about the dreamwork collective
SMALL COMPANY, BIG MISSION
We’re an all-female creative team of dream workers boldly dedicated to changing lives and ushering humanity into a new era of heightened creativity, consciousness and compassion. We focus on sharing untold stories and providing a platform for voices from the Middle East and beyond to be shared throughout the world. Driven by authenticity, creativity, freedom and impact, we believe in the power of community. Our books and events build bridges between cultures, countries, ideas, and people across the globe.
MEET THE TEAM
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FOUNDER - UAE
Kira Jean is an Australian success coach and founder of The Dreamwork Collective.
After growing up in theatre and dance and completing her studies in Psychology, she started her professional career as a child therapist, working with children on the Autism spectrum. She worked in the health and wellness space for two decades before starting The Dreamwork Collective in 2017.
Passionate about igniting creativity and expanding consciousness, Kira fuses her experience in a range of fields to unlock people’s creative potential and bring life-altering knowledge to the world.
She lives in Dubai with her husband and Yorkshire terrier, Floki.
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PUBLISHING DIRECTOR — UK
Thalia Suzuma has been in fiction publishing for over ten years, working for publishers including Pan Macmillan, HarperCollins and Bloomsbury. At Pan Mac, the focus was on crime thrillers, at HarperCollins she focused on commercial women’s fiction and at Bloomsbury QFP she acquired books in translation.
She has worked with bestselling authors such as Cecelia Ahern, Lauren Weisberger, Tony Parsons and Barbara Taylor Bradford.
In 2014, she moved to the Middle East to publish prize-winning authors such as Saud Al Sanousi and Mai Al Nakib, with the aim to diversify the types of narrative available to an English-reading audience. The books she published, unlike many of their authors, did not get denied visas at airports.
When Thalia is not scouting for the latest literary talent or typing up a storm, she enjoys teaching yoga to children, teenagers with special needs, and to all sort of people who might think ‘yoga isn’t for me!’.
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DIGITAL MARKETING DIRECTOR — USA
Bondie is a Website Designer, Digital Marketing Strategist and Digital Business Consultant located in Dallas, Texas but born and raised in Costa Rica.
Bondie puts all of her love and creative energy into everything she does and her heart truly loves to assist entrepreneurs in achieving their dreams.
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FINANCE DIRECTOR – UAE
Camille is the founder of a Finance consulting firm specialized in Financial Planning, Strategy and Accounting. A French native, she has lived on three different continents and holds a Master’s degree in Audit and Management Accounting.
Camille is a wife and mum of 3 active elementary kids. When she is not analyzing financial statements and digging for improvement, she is passionate about Interior Design.
In her spare time, she loves spending time with her family and friends, and traveling to meet different people and embrace other cultures.
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PUBLISHING ASSISTANT - IRELAND
Katie Meegan has worked in publishing for over seven years. After graduating with the first class honours degree from Trinity College Dublin, she moved to London to pursue an MA in Publishing Studies in University College London. She has since worked with many household names in some of London’s most respected publishing houses, including authors such as Christy Lefteri, Heather Morris, Louise Pentland and the estate of Wilbur Smith.
After taking a year off to travel Southeast Asia and Oceniana, she returned to her native city of Dublin. In February 2024, she founded Cuala Creative, the UK and Ireland's first virtual assistance collective for publishers and authors. She now works with amazing publishers all over the world to bring their stories to life.
She enjoys long walks by the bracingly cold Irish sea, cocktails and getting lost in a great book. And tea, lots and lots of tea!
Considering if TDC is right for you?
Publishing your story is a big commitment, and we want to make sure that you have all the facts to choose the right path for you and your work. Read through our frequently asked questions below for more detail about how The Dreamwork Collective operates, and how it could be the best fit for you.
ABOUT US
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What do captivating, inspiring and joyful people have in common? In our experience, these lucky people tend to be doing their dream work. Whether they’re in an office or a field, they find great meaning from their jobs. They’re driven by a passion and a belief in something bigger than themselves. If they didn’t need the money, they would still want to do this work for free.
In a perfect world, we’d all be doing our dream work. But the road less travelled can sometimes feel lonely and unstable. It takes a leap of faith into the unknown. That’s where the collective comes in.
We call ourselves a collective because we are more than 'just' a publisher: we provide a supportive, creative and collaborative environment. Being a freelance creative can be wonderful but it has its challenges – the Dreamwork Collective is a place to call home, a place where you’ll have people who believe in your mission on those days where you need a boost
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Our members hail from all four corners of the world, but what unites them is they all have a vision, and they all want to make the world a better place – even in a small way. Nigora from Tajikistan believes you can transform your life and wellbeing with some simple food and lifestyle choices; Linda from Ireland has witnessed first hand the benefits of learning how to talk to herself kindly; Houriya from the UAE fights to promote women’s football in the region. Jos is a passionate girls’ rights activist, Delna wants to reintroduce us to the lost art of comfort cooking and finding joy in the kitchen. At our regular meet-ups, the atmosphere is loud, lively and cheerful!
