Web orders

I am very excited as I am getting web orders. I LOVE web orders because I get to actually see who is buying the book and where. Not that I'm going to stalk them or anything, it just puts a name to those who are using my book. Hard to explain without sounding creepy I guess.

In addition - I won't lie - I make more money when they are bought through me. Selling just one book online, is equivalent to selling 6 books at a store. . . which I have mentioned earlier is just not a good profit margin for a self-published book. . . oh well.

Action Cove, West Newbury

oh man.


Maybe this is why nobody in this area is carrying my book, because they see it as incomplete.

While working on the first edition of the book way back in 2004, somebody told me about this INCREDIBLE playground in Newburyport, "Action . . . something". They were unsure of the name. Well, the first edition did not include that area, so I wrote down the name and tucked it away.

Working on the second edition, I remembered this comment and tried to find it. Well, I thought I had found it when I saw Mosely Woods with all it's cool sculptural climbing structures and beautiful pine woods surroundings. It's in Newburyport.

Second edition comes out, $4000 worth of printing, two months later. I am told of Action COVE in WEST NEWBURYPORT.

Oh man.

So here it is. It is a 5 star playground and it is VERY similar to Eagle Nest Playground in Essex, but has been updated last year with plastic caps on all hand railings and plastic timbers on all flooring of the all wooden structure.


This is a very cool playground as was correctly told to me. It was a swelteringly hot day when we went to go visit this but there are many places to shelter from the blazing sun, including at benches and picnic tables.

It is located on Bachelor St between Sawmill Brook Rd/ Meetinghouse Hill Rd and Middle St. Closer to Sawmill Brook Road.

Look for the downloadable PDF at my UPDATE page at the web site:
www.visualvoices.net/publications/update.html

Give me a few more days, summer vacation is happening and I can't do any work while my kids are using the computer to play Webkins.

Media Kits, update

"Whatever happened to the response to the media kits?" somebody asked me the other day.

nothing

Could it be because half the papers are owned by the Eagle Tribune that did their own "Playground Rating" article and web site?

See the blog
http://playgrounding.blogspot.com/2007/05/article-in-newspaper.html

Newburyport

I am having a heck of a time getting stores to carry my book in this town. So far only one of the four stores have decided to carry my book, Jabberwocky books/Eureka Toy Store. Maybe I have become crabby and I'm not a good salesperson anymore. Maybe I have become big-headed or something so when the stores talked with me they think, "eeuh, who IS this guy?"

Anyway, I'll keep trying. . . shhh, don't tell them I'm going to call on them again.

Juniper Point Playground, Salem

Juniper Point neighborhood in Salem, MA, has just had a major fundraiser to update their playground. This is not a great playground but it is in a phenomenal location with a small private across the street and has the unique, Salem-style park structure. – a gazebo or shelter sits on a cement patio, along with benches. A woodchip-covered playground is set into the patio by about six inches, which creates clean lines between playground and patio and visually neatens the look of the park.

I can't wait to see the what this great park will be once renovation is complete which is slated for the end of June 2007.


A closer view of the inset playground and gazebo, and the beach across the street.

Media Kits

Sent out some media kits today, ten of them actually. Most to local papers, well heck here is where I sent them out. Let's see which ones do something about the second edition. Some of them had written about the first edition two years ago.

1. Salem News
2. Eagle Tribune Publications (publishers of Salem News, Gloucester Times, Newburyport, and many others)
3. Gloucester Times
4. Daily News of Newburyport
5. Boston Globe
6. Boston Herald
7. Parents and Kids Magazine
8. Community Newspaper Company (publishers of North Shore Sunday, and other free papers)
9. WBUR's Here and Now (public radio station and their local show)
10. Chronicle (Boston's local tv show)

It will be interesting to see what the Salem News/Eagle Tribune will do especially with their recent "Playground Rating" article (see this blog entry).

Chutes and Ladders

I was in Bloomington, Minnesota with the boys a couple years back and my brother brought us to this incredible playground called Chutes and Ladders at the Hyland Park Reserve (directions). The rope structure must have been about 20 feet high. The playground was built into the hill with many levels and a giant 20 foot tube slide. It also had a water sprinkler section too. Did I mention that the ground cover was also crushed, recycled rubber mats? Really a cool place!
A view from ground level with the two towering net and rope structures on the left, water sprinkler area to the right, and the giant tube slide in the background.

A view of the playground from a higher vantage point. Gorgeous green view, huh?

The playground is located within the Hyland Park Reserve. If you cannot get to the link above for directions, here are the DIRECTIONS: 

From I-494, go south on East Bush Lake Road approximately 1/2 mile. Follow East Bush Lake road which will veer right (west) at the stoplight. Drive past the ski jump on the left; the Nature Center will be the next entrance on the left, about 1 mile. The Recreation Area/Visitor Center/ PLAY AREA will be 1 mile further south on the left side. Drive past Bush Lake Beach and Southern DIvision Administration Center and veer left to the recreation area entrance.

"Danger: Playground Ahead"

A very interesting article was given to me by a friend. The article was in the May 29, 2007, New York Times (Op-ed section).


It talks about how playgrounds have been "gentrified" for 2-5-year-olds by safety regulations. The creative and fun playgrounds are disappearing in the US. It includes four concept playground designs by an artists, architects, and designers.

It also talks about Adventure Playgrounds. Check out the site. Adventure playgrounds based their concepts on experience-based learning through direct contact with different environments, materials, and people. Playgrounds that do not look like playgrounds, but almost like a junk yard.