I’m anxious to see the cover art for my book The Frog’s
Song. They say the proofs will be available for my review at the end of
August—one good reason to say, “Hi August.”
And I’m excited for my publisher Regal Publishing (the house
that Jaynie built). Jaynie Royal is a
force to be reckoned with. Regal has
recently signed with IPG (Independent Publishing Group) a trade distributor for
on-the-ground sales.
Imagine getting into Costco—don’t know if that will happen
for me, but I can imagine it) plus, Regal has attracted the attention of Forward Reviews, a Purple Cow, Blue Ocean
company.
If you saw a Purple cow standing in a field, wouldn’t you
want to tell somebody? (Purple Cow is
the name of Seth Godin’s book.) And regarding a blue ocean, if your water is
running blood-red with competition, wouldn’t you want to move to blue waters?
Long ago when I was into horse training I learned from #Pat
Parelli, a horse gentler, that whatever everyone else is doing, do the
opposite. And I learned from my horse
that she would go where I placed my focus, no reins required.
Amazing.
I wonder how I can apply that to my business.
Focus—that’s good. Maybe I will go where I place my focus.
I’m scared though.
Seth Godin wrote: "The growth of
audiobooks is outpacing reading.”
We can still read though, he says, but pushing ourselves
through a chapter is difficult.
And here I am writing words.
I like to read. I like
to hold a book. I like to smell books. I like to feel their paper—and some of the covers
these days feel like silk.
Don’t you sometimes wonder what happened to books, and when
did bread disappear from our table?
I don’t know if thinking back is romancing the time or
wanting to preserve it. Place it in a Mason jar and put it in the pantry I
guess. It might be opened at a later date and found useful.
Remember when you went to the library, and the librarian
shushed you, but you cased the joint and found treasurers? Ray Bradbury educated himself by starting at one side of the library
and reading around it.
Now the internet can serve that same purpose.
It’s not better or worse, just different.
Remember when you went to record stores, and comic book
shops and inspiration was out in the world, rather than at your desk. It had to
be sought out, in museums, in the forests, and in picking up shells from the
beach.
Am I showing my age?
My hero.
Ray Bradbury