Five long months into the pandemic, Aiden Branss found himself wide awake in the middle of the night, meditating on the world’s battered state and sucking down coffee.
The 16-year-old grabbed his laptop, and began to write. And after Branss’ midnight oil burned away, he was left with the beginning of his first novel.
What began as a high energy offshoot of Branss’ isolation has since turned into a small literary enterprise. He inspired six of his friends to write books of their own, and in 2022, Branss founded a company to publish his friends’ books. To date, the company, Aiden Branss Books, has sold thousands of books and provides Branss, now 20, up to $500 a month.
“I believe in these stories and I believe in these authors, and I do want to expand the company,” said Branss, who’s pursuing an associate degree at Harper College in Palatine while running the company. “I want to get an office one day. I would like to maybe open a store.”
Branss’ self-published debut novel, “2020! From A Teenagers POV,” reads like a cross between a text message and a diary. Branss, who was a sophomore at Palatine High School when the pandemic shuttered schools across the U.S., called the book a heavily fictionalized account of his 2020 experience.
“It was unfiltered and it was crude, and you could even say rude to an extent, but I just tried to keep it real with how teenagers were responding at the time,” he said.
Allie Gillies, an author who has self-published three books and the mother of children who attended Palatine High School at the same time as Branss, said she originally got to know Branss through Palatine-based Township High School District 211 meetings. Gillies, 52, said she became a mentor to Branss after “2020! From A Teenagers POV” came out in early 2021.
“I read it and I said, ‘Aiden, you are amazing. But we have to fix a little bit of grammar.’ And he was like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know,’” Gillies said. “But it was such a wonderful conversation to have with a young person.”
Gillies and several friends advocated for stocking Branss’ debut novel at the Palatine Public Library District, she said. Gillies is happy to give Branss a hand with sharing books published by Branss Books because she thinks the books themselves and the personal backgrounds of the authors have the power to uplift readers, she added.
Alexia Sosin, a friend of Branss since high school, said she’s always considered herself a writer. Often when Sosin, now 20, finished her classwork early, she’d get bored and begin writing to fill the time.
“It’s my version of going to therapy,” Sosin said.
Once she saw a peer publish a book, Sosin realized there was no reason she couldn’t do the same.
Sosin set her debut opus, “Forbidden Lover,” in 19th century England. It’s about a teenager, “whose controlling father is forcing her to marry a man against her will.”
After her book came out, Sosin became more confident, she said. She still stutters occasionally, but less than before, especially when she’s talking about something she’s so passionate about, her writing.
Transforming a draft of a story into a physical book is a delicate process, one Branss has been perfecting for nearly four years.
Today the pages are still laid out using a free version of Microsoft Word. After the pages are done, Branss Books usually calls on an intern, who doesn’t live locally, to help with proofreading.
Cover design is more of a wild card. Often Branss devises them himself using Adobe Photoshop. Sometimes Branss’ artistic older brother helps out. A few authors have commissioned artists to develop theirs.
When a customer buys a book on the company’s website, part of the money allows that book to be printed and another part goes toward shipping. The printing company that Branss Books uses sometimes must send them around the globe.
A disproportionate amount of Branss Books customers live in Australia and Japan, Branss said.
“I don’t ever even think about Australia, but we sold a good amount of books there,” said Branss, adding that he doesn’t know why there are so many fans in Australia.
One of the company’s greatest expenses is advertising. Branss recently ran a commercial on streaming platforms, and back in March, Branss coughed up the dough for a digital ad that ran in Times Square. He said it cost $110, and a video of the ad is on the company’s website.
“I just woke up and then I see my family is texting me and I see a text from Aiden, and I’m on Times Square, and I’m like, “What did you do bro?” said Ureed Zaidi, another one of the company’s authors, after Branss mentioned he’s made impulsive business decisions in a group interview with the Tribune.
Zaidi, who also attended Palatine High School with Branss, said the idea to write a book dawned on him in the dead of the night while on the phone with a friend. For a second time, coffee demonstrated itself to be a worthy muse.
“I was talking to Aiden about my life story, and he told me, ‘You should just write a book about it,’” Zaidi said. “And I just stayed up all night, drinking a lot of coffee (and) started writing.”
Zaidi, 20, said becoming an author was one of the best things that ever happened to him because it was something he did with his friends. Zaidi billed his first book, “The Short Kid From Pakistan,” as “a story of survival, love and the triumph of the human spirit.”
Right now nine titles from six authors are for sale on Branss Books’ website. A couple new books will be published soon. Several large retailers such as Barnes & Noble and Walmart sell the company’s books online, and a few of their out of state brick-and-mortar stores stock them, Branss said.
“We’re hoping to grow, and hopefully they can put more faith (in us) and I can walk into a store nearby and see one of my books,” he said.
Branss said his company is really trying to sell three things. This first is books. The second is that reading is important. Lastly, Branss wants to peddle the message that those who want to start their own business should go for it.
“They shouldn’t hesitate,” Branss said. “You’ll never know unless you take the risk.”
