David Chuka's Blog, page 15

London Book Fair 2013 Summary – Tuesday

On Monday, I posted the first part of my London Book Fair 2013 entry. I’ve been getting a few questions and comments around LBF 2013. I can’t say it enough, it was a real eye opener and possibly a landmark point in my publishing/writing journey. Below is the major gist of what happened on Tuesday. Enjoy.

 

Tuesday

On Tuesday, I dropped my daughter off at school and I was on my merry way to Bush Hill Park station to grab a train into Central London. I started the day at the Children’s Innovation Theater with a seminar called ‘The Digital Generation: The Future of Children’s Story Time.’ This was done in a Q&A format. One of the speakers was a children’s book author who seemed to look down on self published authors. I agree and disagree in part with the major thrust of her argument which seemed to center on her disdain for self published authors.

Without a shadow of a doubt, self publishing platforms like Amazon’s Kindle, Kobo or Nook to mention a few, have opened the door to many authors to share their work with the world. And some of the self published work I have seen in terms of the writing and illustrations have been top notch. Maybe, she hasn’t seen this quality of self published work or feels threatened by self published authors. She mentioned how she was one of a few children’s book authors in the late eighties who were like rock stars and then the market got flooded by so many people trying to do children’s books in the nineties. This sort of snobbery and arrogance wasn’t nice to see.

On the other hand, and this is where I agree with her, some people (I do hope they are not in the majority) see self publishing as a business opportunity and are flooding the market with books that are sub standard. These type of people really do give self publishing a bad name.

On a personal note, I received the images for the latest Billy and Monster book a couple of days ago. They just weren’t to the standard that my readers have come to expect. So even though, it’s going to mess up my publishing schedule, at this stage in my writing career, I’m more interested in establishing a name than just churning out book after book. One of the other speakers from Booki introduced a new eReader specially designed for kids. It’s a  changing world out there and the consensus was writers and publishers have to embrace the new world of digital without abandoning the old word of paperbacks.

 

After this class, I went to the AuthorLounge for a session on Book Marketing taken by Gareth Howard, who is the CEO of Authoright, who were hosts of the AuthorLounge.

 

After this I ran back (I tell you there was a lot of running or should I say brisk walking over the 3 days) towards the Children’s center for a talk on blogging. I missed the first seven minutes of this class and didn’t like the fact I could only find a seat at the back. This class opened my eyes to the power of bloggers and their place in the publishing/author’s world. Big publishing houses are looking to send their books to bloggers to review to help create a buzz and also increase awareness of one of their books.

Some of the bloggers on the panel said they had stopped accepting books as they had too much which they hadn’t gotten round to reading and reviewing. I met Jo (one of the bloggers on the panel) and asked her a few questions about approaching bloggers. She said to always include the blogger’s first name when you approach them or else they will think you are bulk mailing to all and sundry. She gave me her card to contact her with regard to Children’s bloggers as she reviews YA (Young Adult) books. I’m happy to say that Jo did come through (after I emailed her a few nights ago) and gave me some UK and Irish based children’s bloggers. Result!

 

After this I went over to the MLBT (My Little Big Town) stand and met Calvin (the CEO of this publishing house that seem to make books that I would personally endorse) and showed him the Easter story of Billy and Monster. He seemed impressed.

 

I rushed back to the Children’s Innovation Theater and there was a seminar on PR. The first speaker was from Penguin and she talked about the PR campaign behind ‘The Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ and how they try and maintain brand awareness outside launch periods. The second speaker from Bloomsbury, talked about a Harry Potter campaign they did when the last film was about to be published. They did a campaign that focused on finding people’s favorite Harry Potter character. Through social media and press coverage, the campaign did generate a lot of buzz. When asked, he couldn’t guarantee or state if the campaign had a direct impact on the sales of the Harry Potter books in the stores. My personal opinion is that it cannot hurt to have ‘buzz’ about your book. One way or the other, it really does translate into something positive for the book whether long term or short term. The reality is that some buzz is better than no buzz.

 

I ended the day in the AuthorLounge and arrived early enough to get a seat for the Q&A with author Nick Spalding who I now follow on Twitter. Nick is such a down to earth guy and I love his honesty and self deprecating humour. He told us of his journey from self publishing to traditional publishing. His books did so well while he was self publishing that he got offered a very lucrative deal by a publisher and he now writes full time. He said he enjoys the commute from his bedroom to his office down the hall. He advised that we shouldn’t get into a mindset of us and them i.e. self publishing vs. traditional publishing but rather that both can co-exist side by side as he’s proven. In the industry, he’s known as a hybrid author as he has books that are traditionally published as well as self published work. This session was chaired by Hayley Radford who is the director of marketing at Authoright.

 

Immediately after this was a talk by Mark Lefebvre who is the director of self publishing & Author Relations at Kobo. Now I have to admit here that I’ve never uploaded any of my titles on Kobo or any other self publishing platform apart from Kindle. However, Mark made a point that if you’re exclusively publishing on just one platform, then its like telling your fans who are on other platforms that you really don’t care about them. With that in mind, I uploaded two of my non-fiction books on Kobo and after 72 hours (it usually takes 8 hours for me on Kindle), they went live. I have to admit while uploading the book was a breeze, navigating the Kobo writing life platform was not easy to put it mildly. We’ll see how non-fiction sales go on there (Note: It’s now been about 5 days since I published on Kobo and no sales yet. While these books I put on Kobo are non-fiction, I have sold several copies on Amazon in that period).

