10/30/05 Ah, the fun and joys of owning a store…
I discovered on Friday that we have the wrong date on all our Free Comic Book Day stickers and flyers. This was after about 5000 comics and 1000 flyers had been passed out, along with several press releases being sent. Literally the last person I visited (at the Boys and Girls in Long Beach) actually looked over one of the flyers and pointed out the incorrect date to me. So… Free Comic Book Day has become Free Comic Book Weekend ?, although our artists (and perhaps columnists) will only be here on Saturday (November 5th).
Sunday morning I discovered I had erased part of the website, specifically my column and the links page. New rule… do not update the website on two different computers (and always, always save the current version I am working on). My column is back, as you can see, but links will not return until next week due to my not having time right now to cut and paste about 50 different links in… rrrrr!
Anyway, plans are firming up for our anniversary (Free Comic Book Day) celebration. In addition to having free comics, some of our art teachers and columnists will be in attendance. Also, Mark Masterson of Dorothy fame says he will be back signing his works. We will also be raffling off some graphic novels, boxes of comics and posters/promotional items every hour on the hour. Check the website later this week for a more complete schedule.
Until next time…
Mike
<TOP>
I discovered on Friday that we have the wrong date on all our Free Comic Book Day stickers and flyers. This was after about 5000 comics and 1000 flyers had been passed out, along with several press releases being sent. Literally the last person I visited (at the Boys and Girls in Long Beach) actually looked over one of the flyers and pointed out the incorrect date to me. So… Free Comic Book Day has become Free Comic Book Weekend ?, although our artists (and perhaps columnists) will only be here on Saturday (November 5th).
Sunday morning I discovered I had erased part of the website, specifically my column and the links page. New rule… do not update the website on two different computers (and always, always save the current version I am working on). My column is back, as you can see, but links will not return until next week due to my not having time right now to cut and paste about 50 different links in… rrrrr!
Anyway, plans are firming up for our anniversary (Free Comic Book Day) celebration. In addition to having free comics, some of our art teachers and columnists will be in attendance. Also, Mark Masterson of Dorothy fame says he will be back signing his works. We will also be raffling off some graphic novels, boxes of comics and posters/promotional items every hour on the hour. Check the website later this week for a more complete schedule.
Until next time…
Mike
10/25/05
All right, this will be updated more often in the future, I promise. With three different “events” being coordinated, combined with trying to make progress on the website (but check it out, the links page is up and a manga column or two should be posted by end of week) I have not had time to blog. But you should hear from me every few days from here on out.
Many of you think it is all fun and games (i.e. sitting around all day reading comics) running a store. Ironically, I probably spend less time reading now than before I had the store, although what I have cut back on is prose novels. A normal work day for me is 12-14 hours, and it is not uncommon for me to put in 16 hours (especially on Wednesdays). While it sounds like a lot of work, it still is infinitely better than a “normal” job, and I can see the store growing and getting closer to my “vision” everyday. Still, it seems like I am always behind on something or playing “catch-up”, which hopefully explains why it taking longer than expected to get the website fully operational.
Much of my time this past week has been spent on “promoting” the various events we have coming up, especially the Halloween giveaway. This involved creating flyers, stickering and bagging comics (although we can all thank Chanmary and crew for much of this), press releases, interviews, phone negotiations with various groups, coordinating everyone and delivery of comics. This was on top of my normally 80+ hour work week. I think we did a pretty good job though, as 5000 Halloween comics (which have stickers on the back promoting the store and Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, November 6th) are being passed out to trick-or-treaters by the Lakewood, Long Beach and Signal Hill Libraries, the various Lakewood parks at their Halloween carnival's, Shoreline's Scary Village and various other groups, along with packets being given out in-store of course. Hopefully we get a lot of young people reading (comics) and coming to Pulp Fiction.
I’m out for now as much other paperwork is awaiting me. Over the next couple of blogs I will comment on actual comics and try to get Chanmary to say a word of two about herself. See you soon…
Mike
<TOP>
Many of you think it is all fun and games (i.e. sitting around all day reading comics) running a store. Ironically, I probably spend less time reading now than before I had the store, although what I have cut back on is prose novels. A normal work day for me is 12-14 hours, and it is not uncommon for me to put in 16 hours (especially on Wednesdays). While it sounds like a lot of work, it still is infinitely better than a “normal” job, and I can see the store growing and getting closer to my “vision” everyday. Still, it seems like I am always behind on something or playing “catch-up”, which hopefully explains why it taking longer than expected to get the website fully operational.
Much of my time this past week has been spent on “promoting” the various events we have coming up, especially the Halloween giveaway. This involved creating flyers, stickering and bagging comics (although we can all thank Chanmary and crew for much of this), press releases, interviews, phone negotiations with various groups, coordinating everyone and delivery of comics. This was on top of my normally 80+ hour work week. I think we did a pretty good job though, as 5000 Halloween comics (which have stickers on the back promoting the store and Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, November 6th) are being passed out to trick-or-treaters by the Lakewood, Long Beach and Signal Hill Libraries, the various Lakewood parks at their Halloween carnival's, Shoreline's Scary Village and various other groups, along with packets being given out in-store of course. Hopefully we get a lot of young people reading (comics) and coming to Pulp Fiction.
