Costco book signing

Well, today was my first of what I hope will become many book signings at Costco. My distributor set this up for me down at the Sandy store. I signed from noon to 6 and sold 51 copies. It was a lot of work. I am used to having people walk into my booth at a festival and walk out carrying something they like. Selling books is not such an easy sell. I had several people tell me they would look for my book at the library. I've always been a book buyer, eventhough I do have a library card that I use frequently. There is something about a book, the way it smells, the way it feels in your hand. I buy books because I often take a while to read them. I buy books because I like to revisit them. I buy books because they look good on my shelf. I buy books because I like to mark them up and reference them later. But, I guess some people don't like to buy books. For those that do and especially those that have bought one of mine, thanks. You have made it possible for me to continue to write books, even if you do share the book you bought with all your friends and neighbors. Thanks.
While at Costco today, I saw the Stephanee Meyer collection. Maybe if I ever sell a million books, I'll do the collection set too. Seems like a good way to sell four books at a time.
So, I guess what I wanted to say is that I am realizing that today was not a book signing like you see on tv where people are ligned up to get your autograph. I didnt really expect that, and that's a good thing because it was not that at all. For starters, no one has heard of my book. I have sold 1000 copies and maybe as many as 2000 people in the world have read it, but you have to start somewhere near the bottom. I am revising my pitch. Today I said a lot of really stupid things, but someday in the next ten years, I hope to figure this out. I feel like I am starting from scratch with this business. People have loved my pots for years and frankly, that has probably made me a little lazy, as they sell themselves. Not so with books. I didnt have to tackle anyone and hogtie them to listen to my pitch, at least not yet, but I am trying to figure out how sell my book. Without action, vampires and sex, my book may not appeal to everyone, but I believe the book has a broad appeal and the folks that are reading it seem to agree, at least the ones that are related to me.
So, I should be on a date with my wife, but we are both exhausted. She is reading volume two next to me on her laptap while I write this blog. Really romantic, eh. I'll do better next week. If you're reading this on Friday, drop by costco tomorrow for lunch and book.

Wow, its been a crazy week. I finished writing volume 2 at 12:30 am yesterday morning. I will be editing this week and next and then passing it on to my editor for her review. I am very excited. If you like volume one, I really think you're going to love volume two. It is exciting and very unpredictable. I wont spoil it for you. The process of creating a book, especially one as visually complicated at mine requires a lot of time. I am not anticipating that I will see a completed version of volume 2, Discovering Isaac, until mid-November.

On Friday and Saturday of this week, I will be signing books at the Sandy, Utah Costco, located at 11100 South, just off I-15. I will be there from 12-5 each day, unless I run out of books. I am excited that things are rolling forward; sometimes slowere than I hoped, but forward motion is always inspring. I have put together an assortment of cards to give away. These are old photos Jake and Amy recently stumbled upon in the archives at the Niederbipp Public Library. Apparently the Niederbipp Travel Council once planned to use these to help promote Niederbipp, but the plans fell through. As is reported in the next Volume 2, Jake and Amy become involved with the council to try and breath some new life into it. Look soon for the Niederbipp website. For the time being, enjoy the postcards from Niederbipp. Cheers.

So, My goal was to publish a post every week and it makes me happy to be doing just that. I have some news to report. I spent three days last week working on volume two and made some great progress. Shipping pots, participating in service projects and attending an overnight scout activity kept me from writing more, but I am pleased with the progress I was able to make and also pleased with the ideas that came to me while participating in the other activities.

On Friday, I received a call from my distributor informing me that Costco is interested in my book. They want to begin with one store and see how it goes, so next Friday at the Sandy store, Remembering Isaac will be debuting at Costco!!!!!!

If you are in the neighborhood, stop by. I'd love to sign a copy for you. I have no idea how much they will be retailing for, but I am excited the book is finally going to be reaching a broader audience. I hope to be doing a few signings a week in the coming months. Keep spreading the word.

If you liked the first book, you are going to love the second. I am really pleased with the way this one is coming together and the inspiration that is coming. Very exciting. I will try to blog again soon. Cheers.

I have been meaning to update this blog for several weeks, but I have been so busy writing book two, Discovering Isaac, that I have been putting it off. There is much to say though so I will get to it so I can get back to my writing.