 

After this class, I went to one of the conference rooms for a seminar titled ‘How to start a publishing company’…what a waste of time! OK, I take that back. It wasn’t a waste of time but it was not what I was expecting. Prior seminars I had attended had people I felt had been in the trenches and had given their fair share of sweat, blood and tears in their pursuit of publishing success  The panelists at this seminar had a more lecturing style to their presentation with no real world examples. I left about 30 minutes before the seminar ended.

 

I then had to go to the opposite end of Earls Court, jumped on an escalator to the top floor where decisions that will affect your local bookstore window were being made. The seminar/event was titled The Best of UK children’s books: quickfire presentations on forthcoming titles from 12 leading UK children’s publishers on the official brochure. I got into this seminar about 25 minutes after it had started and being that this was my first time at LBF, I absolutely had no idea what to expect. What happened in this little room was one or two reps from the major publishing houses, I’m talking about Penguin, S&S, Macmillan,  Egmont, Hachette, Bloomsbury to mention a few, had 5 minutes to tell us about 5 or more books in their catalog that were due to be published from summer all the way to November. In the room where book buyers and I imagine folks from the big retail chains who were there to decide what books to stock on their shelves in the run up to Christmas. One perk of this event was the goodies bag at the end. In my bag was a Lemony Snicket book and I’ll start reading it sometime in May.

 

My big takeaway from Tuesday was that there is this big war raging at the moment: self publishing versus traditional publishing. While sales of digital books have been increasing astronomically in the last few years, I believe there’ll always be a place for a physical books. Like Nick Spalding advised, we should embrace both worlds and look for opportunities to share our work on multitude platforms and different formats. I was discussing with a friend recently who was looking to strike a deal with a traditional publishing house but was getting the standard rejection letters that all published authors tend to receive at the start of their careers. Can you imagine the Stephen Kings, J.K. Rowlings, Darren Browns who we will never get to enjoy their works because of a multitude of rejection letters from publishers that killed their passion and desire to get their books published. My advice to her was to go the self publishing route. There was a time when to be considered a self published author was something that was frowned upon and you were looked down on as an author. Not anymore! Many authors have been discovered by big publishing houses due to their success at self publishing. If like my friend, you’re still contemplating if you should self publish, please don’t hesitate. Get your manuscript to the best possible standard. Ensure it is professionally edited. It should have a book cover and title that would stand shoulder to shoulder next to a New York Times best-seller on the shelf at Wal-Mart or Waterstones. And who knows? Self publishing might be your route to getting that offer from a well-known publisher.

The final post on my London Book Fair will come in a couple of days. Watch out for it.

I’d be happy to answer your questions and also hear your comments regarding what I’ve written.

 

 

Win a SIGNED Copy of Billy and the Monster who Loved to Fart

I’m happy to announce that I have recently started converting some of my books which were only available digitally to physical books. Currently, I have converted three of them namely Billy and the Monster who Loved to Fart, I Love Baby Animals and Billy and Monster: The Superhero with Fart Powers.

You can purchase these books on the Amazon store and they’ll be great as a gift for a loved one in your life.

Today, you have the opportunity to win a signed copy of Billy and the Monster who Loved to Fart. Simply go to the link below on Goodreads, sign up (if you haven’t already) and enter. Goodreads randomly pick the winners and I’ll send the book to you…signed of course!

Goodreads is a wonderful site dedicated to anyone and everyone who loves reading books. So far about 200 people have entered to win a copy of this book. By the way, I’m giving away 5 copies so you very well might have one of these beauties coming in with the post sometime in May. The giveaway closes April 29th so hurry and enter. Just click the link below.

 

 

Goodreads Book Giveaway

 

 

Billy and the Monster who Loved to Fart

 

by David Chuka

 

Giveaway ends April 29, 2013.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

 

 

Enter to win

 

London Book Fair 2013 Summary – Monday

Go where you are celebrated and not tolerated.

 

Last week I was at the London Book Fair from Monday to Wednesday and I have to say every moment spent there was worth it. Writers tend to work in isolation so its always a big deal when you’re able to leave your cave and smell some fresh air. The London Book Fair was held at the world famous Earl’s Court in West London. Prior to the event I had mapped out my itinerary for the 3-day event which included seminars and workshops I wanted to attend as well as stands I wanted to visit. Over the next 3 days, I’ll share what I was up to and what I learned from this eye opening event. Today, we’re going to be looking at what I learnt last Monday.

 

Monday

It all kicked off for me with a Q&A session with Mel Sherratt and T.J. Cooke which was hosted by Daniel Cooper, the head of Kindle Direct publishing, EU. Both authors shared their routes to getting published and it was particularly encouraging for me when Mel said she was sat in the audience at last year’s fair and today she’s a best-selling author.

After this seminar, I had to rush over to the Children’s innovation theatre on another part of the hall (it must have taken like 3-5 minutes) where I had the pleasure to hear Stuart Reid do a session titled ‘Monster, Bums, Bogeys & Books that Children WANT to read…’

Stuart made a very interesting point that while your avid child reader will read the classic stuff like Enid Blyton and any other material, two-thirds of children, particularly boys need to be coerced into reading by giving them want they want to read..fun and gross stuff!

 

After the seminar, I had an opportunity to talk to Stuart and tell him about my writing efforts. He advised that one of the things that’s really worked for him was going to schools to do readings…so this is something I’ll be actively trying to incorporate into my publishing efforts in the next few months. Stuart has several published books and his publisher was actually at the Fair so he pointed me in their direction.

