When I was in the Disney College Program in Walt Disney World, there were two places where I could get discounted books: The Writer’s Stop bookstore in Disney Hollywood Studios and the cast member outlet store where they had amazing deals on everything! The Writer’s Stop was one of the few places I could use my cast member discount for food in the parks. They had coffee, pastries, and a great selection of new books. The cast member outlet store, where I could purchase discontinued items, props, damaged products, and six packs of Mickey Mouse apple sauce for 25 cents, also sold damaged books and books used for Disney education classes. I would visit both places as often as my meager stipend would allow and buy all the books I could, as well as pins and applesauce. I’m not sure where I got my copy of the first collection of John Carter of Mars stories. I suspect that the black line through the bar code means I found it at the cast member store.
Continue readingMonthly Archives: January 2021
Paid too Much Scam: How We almost Got Scammed, Again
Both my wife and I work from home as self-employed freelancers. Currently, our only income comes from jobs we can hobble together to pay rent and whatever we can earn from our penguins, books, and Patreon. So, when a job comes along that will pay the rent for a month, we take notice. One good job makes the month easier and relieves a lot of stress. For better or worse, this leaves us open to the possibility of being scammed.
Continue readingGarbage Pail Kids Collection in the mid-1980s
Sometime between 1985 and 1990, I collected Garbage Pail Kids. These cards were funny and gross, which made them a bit taboo. My sister had a Cabbage Patch Doll, so that made these cards a must have for my teenage self. To be fair, I’m guessing she enjoyed the stickers as much as I did though I don’t ever remember asking her.
Continue readingHelp us find Paul Penguin!
In 2019, my parents volunteered to run our booth for penguin adoptions at the Salem Holiday Market in Oregon. We are grateful for their help, but unfortunately, we didn’t give them all the information they needed about our penguins.
Continue readingWhat Do We Need to Make Our Store a Reality?
I was asked what we need to make our store a reality, and the list I came up with was long and filled with all the things you might expect. However, the first thing we need is to learn how to get people to the store. We’ve had a Facebook page, an Etsy shop, a Patreon, an Instagram account, a now-deleted YouTube channel, an Amazon author page, and a website long enough to know that we don’t know how to get people to any of those. We tried ads. We’ve cross promoted. I’ve used all of my SEO knowledge to rank us higher. I’ve taken classes in marketing, gone through five day challenges, and spent a month with a marketing guru; nothing has worked to bring sustained traffic that converts to buyers.
Continue readingPenguinate.com Partners with Melting Pot Candy in Independence, OR
We are happy to announce that our penguins have a new adoption center available in Independence, Or. If you live in the Independence area and have ever thought about adopting a penguin, it’s time to visit the Melting Pot Candy on Main Street!
Continue readingGetting the Most out of Motivational Speakers
Every motivational speaker has the same story, or at least, they all have a variation on a theme. Usually, it starts with a hardship – My dad and I lived in a bathroom, I lost my eyesight, I was poor. It doesn’t matter what the hardship is – We had to drink tap water, My dog ate my stuffed animal, My grandma got me a bunny suit for Christmas. What does matter is that it caused the motivational speaker to take action. He or she has overcome whatever issue it was, or maybe continues to face the horrors of the issue that comes with the emotions associated with it, but life is much better than it was before.
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Penguinate! Positive Creativity 