I have put a handwritten copy of my story, "The Artist and the Cloud," on sale at an Ebay auction, along with an Eisenhower Dollar, which I will include in the envelope with the story.
The address of the auction is:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Handwritten-story-by-Derek-Leif-and-Eisenhower-Dollar-collectors-item/142647748223
Opening bid is a dollar. Amuse yourself.
Below is the item description:
Consider this: you have nothing to lose. Nothing.
And, just maybe, a lot to gain.
My name is Derek Leif. I'm a writer. I love to write, and I write brief stories, usually 500 words or so. You can visit me at www.derekleif.org.
I came up with this idea: instead of going through all the hassle of getting a publisher to print my work, why not, you know, just put it up for sale here on Ebay?
So I came up with this idea: every two weeks or so, I'd write out one of my stories by hand (on mighty nice stationery, if I say so myself), sign it, put it in an envelope with a dollar, and put it up for sale on Ebay...for a dollar.
The way I see it, I have fun, and if you're the only person who bids on it, hey, you get your dollar back.
But if you do this, you're giving me something a lot more. You're reading my story. Maybe you'll visit my website and read more of my stuff.
That would be ducky.
And you might just may get way more than you paid for.
Because there's always that chance, no matter how small, that I will become wildly famous. If that happens, than you have a collector's item. In addition to that dollar, you'll have a handwritten story by Derek Leif. Signed and everything. And dated, which means that you can say you were the first person to buy one of these.
Might go on to be worth more than a Bitcoin, you know. There's always that possibility.
I know, I know...you're saying: but I've never even heard of you. The odds that you'll ever amount to anything in the literary world, are, like, a million to one.
At the same time, though: the odds of winning Powerball are close to 200 million to one.
These are far better odds.
And there's always the possibility that, even if, wonder of wonders, people bid this up to, say, five bucks or so, well, yes, even though you're now paying, like, four dollars for a piece of paper, that this piece of paper could be worth a lot more.
You just never know.
(I'd like to stop and say that if this sells for five bucks or more, that would be awesome. I'd treat myself to an IPA and say "wow...my writing paid for this, or at least paid for some of it, if you take off the Eisenhower dollar, the postage, and the cost of the stationery. Of course, for all I know, it may sell for thousands. Okay, not this one, but future ones. As I said...I may become world famous. Everybody who's a somebody starts out as a nobody, you know.)
(And don't even get me started if it sells for more than that. If I make enough on this to treat myself to a dinner of fish and chips at Finn McCool's here in Port Washington, New York, that will be the best fish and chip dinner, ever.)
In any event, if you look at the pictures, you'll be able to read the story. And just to be clear, I'm not, like, selling the rights to the story. Just a copy of it, written by my hand. Mine. Derek Leif. www.derekleif.org. Check it out.
And oh, yeah, you check out this exact story at:
https://www.derekleif.org/home/microstory-the-artist-and-the-clouds
Yep, there's the story. It's "The Artist and the Cloud," a charming little tale, if I say so myself.
But not a handwritten version. Nope. Not there. Only here.
So. Bid a buck. Or, if someone else has bid a buck, bid more. I mean, if you see that someone has bid a buck, I'm afraid I have to remind you...you might be missing out. Derek Leif may just become world famous. If you just let this pass you by, you may be regretting that you didn't buy this for the rest of your life.
No pressure. None at all.
There's a great scene in the film "Pollock" where Jackson Pollock has no money, and needs to pay for groceries. Here, he says, I'll pay you with a piece of my art.
Think about that.
And think about the many times, I'm sure, a shopkeeper out on Long Island turned him down.
You just never know.
So hey, I've already gotten something from this. A lot, in fact. I can say "I put my stuff out there, and made good on my pledge to find a novel way to combine art and commerce."
I'm feeling right chuffed right now, I tell you.
Anyway, that's about all I have to say. For the small price of posting an auction on Ebay, I just found another way to promote my writing.
So go ahead. Please bid. Pretend it's a Dutch tulip, and that it's 1636. If you have no idea what I'm talking about with the Dutch tulip thing, check this out:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania
And check out www.derekleif.org. It's good for you.