It was  a pleasure going to the My Big Little Town stand. In a funny kind of way, meeting Letitia (Sales Director at MLBT) and Calvin (El Presidente of MLBT) was possibly the fondest memory I’ll have of LBF 2013. I met Rowan Gibson whose an author at MLBT and just had her début book – Pirates Don’t Play Cricket on full display. Rowan told me a personal story of how she got to write this book with Iain O’Brien (a famous New Zealand Cricketer). I have to say I was really impressed with the artwork and quality of the book. Rowan was dressed as a pirate and it was clear to see she was proud of her book.

 

I spent lunch time going to the different stands and speaking to the people at each stand. I do have to say that it seemed everyone had their agenda and it wasn’t really to meet new authors or sell books. As I discovered over the course of the Fair, many publishers and industry heavy weight were there to do deals. I went to an event on Tuesday afternoon, where the big publishing houses were pitching their Christmas launch books at booksellers. Jeff Kinney’s latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid was promoted at this event even though its launch date is all the way in November! I began to appreciate how strategic the publishing industry is. More about this event tomorrow.

 

In the afternoon, my goal was to attend a session at the Children’s innovation Theatre. However by 1.05 pm, the technical folks were still messing about with the sound system, so I picked up my bag and headed towards the AuthorLounge (the place to be at LBF). Patrick Brown, Director of Community at Goodreads was doing a session on how best to use the site. He shared some good practice stuff that I’ll definitely be implementing. He showed examples of authors who had used the power of Goodreads to increase the exposure of their books. If you look towards the  right of this webpage, you’ll see all my books and their ratings as listed on Goodreads. I’m definitely going to be spending more time there. Goodreads is a social platform where authors and readers can share and discuss books.

 

After this session on Goodreads, I quickly found a seat (standing up for almost an hour is so not fun) for the next event titled ‘How to Get a Litereary Agent’ The role of an agent is almost similar to that of an estate agent  as they exist to marry you with the appropriate publishing house. After this class, I visited the Amazon KDP stand and spoke to a lady called Amanda who answered some of my questions. She gave me her card and said to forward a particular query I had with regard to placing books in a certain category and she would forward it to the appropriate person. I sent her an email last Wednesday and if she does come through… Billy will become accessible to more children. Will keep you posted on that one. I checked out some other stands and was on my merry way.

 

I met a lady Liberian from Nigeria who was interested in show casing my work in her city. We agreed to meet up on Tuesday but sadly it never got to happen. Anyway, thank God for email! I’ll send her an email and will see that takes us.

 

My big take from Monday was it does pay to get out there and speak to people and find out what’s happening in the industry. You could sit at home and subscribe to newsletters and join forums and read people’s tweets but nothing can compare to actually seeing movers and shakers in the flesh and getting to hear things first hand.

Tune in for tomorrow’s post and discover why I walked out of one seminar.

Interview With Children’s Book Author Marta Alexander

We’re back. After a week off catching my breath and getting ready for the London Book Fair which I’ll talk about in another post over the weekend, I’m happy to say that AUTHOR INTERVIEW THURSDAY is back! This week in the hot seat we have a lady whose passion for education and increasing the literacy levels in toddlers and young children is so clear to see. It was an absolute pleasure getting to know Marta Alexander and I’m sure you’ll agree with me by the end of this interview. Without further ado, let’s welcome Marta.

 

Tell us about your latest book and what format is it available in?

I have recently published a series of books entitled “Dolch Sight Words Series.” It was inspired by my niece who was learning to read and needed an easy-to-use learning tool. The series includes six books for budding readers. The books will suit the needs of both kindergarteners and younger children as well.

The whole series is available on Amazon in Kindle version. However, paper versions may come out on the market shortly.

The books in the series are:

“I Can Read 1: Dolch Sight Words Series, Part 1”

“I Can Read 2: Dolch Sight Words Series, Part 2”

“I Can Read 3: Dolch Sight Words Series, Part 3”

“I Can Read 4: Dolch Sight Words Series, Part 4”

“I Can Read 5: Dolch Sight Words Series, Part 5”

“I Can Read 6: Dolch Sight Words Series, Part 6”

 

What other picture books have you written?

I have also written “Two Dinos Buy Perfume: A Silly Counting Book for Boys and Girls” that was actually the first book I published. I thoroughly enjoyed writing it. As soon as I finished it, I wanted to write more! It is a rhymed story about kitties, dinosaurs, penguins, lions, puppies, monkeys, pigs, bears, spiders and frogs. I love educational books so I couldn’t help myself but incorporate a learning factor into it as well. These fun stories help little ones practice maths skills by counting

their favorite animals.

 

What can a reader expect when they pick up a Marta Alexander book?

Learning while having  fun. I have earned a Master’s Degree in Teaching English so creating educational books is a natural thing for me. I strongly believe children acquire knowledge through fun. That is why I always make sure my readers learn something useful while simply enjoying themselves through colorful illustrations or silly rhymes.

 

What has been the most successful way of promoting your books?

So far, giving away my book for free as a limited-time offer has been most successful. I have enrolled all my books into Amazon’s KDP Select program which lets anyone download my work for free if I run a promotion. The book is being exposed to millions of Amazon customers which eventually leads to a more successful promotion.

 

What do you love best about being a children’s book author?

No boundaries. Children have amazing imagination that lets them visualize things that are incomprehensible for adults. I love the fact that I can write the silliest idea ever and it fits right in. Children are great readers!

 

Where do you usually write your books?

I love to write my books on the balcony while enjoying the warm sun of California. I am usually accompanied by my two cats who are not particularly interested in my writing process. They prefer basking in the sun instead.

 

What is the process from when you get an idea for a book to the point it gets published?

