Day: February 2, 2011

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I Hope I’m Ready…

My agreement with the RV show was originally that I would speak twice a day for a set fee. When I mentioned that I had an ebook to promote they somehow worked some magic and offered me a booth in a prime location for a slight reduction in my fee (much less than what a booth would have cost me as an exhibitor). So, I’ve had to scramble around to come up with some half decent promotional material with which to decorate the space in which I will be living for 40 hours over the next four days! I know I’m going to look super amateurish compared to everyone else, so I decided to keep things as simple as possible.

I had three 18″ x 24″ glossy b&w posters made up to hang at the back of my booth. One has the detailed summary of the ebook, the second the author bios, and the last the reviews; essentially the same information provided on the Full-Time RVing in Canada website.

To this, I’m adding a printed and bound copy of the ebook for people to flip through, my personal business card, and a card offering a discount on the book for those who don’t want to buy the CDs I’m selling on site. I’m offering a 25% discount on the ebook if you enter EARLYBIRD at the checkout. This code is only good until Sunday evening! The CDs have the book in PDF format and are on sale for a the low price of $20 at the show. If you’ve been thinking about buying Full-Time RVing in Canada, this is the time to do it!

I also made sure to get a float and receipt book. There’s so much to think about; my head is about to explode! At least, it’s keeping my mind off The Talk. Then again, I’m not that worried about that part of the weekend, except for learning to use the AV equipment I’ll be provided and hoping that it’s all compatible with my Mac. I got over my fear of public speaking in high school and I did theatre for many years, so I’m reasonably confident that I won’t embarrass myself. 🙂

I was able to bring a box of supplies to my booth, but it wasn’t ready yet. The show manager told me that she’d set up my table and chair for me, but to arrive ASAP in the morning to finish setting up. The show opens at 10 tomorrow, but I doubt I’ll be back from my TV interview by then, so I’ll need to go straight from my car to the show and finish up my display. It’s going to be a big day! I decided to be unusually realistic about how much personal stuff I’ll be able and willing to do over the weekend, so I stocked up on frozen dinners for the evening and snacks for the day.

Also, I’m settled in my spot with 15A power, but was told that I need to be out of here at precisely 5PM on Sunday since I’m blocking the garage door and they need to get the RVs out! I’m welcome to go back to overflow, so I may decide to just get up early Sunday and move out before the show even opens so I can go home and crash after!

Well, I need to be on the road for no later than 6:30 tomorrow (dang GVR traffic!) and I need to prepare my clothes and do a final run through of The Talk. Catch me on Twitter this weekend; I doubt I’ll have much time, or energy to blog!

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Feeling Smug, Like I Know a Great Secret

As we approach the opening of the Early Bird RV Show (24.5 hours to go!) I am struck by the number of people who don’t get my lifestyle.

-I’ve been asked if I would be staying ‘in the RV’ for the week;
-the radio announcer interviewing me this morning said that he liked how I called the RV my home;
-the reporter for the Vancouver Sun said that she likes how I call my RV ‘my rig’;
-this morning I went to the Tradex admin office to get details on my move to a site with power and was greeted by someone who was very concerned and holding a printed copy of Donna’s post announcing my departure from Osoyoos, worried that she had announced to the world that I’d left my house empty for the weekend

I feel like the keeper of the greatest secret in the universe! I think that if more people with wanderlust or a desire to be more mobile (example snowbirds who own a home in a warmer clime or mobile workers) understood that an RV can be a very comfortable and luxurious home on wheels, our nation’s highways would be choked with innumerable rigs!

Today is my last down day for a bit. I need to hit the road early tomorrow to get to Burnaby for my 8:20 interview with Global morning news, then race back to get set up up for the show. My talk ‘Travels With Miranda: Two Years of Full-Time RVing Pre-Retirement’ will premiere at 3PM tomorrow and I will be doing it all over again at 7. Then twice a day again Friday and Saturday, and once Sunday. I will be on site all day, every day. This is the moment I’ve been working for for two and a half years and I plan to savour every moment of it!