Current location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Reading: The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
Listening: The Matrix by Mother Mother(if you have a moment, reply with your own 3-item status via email or in the comments)
Covid Got Me :(
It has been….a week.
After nearly 4 years of dodging it, Covid finally caught up with me.
I was recently boosted, so presumably I got off easy, but it still sucked for the initial two days of intense full-body aches, congestion, barely any sleep, and brain fog (I’ve been largely asymptomatic since, thankfully).
While I’ve managed to keep my usual work schedule ticking along for the duration (the first draft for this week’s Let’s Know Things—scribbled while brain-fogged—needed a LOT of chiseling to sculpt into publishable shape), though, I’m calling in a sick day on this week’s newsletter essay. Apologies!
That said, a quick question:
I regularly have people ask where they can buy my books that is most financially beneficial to me—where I keep the most money after being charged for processing fees and such, basically.
Most intermediaries, while they provide benefits (like discoverability by people who don’t already know me or my work) take a decent chunk of the potential profits as a fee, so I haven’t had a great answer to that question.
I’m in the process of building a little online shop where I can sell my books myself (only suffering a very minor processing-fee ding), though, and where I may eventually add some other things I make, as well.
My question is this: What do you think I should call this online shop?
Colin’s E-Mart? Colin Wright’s Store? I’m struggling to come up with something suitable, so please reply to this email with your ideas :)
As long as this illness keeps trending as it’s been trending, I should be back next week with an actual essay—thanks for understanding!
Interesting & Useful
The Most Popular Happy Meal Toy The Year You Were Born
“Over the years, Happy Meal toys have evolved with changing societal values, including a shift towards promoting health and wellness and efforts to introduce sustainable and eco-friendly materials. Happy Meal toys have also contributed to collectors' bank accounts, as many are now worth substantial amounts of money. Here are some of the most popular toys from the last several decades.”
“I love seeking out and exploring tiny and niche museums. Why niche museums? So many reasons: Once you start looking, there are museums about everything. And they are everywhere! If someone cared enough about something to create a museum, that thing is interesting. The smaller the museum is, the more likely you are to meet the person who founded it. These are people you definitely want to meet.”
Hearst Metrotone News Collection
An abundance of old newsreels, by date and topic—really interesting archive!
Outro
Keeping the outro simple today, too, but here’s the retreat I’ll be speaking at in May, at a state park in Utah (and which I’m very much looking forward to), if you’re interested in being one of the few to attend (and nabbing the early bird discount)(please let me know if you have any questions about any of that).
Have any online store name ideas for me? Avoiding Covid this season, I hope? Tell me what’s been up in your neck of the woods by replying to this newsletter: I respond to every message I receive and would love to hear from you :)
Prefer stamps and paper? Send me a letter, postcard, or some other physical communication (a doodle? A Polaroid of your cat?) at: Colin Wright, PO Box 11442, Milwaukee, WI 53211
Or hit me up via the usual methods: Instagram/Threads, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or interactive crop-origin maps and graphics.
I like the word Understandery…maybe work that in your online store name?
Location: the San Fernando valley
Reading: Greenwood (Michael Christie)
Listening : giant Rooks
Hope you feel better soon!
"The Wright store" might be a fun name.