First, I have had a chance to speak to two book clubs about my book so far. Both of these have been a lot of fun. Since these were my first experiences talking about the book, I wasnt really sure how to proceed, what to talk about, but in both cases, the women were interested in learning more about where the book came from, the prelude to the prelude- if you will. Maybe I will spend some time in the near future laying that all out on my blog, but it may take a while. In both cases, the ladies kept me busy with questions and the hour long visit turned into nearly two hours. It was great. I hope they enjoyed it too. I was surprised that in both cases, I sold several additional books at the book club meetings. Many of them bought books for friends and family members I have made these books available for $15 for book club members. That's 25% off the suggested retail price. If you have a book club that might be interested in reading my book, give me a call 801-883-0146 for books. If you are interested in me attending your book club and speaking to the group, I still have a few days left in late fall., Just kidding, I have a lot of time to come and speak to your group. I have a few others set up for September and October, but I'm still pretty flexible.

I am pleased that I have written a book that seems to be reaching people of all ages. These book clubs have been attended by women whose ages range 50 years or more, but they are all connecting to it somehow. I hope your book club will too. If you are looking for a book filled with mystery, high adventure or hot passionate love, this is probably not the book for you, but if you want a book with a charming love story, moral messages, and a book that makes you feel good, Remembering Isaac is a great read. Viva Niederbipp!

Second, I went into Deseret Book yesterday and to my great surprise, they had my book! My distributor, Brigham Distributing, got my book into 11 stores just this last week. It feels good to see my book on the shelf. While I was there, I looked at the Deseret Book top ten list. I was surprised that for an LDS bookstore, there were no religious books on the top ten bestsellers list. They were all fantasy books! Maybe I missed the boat. Maybe I need to be writing about elves and minataurs and vampires. I wouldnt know how to begin with that, but maybe I'll think about it for the next series. I've never really been into fantasy. I liked Harry Potter, but that's all I've ever read in the genre. What am I missing?

Third, my distributor asked me to attend the LDSBA this last Wednesday, a convention for independent LDS booksellers. I never wanted my book to be classified as a "Mormon Book", but there are lots of messages in the book that would resonate with the LDS audience. It was fun to meet lots of different booksellers from all over the country and rub shoulders with other authors. Its weird for me to realize I'm a published author.

Fourth, Georgia, a woman who works for Brigham Distributing introduced herself to me at the show. She had just finished reading Remembering Isaac while on vacation at the beach and told me it was one of the best ten books she had ever read. Then she asked me what my schedule was so she could start signing me up for book signings. I laughed and told her that I probably ought to get into a few stores before I begin signing books. I didn't realize she is the one in charge of getting my book into Costco. She told me she didnt think there would be any problem getting it into the stores this fall and told me that she would keep me as busy as possible doing signings. Zippideedoodah. I guess I might just have something here.

Fifth, I have now sold over 900 copies of the book! That means I have finally recouped all of my costs for my first printing and I have a few books left to maybe make a very small profit. It feels good. Thanks to everyone who has read it and passed it on to their friends and neighbors. I would rather have them each buy a copy, but we have to start somewhere. I am glad the book is finally more easily accessable and hope with better accessability more sales will come too.

I am not quitting my day job. I have to rebuild a kiln this fall and so while I am at it, I have decided to make some other changes to my studio. I am building a kiln shed in my back yard that will enable me to do my welding and metal work under a covering. This is all in preparation for some other changes to our house; a long overdue new kitchen, a new front porch and some new landscaping. Most of that won't begin until next spring.

Many people have asked why we don't just move. Financially it may make more sense, but as it turns out, there is a lot more to life than money. We love our neighbors, love the ecclectic nature of our neighborhood, love living downtown and feel needed in our community and congregation. These changes mean we'll probably be here for another twenty years or more, but Lynnette and I both feel like this is where we are supposed to be.

I would like to start updating this more often, maybe make a tradition of doing it on Sunday afternoons since I don't ever get a nap anyway. Thanks for reading.

Ben

PS, The Park City Arts Festival was off this year, 30%+ down from normal, but it was fun to do. Irene, the woman with whom I apprenticed fifteen years ago was here with here gradson to help me. She and her husband and grandson spent a week with us at a time share in Park City. Now they're off to discover Utah's Canyon Country on their way to Orange County.

Well, I wish I had some really exciting news to post, but I don't. Sales are continuing, but slowly and I havent had much of a chance to push the book, trying to get ready for the arts festival instead. I plan to be signing books at the Utah Arts Festival next week June 25-28 at Library Square as well as selling my pots and garden ornaments.

