Author Interview: Boe the Great by Joel Feldman

I reviewed the book Boe the Great here (I rated the book 5 stars so you should definitely read the book), and now I get to interview the author and illustrator Joel Feldman too! Read for a peek into his mind and some advice he has to other authors and illustrators.

Author & Illustrator Joel Feldman

Valerie Harmon: What children's books influenced you and are your favorites?

Joel Feldman: My mother had a small collection of French comic books. Tin-Tin and Asterix were my favorite ones. The funny fact is that at the time not only was I too young to read, but I hardly knew any French. Those colorful images are so well drawn, making each comic strip and frame guide you through the story line so perfectly. Above all I remember each and every detail those books had. The rich characters, the acting gestures, clothes and outfits, background layout etc. The scenarios were very well planned, exploring different countries and cultures. I was greatly fascinated by all of those features, and they still guide me in my work today, as a writer and illustrator.

VH: How do you get your story ideas?

JF: Whether it's watching random people on the street, reading a newspaper or a book, listening or playing music - ideas keep flowing all the time. The tricky part is to choose the best ideas, and then to transform those thoughts into a detailed story or an illustration. I'll also note that my daily work involves using my imagination all the time. Luckily, I get to sail through imaginary ideas and worlds while I'm working. Boe the Great. I had many ideas in my mind, but none of them has developed into a solid one. It was only after I randomly draw a small Viking riding a horse, on a distant snowy mountain, which made me realize I would love to "stay" there. The story developed later on, but all the small details were already present in that quick sketch, making everything very easy to visualize.

I have a privilege to get inspired by an illustration - just as it happened when I realized I would love to "stay" there. The story developed later on, but all the small details were already present in that quick sketch, making everything very easy to visualize.

VH: How did you learn illustration?

JF: Since I was very young, I always loved drawing. My father had many creative ideas and challenges, which really helped me to develop my creative skills, imagination and memory. Nevertheless, I was always more of a doodler and never consider myself an "illustrator" until I started my studies at Bezalel (Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem, Israel) at the age of 24. I studied animation for 4 years, which was indeed a great experience.

Character design, layout design, script writing, film, directing and many more. It was all there. I learned so many tools to choose from, and after I graduated, hard as it was to get myself into "real life," I had the knowledge and artistic variety to get things moving. The beauty of this work\hobby is that it is always evolving and changing. You learn new things, and your taste differs along the years. For me it's a never ending journey, and I hope to keep it that way.


VH: Having published, what advice do you have for other authors looking to publish their books?

JF: First of all, I illustrated several books for other authors, but Boe the Great is my first as a writer as well. After I published the book through Amazon, and it was quite well received, I got a huge opportunity to publish the book in hard cover, translated from English into Hebrew. With all due respect to online marketing and distribution capacity it provides, the joy and satisfaction seeing your creation on every book shelf in your home country, is just way beyond everything I hoped for.

I created Boe the Great while working other jobs. I had an idea which I thought was worth working for, and I went all the way with it. I never expected any success or fame, and always said to myself that getting paid for this would be a bonus - not a goal. In the end, having a world I created from a small idea, into an actual book - that is true success to me. Having said that, my advice would be set your expectations right. Don't criticize yourself too much, never stop dreaming, but try to get everything in the right perspective.

VH: What is your favorite part of being a children's book author?

JF: There are many reasons to be happy and proud. First of all, the personal experience. Like every art form, it is a creative process. The journey you go through is a great experience. Though it is quite tough and very long, in the end it is really satisfying. I have created something. It has a name and look. It has an idea behind it. It has rules of its own. The second thing for me is the readers. Whether it's the parents or the children, the idea that my book, my thought and creational process, is that family's time together or any other part of their lives - is just unbelievable. I take this opportunity and responsibility for those family's precious moments very seriously.

VH: As an artist, what advice do you have for creating successful book covers?

JF: eBooks and printed books covers are quite different. The digital version of Boe the Great, as presented at the kindle store, is shown in a very tiny frame among many other book covers. Naturally, my goal was to make people see the essence of the book in a quick glance, and to hopefully make them notice it and choose it over others. I choose an illustration where Boe is shown in close up, covering almost the entire composition, leaving a reasonable spot for a readable book title. Everything needs to be visually clear and right in place.