I usually have a brainstorming session prior to getting down to writing. I love this stage as I can put down any idea which comes to my mind – again, no boundaries. Then I create a tentative draft that is rewritten multiple times. Unfortunately, I am a perfectionist, that is why I spend a considerably longer time making corrections than writing the book itself. I pay close attention to proper formatting as I understand that a great book with poor formatting will not appeal to anyone, no matter what the age of the reader is.

 

What mistake(s) have you made publishing your books you would advise others against?

I had this idea of a cover in my mind. I thought it looked perfect. However, while outsourcing the cover creation to a graphic designer, I didn’t explain what I had in mind in sufficient detail. When I received the cover, it was absolutely the opposite of what I envisioned. I had to have the cover completely redone which meant spending more time and money.

 

Do you believe in writer’s block and what do you do to overcome it?

To be honest, I don’t experience it too often. When I do, I use the advice of my Writing professor – I write whatever comes to my mind, no matter how silly it is. In most cases, the text immediately goes to trash but it may sometimes happen that I come across an idea which proves to be a game changer. What I struggle with more than writer’s block, is a lack of time. I find it really hard to set aside regular time for writing. I try to juggle the duties of my day job with writing, formatting, creating covers and publishing books. It may sometimes be overwhelming to the point that you find yourself in a situation where you have absolutely no time to write.

 

What were some of your favourite books as a kid?

I loved Grimm’s fairy tales. Ever since the teacher in kindergarten read one of the stories in class, I nagged my Parents to read all of them to me as often as possible. I think these fairy tales tremendously developed my imagination. I still keep some images in my head that I visualized while listening to Grimm’s fairy tales.

 

Congratulations Marta on recently getting married. Does your husband help with your writing projects or do you show him the door when you’re in ‘the zone’?

Thank you very much! I am fortunate enough to be working from home so I usually try to write when my husband is at work. I love to write in a quiet environment where nobody or nothing disturbs me. As you can see, my husband doesn’t get involved with my writing process. However, I think he may be a great writer so I nag him every day to start writing his own books. I’ll keep you posted!

 

What was your best memory from your wedding day?

I will never forget the glow on my fiancé’s face when we saw each other for the first time on our wedding day. I loved that grin and I will never forget it!

 

Toy Story or Shrek?

Tough choice. I will probably go for Shrek because I’ve seen all Shrek movies multiple times. I find myself quoting Donkey a lot!

 

Which are scarier, dragons or monsters?

Dragons. They have the ability to burn you before you get to know them better. Monsters are scary but sometimes they turn out to be good. The spooky part of their personality was only our imagination.

 

What are your best memories from your childhood?

My Parents used to read to me a lot. We had tons of books and I probably had all of them memorized (I know my Parents did!). I’ve always been a bookworm, which is why I believe listening to stories is the best memory from my childhood. I believe bedtime stories create a wonderful link between parents and their children.

 

 Apart from English are there any other languages you speak?

Besides English, I speak Polish and Russian. Polish is my mother tongue and I learned Russian in college.

 

Do you have any plans to write any children’s books in Polish?

I would love to translate some of my books into Polish, but, believe it or not, I find it easier to write in English! Polish is a tricky language which makes it tougher to write rhyming stories. However, I hope one day in the future I will get a chance to translate my books into Polish. It would be very exciting!

 

What can we expect from Marta Alexander in 2013?

More educational books. I strongly believe learning doesn’t have to be boring and I want to prove it in my books. That is why I would like to focus on learning needs of preschoolers and elementary school children. However, I’m thinking of venturing out to teenage fiction as well!

 

Anything else that you’d like to add?

I would like to thank all readers who reviewed my books on Amazon or contacted me via email with their feedback. I absolutely love hearing from you and your kids because I write for them. Every time I read a positive opinion about my books, it always makes my day! I would also like to tell aspiring authors or those who think of becoming an author that dreams come true. Do not hesitate! Just sit down at the desk and start writing. With enough perseverance, you will put your books on Amazon too and proudly relate to yourself as a ‘published author’. Good luck!

 

Thanks Marta for taking the time today to share with us. I really love the fact that you brought our attention back to the primary reason we do what we do as children’s authors – getting children to enjoy reading. You currently have eight books published on your Amazon author page. Something tells me that number is going to increase exponentially in the next few months and years and Marta Alexander’s fan base will continue to grow and grow!

You can see all Marta’s books by visiting her Amazon author page at the link below

http://www.amazon.com/Marta-Alexander/e/B00B1EKGU8

Taiye Selasi Book Launch Event and Lessons Learned

Last week I was privileged to attend the book launch of Taiye Selasi’s debut novel – Ghana Must Go. Now if you’ve visited major book stores and read literary pages both online and offline in the last two months, then there is a great possibility you may have stumbled on a review of her book or an interview with her.

It’s funny how certain things can converge all at the same time. About a month or so ago, I was reading the monthly newsletter from Goodreads, when I notice this ad on the right hand side about this book that had a title with a lot of political meaning for Nigerians and Ghanians who lived through the eighties. I click on the ad (I guess banner advertising still works) and got to read a blurb about the book.

Now there’s a Waterstones bookstore by my office and everyday as I walk past, I always say ‘One day one of my books will be on the display window.’ Well on this Tuesday morning, as I walked past Waterstones on London Wall, my book wasn’t on the window but a poster about Taiye Selasi was. I walked into the store, enquired and discovered that she would be having a book launch a month later. Well, last Tuesday was the d-day and the event did leave quite an impression on me. Below are some of the things I learnt/remembered from an evening with Taiye Selasi.

