Showing posts with label #childrensbooks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #childrensbooks. Show all posts

Thursday, March 26, 2020

The Chunky, Dumpy, Spunky Monkey

A read to story for children 4-7 and read alone for ages 8-10


Lucky, the sweet-natured little monkey was bullied by the animals who didn't take time to get to know her. They said she was a dumpy, chunky, silly, scaredy, grumpy, clumsy monkey.
Lucky was sad but instead of feeling miserable, she chose to listen to others who knew her and said she was a kind, lovely, cuddly, bubbly, spunky monkey.



Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Catch 22

It used to be so easy!


Publishing and selling books was a breeze back then, when I published my first book.
I didn't have to worry about marketing because the books sold themselves.

I published a book on the two selling sites that were available and the sales started popping up on my dashboard.
I posted the new release on social sites and on my website, and readers clicked to buy the book and if they liked it, shared the link with their friends.

Now the market is saturated and it's a no-win battle for authors to show their books to readers and sell a few copies.

What happened?


  • First of all, a lot of competitors happened. Everyone and their aunt started writing and publishing. Some of the books were great, but the majority... well, isn't. It's because the selling sites didn't check quality, only proper formatting and grammar. 
  • A lot of new selling sites formed and it was great at the beginning because it gave the authors and readers more choices.
  • But in a short time, so many books were published that aggressive marketing became a necessity. 
  • Then, the pirate sites started popping up. Ruthless people stole eBooks, stripped off the protection and converted the books to PDF to offer it free on their website. Some of them thought books should be free, others used the free downloads as baits to increase their website traffic.
  • Then the "book stuffers" came into light. They published "books" that were only a few chapters and filled hundreds of pages with repetitive garbage. They added a link at the beginning with a bait or promise that led the reader to the end of the book. The selling site algorithm then picked it up as hundreds of pages read and paid the cheaters for the pages read. Some of these so called "authors" had the nerve to boast about making thousands of dollars a month by cheating.
  • On social sites my book posts used to be shared by a lot of people and had hundreds of comments, but people burned out by the book advertisements and are tired of seeing book promo posts. When they see posts shared by their friends, they block the author pages.
  • Reader groups used to be great as well. Readers were happy to interact with authors and clicked on book links to buy the books. Now, mostly authors are tooting their own horns in groups and the posts rarely viewed and commented by readers.
  • Today there are thousands of book promo and marketing sites offering services for various prices. Some work, most doesn't because readers got used to getting books for free. Either from pirate sites or from authors competing with each other and giving their books away for free.
  • Marketing? It's harder than ever. A few years back when I did 99 cents promo days quarterly for my books, I had hundreds of sales. Now I have to pay and because authors who can afford high priced marketing keep raising the bids to be seen, those of us with limited budget stay behind. 

I touched only a few obstacles in the lives of authors today. It's not easy to bring the books to the attention of readers. Small publishers are struggling along with self-published authors because you know, the big fish eats the small ones.
~Erika M Szabo

Click on the link to visit my website and read about my books.
I write speculative alternate history fiction, romantic urban fantasy, historical suspense novels as well as fun, educational, and bilingual books for children ages 2-14 about acceptance, friendship, family, and moral values such as accepting people with disabilities, dealing with bullies, and not judging others before getting to know them. I also like to encourage children to use their imagination and daydream about fantasy worlds.


Friday, May 31, 2019

10 Books Giveaway

Summer Giveaway


Enter to win 

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Picture Books by Erika M Szabo

Picture books for children 2-8

I love writing and illustrating picture books for children. The stories are short and deliver valuable message without sounding preachy.
 In this story:
Terry is struggling to learn numbers. Pansy, Terry’s dog, and Pansy’s best friend, Oliver, the hedgehog, want to help but they don’t know how. In the morning, Terry tells her mother that the fairy showed her the numbers in her dream. 


This little book is about:
Penny always wants to do what her big brother does. She imitates his every move and constantly tweets, “Me, too.” Spike is angry at his sister and threatens to name her Metoo, but when the two young chickens face danger, Spike realizes how important family is and happy to have a sometimes annoying, but loving and brave little sister. 
Enjoy a short video

And visit my website to see my book pages:

Saturday, December 29, 2018

End of the Year Book Giveaway and Sale

End of the year giveaways, contest, and sales UNTIL JANUARY 1ST

50% discount on all books and 100% discount on two books at

CONTEST TO WIN A TRILOGY
Help me to decide which covers are the best and when the books will be re-published newly edited with new covers, five winners will receive the complete trilogy eBooks.

CHILDREN'S BOOK GIVEAWAY

Until January 1st I'm giving away 20 copies altogether of my children's books. Click on the link below the book cover of your choice and enter the coupon code: FREEFORKIDS and download the eBooks for free. 

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Stocking Stuffers

The best present for young children

Reading is a valuable tool to expand a child's knowledge, trigger their imagination, and learn valuable lessons without sounding preachy. 
The best presents I remember when I was a young child weren't dolls, clothes or toys, but my eyes lit up when I've found books in the Christmas stocking. My mom knew how to keep me quiet, therefore, she got me books for every holiday. I wasn't underfoot, I didn't run around the house breaking things, I was quietly reading by the fireplace.
If you have a child or grandchild who likes to read, take a look at the selection below.




