Unapologetically Feminist by Urvashi Bundel.

On buses in Tokyo, Urvashi jotted poetry. In various Starbucks on multiple continents, she burned with stories lived but not yet told, and the responsibility she felt to share them widely. Written and polished over time, her poems have bloomed all over the world.

It was crucial that the look of Unapologetically Feminist honor Urvashi’s goals: appealing to readers of all genders and daringly declaring “the unspoken moral dilemma” at the heart of humanitarian and environmental crises.

Because Urvashi’s readers would be concentrated outside the U.S., she came to Tell Tell with inspiration boards reflecting a global audience. The images she shared were clean, bold, and fierce—and our designers immediately started crafting options for her own remarkable work.

The final selection came later in our collaboration process. Urvashi shared an additional inspiration image, having fallen in love with the book’s binding and cover. Our designers replaced the original brash, monochromatic style with hand-drawn illustration and sky-bright blue; a new serif font lends a little softness to what was formerly all harsh edges. The end result is a clean, color-blocked volume that echoes the vibrant storytelling inside.

The Table of Contents in Unapologetically Feminist reveals how purposefully the poems nestle under thematic umbrellas: section headings progress from fire to burning to ashes made new.

Our editors gave highly-customized suggestions to amplify the narratives and motifs already smoldering throughout the collection but hidden in the original manuscript’s flow.

“One of the things that really struck me,” Urvashi says, “was how much patience and dedication you guys have towards every piece—actually taking time and analyzing and writing a critique letter. I really loved that part, because I wanted someone who could actually do an analysis and give feedback.”

Tell Tell and Rulos de Carbón provided internal illustrations that perfectly complement the simple page and font styles. Margins and line breaks were tweaked, our team confirmed formatting for publication, and we sprung, hearts aflame, to the finish line.

Urvashi wanted Unapologetically Feminist’s official release to coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8th. The deadline was tight, but together we made it happen. The book was published on Amazon’s KDP platform and IngramSpark, and our team helped navigate the wilds of international publication, too.

(We couldn’t be prouder that Urvashi’s book ranked as bestseller #4 on Amazon.in!)

As with all our authors, we bid Urvashi adieu with promotional advice and virtual care packages to help jumpstart marketing, making sure she was well-supported even after the book went live.

Urvashi says she most appreciates Tell Tell’s poetry specialization and our creative guidance through every step of the process. You’re invited to learn more about her experience here.