My nine-year-old son decided to run his first lemonade stand on Sunday.
He held his sign, “Lemonade: 25 cents” high in the air for every passing car, truck and pedestrian, with dollar signs in his eyes, hoping that maybe this person would stop, or this one, or maybe this one.
Car after car drove by, even a lady pushing a stroller refused to make eye contact, and I saw him slump in despair.
“Why aren’t they buying?” he’d ask.
“Father’s Day is a tough day to start a lemonade stand,” I told him.
And suddenly I was reminded of publishing (everything reminds me of publishing) — how first-time authors jump in with such enthusiasm, hoping to connect with audiences and are shocked and dismayed with their books or proposals are rejected or “passed on.” My son’s expectation was that just by having a stand people would be lining up by the block to buy his lemonade. In his mind, when you see a lemonade stand, you buy lemonade, right? Boy makes lemonade. Boy sells lemonade. Simple enough. I think a lot of aspiring writers have the same view of publishing: Girl writes book. Girl sells book. Girl gets three-picture deal.
After a while, when my son’s only customers had been his two siblings and his dad, I started wondering what the problem was — was it his marketing (sign)? location? the overbearing presence of his mother? But then, lo and behold, he got his first official customer, a mom in a minivan, who gave him a dollar for two cups of lemonade and told him to keep the change. The sudden joy on my son’s face after all his hard work was priceless. And then another car stopped and gave him $2, and then a dude on a motorcycle dug deep into his pocket and pulled out 3 bucks in quarters and dumped the whole wad into my son’s hands.
In the next hour, he made $10.25.
The lesson in all this? (If there is one.) Not every car will stop. Not every agent or publisher will either. But if you believe in your product, why not stick it out? Because you just never know when a perfect stranger will find you and think your stuff is worth paying for.
Gorgeous story, Dina. Your son cleaned up!
Awww, thanks, Torre! :)
Awww, cute story about your son; great metaphor for writing! (This reminded me so much of when my son & his best friend had lemonade stands–we live very near a small beach–and they made *so much money*! I almost hijacked the spot the next week to augment grocery money. So glad your son had a good day with it, great fun & great memories!)
Thanks, Julia! I hope he remembers it fondly. I know I will. :)
I love that he sold lemonade. What a great kid! And a good analogy to writing. =)
Thanks, Ellie!
Marvelous post :-)
Thank you, Alexander!
Great post Dina, makes me think of not only my youth trying out the merchant hat, but also my first few days of being published, waiting for the car to drive by and give me a quarter. We writers are in a marathon, so we’ll be standing under that sign for a LONG time!
~Steve
http://www.SteveUmstead.com
Yep. Sometimes it feels like FOREVER. But I can’t imagine doing anything else. :)
Priceless… the lemonade, the waiting, the triumph.
Hey, lady! :)
None of our youngsters ever set up a lemonade stand and yet as adults they all show a lot of initiative. I like the comparison to the writer’s quest — I’d like to think patience will always be rewarded, although that may not be the case for everyone. But we persist in hope. ;)
Yes, Carol! We keep hoping! It’s the only way. :) Thanks for stopping by!
Loved this and could so relate to that sinking feeling on the publishing front, ‘No one loves my work? No one wants me?’ So glad it turned out well for your son. My kids ran a lemonade stall a couple of weeks ago with their neighbours, there was five of them running it and they managed to sell fifty dollars worth of lemonade! Ten dollars each! They’re already planning their next stall, if only the writing industry was that easy.
Wow, 50 bucks! That’s awesome! And I love how they split their profits evenly. :) Thanks for the comment, Sarah!
Awesome. Touching anecdote and as always, right on target.
Thanks, Liz!!
Lovely story that brings the point home.
And btw, my kids used to sell lemonade and decorated shells in Fire Island when they were younger. Hey, someone’s gotta pay for the house! ;-)