I was helping Robert pin some of his activities, when I noticed that despite the fact that he seems to have plenty of time to play concertina and cook lamb chops, he doesn’t seem to post a lot of products on his TeachersPayTeachers store. Okay, 93 products is not a bad number, but the guy has been at this for months and months. You would think he would have hundreds of them, seeing how much time he devotes to other things, like memorizing poetry (if I have to hear him recite “Drowning” by Grace Paley one more time, I think I’ll put my head in the bathtub and fill it up) and leyning Torah.

“Robert, you’ve been doing this for what seems like a long time; shouldn’t you have more products in your store?”

“What’s a “product,” Emily?”

“What do you mean, what’s a product? You know, those materials you publish on TeachersPayTeachers. PRODUCTS!”

“They’re not ‘products’ – what are you talking about? It’s not like I manufacture anything.”

“I know, but people buy them and use them, so they’re products, right?”

“Um, no, because I don’t have a factory, and its not like I have employees who build this stuff and then ship it out. They’re not really products – they’re like books and music and art. They’re something else, but they’re not ‘products.'”

“So you think you’re more like a writer or a musician or an artist? May I just roll my eyes now?”

“No, you may not roll your eyes, and yes, developing curriculum materials is an art, not a manufacturing process. So stop calling them ‘products,’ will you?”

“Robert, if you’re going to make some money, you have to have more products posted in your TpT store!”

“What’s a ‘product?'”