How to be a Inventor

The Boston Globe writes about Ron Magers, a toy designer for the past 28 years. It’s no game:

Magers’s shop produces 20 prototypes per year; there have been years when he has sold none. His average is one to two toys per year, and there is a storage area filled with things that never sold. Included in that is a Merry-Go-Round, a radio-controlled dynamic one-wheeled vehicle, and a painting shooting gallery. ”There’s not a lot of enthusiasm about shooting anything these days,” Magers said.

And it is important to be prolific, he said. ”I always give young inventors a piece of advice: ‘Never marry one idea,’ ” he said. ”If you continue to put ideas on the table and produce, eventually an idea will sell. For every 20 prototypes that I do, I’m happy to put two into the marketplace that are actually selling and producing royalties.”