Social Influencer Series | Tom Burke, Best Selling Author and VP Sales @ illumin
I always wanted to write a Children’s Book. I have two friends who did just that and one of them just published an Amazon bestseller right out of the gates. Daring Duck is the an incredible debut for author, Tom Burke who is also busy as a bee (or duck - are duck’s busy?) as the VP of Sales at illumin and board member at BIMA.
The inspiration for Daring Duck came from watching his own children, nieces and nephews as they faced the challenges of trying new things. Through these experiences, Tom realized the importance of nurturing confidence and resilience in young children as they explore the world around them. Rooted in his core values of friendship, fun, optimism, trust, teamwork, authenticity, and kindness, Tom's goal is to create children's stories that captivate readers while also instilling important life lessons.
Tom and his wife, Katie, have two children, Tommy and Conor. Daring Duck is Tom's first endeavor into children's literature, and he aspires to continue crafting engaging stories that positively impact the lives of young readers.
I caught up with Tom recently and here is a snapshot of what he had to say:
Seeing the weekly Instagram post from Red's of you having pancakes with the kids, I have always seen you as a "Dad of the Year" candidate. Where did the inspiration to write a children's book come from?
Ha! The Red’s tradition is one of my favorites. When my oldest son turned 1, we started going for pancakes every weekend. At the time, I was commuting to Boston and entertaining a lot, so I didn’t see the kids as much as I wanted to during the work week. I started taking full advantage of our quality time in the early weekend mornings and my wife, Katie, loved to have a day to sleep in. A weekly tradition was born.
6 years later and we just had our 250th pancake together. The kid’s sports commitments are slowing our pancakes down but me, Tommy (7) and Conor (5) still try to go as much as we can. We’ve had a lot of guests over the years too.
The inspiration largely came from them, along with watching my nieces and nephews. They are all going through new experiences every day and they often get nervous, especially coming out of COVID. I knew I wanted to write a book about “getting started” and gaining confidence through new experiences, and it morphed into Daring Duck.
When I really take a step back, that’s true for everyone. Every time I try a new experience at work or personally, doubt can creep in. It’s natural. Imposter syndrome. But once you take the first step, it gets easier and becomes more normal.
I can confidently say that was the case when writing Daring Duck too.
You had enormous success out of the gates with sales of Daring Duck (An Amazon Bestseller). What do you attribute to that success?
First, I worked with fantastic illustrators to bring the vision to life. There ended up being three that I worked with over months:
Troy Periera - An AI artist who created all the backgrounds and early character concepts
Yana Popova - An artist out of the UK who hand drew all the characters, helped me hide the ant throughout the story, designed the cover text and formatted the story for publishing
Michael Penda - A friend who specializes in typography and did the font style, word backgrounds, etc.
I literally could not have done it without them.
Second, I’m incredibly lucky to have a strong group of family and friends. Before I announced the book, I sent it to my family, close high school friends, college friends and a few colleagues to get feedback. They all bought early copies and wrote reviews so, when it launched, I already had a strong foundation.
Like the story, it’s hard to find success without amazing people around you.
What really blew me away was the response.
When I posted the announcement video across Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, I had no idea what the reaction would be. The instant support, sharing, commenting, liking… it was unlike anything I could have anticipated.
What’s happened the past week has been remarkable:
Became the #1 New Release within the category on Amazon
Featured on the front page of the paper, The Daily Item
Requests for 4-5 book readings and signings at local schools
Donated 50+ books locally
Multiple North Shore bookstores are now carrying it. (We are in 6 stores and local libraries)
My favorite part is seeing pictures of kids reading it, getting video reviews, smiles… it’s all very surreal. I’m in awe. Genuinely.
The underlying theme of Daring Duck is the importance of perseverance, determination, and a positive attitude. Those seem like strong parallels to your business life as a VP of Sales. Are they interconnected?
Of course. The rate of change in our industry is faster than ever before and sellers need to try new things, be more strategic, stay agile and, most importantly, focus on things that are in their control.
There’s so much noise right now in the sales space. Automation allows for mass outreach, causing more clutter than ever across every buyer’s inbox - LinkedIn, email, text… it’s non-stop.
I personally see this is a fantastic opportunity. Smart sellers are automating low value tasks while focusing on more strategic work, building relationships and solving problems for their clients.
In a sea of sameness, the people who take risks, try new things, have fun and be authentically themselves will stand out - very much like Daring Duck.
If you haven’t read the Charles Swindol quote on attitude, you should. It ends with a quote that reads “I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you, we are in charge of our Attitudes”.
My father gave me a card with this quote on it when I was young (I carry it in my wallet) and it’s one of the most powerful and empowering ideas.
People are raving over Daring Duck, what is your plan for a sequel?
I have been asked this a lot!
Right now I’m having a lot of fun with the first edition. You’ll notice I left the story open-ended so I could publish more down the line, and I think there’s a big opportunity for Daring and her friends to find other adventures.
I like the idea of them going to the city and Adventurous Ant being overwhelmed because everything is so big and noisy (who doesn’t relate to that?!). My son’s class is also sending ideas of challenges they want Daring to try… so I’m crowdsourcing 7 year olds for ideas. Ha!
Honestly, I have no idea and I’m taking it as it comes. The majority of my weekdays are spent focusing on my role at illumin, and weekends are chasing the kids to hockey rinks and baseball fields.
I loved the creative process so am hopeful I’ll do more - time is the biggest challenge!
What advice would you give to people like you who have an idea or a dream to become an author and one day publish a book, but have no idea how to get started?
What would Daring Duck do? Take the first step. Consult a friend.
Just start. There are so many tools available to the creator economy and it’s only getting easier. There are AI tools to help you get started with ideas (OpenAI, mid journey, etc.), freelance creators and artists available (I found Yana on Fiverr) and a lot of resources available for self-publishing on Amazon.
There’s so much I still don’t understand and am learning as I go:
Should I have gotten a publisher instead of self-publishing?
At what point do I need an agent?
How do I get into physical bookstores?
Should I charge for book readings?
I genuinely have no idea what I’m doing. That’s half the fun.
Would I change a few things if I went back in time? Probably. But that’s what learning is all about and I’ll be better for the next book.
If anyone ever wants to discuss, send me a note on LinkedIn. I’d love to talk.
Speed Round:
Celebratory Cocktail? (Chocolate Milk might fit with being a Children's book author) Tequila on the rocks (Less calories than Chocolate Milk 🙂)
Book you are reading right now? The Wedding Officiants Guide (I was just asked to officiate a wedding in October so it’s taking precedence over anything else)
Book you are gifting right now? Daring Duck. Probably forever!
Best advice for an aspiring author? Start.
Inspiration Hashtag? #neverstopexploring. These words are part of the dedication to my kids in the book and what I’ve been signing when people ask for book signatures.
Mark Keaney is a Husband, Dad, Coach, Mentor and Leader. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry and a wild ride in the world of tech start-up & social - Mark is helping brands deliver world class CX at Khoros, where he is the Vice President of Sales for North America. His mantra is - Brand Globally. Market Locally.
email: markkeaney8@gmail.com or twitter: @markkeaney2pt0
