…come to those that wait. That’s certainly true in this story from Pete Beard.

Many years ago he collaborated with his partner Lesley Cryer – a writer and all round good egg – on a proposed animated series for the then burgeoning Carlton television company. They put together a team and made a pilot film, but it never made it to the screen and almost ruined them financially in the process.

Then, a year or so ago he was contacted by an e-publisher called uTales, based in New York, asking if he had anything resembling a kid’s picture book they could publish. No advances are paid but the royalty is a whopping 60%! You get the app free from itunes and then pay per book downloaded. So after 20 years, what was originally an animation got transformed into a book. If it sells enough it could become a series as Pete and Lesley still have all the original scripts. So next time you’re going through your folio, think twice about throwing anything away.

Pete’s also been working on a series of bathtime toys for kids for a company called ‘Save Water, Save Money’. The idea is that you throw this inflatable toy in the bath with your nipper and it displaces water so it’s both green and economical. Pete’s worked on three so far with themes including Pirates for the boys and Fairy tales for the girls. There’s even a South Pole one too!

Categories: Pete Beard