Contributed by:
Tabitha Dial, YourHub.com
Article Contributed on: 7/12/2006 1:48:06 PM
My boyfriend
Alex and I and his parents caught a segment on World News Tonight last month about
Kyle MacDonald and his ambition to trade
one red paperclip for a house.
As I watched how Kyle traded the paper clip for a fish pen, then a door knob, then a coleman stove, then a generator, and after seven more trades, an afternoon with Alice Cooper, I wondered what I could trade my car for. The current retail value of my 2002 Jeep Liberty is $15,185. Not too shabby.
But what's my goal?
Not a house. But a three-book deal with a big publisher. I know I am the resident poet of the YourHub.com staff,and Iaccepted this job a year ago with six humorous fiction novels under my skin.
One is in need of revision. Its sequel is about a third underway.
Athird book will be based on a figure in classical mythology who ties in nicely with the first two novels. The other three books will make light of the western novel, the fantasy, and the fairy tale, respectively.
Who knows if I can cut some hours at the officeto work on fiction? I will have to ask.
I think that if I get the first "trilogy" sold to a big enough publisher, then I have a very good chance (I hope!) of a nicely developed national audience by the third book and I will certainly not be a novice in the book industry when I work to publish the other three books.
Also, I hope to prove the dream of the lucky publisher who would take on my three-book deal: I would love to promote my books on the road-- really, try just about anything they suggest. Maybe they'd ask for more books from me.
However, the Jeep-to-published-novelist trade could prove rather difficult. A friend of mine pointed out that I would be trying to trade something of physical value for something of intrinsic value. I've tried 26 publishers and agents and writers are commonly advised to try 100 before they give up. Why can't I just behave and try 100?
Well, that's a little boring... But I'm not opposed to the idea.
What have I got to lose, if I live somewhere where all I need is a bike?
Well, OK. Kyle, of the one red paper clip fame, has been working to trade up to a house since July 12, 2005. About nine and a half months later, he's still trading.
If my car depreciates at a rate of $1,000 a year, and it costs me about $180 for gas, parking and insurance each month, then if I hang on to my Jeep, waiting for the right trade, for one year (wouldn't that bore the Internet lurkers!) I will have lost about $3,120. If I trade it in the first three months, then I lose about $540 before depreciation. If I change my driving habits and use my car less, I could save $30-40 a month in gas and parking.
The key, I think, is trading it in for something that could be traded in for something else, negotiated for something else, swapped out for something else, etc...
Yes, I am crazy. And young and childless. As a unique means of attracting the attention of publishers and literary agents, this endeavor could be worth undertaking.
Please tell me what you think by logging in and posting your comments in the comments box below. You can also post your thoughts as
a story.
Editor's note: You can read an update to this entry here.