Getting ready for the art fest is a daunting task. It nearly consumes me. I have already spent hundreds of hours getting ready for this one and I still have a week left which means I will probably spend another hundred hours before I am set up and ready to go. This show is four days long with super long hours 12 Noon- 11pm. There is not a longer art festival this side of the Mississippi and for good reason. But I love this show. It gets me in front of lots of folks that have supported me over the years gives me a chance to show my new work, which this year includes Remembering Isaac.

I also have my first appointment to speak to a book club. This will be taking place next month, July 7. I am looking for more opportunities to speak and share my message. I'll speak to a group of any size(preferably more than three).

The

It's been nearly two months since I last updated my blog. I've been busy working on book two, going on vacation to Southern Utah with my family and making pots to pay the bills, even though my heart would rather be writing. So far, I've sold over 600 copies, an knowing that many if not most of these books have been read by multiple people, I'm going to guess that Remembering Isaac has been read by over 1000 people. On Amazon.com, I now have reviews from 7 people, one as far away as the U.K.. Many who have read the book are returning to buy more copies to share with friends and family.

About three weeks ago, I signed a contract with Brigham Distributing in Brigham City, Utah to handle the distribution of my book. They have contacts with all of the LDS bookstores as well as Barnes and Noble, INgram and Costco. I have yet to hear anything more from them. I was told to expect at least a month. I am anxious to hear something.

Meanwhile, I continue to sell the book out of my studio and anywhere else I can. The Utah Arts Festival is coming up at the end of June. I hope many more people will have the chance to pick it up and enjoy it.

I had a book club from West Jordan recently order 28 copies for their members. I will be speaking to them in early July. Another woman asked if I'd be willing to come and speak to her congregation about the book. She is Unitarian. I informed her I was LDS and bishop just so she wouldn't be in an awkward situation when I showed up. I was surprised by her reaction. "Oh, that's even better!" she said. Cool. For those of you have read the book, you'll know that this is not a "Mormon Book". I have tried hard to make it applicable to all people, regardless of race, creed, religion or politcal pursuasion. I hope I have achieved that while focusing on the universal truths, those nuggets of truth that are being obsured in our fast-paced, growingly godless society.

I have also been thrilled by the age span of readers who are relating to this book. My oldest reader to date is a 91 year old woman who said she devoured the book her son ordered for himself from Amazon. She actually drove over to my house while I was away to try and purchase Volume 2 and was very disappointed to find out it is not yet available. My youngest reader, that I know of, is fourteen. She read the book in three days and said she loved it. Then she gave it to her sister, age 17 who read it in two days and also loved it. Since then their mother and grandmother have also read the same book and enjoyed it. It seems to have something for everyone. I am very pleased.

I felt like I was and continue to be inspired by the heavens in my writing. I am grateful I finally made the leap to finish it. I hoped I would feel some sense of peace once I completed it, that the voices that spoke to me as I worked and woke me from my sleep would give me a break. This has not happened. In fact, the voices seem only more persistant. Volume one took the better part of 10 years to complete. I am nearly half way through volume 2 after only a few months. I wish I could devote all my time to the project, but with orders and shows and resposibilities, things are going much slower than I hoped. I still plan to have the book done for my studio shows in November and December.

Volume 2 has some interesting twists and turns as Jake and Amy discover Isaac. Lynnette, my girlfriend of almost 12 years and the mother of my children is the only one who has been permitted to read what I've written so far. She's of course biased, but she said she likes it even more than the first. We'll see what ya'll have to say.

So, if you want updates more often, email me and tell me. I get busy and forget about this unreal world of cyberspace. Cheers. Ben

So, book sales are going very well considering that I have only one public outlet, Amazon, and then my studio which now has only 1350 books left. Thats right, I have sold over 150 books in not quite a month! I am still waiting to hear something negative...everyone seems to like it which is really encouraging. I spoke to two of the youngest readers last night, ages 15 and 17. They loved the book and are looking forward to volume 2. I got a call today from a man whose wife recieved the book as a gift and made the mistake of leaving it on the kitchen counter where he found it and wouldnt let her have it until he was done with it! He too said he is anxious to read volume two and lamented the news that it wouldnt be finished until November.

