Community Involvement Makes a Launch More Special
Early in the picture book development process, I knew that I wanted to involve the community in some way before releasing the first two books. Whimspire Books and I are mostly unknown to the people who live in the Sacramento area, let alone the broader picture book world. It is essential to introduce myself and the publishing company so that I can help build connections leading up to the release of the first two books. After writing down a few ideas, I decided on an art prompt for local students.
Why did I organize the art prompt project?
The reason I landed on an art prompt was that I thought it would accomplish several things at once:
Socialize the book titles and themes with local students and educators.
Allow students to be creative and share their own stories.
Promote dialogue in classrooms regarding the critical concepts that are addressed in The Lights That Stay and Piper's Pet Pursuit.
Build awareness and trust of the Whimspire Books brand and me as an author before the books are available for sale.
School packets!
On the floor of my office making folders for local schools.
What exactly is the art prompt project?
In early September 2023, I made a list of private and public schools in the area. I created packets of information for each school, along with some bookmarks and stickers. The packets introduced Whimspire Books, me as a picture book author, the forthcoming books, the project, and the project templates. I also included some optional discussion questions for educators to help them discuss the project with students. The focus of the project was for students in PK-3rd grade to complete a picture of one or both art prompts. The prompts were "My favorite animal moment" (aligned to Piper's Pet Pursuit) and "How my inner light shines" (aligned to The Lights That Stay). The templates were blank rectangles with the title of the art prompt, a place for the student's name, and a QR code and logo for Whimspire Books. The school with the most participants would receive an ice cream social. Each participating classroom would also receive a complimentary book.
The schools had until November 10th to complete the artwork. I ended up extending this deadline to the 14th due to the Veterans Day holiday. Schools could share their artwork on social channels, and I would reshare, like, and comment.
What was the outcome?
The local students' artwork was incredible and heartwarming! They each shared their own stories, and my vision came to life. We had ~400 students complete drawings! I would have loved to have even more. I dropped off packets at several area schools and emailed some as well. I probably got a 10% completion rate. That said, I get it. Schools are busy and don’t really have extra mental bandwidth for yet another thing to consider. Additionally, Whimspire Books is a new publisher that has yet to build a positive reputation. I may repeat this project next year just for fun after the books come out, and I believe the participation rate will be higher.
While I was initially going to gift only one ice cream social to the school with the highest participation, I decided to give ice cream to two top schools. The kids put a lot of effort into the drawings, and I wanted to recognize as many of them as possible. The ice cream socials will be held in Dec/Jan. I will be able to meet the kids, likely read and drop off some copies, make more connections, and generate interest in the new picture books. I will share a blog post after the ice cream socials.
What other information about this project is worth sharing?
This project was so much fun! Some additional thoughts worth sharing:
Branding really matters. It matters even more when you are unknown and introducing yourself/your company to new people. The materials were all branded and carefully crafted. I think this helped with credibility.
I wish I had clarified more in the instructions on how schools should submit the information. While I received awesome pictures, some schools tagged me on social media, and others did not. I would have loved videos as well. The lack of videos was my fault, though, as I did not request them.
The ice cream social was one of several ideas I jotted down. For other authors/publishers, you could do other treats or activities as a reward or even just recognize kids with a certificate or ribbon, etc.
You can watch my short video here where I announce the winners. The templates can be found here for other publishers/authors interested in doing a similar project or for educators or parents who would like to do the this prompt project for fun. I promise to comment, like, and reshare each picture that is posted :)
