Speaking Engagements

“Yours was simply the most informative workshop I’ve ever been to. And your book is going to be, as Gordon Kirkland promised, tattered in short order.” ~ Jennifer Brown, attendee at Dayton University’s Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop

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Poetry & Fiction

“Carolyn Howard-Johnson is like three poets plus two writers all wrapped into one.” ~Suzanne Lummis, poetry instructor for UCLA Extension Writers’ Program and honored LA poet.

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Each of These Books Is a “Frugal Ticket” To
Selling, Marketing and Editing your Books.

Winner USA Book News Business Book!

“Howard-Johnson has the comforting tone of a mentor and writes with the precision of a surgeon.” ~ Francine Silverman, author, editor, author’s advocate

To Purchase simply click on each book cover below.

The Frugal Book Promoter, Third Edition! 

This multi award-winner, now in its third edition,  celebrates its 16th Anniversary as the flagship of Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers. For only a few cents a day the third edition of The Frugal Book Promoter assures your book the best possible start in life. The author was inspired to write this book full of nitty-gritty how-tos for getting nearly-free publicity for her UCLA Writers’ Program class. A former publicist, journalist, and retailer, Carolyn shares her professional experience as well as practical tips gleaned from the successes of her own book campaigns. She tells authors how to do what their publishers can’t or won’t and why authors can often do their own promotion better than a PR professional.

Since its first release almost two decades ago, this book has won multiple awards:

 

Winner USA Book News Award 

Runner-up in the how-to category for the Los Angeles Book Festival 2012 awards

Global Ebooks Award Honorable Mention

Silver Medal from Military Writers Society of America

 

“I’ve followed every one of Carolyn’s suggestions for my award-winning book, The Written Word,  so I’m confident I’ll gain every bit of exposure possible from this award. I learned long ago to do exactly as Carolyn says if I want to succeed and do it frugally.”
~ Aggie Villanueva, bestselling award-winning author and director of Book Promotion at Promotion a la Carte

 

 

How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically:
The ins and outs of using free reviews to build and sustain a writing career

is the culmination of nearly two decades Carolyn Howard-Johnson spent helping writers avoid pitfalls, misconceptions, and out-and-out scams perpetrated on unsuspecting authors . . . and helping them reach their dreams of great reviews, great book tours, and great launches. It turns out that Get Great Book Reviews is the essence for a successful marketing campaign that includes all those things and–more importantly–for building the readership necessary for a prosperous writing career.

Cover by Chaz DeSimone.


The Frugal Editor, Second Edition

There are gremlins out there determined to keep your work from being published, your book from being promoted. They—resolved to embarrass you before the gatekeepers who can turn the key of success for you—lurk in your subconscious and the depths of your computer programs. Whether you are a new or experienced author, The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success will help you present whistle-clean copy (whether it’s a one-page cover letter or your entire manuscript) to those who have the power to say “Yea” or “Nay.” Here are a few of the many awards and honors it received in both its first and second editions:

Cover by Chaz DeSimone.


Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers

Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers is a handy little (and magical!) booklet that will help you avoid the gremlins lurking in your writing–the ones determined to embarrass you. You’ll feel more secure when you send out your blog posts, your business and query letters, or your manuscripts to those who can help build your career.

 


The Great First Impression Book Proposal:
Everything You Need to Know About Selling Your Book in Thirty Minutes or Less

This booklet, now published in its second edition by Modern History Press, is the result of multi-award-winning author Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s extensive work with clients who hate writing book proposals and hate learning how to write them even more. She found herself coaching them through the process rather than doing it for them, for who could possibly recreate the passion an author feels for his or her own book better than the author? In doing so, she found she had written a booklet—not a tome—that took her clients only about thirty minutes to absorb. Voila! The Great First Impression Book Proposal was born.

WinningWriters.com offered this booklet as an aid to the participants in their prestigious North Street Book Prize.

TESTIMONIALS

The Frugal Book Promoter, Second Edition!

“I’ve followed every one of Carolyn’s suggestions for my award-winning book, The Written Word, so I’m confident I’ll gain every bit of exposure possible from this award. I learned long ago to do exactly as Carolyn says if I want to succeed and do it frugally.”
~ Aggie Villanueva, bestselling award-winning author and director of Book Promotion at Promotion a la Carte

The Frugal Book Promote

The Frugal Book Promoter. I love it. Most authors don’t have deep pockets for publicity, promotion and marketing; this is the kind of information we need! The chapter on the perks available on Amazon is a perfect example of the kind of practical advice offered—the kind that took me months to discover.
~ Rolf Gompertz, author, veteran publicist for NBC and 30 year UCLA Extension instructor in marketing

The Frugal Book Promoter

Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s advice in Frugal is like having your own private tutor, writing coach, PR person, English teacher, salesman of the year, marketing agent and, once you’ve talked to her, cheerleader, all rolled into one. They ought to bottle her energy and sell it. I’ll take ten bottles. Uh … Make that twenty.
~Georgia Richardson, AKA Queen Jaw Jaw, author, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Throne