Things are actually progressing quite well with volume 2. I am just finishing chapter 15 and things are exciting. Jake is in the hospital after an accident, and the book is leading in me in directions I didnt know it would go. I am having a great time. I have been working hard in the studio, trying to get orders off so I have not had the time to write as I wish I could. I have decided to have a studio open house on the Saturday before Mothers Day and do a book signing. I will be mailing out a newsletter in conjunction with that.

We are headed to California for a much needed vacation. I'll try to drop a note soon. Ben

One week after recieving the first books from the printer, I have sold over 90 copies. Only 1410 left! I met with Brigham Distributing in Brigham City yesterday to begin the process of getting by book distributed. So far, I have heard from about 30 folks who have read the book and love it. I have yet to hear anything negative, but I am sure it is coming.

I am trying to figure out why I am so restless. I have been working on Volume 2 of the series, Discovering Isaac, which I hope will be ready for sale in December. As I mentioned before, I am not very good at being patient. Barry at Brigham Distributing suggested it would take two weeks for him to give me an answer. I have no idea how long it will take after that to get my books into the stores so for the time being, people are coming to me. You can reach me at 801-883-0146 to arrange to stop by. I am nearly always here inasmuch as I live here and work here.

I am attaching a the pictures of the front and back cover of the book. This was designed by Bert Compton and myself.

AFTER TEN LONG YEARS, THE BOOK IS FINALLY DONE. The books were printed at Alexander's in Lindon, Utah and delivered on Monday night at about 5:30. Our Friends, Jason and Meghan Castleton were the first to stop by the purchase a signed copy. I was in a hurry to get them done in time for Art and Soup, an annual fundraiser that I have participated for the last ten years. That started last night. So far, I have sold exactly 20 copies, which is 1.25% of the 1500 copies I had printed.

I am excited to finally have it done. The book looks great. The self-propelled movie works very well and the layout makes it fun and exciting. I hope to meet with a distributor next week and get the ball rolling on. So far, I have found two small typos, but it still looks good. I am excited to start hearing from people and their comments about the book.

If you have purchased the book and would like to leave a post or send me an email, I would love to hear from you. Thanks. Ben

The image to the right is a picture of some of Isaac's planters on the front steps of #6 Muellstrasse. I really like the cobblestone pattern here.

The Horror, The Horror! I am not a patient person. That is one of my many faults. I finished writing several weeks ago. I have done several rounds of edits and now I am waiting. Waiting. WAITING! for things beyond my control. Bert Compton, my friend and layout engineer extraordinaire has been working hard and just finished the layout last night, or at 4 am this morning, rather. I am exceedingly excited! This has been a long time coming.

Ten years ago I started writing a book about Isaac. Sometime next week, the ten years worth of labor and long nights and sweat will pay off when I pick up my first thousand copies from the printer. I am trying to decide if I should go with Alexander's in Lindon or with FC Printing here in Salt Lake. Alexander's is a digital press where FC Printing is offset printing. I am not sure what is better and I am waiting for a phone call from a friend in the printing business to inform me.

This has been an expensive venture. I hope that I will cover my costs at least and be able to find a good distributor and lots of bookstores that want to buy it. My dream right now is to get into Costco. If anyone out there has any pull, put in a good word for me. I have told the good people in Niederbipp to cross their fingers.

Art and Soup, my first show of the year, will begin in ten days. This is where I will be debuting my book. Am I excited? Heck yes. Am I nervous what the public will think? Absolutely, but I am thinking this will be a good thing. Those who have read the book so far are really liking it and are looking forward to volume two. I have to believe if a book about vampires can sell millions of copies, I will be able to sell at least a thousand.

Bert understands the book. He read it a few weeks ago which has been helpful for him as he has laid it out. He is an artist and a perfectionist and he has done some really cool things. There are lots of sketches throughout the book and a picture on every other page that creates a flash cartoon when you flip through the pages. It is really going to be an experience, not just a book. I am very happy with what I have seen so far.

My friend, Mike RAmsdell, who wrote the Train to Potevka is in California this week, working on the screenplay for his book. He told me in an email that Simon and Schuster just contacted him about his book. He has, to this point, been self-published and sold most of his 400,000 copies through costco. Simon and Schuster could do big things for him. Maybe that will be me in three years.

In my impatience, I have begun volume two. I hope it will go a lot faster. I am hoping to finish it by Christmas and have two book available at my Christmas Open house. I am spured on by the fact that those that have read the book want more. Zippideedoodah!