Friday Indie Q&A with Author Wesley Parker

On today’s Friday Indie Q&A we visit with Author Wesley Parker about his upcoming book launch, and what he learned while writing Headphones and Heartaches. He offers some brave insight on being separated from his siblings in foster care, and why he decided to donate half of his proceeds of his book to Camp to Belong River Valley.

Fiction, or Memoir?

Indie: Congratulations on your book launch July 13th! What inspired you to write Headphones and Heartaches? Is this a work of fiction, or memoir, or a mix of both?

Wesley: Headphones and Heartaches is a mixture, but as a whole it’s fiction. Some of the events in the book actually happened, like me being in foster, but others, such as his mother’s vice and where its located are fiction.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Indie: What did you learn about yourself, and the craft, while writing Headphones and Heartaches?

Wesley: Man, I could write a book based on this question alone. For myself, I learned that it’s not my job to soothe the feelings of people that put me through trauma as a child. I love my mother dearly, but I found there was unresolved resentment as I wrote this book. As a parent I can’t fathom letting my children be put into foster care. But I also understand my mothers situation so I changed the vice of the main character’s mother.

As far as the craft, I learned to make sure that I’m writing the book that I would want to read. John Green’s Looking for Alaska was an inspiration, but the book needed to sound like I wrote it. There are so many books available about the craft of writing, but I learned that nothing can teach you better than sitting down and learning yourself through trial and error. That’s not a slight to anybody that written one of those books, I just find that the process of writing isn’t a one size fits all situation. People have their own individual processes, and with this book I found what worked for me.

Connection

Indie: Why did you decide to become an indie author?

Wesley: I liked the idea of being able to tell my story how I want to tell it. Money or fame isn’t my objective, so I don’t harbor any delusions of grandeur. I tried Pitmad and querying, but when I asked myself what I really wanted, it came down to wanting help with marketing. That was it.

So I convinced myself that I can do that on my own by getting out of my comfort zone. I’ve found that being an indie author allows me to interact with my readers in an organic way. After my last book, I had readers reach out through instagram to express how my book made them feel. One of them even read my second book as I wrote it. To me, thats the kind of connection that only comes as an indie author. It’s got its struggles, but man it feels so good to be in control of my story.

Follow Intuition & Collaborative Spirit

Indie: What kind of advice would you give to an Indie Author that you wish you had prior to starting on your Author journey?

Wesley: My biggest advice would be to follow you intuition. You are your own brand, so do whatever you’re comfortable with because ultimately, it’s your reputation as an author. Sure, it’s great to have advice along the way, but the beauty in being an indie author is the control you have. So write that quirky chapter or flashback scene, experiment with dialogue, because as an indie author it’s your canvas to paint how you see fit.

The other piece of advice I’d give was to have a collaborative spirit. While some indie authors are out for themselves, the majority are just hardworking people chasing the dream of publishing a book. The biggest thing that has helped me is loving on others without expecting anything in return. I pump my friends books as if they were my own, because I understand the work that goes into it. When I see a post about a book come across my timeline I share it, because there might be someone that follows me that could connect with that book.

“Put simply, being an indie author is like playing blackjack at a casino. Us indie authors are the players, so if you hit 21 that doesn’t mean I can’t either. There are plenty of areas to be competitive, being an indie author isn’t one of them.”

Wesley Parker, Author

A Wish as a Kid

Indie: You created a beautiful video around your book and your story, thank you for allowing me to have a sneak peek. You decided to donate half of every copy sold will go to Camp To Belong River Valley Organization. We think it’s inspiring and a wonderful cause! Please share with our readers a little about the organization you’re donating half of your proceeds to and how you came to this decision.

Wesley: I came to this decision for two reasons. The first is that I don’t like the idea of profiting off of pain and trauma. Yes, I was in foster care myself, but that doesn’t give me the right to make money off circumstances that are still affecting children today. I hate when people say they stand for a cause but go back to their comfortable lives without doing anything. That’s cosplaying the experience. I’d love for a child in foster care to find my book and know that they aren’t alone, but I also want to help make their lives better in any way I can.

The second reason is personal. I was separated from my siblings by foster care, and to this day I can see how it affects our relationship. I’d go years without seeing them and now we’re trying to make up for lost time as adults. My sister has cerebral palsy and we were really close before we got taken away, while my brother had always lived with an aunt. We’ve all had vastly different experiences in the system and had to deal with the heartache and trauma alone. 

Camp to Belong River Valley is something I wished was around when I was a kid. Throughout the year they host smaller events, such as bonfire and thanksgiving dinner in November, Christmas parties in December, and even random events like movies and water parks just to give siblings a chance to see each other.

In August, thats the big event, a weeklong camp where siblings come out(all paid for) and spend a week just getting a sense of normalcy. There’s a birthday celebration since they might not see each other, and they make pillows for their siblings to take back with them. Camp to Belong is national, but River Valley serves the area I live in. They’re also 100% volunteers, so the money actually goes to help the kids in need.

Help Carving Time

Indie: It’s such a beautiful cause to get behind. Thank you for sharing this with us so freely and eloquently. How do you find balance day-to-day in order to keep writing, promote your book, and work a day job? If you do other things, please share that with us too!

Wesley: I’m lucky enough to have a wife that supports my passion. On my days off she always carves time for me to get away and write. Promoting is hard for me, so I don’t really have an answer for that. But when I’m not writing, I’m thinking about writing, so I’m never too far away.

Outside of that I love to read, play video games, hang with my kids, and listen to comedy albums in the dark.
I also LOVE my Philadelphia sports teams, even though as of late they’re on the verge of sending me to therapy.

One Big Win

Indie: What is one BIG WIN that you’d like to share with us?

Wesley: My biggest win has been the reviews I’ve gotten. Imposter syndrome practically comes with being an indie author, but when I look at the reviews for my first book, Coffee and Condolences, it makes me feel good to read how my book touched peoples lives. Especially the ones from people that I never met whom came across my book by accident.

Shoutout

Indie: There are so many people who help us along our creative path. Who would you like to give a shoutout to?

Wesley: Outside of my family, I’d have to go with Lauren H Mae and Matthew Hanover. Lauren was my critique partner while writing Headphones and Heartaches, and the book doesn’t get done without her keeping us on a schedule for trading chapters.

Matt has been like the big brother I never had. I found his book by chance, reached out, and we’ve since become great friends that chat often and give each other feedback. He’s helped me with so much outside of the writing itself.

They’re both incredible authors and a testament to what I said earlier about making friends with other authors and supporting each other.

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