 

Humor

Like most events, everything didn’t go according to plan. There were siren noises during the reading, people noisily walking up and down the stairs (the event was held on the underground floor), people who came late and caused a distraction with their heels or chitter chatter, tough questions that were borderline insulting aimed at Taiye etc. With everything that was tossed Taiye’s way, she diffused each distraction and missile with her humor. There  wasn’t any question that would wipe the smile from her face or distraction that would throw her off course. As someone who writes funny books but isn’t always in a funny mood, it was good to be reminded that nothing is really worth stealing your joy.

 

Believe in Yourself

I have to admit before the event, I had read some average to not so good reviews about her book. I have to admit that I hadn’t read the book and was wondering if it was really as good as the glowing reviews other readers had suggested. I’m glad I went to the event as it gave me the opportunity to hear and see an author who believed in her work and was able to share with the audience her motivations, challenges and journey to getting the book published. Taiye believes in her book and it was really beautiful to see an author who believes in their work and is passionate about writing.

 

Humility

There was something that really stuck in my mind during the event. Before anyone asked a question, Taiye made sure to ask for their name. Well this lady asked a question and later in the evening raised her hand to ask another question. Taiye called the lady by her first name and said she could go ahead and ask the question. The lady was surprised and thanked Taiye for remembering her name. Taiye responded by saying the lady didn’t need to thank her. She went on to say that if the lady could remember her (Taiye’s) name, then why couldn’t Taiye remember her name. I think I was not the only one who was impressed by this touch. I think we all have this impression of celebrities or people in the public eye having enormous egos. It’s always refreshing when you see first hand that this is not always the case.

 

Don’t be Pigeon-Holed

There were several questions that alluded to the fact that the book had an African setting and Taiye was a female and if Taiye saw herself as an African author or a female author. She did a good job sharing with us that she had no problem being labelled and such labels were actually created by Sales people in publishing houses to help sell a book. No author goes before their computer and says that I’m black/white or male/female or come from an affluent or impoverished background and I’m going to allow that background put limitations on what I can write. Every author approaches their work first of all wanting to tell a story. Yes, our backgrounds influence our writing but in the realm of fiction, our backgrounds should not determine what we can and cannot write. At the end of the day as Taiye beautifully put it, all writing can be boiled down to two categories: good writing and bad writing. Hopefully, an author’s desire is that his work is classified in the ‘good’ category.

 

I met some wonderful people at the event and was privileged to have a chat with Taiye’s publisher who has been responsible for the media blitz surrounding Taiye’s book. I had a book signed by Taiye and will start reading it before the end of the month. If you ever have the opportunity, I’d encourage you to go to a book launch of an author in your local area. You’ll definitely pick up a thing or two that could inspire and aid your writing efforts.

 

Deconstructing a Billy and Monster Book

Today, I want to take you behind the scenes of how I write one of my Billy and Monster books. I have to admit that it was never a conscious decision to create a series for Billy and Monster. However, a discussion with a dear friend of mine, opened my eyes to the possibilities of what I could achieve with Billy and Monster. So far, I’ve written 3 books in the series and the fourth book should be published mid April. The below 3 elements are what I believe have made Billy and Monster successful and what I try and replicate with each book.

 

Answer first, Question Second

At the heart of each Billy book is a conversation he has with his father about something he has done wrong and how he can correct the error of his ways. The springboard for beginning each project has always been ‘What can Billy learn in this episode?’ The lesson to be learned is the answer, then I have to think about the question that triggers this answer.

This leads me to think of different scenarios that will allow Billy get to this moment when his father shares a moral lesson with him. In Billy and the Monster who Ate all the Easter Eggs, the lesson to be learned was about doing things in moderation. So the answer was Moderation but what would be the question to this answer. What if he had too much chocolate to eat?

 

Quirky Characters with Eccentric Idiosyncrasies

One thing I have discovered with children is that they love funny and outrageous stuff. A child’s imagination is limitless and they will respond to interesting characters who they normally will not see in their day to day lives. Sometimes, when I’m writing, I share an unfinished story with family and friends. I have to admit I have to be careful not to take everything my ‘adult’ friends say literally. A child sees the world different to an adult and what is funny and plausible to an adult is very different to what a child responds to.

In each book, I’ve tried to introduce quirky characters that children will remember and maybe relate to. Throughout the series, we’ll always see Monster. In Billy and Monster: The Superhero with Fart Powers, we have Billy’s dad burping like a horse having a hiccup. In the third book, we have Grandma Chocalicious who loves chocolate so much she even makes chocolate pasta! These quirky characters add a little bit of spice to the story.

 

Captivating Images

The Billy and Monster books are catered for a 3-8 year old crowd. I honestly don’t think this series would have been as successful without the beautiful images inside each book. The ability to self publish books is an opportunity that I see a lot of new authors embracing and I’m really glad about that as I don’t know if and when the world would have gotten to know Billy and Monster if I had to rely on a traditional publisher believing in me to publish my work.

However, one down side to self publishing is that some authors don’t pay particular attention to detail. More so when you’re dealing with children’s books and have to grab their attention from the very first page. I’ve had times when I’m reading books to my children at bedtime and my young boy whose three, zones out and starts doing other things because the story is not engaging or there aren’t any pictures to keep his attention. I regularly download Kindle books to my iPad and I have read some children’s books that were beautifully written but had average to poor images. I’m fortunate to have a good illustrator who does the pictures in my books. Without those illustrations, Billy and Monster wouldn’t have that ‘X’ factor.

 

So does are three of the things I try and do with each Billy and Monster book. I have to add that the title for every book has come easily to me but this fourth book ( as witnessed in this post I did last week), was really giving me some cause for concern but I believe I’ve gotten it! You’ll just have to wait to see if I have another winner on my hands when it gets published mid April.

