On January 28th 2026 we published our first children’s book: Where is Maverick? Maverick is our cockapoo — full of energy, endlessly curious and genuinely one of the most characterful dogs we have ever known. The idea of turning him into a book character had been sitting at the dinner table for almost a year before we finally did something about it.
What followed was not just a book launch. It was the beginning of a brand. Here is the honest story of how we did it and what we would do differently knowing what we know now.
“A book alone is a product. A character is an asset.”
We chose Amazon KDP because the barriers to entry are genuinely low and the distribution reach is genuinely high. No upfront printing costs, no minimum order quantities, no warehouse or fulfilment headaches. You upload your files, set your price and Amazon handles the rest — printing on demand when an order comes in and shipping directly to the customer.
Print on demand means no investment in stock. You only pay when a book sells.
Available on Amazon UK, US and international marketplaces from day one of publishing.
60% royalty on the list price minus printing cost. Transparent, predictable and paid monthly.
This is the decision that changes everything. Anyone can publish a book on KDP. Far fewer people build a brand around the character in that book. The difference in long-term potential between those two approaches is enormous.
From the beginning, Maverick's Adventures was designed as a brand ecosystem rather than a single product. The book is the entry point. Everything else builds equity around Maverick as a character.
What We Built Alongside the Book
- A dedicated Instagram account for Maverick — daily content featuring the real dog alongside the brand
- A website at mavericksadventures.co.uk with a dedicated book page, shop and lead magnet
- A free Explorer Pack — activity pack and activity sheets for sign-ups, building an email list from day one
- An email automation sequence delivering the free pack and nurturing subscribers toward the book
“Children’s books succeed on emotional connection. Maverick is not a fictional character — he is a real dog with a real Instagram account. That authenticity is the brand’s biggest asset.”
The free Explorer Pack deserves particular attention. By offering something valuable for free in exchange for an email address, we are building a direct relationship with our audience that does not depend on social media algorithms. Every subscriber is someone we can reach directly when Book 2 launches, when merchandise drops or when anything else happens in the Maverick universe.
The Instagram growth has been the most surprising and encouraging part of the entire launch. Over 2,000 followers in four weeks without paid advertising and without any prior audience to seed from.
What Actually Drove the Growth
- Daily posting — consistency signals to the algorithm that your account is active and worth distributing
- Reels over static posts — short video content of Maverick reaches non-followers through the Explore feed and Reels tab
- Engaging the dog-loving community — cockapoo owners, dog lovers and parents of young children are a naturally warm audience for this content
- Authentic content — real photos and video of the actual dog rather than purely promotional content builds genuine connection
- Hashtag strategy — a mix of broad dog-related tags and specific children’s book tags to reach both audiences simultaneously
The key insight is that Maverick the real dog and Maverick the book character are the same entity. When people follow the Instagram account they are following a dog they find charming — and discovering the book is a natural part of that journey rather than an interruption of it.
What Is Coming Next
- Book 2 in the Where is Maverick series — currently in development
- A colouring and activity book to complement the series
- Print-on-demand merchandise as the audience continues to grow
Final Thoughts — Should You Publish a Children’s Book on KDP UK?
If you are considering publishing a children’s book in the UK, the answer is yes — but the framing matters. KDP removes every barrier that used to make self-publishing daunting. The printing, the distribution, the global reach — all handled.
What KDP does not provide is an audience. That is entirely your job. And the fastest way to build that audience is not to market a book — it is to build a character people care about before the book even exists.
A book alone is a product. A product can be sold. A character is an asset. An asset appreciates over time, generates multiple revenue streams and builds something with genuine long-term equity.
Maverick was always going to be a character first and a book second. That decision, more than any other, is what has made the first four weeks feel like the beginning of something rather than the end of a project.
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