Mama Diaries

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

IWSG and the Dinosaur Experiment

It's time for the Insecure Writers' Support Group monthly post.


Today's question is, "If you were living the ideal author life, what would it look like?"

Probably a bit different than what it looks like today! I don't need to be a best-selling author. But I would like to see my Amazon ranking under the 100,000 mark regularly. And I would like to get more than $10.00 a month in royalties. Writing books is a lot of effort! It's not just writing. It's editing and marketing. A lot of time goes into it. And it would be really nice to see a paycheck that reflects that.

So, my ideal writer's life:  Have 4-10 author appearances (school visits, library visits, bookstore visits) a year, write a book a year, stay under the 100,000 mark on all of my books, and make about $10,000 a year. Is that asking for too much? 

Now for the story:

My daughter had an assignment for her statistics class:  To find out if people's responses to surveys are influenced by what they see. For this grand experiment, my daughter and her friends decided that they would dress in dinosaur costumes and visit the local mall. There they would ask people what their favorite dinosaur was. The hypothesis was that the person would respond with the dinosaur the interviewer was dressed as. Things were going as planned until the security officer showed up.

"You're violating dress code rules," she stated.

"But we're doing a school project," my daughter objected.

"Too bad. No dinosaurs allowed."

"Well, what's your favorite dinosaur?" my daughter pressed.

"The extinct kind."

And that was the end of the experiment.



Before I go, I had the awesome opportunity to go to Miami, Florida to receive the silver medal for my book, Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China. Here's a picture. (That's a little bit of living the ideal author life!)


49 comments:

  1. Congratulations!
    Yeah, we don't write to get rich, that's for sure.
    Mall security needs to ease back a bit.

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    1. Telling the dinosaurs to get off the property probably made the mall cop feel powerful. :)

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  2. Congrats on the award. That sounds like a wonderful experience.

    It is too bad the mall cop had to end the experiment. Maybe ask grocery store manager for permission to set up nearby next time? Or park?

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    1. I think she got enough data, but I thought it was kind of crazy to kick the kids out for a school project.

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  3. Still so proud of you for winning the award. I'm thrilled you got to attend the ceremony.

    That cop would be extra busy at a sci-fi con. LOL

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    1. That would be hilarious if a mall cop tried to kick everyone out of a sci-fi con!

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  4. Congratulations! :) Oh yes, my realistic dream for writing doesn't involve me being rich. It just involves me doing something I love. I loved the idea for that experiment. Did they try to get surveys somewhere else?

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    1. I think they got enough data for the project, so they didn't have to go anywhere else.

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  5. Ahh! Congratulations on the award! THAT is a definite living the dream moment. Hilarious quip by the mall cop. I hope your daughter got enough data for her project. My favorite dinosaur was always the Brontosaurus...which it turns out never actually existed.

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    1. I know. I was so upset when the scientific community ditched the Brontosaurus. That one was the best by far!

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  6. That sounds suspiciously like a survey experiment I had to do for a class back when I was in high school. I guess it's still around...

    Congrats on your silver medal.

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    1. I'm glad I never had to do that experiment. I don't relish dressing up as a dinosaur!

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  7. Congrats on the award! And I don't think your dream is too much to ask for. I want it too! And more time to write.

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    1. Yes, more time to write would be good. I'm having trouble with that!

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  8. Congratulations on being selected for the 2019 IWSG anthology! I'm really happy for you, Sherry! And congratulations on receiving a silver medal for you book. Happy holidays to you, and all the best with your writing in December!

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    1. Thank you! I'm really excited about the anthology.

      Happy Holidays to you, too!

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  9. Woot for the medal! That's awesome!

    Too bad they didn't get to continue the experiment, but funny response from the mall security.

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  10. Congratulations! Sounds like you've had a great year!

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    1. Career wise, yes! My personal family life not so much. It was a tough year.

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  11. lol that security guard has a stick up their bum.

    Congrats. Yeah, 10,000 a year would be fine.

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    1. I don't think that's too much. Now if I tacked another 0 on that, maybe that's wishful thinking. But I'd take it!

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  12. Loved the story of the experiment :-) Congrats on your story in the anthology! @samanthabwriter from
    Balancing Act

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  13. $10 is what I usually get a month from my blog LOL

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    1. Well, my friend, $10 is more than I get from my blog a month! LOL!

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  14. I always smile when new writers talk about making all that money. However, I keep from ruining their dream, and who knows, one of them might hit the jackpot with a blockbuster novel. I hope so. Anyway, congrats on your medal. That's really wonderful.

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    1. Thank you! You're a great writer. Maybe you'll be the lucky one to hit the jackpot. :)

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  15. Wishing you a very happy Christmas and every success in the new decade đŸ¤—

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  16. Congrats on the award! It's so neat that you went and received it in person too. Also congrats on the anthology story! I think if writing would even break out of the negative end, I'd party. But onward bound!

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    1. Receiving the award was a fantastic experience. I'm so glad I did it! Yep. Keep writing!

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  17. Congratulations on the award, well deserved. I think I would have asked to see that dress code in writing. Happy Holidays to you and your family.

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    1. Yes. I would have liked to seen the dress code in writing, too. I don't think there's anything about dinosaurs in it.

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  18. Congratulations on the award! And yes, the ideal author life!

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  19. Well deserved. I'm so happy for you. Wishing you much happiness!

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  20. Congratulations. I like your daughter's story and that last line, "the extinct kind" made me laugh!

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  21. A double congrats is in order - for your silver medal award, and your delightful story accepted into the 2019 IWSG anthology.
    I hope you have a blessed and wonderful Christmas season, and a Prosperous New Year!

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  22. Ideal author's life for me? Get at least one book published! My PhD thesis does not count, and even if it did, it was ten years ago or so.

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    1. I will keep my fingers crossed that you get published!

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  23. Congratulations on the award! And yes, your dream is valid.

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    1. Thank you! And thanks for the validation that my dream isn't too much to ask!

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  24. Oh dear! I had to laugh at your daughter's exchange with that security guard.

    It always amazes me that people (and by people I mean those I know who don't read books) think all authors amass the kind of royalties that a certain author of books about a boy wizard earns.

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    1. I know. Being an author sounds so prestigious, but for most of us, the amount of work involved is not reflected in the pay.

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  25. congratulations for award and acceptance to the 2019 IWSG anthology.... great works.

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