My wonderful therapy dog, Rudy and I were scheduled for story time at our local bookstore this past Saturday. We got there early, helped set up, put out the free coloring pages for children, had my bubble “gun” ready to blow bubbles all over the place, and of course, had my new book, “Read to Rudy” all set to read to the children who would soon arrive. One toddler ran over and tried to get Rudy in a head lock. I intervened. Another child, about five or six, wanted the coloring page and did a beautiful job with her crayons. We waited. And waited. No one came.
I distracted myself by reading a book from the shelt behind me–a book about a man who wanted to be a French chef. Fun, but after a half hour, not so fun. I got up and spoke to the women in charge at the bookstore, and they were as puzzled as I was. Rudy took a nap. So we packed up and went home and today I wondered what I could learn from this.
Here are my takeaways in no particular order.
- Find places that want you, need you. Front of mind: animal shelters since Rudy came from one himself. I could do a fundraising event that would both sell books and help them raise money.
- Don’t forget to give books away–I did this more consciously with my board books and believe it’s an important way to make a difference and balance the focus on sales
- Try dog boutiques and see if they’d carry “Read to Rudy”
- Ask for advice.
So, no one came, but we have a wonderful book that is finding it’s “legs” and is out there, reaching children and their families, one book at a time. Don’t be shy–if you have suggestions, please send them!