Thank you. Thank you very much. Let the games begin.
Fondly,
Derek Leif
www.derekleif.org
The address of the auction is:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Handwritten-story-by-Derek-Leif-and-Eisenhower-Dollar-collectors-item/142647748223
Opening bid is a dollar. Amuse yourself.
Below is the item description:
Consider this: you have nothing to lose. Nothing.
And, just maybe, a lot to gain.
My name is Derek Leif. I'm a writer. I love to write, and I write brief stories, usually 500 words or so. You can visit me at www.derekleif.org.
I came up with this idea: instead of going through all the hassle of getting a publisher to print my work, why not, you know, just put it up for sale here on Ebay?
So I came up with this idea: every two weeks or so, I'd write out one of my stories by hand (on mighty nice stationery, if I say so myself), sign it, put it in an envelope with a dollar, and put it up for sale on Ebay...for a dollar.
The way I see it, I have fun, and if you're the only person who bids on it, hey, you get your dollar back.
But if you do this, you're giving me something a lot more. You're reading my story. Maybe you'll visit my website and read more of my stuff.
That would be ducky.
And you might just may get way more than you paid for.
Because there's always that chance, no matter how small, that I will become wildly famous. If that happens, than you have a collector's item. In addition to that dollar, you'll have a handwritten story by Derek Leif. Signed and everything. And dated, which means that you can say you were the first person to buy one of these.
Might go on to be worth more than a Bitcoin, you know. There's always that possibility.
I know, I know...you're saying: but I've never even heard of you. The odds that you'll ever amount to anything in the literary world, are, like, a million to one.
At the same time, though: the odds of winning Powerball are close to 200 million to one.
These are far better odds.
And there's always the possibility that, even if, wonder of wonders, people bid this up to, say, five bucks or so, well, yes, even though you're now paying, like, four dollars for a piece of paper, that this piece of paper could be worth a lot more.
You just never know.
(I'd like to stop and say that if this sells for five bucks or more, that would be awesome. I'd treat myself to an IPA and say "wow...my writing paid for this, or at least paid for some of it, if you take off the Eisenhower dollar, the postage, and the cost of the stationery. Of course, for all I know, it may sell for thousands. Okay, not this one, but future ones. As I said...I may become world famous. Everybody who's a somebody starts out as a nobody, you know.)
(And don't even get me started if it sells for more than that. If I make enough on this to treat myself to a dinner of fish and chips at Finn McCool's here in Port Washington, New York, that will be the best fish and chip dinner, ever.)
In any event, if you look at the pictures, you'll be able to read the story. And just to be clear, I'm not, like, selling the rights to the story. Just a copy of it, written by my hand. Mine. Derek Leif. www.derekleif.org. Check it out.
And oh, yeah, you check out this exact story at:
https://www.derekleif.org/home/microstory-the-artist-and-the-clouds
Yep, there's the story. It's "The Artist and the Cloud," a charming little tale, if I say so myself.
But not a handwritten version. Nope. Not there. Only here.
So. Bid a buck. Or, if someone else has bid a buck, bid more. I mean, if you see that someone has bid a buck, I'm afraid I have to remind you...you might be missing out. Derek Leif may just become world famous. If you just let this pass you by, you may be regretting that you didn't buy this for the rest of your life.
No pressure. None at all.
There's a great scene in the film "Pollock" where Jackson Pollock has no money, and needs to pay for groceries. Here, he says, I'll pay you with a piece of my art.
Think about that.
And think about the many times, I'm sure, a shopkeeper out on Long Island turned him down.
You just never know.
So hey, I've already gotten something from this. A lot, in fact. I can say "I put my stuff out there, and made good on my pledge to find a novel way to combine art and commerce."
I'm feeling right chuffed right now, I tell you.
Anyway, that's about all I have to say. For the small price of posting an auction on Ebay, I just found another way to promote my writing.
So go ahead. Please bid. Pretend it's a Dutch tulip, and that it's 1636. If you have no idea what I'm talking about with the Dutch tulip thing, check this out:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania
And check out www.derekleif.org. It's good for you.
Thank you. Thank you very much. Let the games begin.
Fondly,
Derek Leif
www.derekleif.org