Heroic fantasy for children 6-14
Joe Bonadonna and I had a lot of fun writing this story.
The readers said:
"I’m unable to do justice to the wealth of detail and action Szabo and Bonadonna managed to pack into this book."
~Fletcher Vredenburgh
"Szabo and Bonadonna make a great pair. Their Creepy Hollow Adventures is a perfect starting point for young children making the leap from "kids' books" to "novels."
~S E Lindberg
Audio book



Storybook for children 4-12
Becky Robbins and I paired up to bring this fun, educational book for children 5-12 about acceptance, friendship, family, dealing with bullies, and moral values such as not judging others by their appearances before getting to know them. With Sudipta Dasgupta's wonderful illustrations and Lorraine Carey's professional editing, the story based on an old legend of the haunted bakery comes to life.



Illustrated storybook for children 4-12
When Bianca, Daniel, and Peanut, the St. Bernard, are confronted by Mark and his cronies, the children stand up to the brute bullies with the help of Peanut. Their adventure continues when they see a woman throwing four tiny, meowing kittens into the river. Can the BFFs save them? Find out what happens to the kittens.



Bilingual storybook for children 4-12
Sarah, Emma’s mom, promised to bird-sit Pico for two weeks but soon regrets her decision because the noisy parrot keeps screeching and squawking all day, annoying her family and the neighbors. When Pico makes a mess of Emma’s room, Emma gets very angry, but her friends help her. Charlotte notices that Pico seems sad, and Pedro finds out why Pico is shrieking so loudly all the time. The parrot is frustrated because nobody pays attention to him, and nobody understands what he wants.
The story delivers a message that when we don’t take the time to listen to each other, we tend to judge others quickly before we get to know them. 




Storybook for children 4-12
A little girl teaches her family and her friends how to relate to someone who is hearing impaired.
When Grandma Rosa lost her hearing, Sandra and her parents became frustrated and sad. They didn’t know what to do and how to learn to communicate better with Grandma Rosa.
It became an everyday struggle for the family, and they missed the comforting family conversations at dinner time.
Sandra finds a website for hearing impaired people that explains how deaf people communicate. They start learning sign language and to “talk” with their fingers. Sandra and Grandma Rosa find realize that with compassion, love, and hard work, they can overcome the obstacles of disability. 




Storybook for children 4-12
Terry is sad because she can’t find her precious music box that was a gift from her Grandmother. With the help of her dog, Pansy, and the wise hedgehog, Oliver, they cross the portal to the magical world and Pansy leads them to Wolfgang’s cave. Terry finds out why she has the ability to talk to animals and why the good witch enchanted her music box so long ago.



Spanish storybook for children 4-12
Sandra enseña a su familia y amigos a comunicarse con personas con discapacidad auditiva.
Este divertido libro ilustrado  lleva un importante mensaje para los niños, como aprender a no juzgar o burlarse de alguien sólo porque es diferente.  La vida de algunas personas con discapacidad no es divertida y vivir con una discapacidad conlleva muchos retos, pero nosotros podemos hacer sus vidas más fáciles en vez de más difíciles.






Children's picture book for ages 2-6
Terry is struggling to learn numbers. Pansy, Terry’s dog, and Pansy’s best friend, Oliver, the hedgehog, want to help but they don’t know how. In the morning, Terry tells her mother that the fairy showed her the numbers in her dream. Her mother doesn’t believe her, but Grandma says, “Maybe there is a Number Fairy, Sweet Pea… Maybe there is.”





Children's picture book for ages 2-6
Penny always wants to do what her big brother does. She imitates his every move and constantly tweets, “Me, too.” Spike is angry at his sister and threatens to name her Metoo, but when the two young chickens face danger, Spike realizes how important family is and happy to have a sometimes annoying, but loving and brave little sister. 

Thank you for your interest, and happy reading!

COMMENTS

Erika M Szabo shared this via Google+

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Ruth de Jauregui

2 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Wonderful post! I always got a book at Christmas and yes, I was absorbed until it was read!! Thank you Erika for the great selection of books for children!!
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I guess your mom knew the secret how to make kids quiet too :) It makes me sad seeing the anxious, agitated faces of young children when they're playing video games on their iPads. They don't know the wonderful, relaxing feeling of curling up with a good book.
 
+Erika M Szabo My parents are/were both readers. They always had books. Plus, when I was a kid, there were no video games!

Joe Bonadonna

2 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Wonderful selection of children's books, Erika. And thank you for including our 2 books, too!
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Thanks Joe, you have a hand in this selection too with Creepy Hollow Adventures :)
 
+Erika M Szabo -- you're welcome. I know I did. :) Good luck with everything, and God bless. 

Tricia Drammeh via Google+

1 month ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Find books for all your young readers at #OurAuthorGang!
 
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Tricia Drammeh

2 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
What a fabulous collection of children's books for all ages and reading levels! Something for everyone!
 
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Ruth de Jauregui via Google+

2 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Erika M. Szabo shares her thoughts on the best gift of all -- BOOKS -- and a few of her wonderful children's books on #OurAuthorGang. (Yes, you know I approve of this message! :D )
 
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Joe Bonadonna via Google+

2 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today on #OurAuthorGang, author, illustrator and my collaborator on two fantasy novels for middle-grade children, Erika M. Szabo , talks about reading, giving books to kids as stocking stuffers, and even has on display a number of her books.
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Chris Weigand via Google+

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Erika shares books for the holidays
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Chris Weigand

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Nice Selection
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Toi Thomas via Google+

2 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today, Erika M. Szabo offers her children's books as wonderful stocking stuffers, just in time for the holidays. #OurAuthorGang
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Eva Pasco shared this via Google+

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Erika M Szabo originally shared this
 
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