 

This post was inspired by an email I got today from an author who wanted to know what I was doing that was working. I hope the above answered some of your questions.

 

Interview With Children’s Book Author Deborah Bradley

It’s another Author Interview Thursday. It’s always a joy to discover new authors. If you think about it, J.K. Rowling was once considered a new author but she isn’t anymore. Stephen King was once upon a time a newbie author… but not anymore. And I believe, even though the lady whose on the hot seat today, maybe considered a new children’s book author, something tells me she is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the very near future. Please join me in welcoming Deborah Bradley.

 

Deborah tell us about your latest book and what format is it available in?

My first two children’s books were both Kindle books about African animals:

ABC Animals Of Africa - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B8YKL4C

Awesome African Animal Facts - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C0V4PPS

I started with those because I had the resources to move quickly with them and get a couple of published books under my belt. I’m much more excited, however, about the books I’m creating now. I should have my next book published within the next week or so about a little dancing bear. It’s a rhyming book which was a great surprise to me because I didn’t know I had a talent for writing rhyming stories, but it came out quite naturally and is a lot of fun.

 

What other picture books have you written?

 Those are the only picture books I have published to this point. I have one other book on the market: Boston Tourism Essentials which is a Boston travel guide that goes hand-in-hand with my website: Boston-Tourism-Made-Easy.com.

 

What can a reader expect when they pick up a Deborah Bradley book?

 I find that no matter what I write, the feedback I see most often is that people enjoy the energy and style of my writing. My somewhat subtle sense of humor seems to come out in my writing whether it’s about tourism, animals or anything else. I write in a very personable way as if I’m really talking to the person on the other side of the page.

In addition, I really enjoy formatting my children’s books to have an engaging yet clean feel, so you can count on a high quality look for each book. This probably results in me paying a bit more for delivery on the books, but I feel it’s worth it to know I’ve put something awesome out into the world.

 

What marketing methods are you using to promote your book?

So far, mostly KDP select and reaching out to family and friends. I’m slowly building up a mailing list as well so, hopefully, down the track that will turn into a consistent source of sales.

 

What’s book have you had the most fun writing?

Good question. I found the ABC book the easiest to write as my focus was simply on finding one thing to really engage the kids with each picture. Short and sweet tends to be my style. However, as I said earlier, I’m much more excited about some of the books I’m currently working on. I have two that I’m really hoping will turn into a series’ (if I see the demand for them). One is the rhyming story about the dancing bear as mentioned above, and the other is about a little girl and her day-to-day adventures. These stories take a bit more focus for me, but are extremely satisfying when I feel I’ve gotten them “right.”

 

Where do you usually write your books?

 Either on our living room couch or at my desk in our home office which we had built into the back-end of our bedroom!. It’s a little tight, but it gets the job done and gives me some non-kid time.

 

What is the process from when you get an idea for a book to the point it gets published?

With the animal books, I started with the images as I had almost all of what I needed courtesy of my parents from their trip to Africa. I then made a plan for the focus of each book and created the style and content accordingly. For all of the books I currently have in production, I have started with the content. Once that’s nearly finalized, I look to outsource the illustrations. From there I decide on the best look and feel for the book, put it together and publish!

 

What mistake(s) have you made whilst publishing your books that you would advise others against?

I don’t know if this is a mistake, but I’ve had trouble managing the categories of my books on Amazon. At one point I was trying to change one of the categories through KDP and nothing was happening. I wrote to KDP to ask for support. As a result they made the change, but the book was also dropped out of the first category that I still wanted it in (the “Alphabet” category for my ABC book!). After several emails back and forth, they very apologetically said that “things have changed” and they can’t just put it back. So now the book is listed in less appropriate places and not currently doing very well. I’m planning on giving it a bit of time and then trying again!

 

Do you believe in writer’s block and what do you do to overcome it?

The vast majority of my writing has been for my tourism website. I wouldn’t say I ever had writer’s block per say, but I would say that there were times that I just wasn’t in the zone. I will usually give myself 10-15 minutes and if the words don’t start flowing, I’ll focus on something else for a while until I can feel that I’ve relaxed and am ready to dive back in. I do often find that simply standing up and moving around/getting a snack/going to the bathroom is all I need to get the clarity I need to move forward. I used to be a computer programmer and I always found the same thing when I was stuck. The moment I walked outside, the answer would come to me!

 

Who are your favorite authors?

Ironically, I can’t say I have any. At this stage of my life I mostly read non-fiction how-to books as I’m always reading something to improve my life in some way – my parenting abilities, the health and well-being of me and my family, etc. I tend to be more focused on where I can get the information I need than who wrote it. When it comes to kids books, I tend to focus on theme as well. The books that I’m most inspired to get for my kids are:

about being confident, happy, healthy and inspired people,
about Australia (as much of our family is there so it’s a way of keeping them connected with their roots)

That said, we still have plenty of Dora, Barbie and Disney princess books here as well .

 

What were some of your favourite books as a kid?

As a very little child:

Pat The Bunny and Good Night Moon

As a slightly older child:

The Diggingest Dog

Morris The Moose Goes To School

The Ugly Duckling

Make Way For Ducklings

 

Do your children inspire any of the characters in your books and do you involve them in your writing process?

Yes, definitely. Especially my nearly five year old, Siena. She’s such a character herself, that it’s very easy to bring aspects of her into my young female characters – it actually make the writing much easier for me. I like to read what I’ve done to see how engaged she stays. She’s definitely more into my “stories” than my factual animal books. When it comes to illustrations, I’ll often ask for her input, but she invariably likes “all of them!”

