Yesterday was the quietest day yet. It’s the middle of June and the weather is glorious. I was talking to Mark, a guy I had the pleasure to meet walking along the coast and was so engrossed in our conversation that I did not notice that no-one had come by all day until he had wandered into the sunset. I do not worry about quiet days despite the fact that there are no ‘customers’ for the book. It gave me a chance to paint the door on the cottage and to think about the plan ahead.

I’ve yet to decide, but at the moment feel that the Edinburgh Festival beckons in August. For sheer enjoyment, I should stay put, but the Festival should come a close second. Lack of people will not be an issue in Edinburgh. The only thing that gives me pause is that, in throwing the Honesty Edition to thousands of festival-goers, I may be able to distribute a good percentage of them in a four week period, but there is no way I could get the same level of enthusiastic response that I get here. Or could there? That’s the problem, I really don’t know. If I stay on Arran and it remains quiet, I miss the chance of being in Edinburgh in August and if I go to Edinburgh, push out the rest of the books and the results are poor, I’ve blown the whole project.

I won’t stand frozen in the headlights and I will act, but there are a few weeks yet to form a plan. If I do go, I will face certain challenges. After being here for a number of weeks I’ve spoken to hundreds of people. From these conversations, I’m convinced that I need to speak to each reader as they take a book (even if he or she is just part of a group). That appears to be a key criteria. To do this, I’ll need a static location where I can unload a thousand copies each day, stake my claim to it and give the books to those who are willing to agree to the honesty conditions. Now, during the festival, there are countless street performers and if I was busking or doing something that would allow me to move on at a moment’s notice, I doubt I’d have a problem. But I can’t do that and a thousand books is a heck of an obstruction. I’m on my own and while I could recruit family and friends for various days, a month is too much to rely on anyone except myself. Along with the all-or-nothing nature of being there, this is a potential killer that has me stumped for the moment.

I love a challenge!