Creating Change through Children’s Literature: Build and Market with Purpose
with Amy Quale, co-founder of Wise Ink Creative Publishing, and artist and author Ara Elizabeth
Tuesday, November 10 • 6:30 pm (CT) Networking / 7:00 Program
ONLINE Meeting: register here
The truth of successful publishing is that it’s about more than just writing a great book. When it comes time to make decisions about how to write, edit, build, and market a children’s book, all of the choices you make should be filtered through this single question: What do I want my book to do in the world? In the November MiPA presentation, veteran publisher Amy Quale and artist and author Ara Elizabeth sit down in conversation to cover a case study for how to build and market a children’s book with purpose. They will explore how to:
- Plan an impactful marketing strategy from day one
- Write a book with a mission
- Integrating illustration into the story telling process
- Rally a community to help in funding
- Think outside of traditional book sales outlets
The children’s book market is growing constantly, increasing 3% each year for the last five years. Despite that, the supply of new titles outpaces demand. Because of the size of that market, making a children’s book a successful endeavor, especially as an independent author, can be a major challenge. Building the book and its marketing plan around the book’s mission is essential.
With clarity, intention, the right amount of support, and a creative approach to sales, a children’s book can create a powerful reverberation in the young hearts and minds it touches.
There will be time for questions, so be sure to bring yours to this experienced duo at the end of the session.
On or before Tuesday, November 10, register to call in or access our online meeting using the Zoom app on your computer or mobile device or call in from your phone. Connection details below.
About Our Speakers
Amy Quale (she/her), co-founder of Wise Ink Creative Publishing
Amy has been in the publishing industry for nearly fifteen years, and has worked with large and small presses and coached hundreds of authors in her career. She co-founded Wise Ink Creative Publishing in 2012 as a boutique independent publisher with a focus on publishing books to make a difference. Amy specializes in writing coaching, helping authors write books that support their mission. She has an MA in English and is a 2017 graduate of Yale School of Management’s Leadership Strategies in Book Publishing. Amy is currently working on a children’s book on forest foraging. She lives with her family in the Twin Cities. wiseink.com
Ara Elizabeth, artist/illustrator and author of Rise and Shine and Change the World
Ara’s art, like her life, explores the line between nature and fantasy, between the secret lives of animals and the poetry of flowers, between the imagination of children and the promise of independence. Ara illustrated the book, The Address to Your Heart, and wrote and illustrated the book, Rise and Shine. She is well known throughout the Twin Cities for her art-activism and many yard signs. www.araelizabethart.com
Event Details & Registration
We are online with this month’s meeting, utilizing a Zoom meeting generously provided by the North Dakota State University (and MiPA President) Suzzanne Kelley!
Tuesday, November 10, 2020:
6:30–7:00 PM (CT) Virtual Happy Hour Networking—drop in any time before the meeting to say hello (and test your audio and optionally video connection)
7:00–8:30 PM (CT) Presentations and Discussion
Program is free to all attendees; pre-register using the meeting link.
Register in advance for access by clicking here
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting, including access online or using one of Zoom’s dial-in numbers to call from your phone.
And be sure to let others know you’re coming on Facebook.
Amy Quale photo, courtesy of the speaker. “Children reading on the couch” by San José Public Library is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
MiPA events can always be found at www.mipa.org/mipa-events/
Generally on the second Tuesday of each month, MiPA hosts an educational resource meeting to help authors, publishers, designers, editors, and people of various expertise who make books happen.