I’m out for now as much other paperwork is awaiting me. Over the next couple of blogs I will comment on actual comics and try to get Chanmary to say a word of two about herself. See you soon…
Mike
10/19/05
Welcome to Behind the Counter, a column detailing the experiences, trials and tribulations of being a store owner. This week I wanted to share with all of you the various events happening at Pulp Fiction over the next month or so.
First up, we have a signing coming up. Mark Masterson, writer of Dorothy from Illusive Arts, will be in-store Wednesday, October 26th starting at 2:00pm signing his newly released trade paperback. Dorothy is an update of the classic Wizard of Oz tale, with some new twists and turns thrown in (this becomes more apparent as we get farther along in the story). Mark's scripting is (dare I say) masterful and the photo-realistic art is a sight to behold. Plus, they have one of the best websites around (www.dorothyofoz.com). Check it out for a fascinating look on how they put the comic book together, and read Dorothy's journal for between story updates on our heroine.
We are currently running our 2nd annual “Give the Treat of Literacy” promotion. Local adults can come to the store and get a FREE packet containing twenty child-friendly Spiderman and Donald Duck comic books that can be handed out to trick-or-treaters this Halloween. Tell you friends and neighbors and help us promote comic books and literacy this holiday.
Last, but certainly not least, we are celebrating surviving for a year with a party. On Saturday, November 6th we will be have (another) Free Comic Book Day. It's our birthday, but you get the presents (that's for your support)! Everyone who comes by will get FREE comic books, FREE drawings of their favorite superhero and/or anime character and many other surprises. Come by and celebrate with us!!!
It's 6:00am Wednesday morning which means it's time to get ready to pick up the new comics - see you all later…
Mike
<TOP>
First up, we have a signing coming up. Mark Masterson, writer of Dorothy from Illusive Arts, will be in-store Wednesday, October 26th starting at 2:00pm signing his newly released trade paperback. Dorothy is an update of the classic Wizard of Oz tale, with some new twists and turns thrown in (this becomes more apparent as we get farther along in the story). Mark's scripting is (dare I say) masterful and the photo-realistic art is a sight to behold. Plus, they have one of the best websites around (www.dorothyofoz.com). Check it out for a fascinating look on how they put the comic book together, and read Dorothy's journal for between story updates on our heroine.
We are currently running our 2nd annual “Give the Treat of Literacy” promotion. Local adults can come to the store and get a FREE packet containing twenty child-friendly Spiderman and Donald Duck comic books that can be handed out to trick-or-treaters this Halloween. Tell you friends and neighbors and help us promote comic books and literacy this holiday.
Last, but certainly not least, we are celebrating surviving for a year with a party. On Saturday, November 6th we will be have (another) Free Comic Book Day. It's our birthday, but you get the presents (that's for your support)! Everyone who comes by will get FREE comic books, FREE drawings of their favorite superhero and/or anime character and many other surprises. Come by and celebrate with us!!!
It's 6:00am Wednesday morning which means it's time to get ready to pick up the new comics - see you all later…
Mike
10/13/05
Welcome to "Behind the Counter", a column detailing the experiences, trials and tribulations of being a store owner. There have been many changes at Pulp Fiction of late, with more to come in the near future - be sure to check this column often for the "inside scoop". While I am proud of what the store is and has done so far, I always have ideas and plans to make it
better.
First of all, I realize "Behind the Counter" is probably an over-used title for a column, so if someone can help me come up with a better one (yes this is the first of many contests), I will award them some kind of nifty prize.
For awhile now, I have wanted to make the website more “relevant”. By that I mean give our customers, and others, a reason to visit it on a daily basis. I also like to fiddle the look and organization of things, as those of you who visit the store fairly often may have noticed. With these things in mind, I decided to revamp the website. Bear in mind we are still in “beta” mode (for non-computer geeks this means we are still testing various things and parts of the site are not totally up yet).
The best part of the new website (I think) is that we have added columnists. They will provide you with lots of insightful recommendations and cutting-edge commentary. Two of the questions I get most often are something along the lines of “I like this book – What should I try next?” And “What is good?” Hopefully our columnist will point you to something new that will become a favorite. I will try to have many diverse opinions covering different genres, so everyone should be able to find something useful. We will be adding a message board to the website in the near future, so you can share your thoughts and opinions as well. Most columnists will be posting about once a week, although my “blog” will probably be updated every couple of days, as time permits.
That’s about it for now as I have to get the new website up…
Mike
<TOP>
First of all, I realize "Behind the Counter" is probably an over-used title for a column, so if someone can help me come up with a better one (yes this is the first of many contests), I will award them some kind of nifty prize.
For awhile now, I have wanted to make the website more “relevant”. By that I mean give our customers, and others, a reason to visit it on a daily basis. I also like to fiddle the look and organization of things, as those of you who visit the store fairly often may have noticed. With these things in mind, I decided to revamp the website. Bear in mind we are still in “beta” mode (for non-computer geeks this means we are still testing various things and parts of the site are not totally up yet).
The best part of the new website (I think) is that we have added columnists. They will provide you with lots of insightful recommendations and cutting-edge commentary. Two of the questions I get most often are something along the lines of “I like this book – What should I try next?” And “What is good?” Hopefully our columnist will point you to something new that will become a favorite. I will try to have many diverse opinions covering different genres, so everyone should be able to find something useful. We will be adding a message board to the website in the near future, so you can share your thoughts and opinions as well. Most columnists will be posting about once a week, although my “blog” will probably be updated every couple of days, as time permits.
That’s about it for now as I have to get the new website up…
Mike