 

Toy Story or Shrek?

Definitely Shrek. Toy Story was cute, but Shrek had an exciting, mature and full story line – LOVED IT!

 

Which are scarier, dragons or monsters?

Monsters. Dragons are cool mythical creatures. Monsters (out of the young children’s book context) can be scary, gross, erratic and mean creatures.

 

What are your best memories from your childhood?

Watching Red Sox games with my family
My summer dancing at the Alvin Ailey school
Pizza birthday dinners at Scappys Restaurant (no longer there)
Playing tennis with my family
Dressing up with my sister as “Mr. and Mrs. Smedley” then having afternoon tea as we played bridge (the cards game – which I no longer remember how to play) with our parents
Body surfing in the ocean at Cape Cod

 

What do you love the most about Boston?

The Boston Common and the Swan Boats at the Public Garden
The Cheers Bar – even though it’s super touristy and the inside is nothing like the one they used on the show
Glorious spring and summer days
Taking the girls sledding at our local park
How easy it is to get around using the T (our public transportation system)
The passion for our sports teams
Watching the Boston Marathon run by our home
Love/hate our extraordinarily erratic and extreme weather

 

Tickets to see the New England Patriots or the Red Sox?

Either/both, but if I had to pick – definitely the Red Sox. Fenway Park is such an institution with such a great energy and so many fun memories. Plus, the long standing “curse” (which has now been broken) somehow gave us a fierce loyalty that you could only fully understand if you were born into it.

 

Where can people find out more about your writing?

I have just started building a list of my books as well as “recommended reading” on my newest blog: Vita Mama Online.

The kids’ books page is: http://www.vitamamaonline.com/KidsBooks and there is a place on that page to sign up for my mailing list so I can let you know when I have new books out or other pertinent news to share. I’m going to start doing book reviews on the blog soon as well. So far I have been experimenting with what exactly the site was going to be about, but I’ve gotten much clearer as I’ve gone down the kids books path and will be focusing my posts in that direction.

And, of course, you can find loads of Boston information on my tourism website: http://www.boston-tourism-made-easy.com. This has been a labor of love that I started back when I was living in Australia! It’s been amazing to come “home” and to be able to continue working on it from here.

 

Anything else that you’d like to add?

Just, thank you for the opportunity. It was a lot of fun !

 

The pleasure was all mine Deborah. it’s been a very refreshing experience interviewing you and your zest and passion for life really does come across. I really have to agree with your comment about Writer’s block. Sometimes, it’s possible you’re just not in the ‘zone’ and a walk away from your desk and taking your mind of the project at hand has a way of getting you back on track. I’m really looking forward to seeing the books you’re working on.

You can bookmark Deborah’s Amazon Author Page and see her current published titles by clicking the link below

http://www.amazon.com/Deborah-Bradley/e/B00B5578ZO

You can also follow her on Twitter - https://twitter.com/VitaMamaOnline

Weekly Update from David Chuka

First of all, I’d like to thank everyone who made the launch of ‘Billy and the Monster who Ate All the Easter Eggs’ a big success. It’s currently a best-seller and is NUMBER ONE in the Manners and Easter Category on the Amazon US store. I discovered a very interesting review about this book on a blog. Here it is below

 This was another wonderful book by David Chuka.  In this book  Billy and his best friend the monster  talk about all of the holidays they like.    Their favorite holiday is Easter.  Their dad comes in to tell them they are visiting their Grandma Chocolicious.  His grandma loves everything chocolate.  She makes chocolate donuts and other goodies for them.  In the middle of her kitchen is a pyramid of chocolate Easter Eggs.  They are told they can’t have any until Easter Sunday.  They go to bed and dream and think about the eggs.  Shortly after midnight they sneak down to the kitchen and begin eating the eggs.  They leave a mess and go back to bed.  The next day they hear shouting and remember the mess they had made.

They learn a lesson in “moderation”.

I loved reading this with my granddaughter.  She read most of it to me.  I loved being able to teach her a new word, “moderation”.  It was more fun listening to her use the word all day long.  When her brother grabbed too many animal crackers she took some back and said, “No Jacob, we need to eat them in moderation. That means not too often or too much.”  Her brother grabbed them back from her.  She shrugged and told me, “I guess he doesn’t understand the word moderation”.  I love books that my grandkids like and that teach lessons that are not too big.  They are taught in a way that a first grader gets it.

This is the fourth book by this author and will definitely not be the last.  I love his books and will recommend them to everyone I know with younger children.

 

There’s another review of ‘Counting to Ten and Sharing My Easter Eggs’ that you’ll also discover on this blog. You should have seen the big fat smile on my face when I stumbled on this review

You can see both reviews by clicking this link http://www.themusingsofabookaddict.com/2013/03/childrens-books-review.html

 

I also wanted to provide some feedback on ‘I Love Baby Animals.’ If you remember, a couple of weeks ago, I talked about (you can read about it in this post) how I was going to make changes to ‘What Do You Call a Baby Lion?’ which was not doing so well in terms of sales. Well, I’m happy to announce that after changing the title to ‘I Love Baby Animals’ and also the cover, sales have been very good. At one point we were number 2 in two very competitive categories. I believe my little test in changing the cover and title truly proves that a book is really judged by its cover. None of the content on the inside of the book was changed.

