Although she has given many interviews in these 13 years since establishing Pluma Studios, bestselling children’s book author and co-founder Andrijana Majstorović still has many more interesting things to say – about herself, her profession and the future of the company. Read her creative answers to never-before-asked questions in the piece below.

First and foremost, Pluma Studios was founded when you were only 26 years old – what piece of advice would you give to young aspiring entrepeneurs who are steps away from launching their own startup?

Actually, I was barely 25. I have no advice. Good luck guys, that’s all. It will be hard, it will be easy, it will be exciting and it will be tiring. All this, sometimes even all at once. One thing is certain: it won’t be boring for the most part.

What does your average work day look like?

I take my child to kindergarten (yes, I consider that the beginning of the working part of the day), I come to the office, I make coffee. I annoy our colleagues for at least an hour after that. I missed them through the long days of my maternity leave, plus all the sick days I take because of my now-two-year-old-kindergartener.

If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing?

I thought about it a lot. There is one thing I love much more than writing, actually. It’s called reading. But you don’t get paid for that.

For a while, I fantasized about working in a small library that wasn’t really busy and reading novels all day long. Sorry, librarians. I know you don’t simply lay around reading books all day. It’s just my imagination.

Try to describe your writing style in 3 words

No clue whatsoever. Is that ok?

You have several dozen books behind you. What’s your favorite story you’ve written and why?

For a long time it was the City of Snow Riders. Because it is wintery and Christmasy and just a classic picturesque fairy-tale. And in the first draft it had enough plots for a feature-length animated movie. I wrote it in the middle of summer, pretending that it’s Christmas – my favorite time of year.

But stay tuned – there is a book coming out that has a good chance of beating this book for the #1 spot.

What are the easiest and most difficult parts of your job?

The hardest thing for me is being my own boss, and everything that entails.
The easiest thing for me is being my own boss, and everything that entails.

Interpret that as you will.

Some of your books are used as textbooks in schools, and some are so popular that every 5th newborn child in Croatia gets them as a present. In addition, successful B2B and B2C campaigns led to the fact that your stories are now in the hands of more than 350,000 children around the world. How does that feel?

Well, you see, good question. I didn’t think about it, so there weren’t any accompanying feelings.

Here – I will try and concentrate now.

Well, it’s a bit scary and imposes responsibility. I would like to say: no, kids, better not read that, there are far better things. And at the same time: please read that. I had fun writing it, so I’m sure you will have fun reading it.

What are your 3 essential things you have to have next to you when you are in your “creative zone”?

Laptop, paper, pen.

And if not that, I can always get by with just my phone and the Notes App.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received as a writer?

That I’m allowed to write. And that I count, that what I do counts. My editor Anda gave me that advice, even though she doesn’t know it.

Of the practical tips, this is the most useful for me: write less, say more.

What’s next for you and Pluma Studios?

We are currently developing about 10 new titles. That’s the most exciting part for me.

By the way, Pluma Studios is entering into some new B2B collaborations this year, there are a lot of interesting and big projects coming your way. But, all I can seem to think about is the vision of all of the new book covers on our shelves.