Summer Calves and New Tiny Home Build

Calf production is on the downhill side now. Progress on the new homestead build is rapid - for now. Writing has been building a course in front of everyone. And time is scarce to invest, meanwhile...

Jun 12, 2025

∙ Paid

Hi,

Thanks again for being here and opening this. For being part of this community.

(Note: this is probably too long for email, and so may cut off. In such case, there’s a link at it’s end to read all the verbosity online…)

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Farming News - Calving season continues. And annual processing gets closer.
Writing News - Dissecting classics continues, improving - and still dropping ebooks dropped behind the paywall for paid subscribers.
Fiction News - Now we’re moving on the next chapter of a new serial, from Book One of Hooman Saga
Expectancy Factor - A new Nightingale classic essay
And… an update of Five Acres and Independence starts our homesteading library

Farming News

We’re now at 14 calves arrived. Here’s the sixth one.

Again, yellow tags are heifers. Of course, if you have a name for this one, it will be welcome. Just reply to this newsletter, or leave a comment in the Substack app.

Two bull calves going to auction today.

The five steers we have will be processed soon. I have to set a date for them and notify my neighbors and relatives that their beef cuts will be ready a couple of weeks after that for pickup.

Had a medical hiccup with one of the bull calves yesterday - spent a great deal of the last two days getting it to the barn, to the vet, and back. Was listless, not eating, worrying its mamma. After some tricky work by the vet (B-12 shot, IV, antibiotics, honey on its gums) it was back at walking around on its own, feeding on its momma. Still keeping an eye on it in the barn for the next day or so.

Tiny Home Progress

Next is removing all that old wood, salvaging what we can - for later upcycling as possible (even as firewood.)

What is still laying across that steel frame in this picture are the solid oak timbers that were bolted in (loose now, though). A supply of 2x8’s (lumber yard discounts) were then used to build the deck length-wise. The “decent” ones are over in that pile.

The frame survived the move in good shape. I have to tweek it to get the slight bend out of it, and then level it out with bricks and underlying treated 2x4’s. 2x8 floor joists will get screwed onto the steel. Then foam core insulation, cut to fit. Followed by length-wise 2x4 nailers for the subfloor.

Once the subfloor is set into perfect shape, then we’ll be ready for the build itself - which will be six-weeks out from there.

Electrical happened yesterday - a simple set of outlets and circuit breakers. With power there, I’ll then have the fiber-optic run in and wireless will be available. And the writing cabin moving up the the home site following this. Shortly after, our cottage will be towed up and set, much as any RV. ( I was trying to extend the existing wi-fi up here, but the distance is too much - and there are trees in the way.)

At that point, I’ll be able to simply step out in the morning and go to work on our new home, just footsteps away. Which means my wife can come out on the porch to call me to dinner.

Again there are bills to this, while my labor is one of love. It will take just under $30,000 to build this 20x48 foot tiny home - then we’ll start outfitting. Just under 960 square feet. All on our retiree’s income. Yes, that’s a real trick. While I’m working to improve my book marketing and sales, your donations are welcome. It’s another way to join this adventure and journey.

This “buy me a coffee” link works for probably any amount…

Writing News

[Still needing to get print proofs for that pentalogy of books (my five Writerpreneur books). I keep this sentence here to remind myself.]

Dissecting L’Amour’s “Gift of Cochise’ work is moving along. We covered scenes 12, 11, and 10 of his short story this week, aligning it to the fourth lesson in the “Keep ‘Em Reading” section of the Forgotten Bestseller Secrets book.

Now we are studying idea flow embedded through the words, sentences, paragraphs, and bridges he used. Again, studying by dissection enables you to shorten your learning curve, by learning from the polished published works of the Masters.

Once this short story has been thoroughly dissected, we’ll be continuing through the Hondo book, chapter by chapter, and aligning these lessons currently being released (ones on Compelling Characters and Riveting Storytelling.) We are building a simple three-part training program for authors. And it’s both an adventure and a journey. Right here in these newsletters (or live on the Substack app.)

All to shorten our writer-craft learning curve and increase our income from book and story sales. Yes, I’m on this same ride along with you.

Book Marketing News

Out of a note I posted recently:

Effective book marketing has core essentials:

First -

Create and hold a clear vision

Then -

Build a clear offer
Show up consistently
Build your community - collaborate widely

And -

Ask regularly
Keep refining your writing and marketing craft daily.

That first point, Vision, is out of key books such as Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, and Jones’ If You Can Count to Four. These are backed up by the books referenced in Nightingale’s Strangest Secret recording.

Offer is seldom clear for most newsletters. And if they are struggling with subscriptions (especially the paid ones) then they haven’t narrowed down to what specific problem they uniquely solve for their readers.

Consistency is key in all business, all creative output. Writers have to build a consistent body of work by showing up regularly and putting in the work. This is how they are found. And how they excite readers to find more of their work.

Community is the missing link to all book sales. This is what the trad book editors call “platform”. When you build your audience of readers into a real community, then they will help each other. It’s no longer one reader against the world. You will have a team to lead, one that has your back.

Asking for the sale is another weak point of authors (myself included.) But you see how this works when you start implementing it. Again, you have to have a clear offer, and some kind of product they can buy that mirrors what your readers most want out of life.

Refining your craft has to be an always-on discipline. A life-habit. This is how you become a professional - one that makes a profession out of what they most like to do.

Many Irons in the Fire

I’m still collating and building TOC’s for my back list of materials. In all my copious spare time. And I’ll get these added to my site with its own emphasis in the menu bar.

Yes, that book on sales I mentioned last week is on a near back-burner, as now is the Expectancy Factor book. And getting my paperbacks out. Again, priorities count.

At the bottom, below this, I start a foray into homesteading - with updating Maurice G. Kains’ Five Acres and Independence. (Attached below for paid subscribers.) This will probably expand into a homesteading starting-library - stay tuned.

I keep all these going by allotting time to these five newsletters. Tricky, somewhat - and it keeps me from collaborating as much as I’d like to.

With all I have on-going on the farm and in my Tiny Home construction, time seems tight. Focus on the vital things is key.

Still, I’m only here to help.

Also published this week (ICYMI):