Today we’d like to introduce you to Lina Rinh Zepeda.
Hi Lina, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi, I’m Lina Rinh Zepeda. I’ve been trying to find a place where I belong, career-wise, for quite a while. My first job was in the library during my undergrad and when I graduated, it made sense to become a librarian. So, for about 14 years, I worked in libraries. What I loved most about it was the ability to share a range of information, not just about books, but community events, job fairs, and overall, just building rapport with whomever walked through the doors.
I had my daughter in late 2019 and just after my maternity leave ended, my dad suffered from a major heart attack. We lost him about 1 month later. Soon after we had Covid, I wasn’t ready to return back to working as I had originally planned.
Covid brought much more uncertainty, but it also brought a renaissance, especially in children’s literature. I saw many people of different backgrounds creating their own representation by writing and publishing their own books in multiple languages and cultures. There is a whole community out there.
With the death of my father, I realized how important it was for me to finally learn Cambodian. To learn something, creating was my best learning method. What else could I create other than books! Not that it wasn’t a dream of mine already, but this whole experience the past three years became the impetus I needed.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It was a huge learning curve. I have no background in business, so I did a lot of research. There are a lot of different pathways for seIf-publishing. Overall, the biggest struggle is the sales-pitch and marketing. You have to be able to sell the book to potential audiences before it gets printed to generate that interest and get it reviewed. I do all facets of the business: writing, illustrating, logistics, marketing, and accounting. This is all on top of being a stay-at-home mom. The process has been slower than I would like and I would sometimes get overwhelmed from doing a lot of the work myself.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I own a self-publishing imprint called An Conmigo. It’s a company that prints children’s books about Cambodian culture in English and Spanish with an introduction to Cambodian words. I am very proud of the 3 books I wrote and printed within the last year. While the books are a reflection of my mixed family, I wanted to fill in the gap in children’s literature about Cambodian culture. Those in English and Spanish children’s literature were limited, so the books needed to fulfill both markets by being in a multilingual format. It’s a great tool to bridge cultural gaps in multicultural families by providing a visual and tangible resource. It is encouraging to see that my daughter sees my work and enjoys it as well as seeing other families embracing the books. My readers have shared how it has opened up discussions surrounding the topics in the book. I love being part of this growing community of writers, and there are more Cambodian children’s writers taking part.
What do you think about luck?
I am lucky to be a part of this multicultural renaissance and fortunate to find other Cambodian American creators; they really add to my growth and inspire me every day.
On another note, luck is created. If I overworked myself, I became sick, made more mistakes and over analyzed the work. It is important to take care of myself as much as managing the business. Since it is a small business, I am able to give myself more grace and time to work on my own health which benefits the business. I feel blessed to be self-employed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.anconmigo.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/an_conmigo/
- Youtube: www.YouTube.com/@anconmigo
Image Credits
Lina Rinh Zepeda
