So walking into stores and asking them if they would like to
carry my books has been quite an experience. After my balloon was shot down and
sadly floated to the ground on Friday Harbor I had no choice but to pick it up
and blow it up again. This time though I had to take it to Seattle where the
big kids play.
The first store I went into I do not blame the lady at all
for not even wanting to keep my sample books for a week. It was one of the most
awkward moments of my life. I wish that I had the excuse that I had been
drinking but unfortunately I was completely sober and the only thing I have to
blame is…well me. I was so nervous that I couldn’t form a complete sentence. I
would start one thought and then interrupt myself with another random thought,
which had nothing to do with the previous one. The lady politely refused to
accept my cute little orange bag of books and said “I’ll call you” and I’m sure
with her inside voice she finished her sentence with “don’t call me!” The good news is I think I can live a pretty happy
and normal life without ever having to go back to that store again. To bad it
is (I guess now I should say, was) one of my favorite little boutiques.
I called my husband and immediately went into pity-party
mode. Explaining that I’m not a salesperson and I guess we’ll just have to make
the 50 boxes of books a permanent fixture in our bedroom…(It has been a long
time since I’ve made a fort!) when he interrupted me and said, ‘every no is one
closer to a yes’. (Is that like, ‘so you’re saying I’ve got a chance?)
Luckily I have some good friends in marketing that gave me a
pep talk and a few confidence boosters. My favorite one was, ‘Shelley you look
really skinny today!’ (I have such great friends that know exactly what lie I
need to hear at critical moments and they know I gladly take compliments even
if they aren’t true!) With my delusion of feeling skinny I went to three more
bookstores and to my surprise I was able to speak in complete sentences!!!
This all happened last week and this week I had to go back
to see if any of them wanted to buy the books. (And I was stressed about just
dropping them off!)
I am happy to say that there are now six stores in
Washington who are selling my books! I
am learning about the ins and outs of being a salesperson and I think
improving. (I set really small expectations for myself so I can celebrate my
accomplishments!)
My other accomplishment is my website. My second husband (don’t
worry my husband knows plus he’s gay and he works for my husband. Plus, my
best friend is my husbands’ second wife! It sounds way more fun and I’m sure
kinky than it really is. Just incase I’ve offended anyone these are just
nicknames because we all spend so much time together. Nothing inappropriate has
happened. At least not to our standards of inappropriateness!)
Okay, I need to
get this train back on track. SO I am working with my second husband on making
my website. He is doing all the difficult stuff and all the design but I am
learning and have done more than I ever thought I would be able to! It is shelleysleeper.com and is still
a work in progress but it’s pretty cute and you can even buy my books from it!
(Was that pitch way to obvious?) :)
So I am going to keep on truckin'...keep going to stores, keep working to make my website awesome and keep setting small expectations for myself so I
can keep celebrating!