On the other hand, printed books have a more comfortable composition, in my opinion. There is more space to create a detailed illustration, which is obviously a better way to tell what's inside the book.

Moreover, your book might be placed proudly on the display window, and also might be hidden on the shelf right next to hundreds of other books. For that, my advice would be to make it noticeable by choosing the right colors and the right font. Do your homework by going to the local book store and see for yourself what catches your attention, and what will make you browse elsewhere. Simple as that.

VH: Do you have a funny or unique story about the whole author experience you'd like to share?

JF: Boe The Great is dedicated to my father, Gadi, which sadly passed away almost 3 years ago, and 6 months before the book was made. My father's spirit is in the core of everything I do. He was extremely smart and knowledgeable, a great educator who always set a good example. He always encourage me to create, and was very proud at any result I ended up with.

Creating Boe the Great was an important therapy for me trying to be as creative as I can instead of drowning into sorrow, which I defiantly felt and still feeling until this day. A good friend of mine, who read the book, told me he felt the sub-context of Boe the Great was about Departure, not necessarily of a person, but more of an end of an era, a dramatic change in life. Though I never aimed for that purpose and perhaps other people will find different ideas, it may have been subconsciously there all along. Dedicating Boe the Great to my father is like giving a gift back in return for everything he meant for me--making him proud.

VH: Do you have anything you'd like to share with the children who read your book?

JF: Of course. Like Boe's journey in the story, it is very important for us all to search for our own unique way. It is up to each individual to search for it, but it is also up to the parents to let it happen. That child you marked as failure on one subject might be a shining star in other subjects. Our world is so full of opportunities, and it gives us endless ways to become happy and successful. Remember that failure might lead to success, and we need to open our eyes to search for it and believe in ourselves and those around us.

For more information on Joel Feldman, check out these links:
Feldman's website - www.joel-feldman.com

Boe's Amazon promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EzQJcta2jI

Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/95058094@N03/

Amazon book purchase - http://www.amazon.com/Boe-Great-Joel-Feldman-ebook/dp/B00CBL498A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432988580&sr=8-1&keywords=boe+the+great

Boe the Great Review: 

http://valerierichardsonharmon.blogspot.com/2015/01/childrens-ebook-review-boe-great-by.html

~Valerie Harmon

Congratulations to child author Ryan Rector!

Author Ryan Rector

Congratulations to 10 year old writer Ryan Rector for making the Los Angeles local news as a children's book author.

I reviewed her book Hey Zoo Animals, Wake Up Already! and interviewed her in April 2015. Click here for that blog post.

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STEVENSON RANCH, SANTA CLARITA (KABC) --By Jory Rand--

Friday was the last day of school for Stevenson Ranch elementary school 4th-grader Ryan Rector, but she may be hearing from some of her classmates this summer who are looking to add a book or two to their reading lists.

Because at just 10 years old, Ryan is the author of not one, but two books.

She's written "I'm Not a Vampire, I Just Suck My Thumb," and "Hey Zoo Animals, Wake Up Already!" with the help of her father, Clarence.

"It's mostly her ideas, but it's just me with a little bit of assistance of putting it all together," he said.

---Read the rest of the news article (and a video interview) click here----


~Valerie Harmon

Children's Picture eBook Review: Survivalist Sam Stocks Up, by Kermit Jones, Illustrated by Christy Brill

Storyline: 4.0 Stars
Illustrations: 3.5 Stars 
Total: 4.0 Stars
I've come across children who experience a lot of anxiety for the future. After all, the world seems a scary place, and they are entirely dependent on adults. Something that can help their anxiety is a book about preparations for an uncertain future. 

Children (and adults) can take comfort knowing that unsteady income, job loss, etc., doesn't mean going without basic necessities if they are prepared. 

Although I would emphasize the value of preparing for an uncertain future (rather than a disaster that has us needing primitive skills, or the titles "prepper" or "survivalist"), this book is valuable for teaching children (and adults) a simple way to become more self-sufficient and have more peace of mind for the future.

