When Ylleya Fields’ oldest daughter was about three years old, she was a “obsessive reader” who devoured popular kid’s books comparable to Fancy Nancy AND Pinkalicious. There was just one problem: Fields, who was born in South America, didn’t see characters on these pages that looked like her daughter – and she wanted to change that. So in 2012, Fields wrote her first independently published book Princess Cupcake Jones series.
“I wanted my children to be able to see themselves in books,” Fields says Entrepreneur.
Fields’ first book titled Missing Tutu, focuses on a problem she was struggling with with her two daughters at the time. “They were very messy,” Fields recalled, “so I wanted to make sure they understood how important it was to put things back and keep the room tidy so that you could find something you really liked again.”
Photo credit: Courtesy of Ylleya Fields
Today, Fields is the mother of six children and has written five more books Princess Cupcake Jones series, each containing a message or lesson young readers take away. Each page also features the word “love” hidden in an illustration, a nod to the meaning of love and her eldest daughter, whose middle name is “Love,” Fields says.
Five years ago, Fields expanded the brand to include toys, clothing and accessories: plush and vinyl dolls, custom shoes, a book bag, a lunch box and more. She describes this moment as a “full circle” moment for the brand and says the process of bringing the brand to life was “very organic.”
Photo credit: Courtesy of Ylleya Fields
Despite the brand’s success for over a decade – even Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner own the books – Fields’ path to establishing himself as a kid’s creator has not been without its challenges. Putting pen to paper, she had no skilled experience in writing and, of course, had to reconcile her creative pursuits with raising a young, growing family.
“People don’t realize how much work you put into it,” Fields says. “You write a book first. Then you need to publish it and then take it to market. Once you publish a book, it’s just one part, you have to sell it, that’s where marketing comes in and then creates it [products], is a completely different topic and all of them require a lot of effort, time and energy. But in the end, they are all very valuable.”
Fields says people often express interest in writing a kid’s book for her, and she has some advice for parents who want to try authoring or check off any ambitious goal on their list. First and foremost, you have to “just get started,” and the secret to that is sometimes prioritizing, despite the fact that it may be difficult. “Put yourself first,” Fields emphasizes. “Make time for it, even if it’s for a short while, even if it takes forever, just do it. And you’ll feel more rewarded at the end.”
Fields’ young fans also motivate her; She remembers picking up her kids from school one day and seeing the teacher run out to show her a picture of a little girl dressed as Princess Cupcake Jones. Fields currently has plans for a seventh book in the series, which is able to explore bullying, “a topic that many children can relate to,” he says.
“Many people have described this book as timeless,” adds Fields. “It will continue to flourish so that a new generation can experience [and] I love it.”
This article is part of our ongoing Women Entrepreneur® series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a business as a woman.