Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Andy Amendola. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Andy , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.

When I got into Formula 1 racing, it was during the summer of the Black Lives Matter movement, which had a significant impact on the sport. Many drivers and teams across not only Formula 1 but other motorsports as well, made diversity and inclusion a much higher priority. However, it quickly became apparent to me that motorsports, particularly the high-stakes realm of Formula 1 racing, is predominantly dominated by white males. The lack of racial and gender diversity within the sport is a significant issue, one that I hope to address through my books.

Formula 1 racing is not just about driving; it’s also a cutting-edge science, engineering, and technological competition that showcases the power of STEM. And Formula 1 race cars are nothing like the cars you and I drive—they have far more in common with planes.

So I set out to incorporate STEM learning, representation, and diversity into my book series from the start because I firmly believe that motorsport holds immense potential to captivate and engage children in a manner that truly sets it apart from other sports. The main characters of Red Racer Books, Red Racer and Roxy, serve as vital components of this vision. Red Racer, the lead driver, is a bicultural Latino male, while Roxy, the lead engineer, is a Black female character. And if you look at page P for Podium for example, you will find there’s a girl driver on the stage.

Representation in children’s literature is crucial, as it influences self-esteem and your sense of belonging. It fosters empathy and appreciation for diversity, not to mention that books play a pivotal role in shaping children’s perception of the world and their future career choices. So through my books and characters, I aim to inspire and open pathways for future generations in the realms of STEM and Motorsports. Drawing inspiration from Sally Ride’s powerful statement, “You can’t be what you can’t see,” my hope is that Red Racer Books can empower children to dream big and envision themselves in the world of high-performance motorsports or really any STEM career.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Andy Amendola, a long-time marketing and advertising professional turned children’s book author. In the spring of 2021, I launched Red Racer Books, a new series of kids books that explore the world of racing, starting with Formula 1 racing. My goal is to have Red Racer Books be a platform to engage and educate kids, by using motorsports as a vehicle (pun intended) to provide them with a more global perspective on sportsmanship, diversity, science and technology.

My ideal to Red Racer Books wasn’t a single eureka moment, but something more gradual. Thinking back on it now, it was like a chain reaction of serendipitous events, each building upon the other, pushing me towards the realization of an idea, and Red Racer Books was born.

Every night, my wife and I have a special bedtime reading ritual with our two young children, Blanca (9) and Joaquin (7). It’s one of my favorite parts of being a parent – reading together allows me and my kids to explore new characters, themes, stories and even worlds together. Throughout the years, I’ve carefully chosen engaging books that capture our shared interests. Yet there are still moments when my mind starts to drift while reading aloud to one of the kids. I call it the Zone Out effect. And you know what? It got me thinking, maybe I could write a kids’ book too. The problem was, I never knew what I should write about.

Until I discovered Formula 1 racing.

Thanks to the hit Netflix show, “Drive to Survive”, which my wife and I binged over the pandemic, I got hooked on the sport of F1 racing. It’s highly entertaining and is in large part responsible for the surge of popularity of F1 Racing in the United States. They call it the “Netflix Effect”.

Upon finishing the 3rd season of that show, a new chapter began for me—an immersive exploration and diligent study of all things Formula 1. Engrossed during every single moment of Grand Prix coverage and digging into its intricacies between races, I found myself tumbling down the F1 rabbit hole. In my day job, as a consumer marketing and strategy professional, research is a vital part of my day job, and has become a personal passion of mine. However, this time felt different. I had an insatiable hunger for Formula 1 content, a newfound experience for me as I had never been an avid sports fan.

We started watching races as a family and naturally I wanted to find books about F1 racing to share this newfound passion with them. But my searches were really coming up short. There were very few good books about F1 for kids, and many were just outdated. At last! I found an idea for my children’s book.

After attending my first Grand Prix in Austin, TX, the final piece of the puzzle had fallen into place. Seeing an F1 Grand Prix up close and personal, the energy and size of the crowds, the community of people I met, the cars, the teams and the competition, it all really inspired me. On the flight home I immediately started working on plans for a whole series of books and my goal was to have the first book printed and ready for sale before the Miami Grand Prix, which was now just six months away. The race was on.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

The traditional approach to book publishing involves authors working with book agents to pitch their ideas to publishing companies. This typically means two years until books even hit the shelves. Since I gave myself an aggressive timeline (six months to launch in time for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix), I chose to take a more agile approach and self-publish my books. Self-publishing has advantages, such as full creative control, but also requires a higher upfront investment, essentially having to print the books on my own dime, a substantial risk for someone new to the book business.

