should go for it and not settle until your book is out there for the world to read!
Visit Tina’s website and buy Vivi the Supervegan online (with free next working day delivery) at: www.vivithesupervegan.co.uk
Lisa Fox says:
When most people start a vegan business they often think about producing food or cosmetics.
Tina spotted an obvious gap in the market, which not only gave vegan youngsters a new hero, but also a way for them to positively engage other children and grownups about veganism.
