grain changeable: It's all about the readers' happiness

Sunday, November 25, 2012

It's all about the readers' happiness | TribLIVE

By Eric Heyl

Published: Saturday, November 24, 2012, 8:56?p.m.
Updated 1 hour ago

The business plan isn?t ideal.

Giving away a product that you also are selling tends to depress profits, but Chris Rodell isn?t at all depressed. He?s quite content, and he wants you to be as well.

Rodell has written a whimsical self-improvement book titled ?Use All the Crayons!? It?s an enlightening guide to being happy in tension-plagued times even if you?re wondering how you?ll make the next mortgage payment.

If you want a copy, Rodell will provide one for free.

He would prefer you pay the $15.95 cover price. He?s as fond of regular meals as the next person.

But if you can?t spare the coin and you?d still like to read his ideas for leading an enriching existence, just email him at storyteller@chrisrodell.com.

He?ll send you the book.

?This is something that I want people to have,? said Rodell, 49, of Latrobe. ?I know a lot of unhappy people going through tough times. Making $15.95 (on a book sale) is a poor excuse to keep someone marginally less cheerful.?

Rodell is a veteran freelance writer whose work has appeared in publications such as People, Playboy, Sports Illustrated and the National Enquirer. It wasn?t an easy way to earn a living in the best of times. When the Great Recession hit, writing gigs dried up faster than spit in the desert.

Rodell and his family were flat-out broke.

?We should have been miserable, we should have been angry,? he recalled. ?We weren?t.?

That?s when he got the idea for the book. He compiled a list of things he found inspiring or amusing, eventually interspersing 501 suggestions on how to lead a more colorful life with 33 essays illustrating how he provides pigmentation to his own.

Preachy, it?s not. A sampling of the advice offered:

? Mow the lawn in different patterns each week. Ask the neighbors to vote on their favorite.

? Never fail to include in your cards to newlyweds this sage advice for a long and happy marriage: Always argue naked.

? Get a $75 tattoo of an $18,000 Rolex for your wrist.

I?d reveal more, but then you won?t want to buy the free book.

?Crayons? was rejected by numerous publishers that Rodell said had more qualms about him than his work. ?A lot of them wondered how they could sell a self-help book by a guy who can?t even help himself,? he said.

Rodell published the book himself, but recently sold the audio rights to the Gildan Media Corp. He reports brisk sales at the Greensburg Barnes & Noble, where he?ll have a book signing on Dec. 1.

He also contends that giving the book away actually has been an effective sales technique.

?It hasn?t been unusual for a recipient to turn around and buy copies for other people,? he said. ?One guy I sent a copy to ended up buying 25 copies, one for each of his employees.?

The business model doesn?t guarantee Rodell a windfall, but that?s OK.

He might not ever get rich, but he?s already wealthy in other ways.

Eric Heyl is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7857 or eheyl@tribweb.com.