Tag: Barnes&Noble

Margerumalia – Small Business Saturday

Eric Margerum

Newsletter November 30, 2024

PHOTO CREDIT: marekuliasz | Getty Images

One of the readers of this newsletter told me he not only bought a copy of The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles, he bought two more and placed them in little libraries where he lives. Thanks again, Dave!

It’s been said that being an indie author is to be the owner of a small business. That’s true. It’s also been said that the biggest mistake of people in sales is not to make the ask. So I’m asking…

My mother used to read Paddington stories to our daughter. A cherished memory to this day. Do you have someone on your gift list who might enjoy getting a copy of MAMLA? Or a parent or grandparent who would like to read this book to them? The links to purchase the book are at the bottom of this newsletter.

I also have some bonus items to add to your purchase.

BONUS ITEMS

1. I have a sheet of four mazes that I give away at my book signings. 

2. I also created a page of my three humorous short poems from this newsletter. 

PDF’s

If you reply to this email or send me an email using eric@ericmargerum.com and tell me you purchased a copy (or two, or three) I’ll send you the PDF’s of these bonus items to add to your gift or enjoy for yourself. 

By the way, if you bought the book six months ago and want the bonus items, I’m happy to send them to you.

SIGNED COPIES 

$19.99 with SHIPPING

If you’d like me to send out a signed copy of my book with the bonus items already inside—I’ll throw in a MAMLA bookmark, too—drop me a line at eric@ericmargerum.com and I can provide a QR Code for either Venmo or PayPal.

I’d need to have your payment by December 10th to make sure it’s received by the 25th. 

COFFEE MUGS

$24.99 with SHIPPING

A coffee mug is also a nice gift, reminding your loved one of Doris Weatherton’s sage advice as the Shafer Family steps into the Howls of Mirrors.

REVIEWS & LINKS

Another way you could help this small business without spending money is to contribute a review of my book to one or more of the platforms below. A woman at my Barnes & Noble book signing took a few minutes to look up reviews of my book and then returned to buy a copy, thanks to what she had read. 

Here are several links to buy or review The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles: 

https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles

https://www.amazon.com

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

https://www.booksamillion.com

https://www.kobo.com

I hope you’re having a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend. 

TTFN!

Margerumalia – Circus at the End of the Sea

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – September 6, 2024

I’m signing books at Barnes & Noble again tomorrow and looking forward to meeting more people and connecting with them about The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles. Free mazes and bookmarks to anyone who wants one. 

This is in Lafayette, Indiana, if you’re local, and I’ll be there from 11:00 to 4:00. 

* * * * *

Meanwhile I want to recommend a middle grade novel called The Circus at the End of the Sea, by Lori R. Snyder. I feel like it’s cut from the same tapestry of creativity and enthusiasm as MAMLA and it takes you for a wildly imaginative ride. 

Maddy Adriana is an orphan being transported once again to another home—a group home this time—and she despairs of ever finding a real family. The pull of magic she felt throughout her life often got her in trouble for running away, but she was only following that magical tug that promised to show her where she belonged. 

When the LA County bus breaks down and all the children are told to get off, she quietly slips away on her skateboard into Venice Beach. Soon murals come to life, magical dancers appear and disappear, and waiting for her at the far end of the Venice Pier is the Circus at the End of the Sea. 

Where the sea ends, the magic begins.

This is only the beginning of Maddy’s adventure. The wayward performers feel a lot like home to her broken heart, and she offers to help them by finding their long-missing Ringmaster to bring the circus back to life. She makes friends along the way who give her aide and confidence, but ultimately she must face her own fears in order to succeed.

It’s a delightful romp and heartfelt in so many ways. 

After the last chapter, Snyder gives a brief description of eleven points about Venice Beach that inspired many elements of the story. Some are historical, some are sights that can still be seen today. I remember some of them from my days in LA.

On a side note, I discovered this novel at Small World Books in Venice Beach about a year ago when my wife and I were showing our daughter and her partner the restaurant where we had brunch on our first date. I saw the sign for the book and knew I had to buy it. 

You can also buy a copy by visiting her website at: lorirsnyderauthor.com

I recently sent a brief email to the author and she replied with an invitation to meet for coffee next time we’re in town. Maybe I will. And she plans to read my book as well, so we’ll have plenty to talk about.

May each of you meet someone who inspires you to pursue your dreams and push yourself beyond your comfort zone toward the magic inside of you. 

TTFN!

* * * * *

The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles is also available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles

Margerumalia – Apostrophizing 

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – August 30, 2024

No, I didn’t make up a new word this time, you can put away your score cards. But don’t throw them away all together, I’m bound to invent more in the future.

Apostrophizing is “to punctuate a word with an apostrophe.” And since Grammar Girl has discussed this issue on her podcast twice in three weeks, I thought I’d add my two cents’ worth. (Note the apostrophe after “cents.”)

The sign in the photo has been hanging on the family home for at least ten years, maybe twenty, and the apostrophe has been getting my goat all this time. 

