A Free House Moving?

Motivated by Casey Hester on the Texas Flip and Move TV show, who to sweeten the pie for bidders (he needed a certain amount for his flip house to break even) offered a free house moving.

Okay, I thought, when it comes time to sell my book how can I be different?

What could I offer as an incentive?

See I need a little help from my friends.

My book won’t come out for probably another year, but I’m thinking about it. Bookstores have gone kaput. Golly, I just saw this morning that Toys R (backward) Us has gone bankrupt. That was toy heaven when my kids were little.

Have people stopped buying toys, electronics, books?

Nope.

They are buying online.

So, how do you stand out online?

Well, you can move a house if you have enough strong backs.

I’m not a salesperson. I don’t believe in talking a person into buying something they don’t want. I don’t believe in seeing everyone you meet as a potential customer. I hate being in that little room at a car dealership, left alone with my husband to “Talk about it.”

Didn’t I go there to buy a car? So, give me a good price, be nice to me, and I’ll buy it.

Of course, I might be “Just looking,” or checking out their cars so I can buy the same model at that cheap joint down the street. So I guess they must hook me.  But I don’t like that. Just give me what I want and I’ll buy it.

I think that if you want something like insurance, something everyone needs, but doesn’t want to buy, that you are there as a facilitator, to be of help, to make the painful process easier, not to strong arm the customer.

How can you be of service and not be pushy?

Am I off track?

A book is somewhat different. A person must want to read it. And they must know enough about it to make it a “must read.”

That’s where the reader comes in.

A book is something you write because it speaks to you, but then a book without a reader is like a seed planted on pure obsidian.

That’s where the reader comes in.

Well, I have a year to think about it—a lot can happen in a year.

Any suggestions?

And then Seth Godin’s blog popped up with this:

#Your fast car—Seth Godin

Right there, in your driveway, is a really fast car. And here are the keys. Now, go drive it.

(Want the car.)

Right there, in your hand, is a Chicago Pneumatics 0651 hammer. You can drive a nail through just about anything with it, again and again if you choose. Time to use it.

(Don’t want the hammer.)

And here's a keyboard, connected to the entire world. Here's a publishing platform you can use to interact with just about anyone, just about anytime, for free. You wanted a level playing field, one where you have just as good a shot as anyone else? Here it is.

 Do the work.

(Want to learn this.)

P.S. Still doing my photo a day. www.travelwithjoyce.com

Fun, Box Springs, Work

  

That’s Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. After the serious blog of last week, this one is frivolous. 

Are you in?

The fun was visiting the Carousel in Albany Oregon. When friends invited us to visit a carousel, I thought, O.K., an opportunity to be together, to visit, and I love carousels. I just didn’t know how much I would love this one.

And since I have kept my agreement with myself, to take a photo a day for thirty days, I thought, Wow, a photo opt.

I didn’t know how astounded I would be. That was the most exquisite carousel I have ever seen. Husband and I rode it. How could one resist?

Yes, and I posted more than one photo that day on Instagram. I couldn’t’ resist that either.

All the animals on the carousel were hand carved and hand painted, a three-year process for each animal—two to carve, one to paint, and there were months of curing. One cannot ride an animal until it is trained. Whoops paint cured.

The attention to detail was exquisite, the unique adornments art in themselves. And although each animal was one of a kind, they all fit together like a collection on the dress design show #Project Runway.

I almost fell on the floor in awe and envy of the artists.

The pavilion that housed the carousel was a work of art, too, as were the tables placed around the periphery of the room. The tops had been hand painted each with a different carousel animal.

I am even reticent about posting pictures. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but this carousel must be experienced to be fully appreciated. I know that not all my readers live in the vicinity, so here you are folks, but if you are ever here, know that I did not photograph all the animals. I left some for you to experience live.

And I must visit again. With an appointment, a guest can visit the basement where craftspeople carve and paint the animals.  A notice said more were on the way. I saw the drawing of a proposed bison, a bucking horse, a bird…and in the photos below you can see a few animals in process—these were displayed next to the gift store. And there were some antique animals on display as well; one was a Zebra named Sweetpea. That’s my dog’s name.

My carver daughter’s teeth will probably ache at seeing this opportunity, although, it is all volunteer. Talk about a labor of love.

2. Box Springs:

There is a mountain range outside Riverside California named The Box Springs; I always thought How strange, almost as bad as Drain, Oregon, but here I am talking about true box springs. You know, ones that go under a mattress.

We invested in a pair of box springs to go under our King sized mattress. We have been sleeping on a platform bed, one that has an air bed on top, and does not need springs. It’s one you hear so many ads about, a “Sleep number,” bed where each sleeping partner can, with a remote control, adjust their side of the bed. No compromise there. The trouble was since it was so low; it was like crawling up from a squatting position. And in the middle of the night—you can imagine.  Now with the box springs, it has been brought up to civilized height. I’m a happy sleeper.

3. Work:

That was Monday. I got the first two chapters of my manuscript back with editing comments. Now it looks as though it is glued together with red ink. I am happy for the comments, though, for it is just what I need. Elaborate here, adjust this, put this over there. Great input. I am so afraid to bore people that I tend to be cryptic. That works for blogging, not so much for a full-length book.

My editor is the best. She is a gift.

Carousel work in process: 

A Poodle dog about to become a carousel mount. 

The horse is before it has its glossy top coat. I like it this way, but I guess it wouldn't hold up to wear.

Patterned after the artists own rescued a retired Grayhound