Today I wore about 9 different hats. Don’t try and count them, as I skipped writing about some things I did today. But I think there are about that many I will mention here . . .
Met with two people who are in the advertising department of one of the papers that sponsors our Art Festival in the past. After giving them a quick tour of the Commonwheel Gallery, we went to a nearby cafe. Easier to talk than standing in the Gallery, and our basement office, though never very pretty, is all dust and cold and unusable. They bought me a Chai and we began discussing the Festival sponsorship. They had great news for me, the paper would sponsor again. And I hadn’t even filled out the application. Sweet!
And they had some advertising suggestions if we wanted to upgrade the visibility of the ads they would donate. I told them I had to wait and see what our budget looks like in the next couple of weeks regarding getting other sponsorships and the cost of shuttles, etc.
They will make sure I have the correct people to send my stories for both the 40th Celebration of Commonwheel Old Spokes Gallery show and the Art Festival to aim at getting some good press for being in business and having held a successful Art Festival that many years. They agreed it was a newsworthy accomplishment, but the advertising and article writers are separated like Church and State in all news agencies.
Then we switched to the Gallery and what we wanted to do for advertising there. We are nominated for “Best Of the Springs” and in years past have had an ad in the big issue that announces all the winners. Not a cheap ad, but it does get held onto long after it is printed by people who want to check out the winners in various categories.
Went back to the Shop to finish copying my Sales Tax Report and it became very busy. The shop worker was experiencing some glitches and was still pretty new to working the sales desk. I spent an hour helping her out and getting a very nice pot packaged properly to travel.
Plus I had to help find paperwork for two different things that were not obvious. Made some copies for the Sales book and then left for a stop at the not open Post Office and home.
Came home and called my friend to see if she could hike tomorrow. And yes, she can. Sure hope this time the promised sunshine will prevail. I could really use a sunny day of hiking to keep me fired up for all I need to do this week.
Spent time emailing about Festival pieces and shop advertising notes about what I had learned at the meeting this morning.
Went to change the phone message on the Festival Message line, and discovered no one had been taking care of them for this month. Wrote down the info from the requests and will take care of them another time. Probably on Wednesday.
Checked my personal emails, then fixed my lunch to eat sitting in the sun. I do so appreciate my south facing porch in the winter. Just have to be sure to get out there when the sun is high in the sky to enjoy it the most.
Another author friend called me and wanted to update me with his progress, or lack of it, and run some ideas past me. I had some suggestions for him and am trying to get him to just embrace the concept of Self-Publishing as the best way to go for all of his book ideas. Plus I had some ideas for ways to market them differently from the one that he is not having success with now. Then I came up with some ideas of how to market that one differently – he has 2,000 physical copies in storage, and they aren’t selling. Needs to do something different and I had 3 suggestions for him, and just now thought of another one. We’ll see what he says after our phone call and the next one we are scheduled to have within a week.
Then I focused on getting one of the books I am revamping to have published on CreateSpace. I made some major changes in its format and the order of the information. Will see how the author reacts to them. I did send it off for him to review and let me know how to proceed before getting too much farther on this project and have him want major changes to the changes I made.
Made a final decision that I can’t go to NAMS this year. Just too much on my plate to travel, and the timing is a bit off for all the irons I have in the fire right now. Still, I would have enjoyed connecting with others in the internet marketing and book publishing market and actually met my favorite trainer, Tony Laidig, in person. Maybe next year . . .
Then there is my brother and his band web site. He still isn’t happy with pieces of it. I just can’t work on that tonight. Too late, and have to think about what I can do to make him happier. Something he had no problem with in the past, suddenly doesn’t look right to him. But it is his web site, and I do want him to be happy. He did so much for our parents in their last years on this planet, this is the least I can do for him since I live far away and he was only 20 minutes away from their home, and he helped them both so much in their final years. I dearly Love and greatly appreciate him for being there for them. I can see how the love he had for our parents shines through all he does and in his music.
One more blog to post upon for myself tonight, and then to bed.