Newsletter – February 13, 2026
Drawing by Eric Margerum
Did you read my drawing credit? I drew that! I’m pretty excited by how it turned out.
Granted, the top of the signpost is either in a different universe from the base, or it was made from a branch that suffered a difficult youth from which it never fully recovered.
But I had bemoaned my inability to draw just a couple of weeks ago, and that’s not a bad attempt! My cousin Hugh is an excellent artist (hughmargerum.com) and he could probably give me a few pointers, but for now I’m gonna take the win.
Welcome to Survey Country
How many times do you get asked to fill out a survey each week? Last week I had three.
And here’s the thing.
I’ve done my share of rating people over the decades, and I’m pretty good at giving compliments. I taught a lot of classes both as a professor and as a dean for twenty-four years. I also directed plays—as many as five in a school year, but always at least one. I know that people need supportive words to encourage them and to embolden them to keep making progress.
As a dean, I also had to write performance reviews for every faculty and staff member under my supervision. I’ve done a lot of evaluations.
So why would I fill out yet another survey? I mean, the others were part of my job. I was getting paid to write evaluations.
After I had my teeth cleaned at the dentist last week I got an email asking me to fill out a survey on their service. I feel guilty when I don’t fill out the survey because I’m afraid they’ll only hear from the folks who were unhappy.
Oh, sure, I could complain because my usual dentistry had a burst water pipe and they had to reroute me to another location a few hours before my appointment. But am I gonna throw them under the bus for that? No.
They gave me the same appointment time and I didn’t have to wait. And they were so friendly. Especially to the young woman who was training on a new computer system. The fact that they treated her well, boosted my confidence in how they would treat me.
Okay, okay, I’ve just convinced myself. I’ll fill out their survey as soon as I finish writing this.
When my wife came back from Fresh Thyme Market she had a receipt asking for a survey response AND it offered a chance to win $250 for doing so. That’s not a guaranteed payment but at least they’re offering a tempting incentive.
Besides, Fresh Thyme let me set up a book signing table in their store and I sold four or five books to their customers. They are also really friendly. I already filled out that survey.
Many survey requests are just a ploy to get your compliments posted on social media. CVS expects one every time I buy a package of dental floss.
My Science Friday podcast reminds me to rate and review them every episode. But only if it’s positive, haha.
I see where experts on how to sell your indie book, say I should be asking you to post a favorable review of my book on Amazon or wherever you buy books. Apparently that’s the way the world turns.
So I’ll rate the dentist and maybe score a few more karma points to get some nice ratings for myself.
Welcome to Survey Country.
TTFN
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My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles
Eric Margerum 