As well as having a mission and wanting to change the world, our members tend to not ‘just’ be writers. They are creatives, entrepreneurs, coaches and thought leaders, and their books are one part of their wider platform. Our writers often get in front of the camera, too, and are keen to share their message in all kinds of different formats: a four-week online video course, workshops, coaching, apps.
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We aim to get back to you within four weeks.
As well as looking at the quality of your writing, the clarity of your idea and your platform, we’ll also be looking at how your form of activism fits in with the rest of our team, and whether there’s space for you on our list.
Meeting or Skype: If it seems a good fit, we might brainstorm and strategize together and really drill down to get to the essence of your key message. You’ll have lots of questions for us at the meeting, and we will want to hear you speak about your subject matter and what your vision is.
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This is where the fun really starts!
You’ll immediately meet our team, and start working with your designated Editorial Manager who will be ushering your book into the world with you. Once the book is written, we’ll take you through a developmental edit, a copy edit and a proof read. At the same time, our design team will be working on the front cover jacket, and our sales team will start sharing samples of the book with retailers and getting people excited about the forthcoming launch.
PUBLISHING
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A publisher is responsible for producing books that are professionally edited, designed, and produced. This includes assigning editors for developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading, as needed, together with following traditional standards for a professionally designed book. A publisher also provides varying degrees of sales support, distribution and marketing. TDC goes one step further to provide a comprehensive and holistic approach to publishing, including digital content creation, online courses, coaching and events.
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The founder of TDC, Kira Jean, spent four years deliberating on the best way to launch a publishing house in the Middle East in today’s market. She saw there were benefits to all types of publishing. Traditional publishing had the in-house marketing and wide-reaching distribution; independent publishing worked on niche, cutting edge books and valued community; digital publishing was cost-effective; and self-publishing gave writers and creatives more control over the whole process. Kira decided to combine the best of everything and so TDC is classed as a ‘hybrid’ publishing company. More and more hybrid publishing companies are being birthed, and even some traditional publishers are moving towards a more hybrid model.
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We don’t. We choose what we publish carefully, selecting the submissions we see as having the greatest merit and commercial viability. Check out our submissions page here to find out what we’re looking for.
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Hybrid publishers function in the same way as traditional publishers, but they work in a more flexible and author-centric way. They are less driven by bottom-lines than big publishing houses and work collaboratively with authors. We comply with the United States Independent Book Publishers Association’s regulations for hybrid publishing companies. They have nine criteria, which are:
1. Has a clear mission and vision
2. Vets submissions
3. Publishes under its own imprint(s) and ISBNs
4. Publishes to industry standards
5. Ensures editorial, design, and production quality
6. Pursues and manage a range of publishing rights
7. Provides distribution services
8. Demonstrates respectable sales
9. Pays authors a higher-than-standard royalty
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No, we are a publishing house ourselves and do not function as a literary agency.
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For the right book we will consider English <> Arabic translation. For other languages we work with established publishers in various countries to publish our books in their native languages.
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Absolutely!
financials
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We were the first publisher in the GCC to be selected to attend Venice International Film Festival and showcase our books to the film industry.
Our books have launched in New York, Dubai, Lisbon, Mumbai, Johannesburg, Bali, Doha and at the Emirates Festival of Literature.
We have had success in selling rights to international publishers and our books have been published in different languages, like Arabic, German, Indonesian and French.
One of our best selling books has sold over 80,000 copies!
Our books can be found in stores from the UAE to the USA, and from Ireland to Canada.
Our books have been featured in: BBC,The Washington Post, Time Magazine, Time Magazine, The Independent, MSNBC, and The New Arab, plus regional media such as Entrepreneur Middle East, Grazia, Harper's Bazaar Arabia, The National, Khaleej Times, and Gulf News and more.
Nearly all of our authors make a return on their investment within eighteen months.
Every single one of our authors has gone from having a “one-day dream” to making their dream a reality within a year!
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We love working with creatives in collaborative ways, however, commercial book design and graphic design are very different skillsets. We always work with professional book designers who have years of experience in commercial book design. As we all know, people do judge a book by its cover, and we want yours to be the best it can be!
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Yes. Hybrid publishing includes a one-time fee at the beginning of the project and then TDC continues to make long-term investments in you and your work thereafter. Our fees range from $10,000-$30,000 and we offer long-term payment plans to make it as feasible as possible for our authors. Our lower range fees are less than what it costs to successfully self-publish and our higher-end fees include business coaching, a book launch event, and comprehensive PR and marketing.