Starting with food and water (Beans), then to hunting/protection (Bullets), medical/education (Bandages) and having things to trade (Barter) these four illustrated steps make preparations seem less overwhelming. 4 stars

Illustrations: The illustration style is not professional, but colorful and adds interest (especially from the children) to the story. 3 stars

Author Kermit Jones

Author Kermit Jones, Jr. stumbled across the idea of a prepper book for kids when trying to decide how to explain the topic to his four young daughters.  

Having attended high school in a very rural part of Virginia, he later went on to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD.  After spending a few years as a Surface Warfare Officer, he resigned his commission and entered the Navy Chaplain Corps, earning his Masters degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX.  A Reservist, he was recently recalled to Active Duty.  

In addition to writing children’s books, he is an instructor for USAPrepares.com and has been a guest on several radio and talkshow broadcasts. Between kids and his career, he has learned that it is important to “be prepared!”

If you are interested in Jones' other children's picture books on preparedness, Click on these covers: "teaching kids gun safety," "resourcefulness" and "how preparation keeps away fear":

  

You can also look at Kermit Jones' website here.

~Review by Valerie Harmon

Reading to Children, an Unfair Advantage?

As fans of children's literature (whether hardcover, softcover or eBook) this ABC Radio National article, by Joe Gelonesi, draws a conclusion that may be obvious to us:

"‘The evidence shows that the difference between those who get bedtime stories and those who don’t—the difference in their life chances—is bigger than the difference between those who get elite private schooling and those that don’t,’ he says."

-a quote in the article from philosopher Adam Swift

So more than an elite private school, being read to bestows more advantage to children? That. Is. Tremendous! 

Doesn't it make you want to go read aloud a book to a child? Knowing that it's more valuable to the child's future than a private school education?

With eBooks and Book Apps adding even more reading options and interaction with children, never before has literary technology been a greater advantage to children. 

I believe the advantage of reading to a child is mostly from the relationship and emotional bond that develops between the child and parent who is reading. However, because Book Apps actually "read aloud" to a child, and children control the narration at a touch (repetition of a favorite part? no problem!), I've seen great value in Book Apps raising childhood literacy. Do you agree?

The title of this article is, "Is Having A Loving Family An Unfair Advantage?"  Click on the link to read the entire article. 

Note: posting this does not mean I agree with everything the author Gelonesi postulates. In fact, I disagree with whole parts of it. But I obviously agree with the conclusions drawn about reading aloud to children. And I thought you might find it interesting too.

~Valerie Harmon

5 Ways to Market a Children's Book Online, from Scott Harpole

Guest Post by Scott Harpole

Here's the thing. I am in the process of learning how to market a children's book online! Hopefully I will arrive at some point and be able to say that I figured most of it out. At this time, I just have a few bumps and bruises and a couple of successes that I think might be helpful to someone else

#1 Belief! 

I truly believe that my children's bedtime story, Sleepy Beach, is the best story on the planet. The illustrations are incredible (I didn't create those!) and the story's concept is amazing. I am not saying that to be self-serving (not that I mind entirely!) but to illustrate the most important point. If you don't believe in your story, then don't expect anyone else to.

How can you ask for reviews, submit info to blogs, pay for ads, etc. if you really don't think that much of your story? I know that creatives, like you and I, can get bogged down in making the story perfect. I'm not trying to get you to perfectionize (yes, I made that up) your story, but you must have a powerful belief that your story is worth buying, buy the time you are finished with it.

#2 Set A Goal. 

This one thing I did and I only did this one thing. I researched all of the Bedtime and Dreaming books in that section of the Amazon children's' books and realized that if I could get 100 positive reviews then my book could be ranked in the top 10 of that section and possible in the top 100 of the next section up, the Literature section. 

So for about 40 days or so, I did everything in my power to get those 100 reviews.

I texted everyone on my phone, I reached out to everyone on Facebook I reached to everyone I knew on Twitter and 100's of people I did not know. I refused to start any other part of the process until I at least reached that goal of 100.

#3 Ask If You Can Ask. 

There is a wonderful method to getting people to help. I've learned this the wrong way in a different business, by just shooting out a massive amount of emails and assuming that people will respond. They don't. 

