My friend, Bart Scott, is one of the original members of The Main Street Mouse. In November of 2013, with a pen Michele sent him from a contest he won back in the day, Bart wrote and had his book, Ears of Steel published. What is this book about you ask? Bart wrote this book to show the “MANLY MEN” that they can love Disney also and it doesn’t make them soft. Bart considers himself “A Man’s Man”. He explains how Disney is for anyone, including the Man who thinks he is too tough to love Disney.
Yesterday, Bart reached out to me to see if we could get the Main Streeters to help with a charity fundraiser he is doing. Bart is on a mission to raise money for a charity, DuPage pads shelter. You can help by purchasing his book between now and the end of June. All the proceeds from the book will be donated to the shelter to help those in need. I really hope you can help Bart and this charity. Bart wrote a blog about this mission and how it came about on his website, EarsOfSteel.com and I wanted to share the words, from my friend and author, with you.
A couple months ago I walked into a local book retailer in the mall. They carried my book, and I used to pop in from time to time just to see it. I know that’s probably a little weird but its still surreal over a year later to see my name on a cover in a store.
I won’t name this particular chain, but I will tell you who it is not. It was not Barnes & Noble. We love them here at Ears of Steel HQ! Say what you will about big retail, they’ve been better to me than some local stores.
Anyway this particular time I went and walked all the way to the back of the store where the travel section was, but this time my book was not there. They never had many copies so I wondered if perhaps they’d actually sold out. But for whatever reason my gut told me that was not the case. That there was another reason my book was nowhere to be found.
My suspicions were confirmed a month later or so when I learned they had returned their entire stock to my publisher. They had initially ordered 500 books – an important number (you’ll learn later.) They returned a little over 300. That was a considerable blow to my sales, but more so to my ego.
After the prerequisite pity party, I started to really think about what had happened. They had not even given my book a full year to sell. That’s what really bugged me. Not to mention they buried it at the back of the store, where they send all the smaller books from smaller publishers. So truth be told, none of us really has a chance. At least Barnes & Noble keeps the travel section near the magazines and the counters where people will actually be passing by.
Long story short I thought to myself “what if I could sell all those books?Not just what they returned, all 500.” It wasn’t about money but about the principal. The fact that retailers have a broken business model, which might explain why they are a dying breed. They don’t support the people who created them, the authors. I thought “what if could sell all 500 that they couldn’t, and then gave the proceeds to charity?” Could I turn my personal negative into a greater positive?
The question then became which charity? There are so many worthwhile, that I really believe in and wish I could help.
Then a little over a week ago my boss at my day job asked me to look into the homeless situation in the state of Illinois where I live. It should not be surprising, but the numbers are staggering and only getting worse every year. Particularly the number of homeless children & families. And unfortunately our state is considering cutting funding to programs that are trying to help the situation.
The plan just sort of formed in my head from there. I knew what I wanted to do if I could sell those 500 books. So I came up with the BAM 500 challenge. Again, won’t say the aforementioned retailer’s name, but some of you can do the proverbial math.
Now through the end of June, I want to sell 500. Doesn’t matter how you buy it, as long as you do. If you already own it, buy it for someone else. It’s really funny & entertaining, even for people who have never been to Disney and even those who don’t care! Much more humor than travel tips.
Besides, it’s not about the book and it’s not about me. I am going to give 100% of my royalties from now till the end of June to the DuPage pads shelter. Pads is an incredible organization here that helps the homeless get their lives back.
As I said there are so many worthwhile causes that I would love to help, but this is where I choose to start. This is someplace we can definitely make an impact. They help people every day. They simply need money to do it. So you know when you support them people will be helped – lives will be changed. My philosophy is simple, let’s get people off the street and in homes, then we’ll deal with the other problems in the world. When I have a new book we can pick another charity.
But for now I’m asking, please help me help others. I want to turn the $10-$15 you will spend on my book into at least $500. Hopefully even a lot more.
It’s time to use our powers for good. On my podcast we talk a lot about movies and superheroes. Here’s a chance for us all to be real heroes. Here’s a chance to save the world, a few people at a time anyway.
You can pick it up at Barnes & Noble or head over to Amazon:
Or at my site:
Click the link to my publisher’s site.
However you buy it, tweet me @BartAScott and let me know and use the hashtags #BAM500 & #EarsOfSteel. Thanks so much! We are going to do something great!
And if you want you can hear the story on this week’s EoS: The Podcast!
http://earsofsteel.com/podcast/2015/5/15/episode-79-the-bam-500-challenge
As co-owner and co-creator of The Main Street Mouse.Working in a technical support position for 18 years, it was time for a change.As the Webmaster and Project Planner, I spend most of my time researching everything from the latest Disney News, technology advances and of course keeping up on all the Marvel news that comes out.I never considered myself a writer but I’ve come to like blogging and sharing news with all.I feel blessed everyday that I get to spend my days working with my best friend and love of my life while we continue to grow and expand what started as a hobby all those years ago.
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