Meet Lina Rinh Zepeda | Author & Found of An Conmigo

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lina Rinh Zepeda and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lina Rinh, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.

An Conmigo is a self-publishing imprint of English-Spanish children’s books with a Cambodian flair. Our ultimate goal is to create books with characters of Cambodian heritage who can celebrate themselves and whose stories resonate with other children despite their different backgrounds.

We felt Cambodian culture did not have much representation in children’s literature other than typical encyclopedic type of titles. As a way to introduce families to  Cambodian culture and it’s language – Khmer – we created simple, colorful board books. To make it more approachable and to bridge multicultural backgrounds, we wrote them in English and Spanish, the most spoken languages in the United States.

When we approach multicultural titles, some feel like it’s exclusive to those people of that background. Indeed our books can be a niche market. However, we hope to reach anyone with interest in Cambodian culture. Do you need to know anything about Cambodia or know Khmer? No at all.

What should our readers know about your business?

An Conmigo is a one-woman show currently. All the work is managed solely by myself. I do everything from the writing, illustration, design, logistics, and the publishing process. That’s because it is still a baby business and much of it is still quite at the start-up phase.

What I have learned from this one year is the power of marketing via exposure and collaboration. Going out to open-air markets helps people see books in person and holding it is a far better experience than seeing it on the screen. That exposure leads to a better presence in the community. Social media marketing is best leveraged via collaboration with other creators, which has led to my growth in sales.

I run the business part-time at the moment as I balance motherhood with entrepreneurship. So this makes our marketing reach a little slower. However, one thing I have learned is not to rush the process. Work-life balance is core to being able to run your business effectively.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Oooh, a week-long itinerary. We’d definitely visit my hometown of Fort Worth. We’d grab breakfast at Ol South then head over to the zoo for a few hours. Afterwards, we’ll head north to the museum district and enjoy the Modern Art museum. Then dinner at one of my favorite restaurants at Istanbul Grill at Sundance Square in downtown and just people watch afterwards by the water display.

Next day, we’d visit Arlington. Weather permitting we would stroll through River Legacy Park. Then tour my alma mater of University of Texas and Arlington and enjoy some nice college eats at Beirut or Bethany’s cafe. For dinner, we would grab pho or banh mi at Ba Le Vietnamese Restaurant.

On a Saturday, we’d head over to Grand Prairie for Zavala’s BBQ and visit Trader’s Village.

Other itinerary stops would be Bishop Arts for shopping, coffee and books. Next would be Carrollton for some great eats like Too That Street Eats, Cuban Dulcería, and the H-mart food court. If you do enjoy Korean food, check out Dal Dong Nae for spicy cold noodles and Doma Seolleongtang for soup in Korea Town in North Dallas.

Besides food, enjoy a train ride from Fort Worth to Dallas on the TRE. Check out the Texas Discovery Gardens in the Fair Park and maybe catch a broadway show at the Music Hall nearby.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

Wow there are a lot of people I want to make a shoutout to and first of them would be my husband, who is my biggest fan and hype man.

Then there are all the authors and creators I follow on Instagram who are also creating and sharing our love of Khmer culture such as Sotheara Kim of Khmer Renaissance, the SEAD Project where I took Khmer language classes, and my fellow Khmer American authors: Maly Tao, Ratana Kim, Marpheen Chan, Vickie Hong, and so much more.

Lastly, my daughter who is the inspiration for my books and reason for starting to write.

Website: Www.anconmigo.com

Instagram: @An_conmigo

Youtube: @Anconmigo

Image Credits
Lina Zepeda, Luis Zepeda