New from Tyrean Martinson!

Dynamic Writing 1– 161 Lessons for Middle School Students by Tyrean Martinson – is a full year curriculum for home or classroom use, studying journal, essay, fiction, and poetry writing. Available in paperback at Amazon. The First Fifteen Lessons Are Available for FREE at the website.

Tyrean’s description of the book:

Dynamic Writing 1 is available in complete form in paperback through Amazon. Containing 161 Lessons for Middle Grade Students, this curriculum is meant for a complete year of home-school, home-school co-op, or classroom use. Eighteen of the lessons are “double” lessons and may be split over two days worth of time to extend the school year to 179 days with a planned celebration day at the end. Teaching notes, grade sheets, a resource list, and extra writing prompts are included in the text, as well as an answer key at the back of the book for the writing exercises. Within a year, students will study journal writing and essay writing, with short forays into fiction and poetry. Specific instruction in sentence variations, similes, and other writing concepts is spread over the course of the book and reviewed throughout the year so that students can wrestle with these concepts over the full course.

Be sure to check out Melissa Sugar-Gold’s stellar review!

Vermont Comic Con Wrap-up

What an interesting weekend it was at VT Comic Con! There were large crowds on both days, and the cosplay was amazing. So many people dressed up as comic book and video game characters. My favorite — and the crowd’s favorite (he won the people’s choice award) — was the 8-foot-tall Groot.

Photo Credit: Nancy Mock
of Hungry Enough to Eat Six!

I didn’t know if my book would sell at this kind of event where the focus was more on superheroes and such, but I wanted to try it as an experiment. As it was, I sold six books, and I saw that two e-books sold over the weekend. A lot of people picked up my book cards for, hopefully, future purchases. It was good practice in getting out there and talking to people. Even though I didn’t sell that many books, I think it was worthwhile.

Two questions to ponder before signing up for next year’s event:

1. Should I have sold my books at a discounted price?

I considered selling them for $10, rather than the cover price of $16.99, but decided to see how they sold at regular price. All the people who asked me how much it was were interested enough to buy it. Next time around, I might try the discounted price and see if it gets any impulse buys. Of course, it would help if I remembered to put out the sign that says I can accept credit card purchases. I put it out on Sunday, but forgot on Saturday. That might have made a difference.

1. Should I sell the sword charm necklaces I made separately?

I displayed the necklaces with a sign that said free with book purchase. Anyone who bought a book got a necklace to go with it for free. Several people asked about buying the necklaces. I chose not to sell them that way, because I don’t want to go into the jewelry business. I would have made more money if I’d sold them separately. I don’t really know what would be an appropriate price for them. I’d have to do some research. Something to think about, anyway.

The best part of the experience was when one of the people who bought my book said they had seen it on Amazon. Apparently my book had popped up as a suggestion for her to buy, being similar to the book she was buying on Amazon. I thought that was pretty neat!

I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts on both selling and buying at these kinds of events! For those selling — would you discount or sell at regular price? And would you have sold the necklaces separately? For those buying — would a $10 book cause you to make an impulse buy? Please let me know what you think!