Book Brag : WHSmith

Link -- WH SMITH

My book, Charlie Cheese Travels The World, has been spotted on the WHSmith website. This is a milestone I didn't think I'd reach anytime soon, but seeing my work on their page made my day - the fact that they stock (or have previously stocked) my work is something I am very proud of, hence this little book brag.

I've linked at the top of this post because I was too excited to write anything else first without sharing! I'll continue to promote my work, even if it was written a couple of years ago - because success is not instant. Delayed success is even better as it comes as a nice surprise just when you think you're not doing enough to self promote.

Search 'Charlie Cheese Travels The World' now to find where you can get yourself a copy.

Is There Any Point In Reading To Your Newborn?

Newborns are only able to see in high contrast for a while, they don't know what's going on around them, and their eye muscles are not strong enough to focus yet. So is there any point of introducing literature to them? Because in reality, the first few weeks they only feed, toilet and sleep...

My daughter was three days old when she had her first story time. The book was a contrast picture book and 8 pages long. She's too young to even know what a book is, nevermind what the storyline was, but she was happy to sit with her father and watch him turn the pages as he read aloud. She was comfortable, she was interested, she was content.
She has since had several story times, with board books, paperbacks and even the newspaper. It doesn't matter what you read to them, as long as you're reading aloud and showing them where the story is coming from.

The benefits of reading to little ones consist of: allowing them to learn your voice, exposing them to new vocabulary, bonding over a relaxing activity, teaching them that books are an enjoyable experience, and showing them worlds they don't have around them. Children can sense the excitement in your voice as you read - especially if you put on funny voices for dialogue.

These days reading aloud is something that is being actively promoted - if children see grown ups doing it, they'll think it's just what we do - and therefore they will not feel put out when having to speak or read to an audience themselves. It's a skill even adults often struggle with.

Read aloud and proud!

You're their favourite person in the world and you're sparking an interest in reading. Reading with your littlie is a safe, comfortable activity, one that newborns can get involved with - because let's face it, they can't do much else and reading is a skill they'll have to tackle when they're older.
I've worked with young children, and they love story time. All they have to do is sit and listen, and they're imagination does the hard work. If it's escapism for adults, it's the same for little ones.

So yes, reading to a newborn is a must!

Mini Rebrand

I've bit the bullet and made an 'authors page' for my children's books. It took a lot of bottle for me to do as I was terrified that it would come across as arrogant. My anxiety has been through the roof on the run up to creating the page - I needed a space for my books in general, to save me making a new page for every book I made - and this way, my work is all together.
The Twitter Writing Community has been very supportive of me creating the page, which helped my nerves.

I've deleted my Charlie Cheese Books Facebook page because I wanted to focus on the general page for children's books - and it makes room to promote books that aren't in the CC series. Plus, I can use the page to post about upcoming books or any book news.

I have a new avatar, shown on the homepage and this will be my profile picture on most things where my children's books are concerned. I have tried to use headshots before, but it's more comfortable to use the avatar. This was drawn by the ever awesome Tommings.

The page can be found here: Beffy Parkin Children's Author.

Please give the page a like, or have a little look around if you've got the time. There isn't much on there as of yet, but I'll be sure to update whenever I can. Phew!

End Of Writing Hiatus!

I'm back!

Well, nearly. I'm a parent now, so I can't work as much as I used to, but I will be writing up ideas and updating my blog at least once a month. If I manage to get into a good balance, it'll be more!
Time away has made me see where my bread is buttered, and although I will be engaging in many different writing exercises, I've decided that children's books is where I thrive.
With the lovely feedback from the Charlie Cheese Books series, and reviews of The Macroodelzig, I cannot see where else to focus my time.

However, I will continue to expand my writing talents by creating more comedy, poetry, screenplays etc, as I enjoy doing all I can to make work I'm proud of, it just won't be promoted as much as any children's stories I'll write - It's an excuse to finish the mountain of unfinished projects I have on the go. I think my main focus will be children's books - but that doesn't mean I won't ever publish another poetry book, or eventually get around to filming my ideas. (God help me, I will film something if it kills me!).

