Small Business Saturday - Support Cottage Industry!

(Kindle sleeve from Downstairs Designs)


When Black Friday rolls around, I hunker down at home. No way am I venturing out to sit in traffic, elbow fellow bargain hunters at the clearance rack or shuffle forward one foot at a time at the checkout line. Not to mention stores opening on Thanksgiving evening is something I find to be, errrr, over-the-top commercialism. Please, give the poor cashiers a break. Let them gather round at the dining room table with nieces and nephews and in-laws, eating leftover pumpkin pie, while the fiftieth football game of the day plays out on the big screen.

While I'm not sure how this movement got started, I think Small Business Saturday is a fabulous concept! Something to counter the chain stores, give a boost to local economies and help keep small business afloat.

One bonus effect of the e-reader boom, besides the growing ranks of indie authors and micropresses, are all the cottage industries that have sprung up in an effort to provide diehard readers with bags and sleeves and covers to keep their Kindles/Nooks safe and protected. You can find tons of them on Etsy.com. I have spent HOURS browsing Etsy, so you don't have to, but do feel free to wander. This is quality, durable, handmade stuff at reasonable prices. The sorts of gifts that last for years and are truly unique. Here are a few of my favorite Etsy shops:

Solar Threads (Quilted Kindle sleeves) - I have an orangey-gold Kangaroo print sleeve that I adore.









Joe V. Leather (Everything from leather Kindle covers, to wallets, bracelets and belts. A great place to browse especially if you're shopping for some of the guys in your life.) - I'm frothing over the tree cover and the sun-face one. While leather covers do add a bit of bulk to your e-reader, they are excellent protection, while adding a touch of class. Plus, if you want your e-reader to feel more like a book in your hands, covers are the way to go.







Gardenour Leather (Leather selections from Kindle and iPad sleeves, to purses, wallets and checkbook covers.) - Someone on Kindleboards recommended this company and they have many admirers there. Slightly more affordable than some of the other leather covers you'll find.






Borsa Bella Design Co. (e-reader and electronics bags and purses) - Between my daughter and me, we own four Borsa Bella bags. Need I say more? If I were a millionaire, I'd buy myself ten more and then buy all my friends some. Fast, personalized service. Variety of sizes and patterns available. Stylish and practical.







Here are a few more:

Stephanie Kiker Designs - Whimsical, cushiony e-reader sleeves in bright colors with original artwork (marine life, dragonflies, butterflies, etc.).

BritGal Designs - E-reader sleeves and cases in an endless variety of patterns and colors.

OhKey - More sleeves and cases in bold designs.

That should keep you busy shopping for awhile!

Happy reading,
Gemi

Staying positive in tough times

I recently came across a post at BookEnds LLC, Literary Agency that got me thinking about how our attitudes affect our actions and the implications that may have further down the road. Those of us who write have been hearing for awhile now the dire straits the publishing world is in: how fewer new authors are being taken on or how established authors are being directed to focus on their better selling material. In my critique group and on other writers' forums, the topic often arises of whether we should write the stories that most inspire and interest us, or focus on what is commercially viable in order to increase our chances of publication (that's another sizzling topic for a blog post that Anita Davison covers in her post, Should Authors Write for the Market?).

It's so easy to get sucked into the pervasive doom and gloom atmosphere of the current economy. But as Jessica Faust says in the BookEnds post, instead of worrying about things we can't control, perhaps we should focus on those things we can? She sees the decreased numbers in book sales as a precursor to change. Rather than not taking on new clients at all or foregoing submissions, she's proceeding business-as-usual. However, she is being pickier and demanding more perfection in what she takes on or submits.

While we're all waiting for the logjam to clear, maybe we should take this as an opportunity: to write more entertaining stories, become better at the craft of writing, ask ourselves what people want to read, and explore new possibilities for reaching readers?

Movies, TV and computers still have not killed books. They continue to exist and will indefinitely. What form they will take and how publishing will operate in the coming century remains to be seen. Meanwhile, keep on writing!

Until later,
Gemi