To launch my book business, I turned to Kickstarter, a crowdfunding platform for creative projects. It was an amazing experience where I shared my vision and dreams for the book series, connected with customers, and received real-time feedback. Despite the challenges of launching a Kickstarter campaign, the weeks of prep and pushing myself out of my comfort zone were entirely worth it. I reached out to anyone and everyone, doing whatever was necessary to hit my funding goal. The effort paid off with learnings, feedback, and new friendships. I’m still in contact with many of my backers, who were once strangers from the internet but now are friends IRL. They even share pictures and videos of their kids reading the books, and some have invited me to their own F1 group chats!

Community is important to me and my process as this is a totally new adventure for me. I rely on others for feedback, advice, and support. For example, the newest editions of the ABCs of F1 Racing in Dutch and Italian were made in collaboration with customers who bought my first book in English and wanted them in their native languages. Also, each book includes a thank you page acknowledging those who helped me bring it to life.
Looking back, it was only natural that I raised capital via Kickstarter. Not only did it give me a chance to connect with customers and build community, but it also allowed me to test the waters and see if my products and vision were viable. I will forever remain grateful to those first 347 backers who were willing to take that first leap with me.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

In my experience, reputation, whether personal and/or brand-related, is dynamic and requires upkeep. As a newcomer to motorsports and publishing, I’m the first to admit I’m not established…. yet! But here are four key elements I’ve used to guide the growth of the Red Racer Books brand: Passion, Authenticity, Community, and Good Branding.

Passion: Red Racer Books is not a job for me, it’s an absolute dream. I’m still shocked that people are buying something that I made. And that what I made puts smiles on the faces of parents and kids alike. I go to bed thinking about it and it’s the first thing on my mind when I wake up. I really love what I’m building with Red Racer Books and from what I’m told, it shows. From my experience, I’ve found it’s hard to fake passion but it’s easy to tell when someone really cares about their product and brand.

Authenticity: I don’t know everything there is to know about Formula 1 racing and I’m the first to say it. Being a kids book author, having my own kids helps, but it doesn’t guarantee business success. At the end of the day, I’m just a dad who is a huge (perhaps obsessive) fan of racing. I’m new to publishing and manufacturing, and I make that clear to my partners and customers. I personally email customers to check if they’ve received their orders and what they think of the books. And I think that people appreciate honesty, humility and even vulnerability.

Community: Maybe it was the two years of covid isolation talking, but when I launched Red Racer Books, I felt the power of community, online and IRL. Just like in any sport or business, there are insiders and fans. When I started Red Racer Books, I was just another new fan caught up in the surge of Formula 1’s growing popularity. However, I went beyond mere fandom by actively immersing myself in learning about the players, insiders and the passionate fan/creator community surrounding the sport. I researched, followed, engaged, and, most importantly, sought advice from anyone who would respond to my DMs. I welcomed technical guidance to fact check me and sought writing tips on my manuscripts. I shared my books with individuals in the F1 community, without any conditions or expectations. It wasn’t about selling anything at that moment; it was about seeking input from more experienced individuals. I’m not saying cold outreach to industry experts or fellow creators works every time, but by embracing vulnerability and seeking advice, I forged many meaningful connections and that opened new doors and led to partnerships.

Branding: I couldn’t answer this question without referencing the power of branding. Ever since I was a child, I’ve been captivated by the power of advertising, and I’m grateful to have turned that passion into a career.
That experience guided me in developing the Red Racer Books brand.
Branding can be expressed in many ways but in the world of children’s books it’s all about bold colors and vivid illustrations. Particularly since most of my books are for little kids who have yet to start reading on their own. I dedicated considerable energy and thought into how Red Racer Books shows up, and a big part of that is thanks to my talented illustrator, Wei Ren, who understood and surpassed my vision. Before launching I collaborated with him and other designers to build out the brand, down to the smallest details. And while it’s definitely not all perfect everywhere, I’m proud of how the brand show’s up and that is central to the brand and my own reputation.     

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.redracerbooks.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redracerbooks/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedRacerBooks/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyamendola
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RedRacerBooks
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7yyJQho1SEXThmPKOy5-XQ
• PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/RedRacerBooks/red-racer-book-launch/
• TIKTOK :https://www.tiktok.com/@redracerdad