I have a little one now,  so I'll be writing to entertain her - which means lots more children's books will be coming soon! It's good to be back!

4am Creative Writing

Being woken up at 4am isn't always fun. Who are we kidding, it's never fun being woken up, no matter what time it is!

Unfortunately, this is quite frequent these days, so I put my time to good use. I have been spending the early hours of the morning writing! Poetry, story ideas, and for the first time in a while - a complete children's story. I managed to write a full rhyming story in the hour and a half I was rudely awoken. When I woke up at a reasonable hour, I sent off the note to my beta reader ( ... my poor unsuspecting husband!) and had some good feedback.

No typos, no plotholes, no confusion.
How on earth did I do that when my brain doesn't want to work?

The story is called, 'Do Your Homework, Sally Dean!', I'm hoping to sit on it for a until the end of the year, or the beginning of next year, then release it - but I know for a fact I'm going to be overly excited and try to publish it as soon as I have the finances! (If you see me promoting a book with that title in a few months, call me out!)
I am making sure I put a pin in all future ideas and notes - they will either become future writing projects, or something to reflect on and wonder how I got anything at all done on so little sleep.

The Macroodelzig - Where To Find One!

The Macroodelzig has been out for a while now, which means the book is available in more stores! Hooray!
Along with the fabulous online feedback, I've spoken with many people who really enjoyed the story, artwork and the message of the book. I'm so happy with the response I've had, and I am grateful that people are willing to set time aside to read my book and write up a little review. Please leave a review if you can, it really helps indie authors out.
The book is now out in the world, and you can grab a copy from all corners of the world. Here's a list of online websites and bookstores that stock the book:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Booktopia

Bokus

Foyles

If you spot a copy of the book in the wild, don't be shy, let me know so I can update this post!
Happy book hunting!

Finding Feedback - The Struggle

It's fairly difficult to source your own book bloggers for feedback, and being an indie only makes it worse. Here's how I went about finding people willing.

I had to contact people on several different social media sites to find people willing to fit my work in to their busy To Be Read list.
You can't expect people to drop what they're doing to deal with you.
The people I spoke to were writers, bloggers, book reviewers, parents and carers, and people who enjoy children's literature, and fortunately, I managed to get some feedback.

Some of the feedback I received were posted on the social media that I had contacted them on, so I had featured on their Instagram stories, was retweeted on Twitter, and the cover of my book reposted on Tumblr. Not all feedback comes to Amazon - that's why you have to share their feedback on your own, as others may not see it. It's always good to request that they share their comments on Amazon, if they can, bonus, if they can't, it doesn't matter, they've spent time giving your work feedback, so you should take the time thanking them, sharing their words, and returning the favour if possible.

Don't go into thinking that people owe you anything. Yes, you have a new book. Yes, it's super exciting. Yes, the people you contact do this for a living. It doesn't mean they read your genre, or they prefer books that aren't indie, or they just don't have time - some people make a living from reviews, and therefore would expect a payment for their time. If you cannot pay them - don't ask them. I don't pay for reviews, as I feel you'd want more bang for your buck, and expect a glowing review as your hard earned money went towards it - which may not be completely honest or reflective of your work.

Top tip: Do not expect the review to be perfect and sparkly, they see your work in a different light and will point out the flaws, imperfections, and will inform you of their opinion - it's honest work, and it's better to hear the truth from someone who has built a career on book reviews, than to be told it's amazing and that feedback being useless to you.

My Impending Writing Hiatus..

It's hard to come to terms with the fact that my writing will have to go on the back burner for a while!

I've had my whole pregnancy free to write whatever I want and try new writing styles, so it'll be strange not getting up, grabbing a pen and cracking on! I'm coming to the end of my pregnancy and in a few months, I'll have a new priority.

