How a Marktplaats advertisement led to Lavinia Bakker’s DIY diary being published worldwide by the iconic Penguin

The grandfather she never got to know inspired Lavinia Bakker to write the book Once Upon a Time I Was… to release. “I was eleven years old when I thought how unfortunate I was that I knew nothing about my grandfather, who, according to tradition, must have been a special man. I would have thought it would be great if I had received a book from him as a child, in which he answered all kinds of questions about his life. I was curious about his way of thinking and who he was.”

Years later, in 2014, that book was published, containing all kinds of life questions such as ‘If you could invite three people to dinner, dead or alive, who would they be?’ and ‘What superpower would you like to possess?’ It is picked up by a publisher and immediately published in English and sold in concept stores throughout the Netherlands, but also through museum shops – from the Stedelijk Museum to the MoMA in New York. A total of 30,000 copies were sold and Bakker made two more versions: Once Upon a Time I Went to…for travelers, and Once Upon a Time I Wanted to Be…about personal development.

All-defining meeting

When Bakker finds herself at home during corona – the two sustainable clothing stores she runs with her twin sister Abigail in Amsterdam, Goat Organic Apparel and Geitenwollenwinkel, have to close – she decides to publish the book again, this time under her own management. “For the first time in years I had the weekends off again. I put a lot of thought and time into designing the book, with many questions and space to write. I also had time to make a tour of shops in Amsterdam and the rest of the Netherlands, to make an inventory of who would like to have the book and I arranged a few major buyers.”

A Pantone fan, which she purchases to choose the color for the cover of the book, ultimately results in a special and decisive encounter. “I chose a striking yellow color for the cover, a color that was not on the fan. Because I didn’t need the fan, I offered it for sale on Marktplaats. Someone Willemijn wanted to take it over from me, we met on a terrace on the Marie Heinekenplein and started talking; Goat turned out to be one of her favorite clothing brands. She was curious what I had used the fan for and I told her about the book. Quite coincidentally, she herself turned out to be a publisher at Overamstel Uitgevers. The book didn’t fit into their fund, but because she was so enthusiastic about it, she offered to help me sell the worldwide rights.”

Bakker tells publisher Willemijn Peene about her big dream: to have the book published by the iconic publisher Penguin, known for its orange-white paperbacks with a penguin logo. “Don’t assume that,” Willemijn said. We had coffee after that first meeting and drafted a pitch that she sent out to all the major international publishers, including Penguin Books. Half a day later I received a call from someone from Overamstel: “Just sit down for a moment,” he said. They had received a love letter in the mail, from Penguin. They liked the design and were moved by the content of the questions. Two days later, a proposal for the worldwide edition was sent to the email. I had to pinch myself a few times to realize this was actually happening.”

Fill in with her own father

That was a year and a half ago now, the book has just been published in the Dutch version by Mus Uitgevers and is available at sixty stores and online. It will also be released in America and Canada on May 8 by Tarcher Perigee, part of Penguin Random House. Then the rest of the world must follow. The power of the book is the personal message behind it, says Bakker. “There are plenty of fill-in books aimed at parents and grandparents, but this book is slightly different, it is really meant to capture a life. I thought very carefully about the questions, a mix of serious and light-hearted. Friends who have lost a parent helped me with some of life’s more profound questions, such as “If I could change anything in the world, it would be…” or “If I could do anything differently, this would be it…” “But what I find particularly profound is that based on the answers someone has filled in, you can do, see or eat something that your loved one has always enjoyed so much. That way you feel like you can really be with someone for a while. In any case, all the questions make you think about your own life and how you want to shape it.”

She is now completing the book with her father: “He is getting older and his health is deteriorating. That’s why we go for a walk and have lunch every week, and then we go through a few questions each time. Answering the questions together leads to great conversations. Through the stories he tells, I have already learned so many more things about him that we didn’t really talk about before. Those stories might otherwise have been lost, what a shame is that?” Answering the questions together is the best part, says Bakker: “That can also be done as a family at the kitchen table. A book full of memories is priceless in any case, a document that you leave to all the people you love.”

“The international version is now on its way to me. I really think that I will soon pick up the book with that famous Penguin logo on it next level. The press release was sent to all media in America; of the New York Times until Oprah’s Book Club, and to a whole list of influencers I’ve never heard of. I find it very exciting, but I have a lot of confidence in it. The previous book sold around 30,000 copies worldwide, now I don’t want to go for less than a million!”

Once Upon A Time I Was…, Lavinia Bakker, €15.99, Mus Publishers/ TarcherPigee. Penguin RandomHouse.