While a lot of companies claim to offer to publish your book for a fee, most lack in their commitment or ability to successfully distribute and market your book. We prioritise you getting a return on investment quickly, and focus a significant amount of our time on successfully distributing and marketing your book to drive sales. We never want money to be the reason someone can’t say yes to doing their dream work, so we encourage our authors to pursue crowdfunding or sponsorship. We also provide event opportunities for our authors, and encourage them to be part of our digital experiences where they can earn money from online courses, workshops, talks and coaching – in addition to their book royalties.
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With traditional publishing an author usually has to earn out their advance before they start earning royalties. This means that unfortunately, a lot of authors never see any royalties at all. A publishing house will pay an author an advance for their book, but it is essentially a loan, and the publisher will expect to earn back the advance before they start paying the author royalties. At TDC, you start earning royalties right away – actually this is a priority for us. Authors receive 50% royalties from book sales.
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Our earnings go directly back into benefitting you and your work. Such earnings allow us to continue increasing sales and expanding distribution of your book, both which require a lot of time and resources. Our earnings help us cover the costs of things like featuring your book in our catalogue; pitching and promoting your book to retailers, bookstores, and rights buyers; marketing your book; reprinting your book; converting your book into various forms, such as an e-book or audio book, making our recording and filming studios available to you – the list is almost endless.
Becoming an author
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There are no age restrictions when it comes to becoming a published author. One of our books, Elements of Straefor, was written by a young girl who became an author at the age of fifteen.
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Ah, we love when people come to us with several ideas! On a professional level, we can help you understand what idea makes most commercial sense. On a personal level, we can also help you know which idea has truly won your heart.
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If it makes you feel any better, everyone feels like this at some point along the journey. In many ways, it is a leap of faith and your dream work will ask of you to be brave and take action anyway, trembly knees and all! At TDC we have professional writing, business, and personal coaches who can support you through any blocks and resistance and help you feel confident in putting your dream work out there.
While a lot of companies claim to offer to publish your book for a fee, most lack in their commitment or ability to successfully distribute and market your book. We prioritise you getting a return on investment quickly, and focus a significant amount of our time on successfully distributing and marketing your book to drive sales. We never want money to be the reason someone can’t say yes to doing their dream work, so we encourage our authors to pursue crowdfunding or sponsorship. We also provide event opportunities for our authors, and encourage them to be part of our digital experiences where they can earn money from online courses, workshops, talks and coaching – in addition to their book royalties.
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Yes, we do!
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It depends on a number of things, for example, the retail price of the book, the global appeal of the book, if you have an existing following etc. We plan this out at the beginning of the project and make a clear plan to support you in getting your ROI. Of course, there’s no guarantee book sales alone will get you an ROI, but that’s when things get to be more fun and creative. We’re there to support you every step of the way and are experienced in building brands and mini business models around book. For many of our authors, the true ROI is often intrinsic. Writing a book is a life-changing experience, and there’s nothing more rewarding than seeing someone enjoy the work you’ve put out into the world.
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We don’t offer distribution services for books we have not published, however, we are always open to looking at self-published books with the potential to be published under us.
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We’re for everyone!
after publishing
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We focus on digital marketing, including social media posts and advertising, influencer endorsements, book reviews, and featuring your professional profile and book on our website. We feature your book at book fairs and events we participate in, and at various times during the year we work with experienced book publicists for special promotions. We are also able to offer authors high-level PR and marketing for the book launch, which can result in them being featured in traditional media, too.
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We highly recommend you start to build your profile on social media platforms if you haven’t already. Readers today want to feel connected not only to your words but who you are as a writer. Your fans will enjoy seeing the behind-the-scenes of their favourite book and building a following right from the beginning can make the world of difference to how far your work can reach. We also strongly recommend you prepare to be very active for the first twelve months after the publication of your book. Go out there and tell the world about your amazing achievement! Actively pursue opportunities to attend or speak at events related to your work, write for magazines or blogs, do book readings and book signings, and continue to build a community or online following around your work.
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A book can really set you apart from other people in your industry, boosting your credibility and positioning. It is an additional medium through which you can convey your expertise and your message.
While a lot of companies claim to offer to publish your book for a fee, most lack in their commitment or ability to successfully distribute and market your book. We prioritise you getting a return on investment quickly, and focus a significant amount of our time on successfully distributing and marketing your book to drive sales. We never want money to be the reason someone can’t say yes to doing their dream work, so we encourage our authors to pursue crowdfunding or sponsorship. We also provide event opportunities for our authors, and encourage them to be part of our digital experiences where they can earn money from online courses, workshops, talks and coaching – in addition to their book royalties.
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