I'm swapping notebooks for nappies! How exciting!

I will be making an effort to write as and when I can - but I have a feeling my ideas will be recorded as voice notes, rather than quick sticky note scribbles. I don't want to lose my interest in writing, and I'm excited to juggle raising my child, and follow my career goals - you can have both.

I'm hoping to set a little time aside when I feel comfortable to get some new ideas down or rediscover my WIPs. I've been making an effort lately to draft some blog posts, so if I do get a spare moment, I'll at least be able to keep my blog as active as possible.

This is the good thing about putting a pin in projects!
I have some work projects to come back to - and since it'll be a while in the future, I'll have fresh eyes - which has worked well for me in the past!

My First Author Interview!

I was recently contacted to take part in an interview to talk about being a children's author, and of course I was happy and excited to answer the questions!
The interview was for International Book Promotion and it was the January Children's Author edition, the interview was alongside 11 other authors.
Here's the full interview:

1. What is your source of ideas for a new book? Ideas can come from anywhere, whilst doing the most boring activities in the world! It could be from a mispronounced word that sounds like a fun character's name.

2. How do you come up with names for characters? Naming the characters is lots of fun. They can be bizarre and wonderful names, or names that everyone knows, as long as it suits that character.

3. How much time do you write in a day? I put at least five hours aside each day to write, but as I said, ideas can come from anywhere, so I may be making notes in the middle of the night when I've got a busy brain!

4. Is there a lot of material that you have written that never gets published? I do have a fair amount of material that is just scribbly notes! Too much! Sometimes I leave notes and come back to them at a later date, and sometimes I feel that those ideas are no longer relevant and can be left out of publishing.

5. What age group do you target? My Charlie Cheese Books are aimed at 2 - 7 year olds, as the rhyming story and colourful and wacky images appeal to the younger children, and the older children are exposed to more complex vocabulary as well as a fun story. I am releasing a book in the very near future called The Macroodelzig, it contains an exciting rhyming story which again gives children exposure and the opportunity to learn new words.

6. How do you promote your books? I have no pennies to make lovely big billboards, although that would be nice! I have to promote the books by going into local schools to talk to children, or write about the books on my social media accounts. It would be amazing if word-of-mouth promoted the books better, as I have had a lot of lovely verbal feedback from parents in person!

7. What do you think of video bloggers or You Tubers who promote books? I think video bloggers and book vloggers are amazing at expressing their passion for literature! It's lovely to see people are excited about books and are wanting to talk about them.

8. Children's books have improved over the years and there are books that discusses on sexual education, cancer awareness and gender equality. Do you think these topics are too much for children to learn? I think more mature or real-life topics should be included in children's books - the younger they get familiar with real-life issues, the better an understanding they will have. Some topics are normal in some families, so if it's included in books that everyone reads, then it just shows it as a normal family life - which is what some children will relate to.

9. How do you think your work is different from the other children's books? I feel my books are different as they include some weird and wonderful characters, they are unique and it's good to be different!

10. Name one children's book you would totally recommend to parents and kids, and why? It'll have to be Dr. Seuss' The Lorax - it has a wonderful meaning behind it, and the story is fabulous. I love Dr. Seuss myself, my favourite is Cat In The Hat!

11. What are you aspirations, as a children's book author? I very much enjoy writing and seeing little ones reading my work - I first started making stories when working in a pre-school, so making up wonderfully weird stories always made the children smile, which helped spark an interest in books - win win!

12. If there is one thing children's books should focus on improving, what would that be? Children's books definitely need to be more diverse! There's so many cultures and backgrounds in this world that need more representation in children's literature and picture books. The more children are exposed to diversity, the more they can understand the world around them!

I hope you enjoyed reading my first interview, I am happy to do more! Fill in the contact form at the bottom of the blog if you would like to interview me!

