The U.S. Postal Service recently announced another price increase. Effective Sunday, January 27, 2019, the cost for mailing a 1 oz. letter will go up a nickel to 55 cents. The domestic Priority Mail retail flat rate and the Media Mail rates will also see changes. Here are a few highlights:

• The First Class Mail letter (1 oz.) rate for postage purchased at the Post Office is increasing by five cents to $0.55 from $0.50.
• Each additional ounce for a First Class Mail letter will cost an extra $0.15 (a decrease from $0.21 in 2018).
• First Class Mail Flats/Large Envelope rates are not increasing in 2019, remaining at $1.00 (1 oz.), with additional ounces costing $0.15.
• Postcard rates are also not increasing in 2019, remaining at $0.35.
• Customers who print postage online (via Stamps.com), the Metered Mail rate will now be a 5 cent discount compared to the Post Office price with rates increasing to $0.50 in 2019 from $0.47 currently.
• The five cent discount for online postage on a one-ounce First Class Mail letter represents a savings of 9% for consumers and small business owners.
• Media Mail rates will increase by 2.95% in 2019.

Or if spreadsheets are more your style, these should answer some questions…

The Mailing Services price changes include:

The domestic Priority Mail Retail Flat Rate price changes using printed packaging are:

The Media Mail Rate price changes are:

Sometimes the best planning tools are a blank calendar, a pencil, and a hearty eraser.

These are my favorite tools, anyway, because I tend to be an under-estimator when it comes to the amount of time a project requires. (I’m also an over-estimator when it comes to the amount of time I think I have to give, but that’s a different problem.)

I like the blank calendar because I’m deadline oriented, and I can set a deadline and back-date from there. For example, if I know I have a book signing on May 13, I might think I need to promote it for 3 weeks, beginning on April 22. But what types of promotions do I need to have in place by April 22? Graphics for the website and newsletter? If I allow 2 days to create the graphic design, and another day for proofreading, yet another day for edits, and a final day for posting, now we’re talking April 15. But if I want to brainstorm something fun for the event and work through all of those details, I’d probably need a few meetings away from the sales floor for that, and to find a time to schedule meetings away from the floor, I need to allow 3-5 days to work that in. So now I’m starting the planning around April 8. Do I want to include book ordering timeline, potential reviews in the store newsletter, outreach to customers? These can all be included on that master calendar, which is probably flipped back to March by now.

Which is why I also like to use the pencil and one heck of an eraser. Plans change, timelines shift, but I’m a firm believer that even a heavily altered plan is better than none.

Here’s a 2019 Blank Calendar for use throughout the year. Print the whole thing. Print just the months you need. Print it over and over.

I hope you find it useful.

Books, for me, have always been a conduit to travel, whether real or imagined. When travel, real or imagined, also inspires creativity, it’s a win-win-win. Everything & Everywhere: A Fact-Filled Adventure for Curious Globe-Trotters by Marc Martin checks all of the boxes for me: a book about travel by an artist.

A note from the author in the opening pages explains the book’s premise: “The following pages are a gathering of facts, thoughts, and observations about our planet as seen through the eyes of an artist.” When I read the words “through the eyes of an artist” I became excited for budding artists about to discover these wonder-filled pages. I loved that the pages looked more like a travel journal than an atlas. And I love that the author/artist chose to illustrate what he found interesting, rather that what might be expected of him. And he did so with humor. One description in particular made me smile: “Reykjavik: The capital of Iceland and home to many natural wonders and strange sauces.”

At 10.3″ x 13.8″,  Everything & Everywhere is probably best labeled an oversized picture book. But there’s something about an oversized book in a tiny lap that makes the world seem even larger, don’t you think?

Judging by the amount of time I spent poring over the pages in the book, I can only imagine how many hours will be spent perusing and pondering by younger readers. (It’s categorized as a book for ages 5-8, or grades K-3, but I personally stopped letting these labels shame me a long time ago. And the labels shouldn’t stop you from spending some time with it, either!) Whether in the home or in the classroom, I envision many companion elements, like blank notebooks, pens, watercolors. But curriculum science isn’t my specialty, so here are some ‘in the classroom’ suggestions from America Grelinger. [link to come]

In the meantime, happy travels!

Everything & Everywhere: A Fact-Filled Adventure for Curious Globe-Trotters by Marc Martin (Chronicle Books | 9781452165141 | October 9, 2018)