What Happens When a Book Becomes a Platform

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Myra’s Kids Foundation × Garden Wolf

Jon Reider is the founder of Myra’s Kids Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping children and families navigate grief and loss. For years, he’d been doing this work through community events, school visits, and his annual Ignite fundraising gala.

But he wanted something families could hold onto. Something that would sit on nightstands, travel in backpacks, and start conversations that adults often don’t know how to begin with their kids.

His goal was never bestseller status or book-sale revenue. It was awareness. Normalizing grief for kids. Creating a resource that starts the conversation.

Different goals require different metrics. And different metrics require a publisher who actually understands that.

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An Impossible Timeline

Jon’s annual Ignite gala was scheduled for May 21st, 2025. He wanted printed books in hand to debut at the event — a centerpiece that would bring the foundation’s mission to life in front of hundreds of supporters.

The problem: it was January.

A four-to-five month timeline for a fully illustrated, professionally printed children’s book is extraordinarily tight. Most publishing timelines run 8–12 months minimum.

I was transparent from the beginning: this timeline would be incredibly tough and there was a real chance we wouldn’t make it.

I could have said what he wanted to hear. I didn’t. I told him the truth, laid out exactly what the process would require, and committed to doing everything I could to get it done.

That honesty became the foundation of the entire partnership.

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From Concept to Convention

Jon’s project was delivered through Garden Wolf’s Thrive package — the full concierge experience, tailored to his goals, his audience, and the emotional weight of childhood grief.

Manuscript Development

We collaborated on “You Know I’m Here,” transforming the poem Jon reads every summer at Grief Camp into a story that could serve far more children and families who need it. Every word was chosen for developmental appropriateness, while honoring the complexity of loss and the personal importance of the beautiful original poem. Translating something this sensitive into language a young child can actually absorb takes real care. That’s the work.

Professional Illustration

Custom illustrations that captured warmth, compassion, and safety — critical for a book that would be used to start difficult conversations. The art needed to feel like a hug, not a lecture. We worked closely with a local artist who deeply understands the meaningful work Jon is doing.

Accelerated Production

Print production coordinated on a compressed timeline, with books shipped directly from the printer to the Ignite event venue on the day of the gala. We literally finished at the eleventh hour. The books arrived the morning of the event.

Targeted Marketing & Connections

This is where Garden Wolf goes beyond publishing. The Thrive package includes execution of marketing campaigns designed specifically for the book, the author, their goals, and their location. For Jon, that meant:

• Connecting him with the English Montreal School Board, opening doors to bring grief awareness programming into schools across the board
• Introducing him to a local journalist and influencer with 10,000+ engaged Instagram followers, who interviewed Jon and promoted his school outreach to a wider audience
• Supporting him in securing a table at the Quebec Teachers’ Convention 2025, where he connected directly with educators province-wide to bring grief awareness into classrooms
• Securing a book reading and signing event at Indigo, and staying with him the entire time to support the experience as it was his very first bookstore event

I don’t just hand authors a finished book and say “good luck.” If the book is the platform, then my job is to help them actually stand on it.

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What the Platform Made Possible

But the numbers only tell part of the story. Here’s what they don’t capture:

• Families reaching out to tell Jon the book started conversations about grief they didn’t know how to have
• Children responding to the story in ways that surprised the adults in the room
• An interview with a local journalist/influencer that expanded the foundation’s visibility far beyond its existing audience
• Increased donations and community support for the foundation’s mission — both from the visibility the book provides and because 100% of proceeds from sales go directly to Myra’s Kids Foundation, because we don’t take a penny of royalties from our authors
• A foundation that went from hosting events to having a tangible, lasting resource that represents its mission and expands its impact, even when Jon and the rest of the Myra’s Kids team are not in the room

Jon didn’t need a bestseller. He needed a book that would get his mission into the rooms where it matters. That’s exactly what happened.

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January to Ignite Night

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