Amazon Bestseller : The Maths

Ever wanted to work out how books reach the Top 100 on Amazon? They have a Best Sellers Ranking system which gives each book a number - this number changes with reviews, sales, and other books being added on to the Amazon website. So, I was wondering what it would take to hit the Top 100 from standing...

My best sellers ranking (at the minute) is 130,706.
So, I would need to have at least 130,606 reviews or sales within a limited period - as I said, if more books are added the book can be knocked back. (ARGH!)
I have approx. 450 Facebook friends, and 750 Twitter followers.
Providing there is no cross over with accounts, that's 1,200 people - so even if they purchased the book or left a review, it wouldn't scratch the surface. To smash this realistically, you'll need the best advertising and promotional team going - but who has the money for this?

It's near impossible - in my opinion - for an indie author, to promote, advertise and even know enough people to have them ALL help accomplish this goal.
I'm still attempting to boost the ranking number - for a personal achievement / for fun - it gives me something to work towards with this book.
The ranking doesn't mean the content of the book is no good - don't forget this!

Want to try and help bump my number up?
Grab The Macroodelzig on Amazon now!

The Macroodelzig - Super Sneaky Snippet!

I just had to make a small, flick through video to promote my children's book, The Macroodelzig!

It's very short, but it shows the amazing artwork - by Tommings - and this is the first sneak preview video I've ever made, so I love it!

Please give it a view / share / like / comment etc! The book is coming soon, so let's hype it up!

> > The Macroodelzig Sneak Preview < <

World Book Day 2019

It's that time again! Happy World Book Day!
As a treat I thought I'd honour the hashtag, #ShareAStory.

This year I haven't dressed up, as my baby bump limits some costumes, so this is the next best thing - I am sharing some lines from my first book, Don't Eat Charlie Cheese! Hooray!

Happy reading!

 Charlie Cheese has lots of jobs,
he is a very busy slice.

His bosses try to eat him, though,
they've tried to once or twice.

Charlie went to be a chef, he had to cook a roast.

The chef took out a slice of bread..

"I am not for toast!"

Charlie had a little sulk,
they don't know how he felt!

Charlie started crying,
and then began to melt!

Finish the story and fill in the gaps by grabbing your own copy - search 'Don't Eat Charlie Cheese' on google now!

Are Amazon Book Reviews Important?

Well, are they?

I try to review everything I purchase on Amazon - even if I don't write much, I'll leave some stars.

My children's book series is available on Amazon, but unfortunately, it doesn't have many reviews. I have had to request that customers leave a review in the past, as not everyone does give feedback on Amazon. It's not like I'm asking for great reviews, because that's not the case, and the review would then be null and void for other people checking the books out. I am looking for honest feedback which accurately reflects people's opinions on the books - as this can make or break, and is valid to me.

I do think reviews are important, in a way.
I have had amazing feedback on social media sites, via email, or in person - but they are private reviews and not seen by possible readers, which limits me.
Word of mouth is also incredible to get the news out, but it's not often people find themselves in a discussion about moustache sporting cheese men...

If you do have one of the books, please, please, leave some honest Amazon feedback /
Thanks in advance!

Don't Eat Charlie Cheese

Charlie Cheese Travels The World

Charlie Cheese And The Food Dance

Charlie Cheese : Facebook Milestone

I set up the CC facebook page a long time ago, and after four years, we've just hit 300 likes.

(Knowing my luck when I post this, it'll have gone back down!)

It's been difficult promoting the page on Facebook - you can invite your friends, but not all of them are interested and will decline, or you can create sponsored adverts, for robots and fake pages to give the page likes - which is a pointless exercise.
I don't over post on Facebook, so I'm not a bother, but I will update it fairly frequently when I need to.

Either way, hitting 300 likes is fabulous news!
I'm aiming to promote better, somehow, so we can reach 500 likes before the end of the year - without the help of fake pages and likes.

If you want to help out, give us a like, invite your friends, and share, share, share!
>> Charlie Cheese Books!