Description
You have a book in you. The one about your hometown, your alma mater, or the community that shaped you — and deserves its own children’s book. This 122-page playbook is the step-by-step system to get it made.
Is this for you?
- Yes — if you’re planning a children’s book about a community you love: a town, a campus, a faith community, a museum, a neighborhood.
- Yes — if you’re tired of generic self-publishing advice that doesn’t fit community books.
- No — if you’re publishing a novel, memoir, or non-community book (the strategy doesn’t transfer).
- No — if you need done-for-you publishing. This teaches you to do it yourself.
What you get
- 14 modules across 122 pages — the decisions, sequencing, and specifics that took the author four books to figure out.
- 13 templates, contracts, and calculators — Word docs, Canva templates, and a Google Sheets cost model.
- Instant PDF download — read on any device, print if you want, reference forever.
The 14 modules
- Why community books are different from generic children’s books
- The three-list exercise that sharpens your concept before you write
- Visual styles that work for community books, and how to evaluate illustrators
- The illustrator workflow: from first message to finished art
- Print-on-demand vs. offset, and which fits your project
- Pricing your book so the math actually works
- The legal and business setup, demystified
- Partnerships, distribution, pre-launch marketing, and the launch
- Reading the signals the first year is sending you
The 13 templates and tools
- Canva mood board template + community discovery interview guide
- Illustrator outreach email template + sample illustrator agreement (Word doc)
- Design brief template + POD vs. offset cost calculator (Google Sheet)
- Sample partnership agreement + sell sheet template (Canva)
- Pre-launch marketing checklist (8 weeks out) + 30-day launch plan
About the author
Mary Voelker is the founder of Collegiate ABCs and author of 8+ published community children’s books. She has worked with universities, illustrators, printers, gift shops, alumni associations, and partners. This playbook is what she wishes she’d had when she started — the strategy, the templates, the math, and the unglamorous decisions, all in one place.
Instant PDF delivery. You’ll receive the playbook and all 13 templates in your inbox within minutes of purchase. All sales final (digital download).