As a theatre professor teaching in liberal arts colleges for many years, I corrected hundreds—my wife says thousands—of student papers. Supporting a Writing Across The Curriculum dictum, it was my job to assign papers, give corrections, collect rewrites, and grade them. I got really good at spotting errors and deciphering what the students actually meant to say. There was a lot of teaching going on in those exchanges! 

So what’s wrong with the Margerum sign? It’s beautifully crafted and a lovely gift to my parents that I’ve kept hanging by the front door just for the aesthetic, but that apostrophe is all wrong. 

This is a house that holds more than one Margerum. So the sign should simply say “The Margerums” without an apostrophe.

If you argue that the implied concept is that it’s the house belonging to the Margerums, then the possessive apostrophe belongs at the end: The Margerums’ House. In its current location the possessive would be the house of only one Margerum. That has never been true in the history of this domicile.

I’ve seen a crayon-type of wood filler sold in many different wood shades which could potentially fill in the offending punctuation mark, but it’d still be visible. Kind of like applying White-Out to a scribbled out misspelling on a birthday card. We all see it. 

So live and let live, I guess. Maybe the Grammar Police won’t come pounding on our door…or door’s. 

* * * * *

I highly recommend Grammar Girl podcasts as well as her books and website. She’s very accessible and explains grammar with genuine enthusiasm and a sense of fun. 

Her episodes on the apostrophe are #1006 and #1009. 

You’ll find her at https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl/

* * * * *

I’ll be returning to Barnes & Noble in Lafayette, Indiana, to do another book signing on Saturday, September 7 from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. 

The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles is also available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles

Margerumalia – New Book Signing on Main Street

Eric Margerum

Newsletter  June 28, 2024 

Next stop: July 13th Main Street Books in Lafayette, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. 

Main Street Books is only a block away from the Saturday Farmer’s Market so we expect to entice the folks looking for A/C and a good read.

What I learned about publishing this week: algorithms are in charge. Maybe someone should write a story about that… 

“HAL, order 50 more copies of The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles.”

“I’m sorry, Dave. I can’t do that.” 

“That is a direct order, HAL.” 

“I understand, Dave, but I am unable to comply.” 

So it turns out that all the websites from Amazon to Books-A-Million, have a notification saying MAMLA is on backorder, or temporarily out of stock. But that’s not really true. It’s just distribuspeak* for print-on-demand. If you go ahead and order a copy of the book from Barnes & Noble, for example, it’ll be printed and shipped out right away. Easy-peasy!

This is also true of local bookstores ordering from a distributor (I’m looking at you, Ingram) — in support of an author’s book signing.

You’ll probably save time by buying the book directly from the publisher at the BookBaby Bookstore. That’s store.bookbaby.com. By the way, I get more dollars when you go that route. Even the e-books.

On a different note, those of you already following me on social media have probably already seen my post of the Best Review Of All Time, or BROAT**. I’m going to share it again here because it gives me all the warm fuzzies every time I see it. 

I got an email from one mother who wrote “…this weekend my daughter asked to ‘go to Grandma’s house so she can read that museum book again.’ What a lovely thing for them to share.  Thank you!!!” 

I love that. 

May your weekend be full of warmth and appreciation.

TTFN!

–    –    –    –    –

*Another word I’m contributing to the English Language! That’s four, for those of you keeping a tally at home.

** Ch-ching! FIVE.

Margerumalia – Barnes and Noble Book Signing

Eric Margerum

Newsletter June 14, 2024

First, I’ve heard that a good newsletter needs a good name so I invented another new word: Margerumalia. It’s a portmanteau combining Margerum with marginalia (notes in the margins). SO that’s two new words I’ve added to the English language. Look out, Shakespeare, I’m catching up!

Second, the book signing last Saturday at Barnes & Noble was very enjoyable, with a steady stream of customers who bought about as many books as I sold the previous week at the library. 

I’ve got to tell you something I overheard from a 30-something couple passing by. The man pointed out the person at the service desk and said, “She’s like a liberrian.” Fortunately they weren’t facing me when I broke out into a big grin. That’s where I got the idea for the lie-berries in “Plot Holes” and MAMLA! It’s the common mispronunciation of library. I loved hearing that. Felt like a confirmation.

A friend in my writing group told me Piers Anthony also had lie-berries in his Xanth novels. I had no idea. I’ve read several of his other books but haven’t tackled that series—47 of them so far! Sounds like I need a new TBR shelf for his books alone. I recommend his writing and his storytelling, by the way—it doesn’t hurt that he has my same love of puns and wordplay.

I hope every local author is treated as well as I was at Barnes & Noble. They were so friendly and considerate, a few employees even bought copies of their own! They invited me to return in August for the Back To School rush and I’m looking forward to it. Meanwhile there are a set of signed copies on their shelves with my bookmarks inside. 

Tomorrow I’ll have a table set up at my neighborhood Fresh Thyme Market where they also like to support local authors. I’ll wear something warmer, though, because the last author I saw there was seated in front of a table of refrigerated food. Good organic produce, by the way. That’ll be from about 11:00 to 2:00 pm. Local friends should note that this is the West Lafayette store, not the one in Lafayette. 

A former student suggests that I also set up a book signing in Naperville, Illinois. Maybe I can line up a few stops in that area. It’d be fun to see some familiar faces! 

TTFN!