Book Feature: Sorry, Bestie + Exclusive Author Interview with Felicity Abbott

Our latest book feature tackles an important issue that concerns many kids. Bullying has remained prevalent nowadays where at least 20% of the students say that they have experienced bullying in school. These incidents had led to mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, low self-esteem, and low morale.

This is why spreading awareness and inspiring hope are very important. We need to help other kids understand that what seems to be a meaningless joke or prank may affect others negatively. It is also important to empower the kids on how to cope and deal with situations like this.

Thus, we are happy to learn about the book, Sorry, Bestie written by Felicity T. Abbott who is a veteran Christian teacher.

Felicity enjoys working with pre-teens and teenagers. She often mentors students as they deal with life's experiences and helps students gain a Christian perspective on life and everyday difficulties and today, we have the opportunity to interview the author as she shares about her first book.

1. Can you share with us something about the book that isn't in the blurb?

There is more than one theme in the story. Besides the themes of friendship and bullying awareness, the themes of self-confidence, courage, and prayer are prevalent in the story.

2. What inspired the idea for your latest book?

Being a teacher for 15+ years I have seen students try to handle various academic and social situations. I extrapolated from and expanded upon those experiences.

3. How long did it take you to complete the book?

I wrote the book on and off for three years. I reread and revised it many times.

4. What part of the book was most challenging to write and why?

For me, the most challenging part was making sure that all the storylines worked together and gelled. It's annoying to read a story with holes in the plot or loose ends.

5. What do you hope your readers take away from this book?

My hope is that readers will realize that no matter how large the problem may be, you can always go to Jesus in prayer. He is always available to hear your prayer no matter how alone you may feel. Friends, teachers, and even family may let us down but Jesus is always there to help, to give you wisdom and courage.

6. If you’re planning a sequel or write the next book, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?

I am working on a sequel of sorts. The best friend of the main character in Sorry, Bestie will be the main character. The story will be about Jade's experiences before leaving for her new school and continuing on at the new school Good Shepherd Christian Academy.

7. Where can they buy your books or find out more about you?

Sorry, Bestie is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christianbooks.com, Target.com, Indigo.ca, and many other independent booksellers.

More about me and my book can be found at the following places: Family Fiction https://familyfiction.com/middle-grade-kids-author-qa-felicity-abbott-sorry-bestie/, Christianbooks.com, and Goodreads.

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Thank you, Felicity, for agreeing to this interview. We are thrilled to learn more about you and your book and we are excited for the sequel as well. 

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We love supporting authors! Do you want your book to be featured? 

Here's how: https://www.mymetrolifestyle.com/p/do-you-want-to-promote-your-book.html

How to Sell and Declutter via Shopee

Everyone loves Shopee. I mean with the rise of online shopping. I guess every household has been familiar with the platform to order essentials, clothes, household items, toys, and whatnots. 

But did you know you can also be a Shopee seller? 

Yes, anyone who has a Shopee account can also sell through the platform. 

If you are someone who wants to declutter and sell your personal items

If you are an author who just launched your book

If you are a crafter who wants to sell her creations

If you are an individual who wants to make a living through buy and sell 

Then, you might consider selling via Shopee. 

Please note that there are some items that are restricted or prohibited in the platform such as:  

• Preloved Baby Products (eg. Feeding bottles, breast pump, pacifier, teether, diaper cloth)

• Preloved undergarments, cosmetic products & contact lens

• Listings with Medical Claims or Philippine FDA warned items.

Well, this totally makes sense due to sanitation and health reasons. Anyway, you can check the full list of Shopee prohibited and restricted items here.

How does this work?

1. If you already have a Shopee account, all you need to do is login to Seller Centre via seller.shopee.ph and select Shop Settings to complete your shop profile.

IMPORTANT: Before adding your products, make sure that you have a verified mobile number added to your account. If you haven't, just go to MY ACCOUNT, add your mobile number and click on Send Verification Code. You will receive a six-digit verification code on the mobile number provided.

2. Set up your Pick-up address

One of the things I love about Shopee is that I don't have to worry about dropping them off or going to the courier to have the parcels shipped. Instead, Shopee will assign a courier to you and you can simply have it picked up from your home/ office.

So, when someone orders from you. All you need to do is just set a pick-up schedule and have the item ready by packing it properly. Most of the time, the courier will be the one to provide the printed waybill and the plastic pouch.

To set your pick-up address, on your seller dashboard, under settings, click My Addresses

3. Now, it's time to upload your products and create a listing!

On your seller dashboard, go to My products, add a new product and fill out the necessary details such as product name, category, product attributes, and description. You also need to provide a product photo. Important: You have to make sure to provide the correct shipping settings such as weight, parcel size because the shipping fee will be based on the information that you will provide.

Any discrepancies (like the shipping fee paid by the buyer is lower than the actual shipping charges) will be charged against you and deducted from your earnings.

4. Shopee Charges

When pricing your products, you have to consider that Shopee charges a small fee every time you sell through the platform.

The Seller Transaction Fee is a handling fee that covers the cost of the payment transactions. Starting August 1, for every successful transaction using Shopee’s payment services, Shopee charges 2% (+VAT) of the buyer’s total amount.

For Local Marketplace Sellers (which is like us), a 1% commission fee will be charged on all transactions for Marketplace sellers as well.

To give you an example, I sold a Php 150 book and I only got Php 144 as net proceeds.

5. How to ship my orders?

• On your seller dashboard under My Sales and click on To Ship
• View orders that need to be shipped out in the To Ship tab
• Click on Ship to arrange for shipment (Make sure you arrange for the shipment before the stated ship-by date)
• Pack your order properly. Put inside the box or use bubble wrap. 
• On your pick-up date, hand the order over to the logistics provider

6. Payments

After sending out the parcel, all you need to do is wait for the items to be delivered. Once the buyer confirms receipt (like what we usually do as buyers) then the money will be released to your seller wallet.

Once it's credited to your seller wallet, you can withdraw it directly to your bank account or you can use it to fund your Shopeepay wallet.

More details on how to withdraw your funds, here.

That's it! It's pretty simple. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message on IG. 

www.instagram.com/mymetrolifestyle 

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