Newsletter – July 19, 2024
The book signing at Main Street Books went very well with lots of people coming in to get out of the heat and get their passports stamped for finding the hidden Waldo somewhere in the store. I gave my elevator pitch to several parents who bought my book, and I gave away free mazes and bookmarks to every child who wanted one. Every maze asks, “Can you find your way out of The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles?” with my URL ericmargerum.com on every page. Kudos to my wife for coming up with that strategy!
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I had an email conversation with my friend, Michael, whom I met recently—another local author—and here’s what he wrote:
Do me a favor, Eric. I want you to be deadly honest with me about my book,… unless you absolutely love it. In that case, go ahead and review it on Amazon.
No hurry on the coffee. I can do it anytime.
I’ve always said, if I never sell a single book, it’s okay because the experience has been fantastic. I feel differently now though. I just need to stop spending money on this hobby.
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I wrote the following and then asked his permission to share my reply in this newsletter:
Hi Michael,
I can see you walking the line very cautiously. Timidly, perhaps?
On one side of the line you want brutal honesty from someone you barely know to justify laying down the pen. On the other hand you’ve written an intriguing premise for a second book and have been thinking about how to link it to the first one. Clearly you carry the creative spark and yearn to keep creating.
I can tell you from many years of auditions both as an actor and a director, one person’s disinterest or praise is not that of the guy standing next to him. Everyone has their own preferences. Your book moved someone to tears. Any artist would say that’s a great achievement in and of itself. The next reader may not be moved and that’s okay.
As for spending money on a hobby, I was just watching an episode of That 90’s Show (sequel to That 70’s Show) and Red is spending time in his garage with his model trains. Do they mean anything to anyone else? No. Is he spending money on this hobby? Yes. Does he think it’s a pointless expense? No. Do I think so? Yes. Who’s right?
At least your “hobby” elicits emotions. One might look at Red’s train table, watch the choo-choo run the circuit a couple of times, nod and offer a vague compliment and leave. But your book, your work, is an art form. As a creative with a capital C, I see great value in that. It makes the world a better place, generates empathy, brings a unique perspective. I don’t see how that could be dismissed as a mere hobby.
Are there ways to improve on the generation of income? Doubtless there are. I’m looking for them, too. Are there ways to decrease the expense side. Probably. It’s worth looking at. That’s the whole business side of writing. If you’re hurting for income you may need to address that balance sheet. That’s practical. Separate that from the art form.
Okay, enough preaching from me. I just don’t want to see you sabotage yourself. And, of course, I need to hear all these things, too. We have to develop our inner coach to give us a pep talk now and then, right?
Coffee soon.
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He said he really needed to hear that. Don’t we all? Guess what he showed me on his phone when we met for coffee? His model train set. The train table had mountains and ponds, flora and fauna, buildings and roads…the whole shebang…and filled one end of his basement.
Here’s the kicker. He had recently decided to pack it all up and put it away because it had just been collecting dust. I had no idea about that, but I do believe in the significance of coincidences, and that was a strong one.
He’s writing his second book. I’m getting ready to read his first book and I’ll let you know more about it.
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Fun fact. That line of asterisks between sections of text is called a dinkus. In MAMLA the interior designers gave me a small maze wherever I indicated a need for a dinkus. Isn’t that cool? I love working with creative folk!
TTFN
Eric Margerum 