Hello there everyone, thank you for partnering Stories By Children in your child’s/ward’s/student’s learning journey. I just wanted to update you on our post-production work at Stories By Children and policies surround it. Some of classes are centred around story creations, and in the spirit of the Reggio Emilia pedagogy, I enjoy showcasing the children’s learning artefacts across the Stories By Children platforms as a way to encourage the children, to honour the children, as well as a way to communicate the value proposition of Stories By Children. I have been trying to figure out a way to make this part of Stories By Children sustainable, as it is an important component in the business but it also is time-consuming. Having sat on and mulling over it for many months, I thought to share some of my recent decision points with you. There are two types of post-production that I engage in, one that is pro-bono, another that is chargeable. 1. Pro-Bono Post-Production a) How do I choose which works to post-produce? As I post-produce pieces, I choose works that involve: - dedication, hard work and a degree of rigour put in by the children - aim for even representation across the children of Stories By Children, in the spirit of celebrating children’s successes from a measure of “absolute improvement” from where they once were, instead of as compared to their peers b) Work involved in pro-bono post-producing and why I do it? However, post-production can be time consuming, and that a simple piece may take me around 2-3 hours because it includes time spent on finer editing, proof-reading, inclusion of graphics, layout and uploading. This being said, most of the post-production is done pro-bono and is my way of investing my energy into the future of Singapore ~ our children, into the business Stories By Children, and to show up in the Singapore education landscape as an alternative voice which honours children’s authentic expressions, which I hope will have positive ripple effects in our society and beyond. c) Samples of pro-bono post-production pieces: https://www.storiesbychildren.love/post/前后摇摆的四十年
d) Expected timeframe This would be based on my availability of time and existing commitments. Unfortunately, I am unable to commit to producing the work soon after the stories are written, or within a stipulated timeframe. e) Are parents/clients allowed to offer their inputs? If requested, I can show you a draft before uploading it online for your inputs. As I sometimes upload across a few platforms, once it is uploaded, it becomes time consuming to update works. I am in imperfect human who may make mistakes, I welcome parents/clients to help fact-check and proof-read as well. Hence, edits of a “factual error” nature, e.g., grammar errors, spelling errors are welcomed. However, I will be unable to follow up on stylistic preferences. ……………………………………… 2. Storybook post-production and its charges: At times, when I find the stories to be worthy of post-production into a storybook, I will also share with you to see if you have the interest and would like to commit to storybook post-production. As producing a storybook typically takes between 10-15 hours, and include a fuller range of services from my end: editing, illustrating, layout, proof-reading, liaising with client for edits, liaising with printer,arranging for courier from printer and to your premises, contributing to a lot more cost on my end, storybook post-production would be a chargeable service. Depending on the extent of the work i.e., the number of images, the nature of the images, and the number of pages, size of book, quality and quantity of print etc., the price may range between S$140 – S$350 per book. As a rough guide, you would have the option to produce a: a) Full Coloured Storybook
- 1 hardcopy, 1 softcopy and publication on the Stories By Children website as an e-book
- price range: S$220- S$350
b) Black and White with 4 full coloured pages (i.e., coloured front cover, back cover, inner cover page, author's page)
- 1 hardcopy, 1 softcopy and publication on the Stories By Children website as an e-book - price range: S$140 – S$220 Sample: https://www.storiesbychildren.love/post/lily-and-simby-at-mina-primary-school
c) Selected pictures (2) post-produced in colour with full text
- 1 softcopy, and publication on the Stories By Children website as an e-book
- price range: S$60 Sample: https://www.storiesbychildren.love/post/pom-pom-and-pomy d) Expected timeframe It would take about 1 month from the time I start working on the piece. Sometimes, there are delays on the printer’s end when they are in their peak season. e) Are parents/clients allowed to offer their inputs? Early in the onset of the production, I usually invite parents/clients to share their preferences with me. Some parents/clients also choose to work hand-in-hand alongside me. Collaborations of a harmonious and mutual respecting nature are welcomed. I also offer parents/clients to view the draft and offer edits. Edits of a “factual error” nature, e.g., grammar errors, spelling errors are welcomed. Parents/Clients are also welcomed to request for the inclusion of images (e.g., a tree here, a flower there, a background etc.) that I could find on the Canva platform. Stylistic preferences (e.g., Can you change the colour scheme? Can you re-do the layout? Can you draw more illustrations?) can be entertained at an extra charge of S$40/hour. …………………………
How about the animated versions I sometimes see? Applicable across both cases (i.e., pro-bono production and chargeable storybook production), I sometimes would produce an animated version based if it flows well with the storyline and the creative process. However, it may be best not to expect it as it cannot be promised. If it happens, it’s a happy bonus! Thank you for reading this far. I hope to continue to partner you in your child’s/ward’s/student’s learning and growing journey! sincerely,
Yuanhui Chen
Founder and Children’s Voice Facilitator of Stories By Children
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