An 11-Year-Old Wrote A Book. Then He Sold It In A Bundle.

Most booths at a kids market sell things you can eat, wear, or play with. Lemonade. Bracelets. Slime. At the first Bennington Youth Market this September, one 11-year-old sold something different: a story he wrote himself.

Gavin Kathol set up a table with a sign that read "Book Bundle." For one price, customers got a signed copy of his book, a bookmark, and stickers.

His book follows a character named George, who is in the Amazon rainforest when he finds a magical willow tree that grants him a wish. George gets sucked into a computer and has to use coding to escape different programs and find his way back to his real body.

"It makes me very happy that I get to talk to all these people," Gavin told Bennington Buzz, the local news site that covered the market. "People can experience the joy of reading. And also I just like meeting new people."

If you love writing, Gavin's table shows that a story can also be a small business. Here is how it works.

Gavin was one of 40 young vendors at the Bennington market, which the local Chamber of Commerce organized. Rain moved it from a park into the elementary school gym, but people kept coming.

Organizers had hoped for 20 vendors. They got 40, plus five kids on a waiting list. Chamber coordinator Kelsay Brohimer said several kids beat their sales goals before the market was even over. The Chamber now plans to hold a spring market and a fall market every year.

Bennington is not alone. In DuBois, Pennsylvania, close to 40 young entrepreneurs took part in a Kids in Business event hosted by a local radio station. Fifth-grader Savannah Hoover won Best Overall for Hoover's Woodburning, which sold hand-etched hats and wooden coasters.

Events like the Acton Children's Business Fair run in cities across the country for kids ages 6 to 17. In that format, the kids do the pitching, selling, and counting, while grown-ups help behind the scenes.

That means more chances than ever to get your book in front of real customers.

This sounds obvious, but it is the hardest step. Many young writers start lots of stories and finish none.

Here are a few tricks that help:

• Keep it short. Your first book does not need to be 300 pages. A short chapter book or illustrated story is plenty.
• Know the ending first. If you know where George needs to end up, it is easier to write the middle.
• Set a small daily goal. Even 100 words a day adds up to 3,000 words in a month.
• Read it out loud. You will hear the parts that sound confusing.
• Ask two readers. Pick one adult and one kid your age. Ask them where they got bored and what they liked best.

Gavin said writing is "a good way to express your imagination" and "a way that you can make other people's days better." Keep that in mind when you get stuck. You are making something for a reader.

Once your story is done, you need copies to sell. There are a few ways to do that, and each one needs an adult partner.

Print it yourself. A parent can help you print and staple or bind copies at home or at a local print shop. This is the cheapest way to start and lets you test whether people will buy.

Use a self-publishing website. Sites like Kindle Direct Publishing let authors print books on demand and sell them online. According to The Letter Review, you must be 18 to publish on Kindle Direct Publishing yourself, because publishing means signing a contract. A parent or guardian can set up and manage the account for you, and you can still be the author on the cover.

Try a publishing company. This is much harder at any age. Most publishers need a finished, polished manuscript, and many work through literary agents. For a first book, self-publishing is usually the realistic path.

Safety rule: let your adult handle any accounts, payments, and contracts. Your job is to be the author and the seller.

Gavin did something smart. He did not just sell a book. He sold a bundle.

A bundle is when you group several items together for one price. It works for a few reasons:

• It feels like a better deal. Customers like getting extras.
• It raises your average sale. Instead of selling just a book, you sell a book plus extras.
• It makes your table memorable. A signed copy is something only the author can offer.

Here is a made-up example to practice the math. These are not Gavin's real prices. Say each printed book costs you $4, a bookmark costs $0.50, and a sheet of stickers costs $0.50. Your total cost is $5. If you sell the bundle for $12, you keep $7 for each one before any other costs, like the table fee.

Now check your table fee. Some children's business fairs charge a small booth fee, often around $20 to $37 depending on the location. If your fee is $24 and you keep $7 per bundle, you need to sell four bundles just to cover it. Every bundle after that is profit.

People walking through a busy gym will not stop for a plain stack of books. You have about three seconds to catch their eye.

Ideas to try:

• Decorate around your story. Gavin's table had plants and a globe, which fit a rainforest adventure.
• Make a big, clear sign. Say what you sell and the price. "Signed book bundle, $12" is easy to read.
• Prepare a one-sentence pitch. For example: "It is about a kid who gets sucked into a computer and has to code his way out."
• Let people peek. Keep one copy open so customers can read the first page.
• Talk to everyone. Gavin was photographed explaining his storyline to a customer. Authors sell books by talking about them.

If you want help planning your table, your pricing, and your goals in one place, Foundra has simple planning tools made for young builders and their families. A sheet of paper with three boxes, "costs," "price," and "goal," works great too.

Brohimer said she met several kids at the Bennington market who had a sales goal and beat it before the day was over. Goals help you know whether your idea is working.

Before your market, write down:

1. How many bundles you bring.
2. How many you hope to sell.
3. How much money you need to cover your costs.

During the market, make a tally mark for every sale. Afterward, count your money with an adult and compare it to your goal.

Then ask yourself what to change. Did people love the stickers? Make more. Did they ask for a second book? Start writing it. Gavin said he hopes to write "as many as I possibly can." A series is a great business idea, because readers who liked book one often come back for book two.

Another young vendor at the market, 12-year-old Anthony Miller, gave advice that fits authors well: "Don't give up. Even when it's hard times, slow days, you'll always have slow days, busy days, or just okay days."

Gavin Kathol turned his imagination into something people could buy. He:

1. Finished a real story, start to end.
2. Made it into a physical book with adult help.
3. Added extras to create a bundle.
4. Decorated his table to match his story.
5. Talked with every customer about what he wrote.

You do not need a big publisher to be an author. You need a finished story, a few copies, and the courage to sit behind a table and say, "I wrote this."

Can a kid publish a book? Yes. Kids can be authors at any age. On sites like Kindle Direct Publishing, a parent or guardian must create and manage the account because the account holder must be 18.

What should a kid author sell at a market? A signed copy of the book works well, especially in a bundle with a bookmark or stickers.

How do I price my book? Add up what each copy and extra item costs you, then pick a price that leaves money left over. Remember to cover any table fee.

Where can kids sell books they wrote? Kids markets, children's business fairs, school events, and local libraries or bookstores that host young authors are good places to start.

How long should a first book be? Short is fine. A short chapter book or illustrated story is easier to finish and cheaper to print.

1. Bennington Youth Market Showcases Young Entrepreneurs, Inspires Future Business Ideas, Bennington Buzz, September 25, 2026
2. Kids in Business Celebrating Young Entrepreneurs, Connect Radio
3. Can a Minor Publish Their Own Book?, The Letter Review
4. FAQs, Acton Children's Business Fair