Here's the exact wording I used with people that knew me: 

"I don't know if you've heard about it, but I have a new children's bedtime story called Sleepy Beach. I am trying to get 100 Amazon reviews. Can I send you a free copy of the ebook in exchange for a review?" 

Here's what I sent to people that didn't know me: 

"Hey, I'm a Dad with a new children's bedtime story and I'm trying to get 100 Amazon reviews. Can I send you a free copy in exchange for a review?" 

These were individual messages and text. The general kind of message or posting doesn't work.

I actually asked over 2,000 people for reviews and I got about 120 reviews from them. 

A large amount of people told them that they would and either forgot or couldn't figure it out. It may have been a bad sign when an elderly lady from church asked me "What is the Amazon Review?", in response to my Facebook message. I also had 10 of my 5 star reviews removed by Amazon! Evidently, if anyone states that they are your friend or if they know you, (in the review) then Amazon may remove that review. I fought with them about this, only via email of course, but to no avail.

Since my book has been exposed to a wider audience, that doesn't know me, I have recently gotten some bad reviews. My first 1 and 2 star reviews were given because the book opened backwards on their Kindle. Again, Amazon refused to remove those reviews. My favorite bad review literally says "I love children's books. This is not a well written book. I will not be reading it to the children in my life. I would recommend that the author think about editing it to make it a true story." Ha! I laughed so hard when I read that. I kind of feel like I have really arrived, when I see a review like that one.

#4 Paying For Ads Can Be Worth It: 

I've carefully read and re-read Let's Get Digital and Let's Get Visible by David Gaughran. He's a master at this and I have a ton to learn from him about marketing a book. He encourages his readers to use Book Bub and I followed that advice. It took quite awhile before I was ready, but I paid them $60 to let the world know when my book would be free. Amazon allows you to have 5 days that are free when you sign up with Kindle Direct Publishing. My first day, I had over 11,000 free downloads and a total of nearly 15,000 by the time the 5 days were finished. I can definitely say that it was worth the exposure and blogs (like this great one!) picked up on the special and helped spread the news.

My plan is to get lots of people to sample the ebook and then buy the actually book. Hopefully.

#5 Selling The Book Myself Is The Best Choice: 

I have come to realize the truth that I can undersell Amazon (don't tell them) and still make more money. They take 55% of the profits of my sales. That's crazy, I know. But I have used the notoriety and the positive reviews to get the attention of people. So I can sell my book for $10, and personally sign it, and make more dollars than if it is purchased on Amazon for $15. I do have a few of those here and ready to ship, if you'd like one!

I am still in the pursuit of finding out how to get my book in front of millions of the right kinds of eyeballs. I'd love to hear your ideas. Send me a note at scott (at) mydadsbedtimestories (dot) com.

Sweet Dreams!
Scott Harpole
My Dad's Bedtime Stories

Children's Picture eBook Review and Author Interview: Park Life: The New Arrivals, Written and Illustrated by Matthew Nightingale

Illustrations: 5.0 Stars 
Cover: 5.0 Stars
Storyline: 5.0 Stars
Total: 5.0 Stars

My Review for Park Life: The New Arrivals: Corban the crocodile and Felicity the flamingo move into Happy Valley. The five animal friends who live there must adjust to the scariness of a crocodile (although it turns out he's super nice) and the meanness of the flamingo (she learns kindness in the end), but they ALL learn friendship among their differences.

Illustrations: Very polished and beautiful illustrations. I loved to look at them, they're in an animated movie type of style.

Storyline: The Happy Valley animals demonstrate important moral lessons: Helen overcomes her fear of the new crocodile. Calvin shows kindness to someone who isn't kind to him. Corban demonstrates an apology. Gracie forgives. This book reinforces lessons I want my children to learn, in an amiable way.

Author Interview with Matthew Nightingale:

Valerie Harmon: Have you ever been the new kid in a neighborhood?

Matthew Nightingale: I have, when I was 8 years old my family moved to Paris. So not only was I the new kid, I was the new kid who spoke a different language!

VH: What advice do you have for new kids?

MN: Just have fun and people will want to have fun with you.

VH: How did you learn how to illustrate?
MN: I was working as a graphic designer when I started to play with 3D computer modeling. I got hooked, and then decided to go to university to study this subject full time.  