 

I’ve actually finished writing the fourth Billy and Monster book. However, I’m really struggling to find a catchy title. After the experiment with ‘I Love Baby Animals’ we all know the value of a good title. In this episode, Billy tells us a bit about where he lives and the characters on his street. We also get to meet a new family who have moved into his neighborhood and Billy has some interesting similarities with the girl whose moved next door. The working title I had for the book was ‘Billy and the Monster who had a Girlfriend’

As I begun to write the book, it became apparent that we were dealing with people, especially neighbors, so I changed the title to ‘Billy and the Monster who met a New Neighbor.’ But there’s just nothing exciting about that title. I have another title that came to me while brushing my teeth this morning. It’s ‘Billy and the Monster who met Sally and her Burping Monster’

 

Which of the titles above would make you want to read the book if you saw it in a bookshelf at your local bookstore? Or do you have an even more outrageous title? Please leave your comments below and if I choose a unique title you suggest, I’ll mention you (with your permission of course) when this book is published.

 

Interview With Children’s Book Author Laura Yirak

It’s that time of the week again. I really look forward to Thursdays…Author Interview Thursdays. Today in the hot seat we have a lady who in my opinion has the most unique artwork that is replicated in all her children’s books. After downloading ‘Poppy Come Home,’ I was intrigued to discover other books by Laura Yirak. She writes in a way that engages the attention of little children. Her one-of-a-kind illustrations complement the poetry and story in her books. Please join me in welcoming Laura Yirak.

 

What 3 ingredients make up a Laura Yirak book?

Fun, bright, and easy!

 

Tell us about your last published book and where we can get it.

My Silly Kitty is now on Amazon. A little girl opens her long awaited birthday present to find something lively, something silly—a cute kitty, but she runs off! Oh no! This birthday party is full of surprises!

 

Did you consciously set out to brand your books as they are so recognizable on the Amazon Store?

Yes, it’s the illustrator’s style.

 

How closely do you work with your illustrator to produce those amazing pictures we see in each and every one of your books?

We talk everyday about the books and closely collaborate.

 

What do you find the hardest about the writing and publishing process?

Time. I would like more time to work on books. I only have a couple hours a day.

 

What has worked the best for you in promoting your books?

Publishing on Amazon has really worked the best. They are a wonderful company to sell books with.

 

Have your Scottish roots influenced your writing?

More so in my adult titles that I publish. I write under other pen names. I do have a Scottish scene with Nessy in our little owl book.

 

Which of your books have you enjoyed writing the most?

I really enjoyed writing the Ladybug Series as I love the little things. If one happens to land on me, I always send it away with a wish.

 

What mistake(s) did you make when you started out as a children’s book author?

I would say not having the stories fully illustrated. Children are very visual.

 

Do you believe in writer’s block and what do you do to overcome it?

I get writers block. To overcome it I take a break, and watch movies, think about other things.

 

What is the process from when you get an idea for a book to the point it gets published?

I usually pick things that I like out in nature, experiences that I have had. I play with words for titles and once I pick the title, I write up a poem. I go through many drafts till it’s just right and then I have it professionally edited. I send the story over to the illustrator next with the page specs. He whirls it up.

 

Which children’s authors do you admire and why do you like their work?

I like Dr. Seuss. He is such a tongue twister. His style is fun and quirky.

 

What would you cook if you were invited to the show Come Dine with Me? (Come Dine with me is a UK TV show where 4-5 strangers meet up during the course of a week and have to do a 3 course meal for each other on each day of the week)

Steak, roast chicken, and pastas. I really like pesto, and gorgonzola.

 

 If you were abandoned on a deserted island, what 3 things would you like to have with you?

Just one thing—a genie’s lamp!

 

Toy Story or Shrek?

Shrek

 

Which are scarier, dragons or monsters?

Monsters! I like dragons.

 

Which are cuter, cats or dogs?

I am actually allergic to both. Haha. I like birds I don’t mind writing about them though.

 

What is the best thing about being a writer?

I get to use my creative mind!

 

What can we expect from Laura Yirak in 2013?

We have a Zoo book in the works and I haven’t scheduled the rest out yet. I go with the flow.

 

Any advice for budding writers out there?

It’s all about the idea. Formulate that and you can run with it if you set your mind to it. And be patient—sometimes book world is slow, but sometimes it’s not. Keep Going!!!

 

Thanks Laura for giving us a glimpse into your world and how you work. I think your passion for what you do and your attention to detail really comes through on every page on your book. I have to concur that there are up days and down days but the secret to true and long lasting success is to keep going!

You can discover more about Laura and what project she’s currently working on by visiting her blog at

http://laurayirak.blogspot.co.uk/

You can also discover and get one of Laura’s books on the Amazon store by visiting her Author Page.

http://www.amazon.com/Laura-Yirak/e/B004RWDO64

Billy and the Monster who Ate All the Easter Eggs is LIVE!

Billy and Monster are back!

Just wanted to announce that the third book in the Fartastic Adventures of Billy and Monster series titled ‘Billy and the Monster who Ate All the Easter Eggs‘ is now live.

It’s currently 99c on the Amazon store.

In this 3rd episode in the series, Billy and Monster visit Grandma Chocalicious over the Easter holidays.

It’s safe to say that Grandma loves chocolate, perhaps even more than Billy as she holds the Guinness Book of Records for making the best chocolate cakes, chocolate waffles and even chocolate pasta!

Billy and Monster tip toe downstairs to see the pyramid of Easter eggs Grandma has made at midnight on Easter Sunday.

Will they resist the temptation to eat one and what happens when they make a BIG mess?

You’ll need to get your own copy to find out.

This will be a wonderful read over the Easter holiday with your little ones.

You can grab your copy by clicking one of the links below

US – http://amzn.to/16Sou1s

UK – http://amzn.to/15PENJ6

Let me know what you think once you’ve read it.

Thank you