Heart of Living Holiday Showcase

I forgot to mention a great big THANK YOU to the Heart of Living Art Gallery located at 5588-A Garden Village Way in Greensboro. This stunning gallery that showcases local and international artists held an open house this past Friday to kick off their "Art of Giving" campaign for the holidays.

 Let me tell you--these people know how to throw a party. I was one of 10 local authors featured in the gallery (along with glass art, pottery, hand-crafted jewelry, and paintings) and the decor was to die for. Models from South of 7th strolled the floor in gowns that made every woman vow on the spot to lose 20 pounds.  Wine and gourmet cheese and spreads and crackers and sauteed vegetables...the food went on and on...

I loved their author set-up and am going to suggest it to other retailers in the future. Instead of having each artist behind their own table, there was one long table, dressed to the nines with art and food and displaying on top of the table the author's works. Every author was given a nametag and we milled around the gallery, sometimes near the table but sometimes not. This allowed people to circle the table, looking at each book without feeling the pressure of the artist staring at them with that "please buy my book" desperation.

I sold 15 books and am thrilled. Given the elegance of the gallery and high-end clientele, I wasn't sure cat books would go over. But people grabbed them for Christmas Gifts and most of my inscriptions were along the lines of "For Dan, Melissa, & Mr. Bonkers--Enjoy the book."

Heart of Living will donate a portion of all proceeds from Nov. 10th - Dec. 23rd to the Greensboro Urban Ministry. So if you're in the area and have a chance to stop by, please do. They have fantastic gifts for the holidays.

11 Miles, Krispy Kreme, & Fish

I ran 11 miles today but I'm not feeling joyous. I crapped out about mile 8 and walked/ran the last 3. My running partner Royce said this is called "running it out," and as long as one still finishes the run, it counts.  I suppose, but I'd be a lot more pleased if I had managed to run the whole thing. Kiawah is in 4 weeks and I want to run the half-marathon, not run/walk.  I've had some bad runs lately.  That's because I'm not getting enough pavement time. It turned cold here the last couple of weeks and I found it hard to make myself leave the house in 40 degree weather (and the dark) to run.  But I'm going to have to step up my game plan if I want to finish this race with a respectable time.

The bright side of today's run is that Blair picked me up afterward and revived my spirits by feeding me Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Nothing like a doughy lump of sugar to get your blood pumping again. We indulged in the seasonal limited availability Pumpkin-Spice doughnuts. I strongly suggest you swing by and pick some up.

Had a lot of fun in Krispy Kreme watching the kids. One little girl about 5 walked in with her family and brother, who was maybe 7. She raced to the doughnut window, turned, and with an urgency in her voice one might hear from an adult if the home were on fire and they were trying to get everyone out called, "JOHN!! HURRY!...Sprinkles!!" 

A lot of dads were there with their kids and I eavesdropped on conversations about the best way to wear the paper KK hat and whether jelly doughnuts were better than chocolate. When we left, I mentioned to Blair how sweet it was to see dad's spending a Saturday morning, taking their kids out for a special treat.  Blair pointed out the majority of those  dad's weren't wearing wedding bands, begging the question if this was the dad's "weekend" visit with the kids. Still a nice outing for everyone but kind of makes me sad...

Okay. Fish. We have heard your words and are dramatically scaling back our plans. We'll start with a small tank and freshwater fish.  No mortgaging the house to buy an 80-gallon tank until we're sure we're in it for the long haul. Thank you all for putting the fear of God into us.

And that's it. My reward for having run 11 miles is I don't have to do jack for the rest of the day. (Hey--maybe there's the motivation I need to get outside and run more often.)  

Hope everyone is enjoying stellar weather like we are...close to 80 today. It's one of those days that make you happy to be alive.

Although that could also be the sugar from the doughnut talking...

Seeking Feedback On My DSI

As you will recall from Tuesday's entry, I'm captivated by a new book called Why Johnny Can't Brand. I've spent some time this week, alone and with others, brainstorming about my DSI or Dominant Selling Idea. I'm going to share that here and ask for your feedback, but first some background.

Right now, 90% of my work comes from writing for magazines. Since I've joined my leads group however, I'm gathering a steady stream of leads for what I'll call corporate writing - web sites, brochures, phone scripts, etc. I've been slow to follow up on these leads because I lack marketing materials. I don't have a brochure to send out (magazine writing doesn't require it) and right now my primary website at www.denaharris.com screams out "cat writer!"

But even though I'm revamping my website and creating a brochure based on appealing to corporate clients, a little perspective is in order. I don't plan on corporate writing being more than 25-30% of my work. But to garner even that, I'll still need to find my speciality within the industry of freelance writing.

The Why Johnny Can't Brand book suggests completing this Speciality Statement:
(Name of Company) is the #1 choice for _________ (speciality). That's because only (company name) has ___________________ (unique reason why, a process or service that others don't.)

So, here's my DSI. I'm looking at positioning myself as the "go-to writer." If you're on a tight deadline or have a last minute project that needs to get out the door, I want my name to come to mind. So sample Speciality Statements for me are:

Dena Harris is the #1 choice for down-to-the-wire writing projects. That’s because only Dena delivers when you need it.

Dena Harris is the first choice for last-minute writing projects. That’s because Dena offers the fastest turn-around time on high-quality work of any writer in the Triad.

These statements are for internal use only...just to get on track.  Now, for a company name, I've got:

• Dynamic Communications by Dena Harris
• Dena Harris - Dynamic Communications
• Creative Communications by Dena Harris

Possible tag line: "Your Procrastination is My Priority." 

I've run this by a few people and here are some options they've thrown out:

• "Deadline Dena" (too cheesy for my taste, but what the heck, I'll throw it out for consideration)
• Tagline: "We deliver the words before you need them"
• Dena Harris Communications
• Dena Harris Communications - Lightning Fast Wordsmiths
  

Here are my questions to those of you who care to respond:

1. Is the niche of being the "go to writer" a strong one? Is it an area that is important to customers?
   
2. Do you like the  "Dynamic Communications" name? Why or why not?
3.  Your feelings on the "Your Procrastination is My Priority" tagline?
4. Any other comments you'd like to add?
   

Wildacres List

Remember when I spent that horrendous week alone in a cabin in the woods on a writer's retreat? I was flipping through a notebook yesterday and found a list I'd made while there and decided that would be today's blog entry. So without further ado...

The Wildacres "Things I've Learned About Myself" List

1.  I overeat when nervous (an entire box of Wheat Thins disappeared in my first twenty minutes in the cabin)
2. I'm a horrible packer (Forgot: Bras, dental floss, shampoo)
3. I'm not yet ready to run UP a mountain
4. I'm a bit of a prude. (The cabin had a wall of windows--with no curtains or shades--that faced the wilderness. Someone would have to go to a LOT of effort to scale the mountain in order to stand in front of the windows and see something, but I still felt uncomfortable changing in front of them at night)
5. I love my life and the people in it
6. I allow myself to fill my life with distractions - e-mail, radio, TV
7. I am not a night owl
8. Even when I have all the time in the world, I still won't cook
9. I can kill a monster-sized spider all by myself if I have to
10. I keep a neat and tidy cabin even though I have the option of being a complete slob
11. I like sleeping with the windows open instead of air-conditioning
12. I love my husband
13. Hiking spectacular scenic trails by myself is nowhere near as fun as sharing the experience with someone else
14. I'm turning into one of those people who starts showing up at hotels with their own pillow
15. I may be starting to prefer the beach over the mountains

Awe-inspiring, aren't they? Hey--some days even bloggers get blocked for topics. =)