VH: What programs do you use to illustrate?
MH: The programs I use to make my illustrations are SoftImage (Image is pronounced in French) and Adobe Photoshop.

VH: What advice do you have for children who'd like to be artists?

MN: I would suggest that you look at as many children’s books as possible. Quickly you’ll find yourself attracted to certain styles and then you can start to develop your own unique direction. Try to make yourself different.

VH: Do you have any funny stories of how you got to where you are?

MN: I don’t have a funny story, but I do have an ironic story. The weekend after I had finished the last edit of my book I was taking my dog for a walk around my local lake. Pippa, my dog, is obsessed with balls. I think she believes that all the balls in the world belong to her and she wonders why everybody is playing with her ball. This is why whenever I take her for a walk she brings her ball with her. As we walked around the lake I kicked her ball, she chased after it, and returned it to me. One unfortunate kick later and the ball ended up in the lake and I found myself looking around for somebody to help me. Luckily the wind blow the ball back to the edge, I did wonder if I needed to rewrite that part of my book.

VH: What are three favorite books?

MN: This is probably a terrible thing to admit, but I don’t really read a lot. I do enjoy autobiographies. I enjoyed biographies of Murray Walker, Lee Evans and Guy Martin.

VH: What are three favorite children's books?

MN: My three favourite children’s books are:

  

The Gruffalo’s Child by Julia Donaldson. – This book has it all, The beautiful illustrations, humour, intriguing characters all wrapped by in wonderful writing. 

The Emperor and the Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen – I feel this story has a great moral, the way should admire the beauty in nature.

The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen – I like this story because it reminds me of the classic children’s stories in the way it has a slight dark edge to the story.

VH: Who influences your writing?

MN: My children influence my writing the most. I love their understanding of what is right and wrong. They read my story as I worked on it, I found it amazing how they spotted things in a storyline that you didn’t even realise was there.

VH: What advice do you have for authors who'd like to write children's books?

MN: Watch your word count, I struggled for quite a while with this. The consistent feedback I was given was that my story was too long. As an experiment I went through my book and deleted anything that didn’t progress the story, then compared the result with the original story. This really highlighted areas in my story where I was waffling.

VH: What would you tell children who read your book?

MN: There’s no such thing as a normal person, everybody’s different and that’s how it should be.

VH: Why do you write?

MN: I didn’t plan to start writing. I was playing on my computer, working on some character designs and I found myself imagining what characteristics they would have. After I had about 6 character designs that I was happy with I decided to start putting a story together. I found it very difficult but after many, many edits I was very pleased with the result.

VH: What kind of animal would you be if you could choose?

MN: The obvious answer would to say I’d be a Nightingale, but after recently trying my hand at indoor skydiving I can safely say I do not fly or sing like a nightingale.

For more information on Nightingale, visit his book website, his personal 3D portfolilo site, and Park Life New Arrivals on Amazon UK.

Authors: Resources for Formatting Books for Kindle

"How do I publish my book as an eBook?"
"How do I get my book into Amazon Kindle?"

These are two questions I've been asked, and I figure publishing an answer here might be helpful to you!

First, know that I have an illustrator, Carol Stevens, who takes care of all the formatting of our books (currently 10 children's picture books, in both eBook and softcover form). She preps the books for Kindle, which uses .mobi files, and for CreateSpace (for the softcover books). Yes, I know I am lucky.

That being said, Amazon wants authors to list books with them. So they've published a free eBook called Building Your Book for Kindle. This book explains how to format your book successfully as an eBook on Amazon. I hope it's helpful to you.

Another free eBook you might be interested in is, Publish on Amazon Kindle with Kindle Direct Publishing.

If you have a Mac, then Building Your Book for Kindle for Mac might be helpful.

If you want to build your eBook for Kindle in Microsoft Word, then these articles from Amazon can help.

Kindle Format 8 offers great features for children's picture book authors. Suggestions and guidelines from Amazon are here.

And...most importantly for authors of children's pictures books, there is a book written specifically for Formatting of Children's books and Comics for the Kindle. It costs 99 cents with that link. BUT, I was able to find a free downloadable file for the book on this community forum.


Best writing wishes,

~Valerie Harmon