Why I Do What I Do

I wanted to sell Tastefully Simple products. 

It seemed so easy - get your friends together for a party and eat snacks. They buy products, happily, and I come away having made (from what I hear) in the neighborhood of $200 or so. 

For having a party with my friends, calling it work, and putting in about 4 hours worth of work. (If you call that work.)*

For a time, I was a substitute teacher in my kids' elementary school. You want to talk about a great job? My kids go to a great school, and I know many of their friends. They were young when I did this, too, so I was more of a celebrity than an embarrassment when I stepped foot into the classroom. Kids were eager to help me through the day and enjoyed a break from normal routine. I made no plans, did no grading, and was still treated like a professional. Plus, I walked away with about a hundred dollars for a day's visit.

I didn't keep with subbing. Instead, I chose to lock myself away from people, put in hours upon hours daily for up to about 8 months, to write, edit, beg a publisher to contract me, and try to market my product.

My last quarterly royalty check for that effort was $5.63. (If you take away marketing costs I put in, we are way down in the red.)

So, let's sum up the efforts possible, shall we?
1. Sell food products - earn an average of $200 for a day.
2. Substitute teach - earn about $100 in a day
3. Write a book - earn what comes out to $0.01 per day

So why do I do it?

It isn't a job. I write for several reasons.

1. To improve

Writing is a skill. And yes, the inner geek in me can never stop learning. When my editor gave me back my first set of edits, my jaw almost hit the floor. How could a former English teacher write so poorly? By the end of the second book, though, I was thrilled with how much better she had made me.

Just like a runner who sets goals to eventually run a marathon, I want to also give my craft the best I've got.


2. Because I can't not write

(See how far I have to go in improving my writing?)

Do you ever get so inspired by a book or a movie that you think, "Wow, I want to come up with something like that!" Or maybe you've been so mad at the ending of a book or movie, that you re-wrote it in your head. Writers do that too. We even do it with everyday life. "He shouldn't have said that to me. He was supposed to say this..."

It's how you know you were meant to write.


3. Because I have a message

Some people just write to write, but most of us have something to say. For me, it's the desire to show an example of God's love through fiction. Since I feel so strongly about young adults and teens (my target audience) learning about how much He cares, I've made my message my mission.



If you believe in what I write, or if you would like to support me (the same way you would support your friends who sell Tastefully Simple, Scentsy, Thirty-One, or any of those other fun party products), here's what you can do:


1. Check out my books

Right now, only the first 2 books in my series are out, but if you're patient, you will eventually see 8 of them. You can find out more about them here, on my website. Look up at the menu bar and check out the "Books" section or the "About the Angelmen Series" under "The Angelmen Series." If you still have questions, go ahead and contact me with them! I'll tell you anything you want to know - even how you might be able to read my books for free if you need to "test the waters." 


2. Recommend them to whom you might know who would like them

You know how the other product-sellers are reminding you that their products make good gifts? Well, teachers like books too. And so do moms, sisters, birthday people, nurses, bus drivers, and so on. 

Maybe you took a look at my book section and realized this isn't the kind of book you like to read. But you know you know someone (we ALL know someone) who reads everything they can get their hands on.

My books came about especially because I saw lots of kids reading books with themes that were a little too, ahem, mature for them. I really wanted to provide a safe, CLEAN, alternative that was still interesting and exciting. Sometimes the characters might find themselves in worldly situations, but they will show integrity though it. If you know kids who need something like that, guide them here.


3. Review the books on Amazon and/or Goodreads, if you have read them.

What's this? You've read my books, but still want to help? Well, some Tastefully Simple consultants (especially those who know my friends) can make their living by going around the same circle of party people. But for those of us who sell products that are less consumable, we need to rely on new customers. And we only have so many friends, so we have to get word spread all around.

Amazon is a tricky little species. They love to recommend related products to their customers to get more revenue themselves. How do they know what to recommend? They see what's popular. They only know what's popular by people TELLING them they like it. If you rate my books or even just write a sentence or two about what you thought about it, Amazon will turn their head and pay attention. They will then give other people a chance to see what they think. It makes sense to me. I only want to read books that someone else has said they thought were good.


OK, here's your chance. (The full-out shameless promotion.) Since I have your attention now, I'm going to lead you to the Amazon links for my books, where I invite you to do any of the above. I'll just tell you now how much I appreciate even the fact that you have read through this whole long post. Everything you do beyond that is greatly appreciated as well. 

Amity of the Angelmen
Asher of the Angelmen

Who knows? Maybe someday you can tell your friends that you helped this author go from making a penny a day to a dollar a day. 


"... and she has me to thank."

Thank you!




*By the way, I mean absolutely no disrespect to those who sell products. It DOES sound fun, even though I know there's a lot more to it than just partying.