The Frugal Book Promoter

The Frugal Book Promoter. I love it. Most authors don’t have deep pockets for publicity, promotion and marketing; this is the kind of information we need! The chapter on the perks available on Amazon is a perfect example of the kind of practical advice offered—the kind that took me months to discover.
~ Rolf Gompertz, author, veteran publicist for NBC and 30 year UCLA Extension instructor in marketing

The Frugal Book Promoter

“If you’re going to read only one book to get other people to read your book, it should be The Frugal Book Promoter.”
~ Tim Bete, director of Dayton University’s Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop and author

The Frugal Book Promoter

I’m thrilled with all the helpful info and I like the way the book clearly defines the various parts, makes it much easier to use as a reference.
~ Vicki Malone, Publicist, Red Engine Press

The Frugal Editor

The Frugal Editor is like having a dear writer friend who’s computer-savvy and a wonderful editor share all her secrets and tips for success with you – useful, entertaining, valuable. ~ Tara Ison, author and past director of Antioch University’s Writers’ Program

The Frugal Editor

“Nothing demonstrates professionalism like a well-edited submission. Follow Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s clear, step-by-step self-editing approach for Putting Your Best Book Forward and you’ll submit like a pro.”
~ Gregory A. Kompes, conference coordinator, Las Vegas Writer’s Conference

The Frugal Editor

“Good editing is like honest business accounting: If you don’t have it, you end up with a mess.  The Frugal Editor is a must for the novice writer who needs to make that ideal first impression and the writer with a tenth book hitting the shelves who has become complacent about his brilliant prose.”
~ Kristin Johnson, author and writing consultant.

The Frugal Editor

“Carolyn, I can’t put the book down. It’s not a one time read. It will take several times for it to sink in.  Also I want to go to all the URLs’ you mention. I feel like I’m back in school and I love it. ”
~Sylvia K. Hamilton, author The Kahills of Willow Walk

The Frugal Editor

“What a beautiful job . . . outstanding.
“You wrote this book, as you always do, in layman’s language. Since you’re speaking in my everyday vernacular, if I read your book, I won’t have any excuse for writing badly, will I? No more dangling whatevers, no more ineffective passives. You can make me the best-read writer in town.”
~ Peggi Ridgway, Wordpix for Websites, Books, Flower Market Projects & More

The Frugal Editor

I’ve long recommended John Kremer’s 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, but until now, I didn’t have many other “staples” to recommend to new authors looking for publicity.
~ Jenna Glatzer, author of  Make a Real Living as a Freelance Author

Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips

By creating a guide designed specifically to get writers past gatekeepers, Carolyn Howard-Johnson has created something of unmatched value: usage advice that cuts through the contentious world of grammar to offer real help. Writers polishing their manuscripts and query letters will find Howard-Johnson’s guide more useful than Strunk and White.”
~June Casagrande, author of Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies (Penguin).

Get In Touch

If you need help with your writing career, let me share with you my experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer, retailer, and as an instructor at UCLA. Of course, the most frugal way to get the information you need is with my multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers. If I can help you with this or any of the other services I offer, please fill out and submit the brief form on the right. 

Send A Message

A Guide and Links to all of Carolyn’s Books

Great Fiction
Purchase THIS IS THE PLACE 
and HARKENING at Amazon in their new and used feature.
Both of these books are out of print. They are available only on Amazon's New and Used feature for about $1.

Great Poetry
Purchase TRACINGS (Finishing Line Press) at Amazon.
IMPERFECT ECHOES: Writing Truth and Justice with Capital Letters,  lie and oppression with Small

Give the gift of poetry with
a chapbook from
Magdalena Ball's
and My Celebration Series
CHERISHED PULSE: Unconventional Love Poetry
IMAGINING THE FUTURE: Ruminations on Fathers and Other Masculine Apparitions
SHE WORE EMERALD THEN: Reflections on Motherhood
BLOOMING RED: Christmas Poetry for the Rational
DEEPER INTO THE POND: Celebration of Femininity
SUBLIME PLANET: Celebrating Earth and the Universe

HowToDoItFrugally Series for Writers
Purchase THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER, Third Edition,
published by Modern History Press
THE FRUGAL EDITOR Second Edition
GREAT LITTLE LAST MINUTE EDITING TIPS FOR WRITERS
an addendum to The Frugal Editor with more word trippers
GREAT FIRST-IMPRESSION BOOK PROPOSALS. Second Edition, published by Modern History Press
HOW TO GET GREAT BOOK REVIEWS FRUGALLY AND ETHICALLY

Survive and Thrive Series of HowToDoItFrugally Books for Retailers
A RETAILER'S GUIDE TO FRUGAL IN-STORE PROMOTION 
Authors who understand what retailers need and want are more successful when they
pitch events (workshops, readings, seminars) to bookstores and other businesses.
FRUGAL AND FOCUSED TWEETING FOR RETAILERS 
YOUR BLOG, YOUR BUSINESS

Note: Most of Carolyn's books are also available for the Kindle reader.
Did you know that with the Free app, Kindle can be adapted to any reader--even your PC

Note: Carolyn encourages authors to download her Multi-Use Media Kits at the top the Media Press Room Page, to use as a guide for writing their own Media Kit
in conjunction with the directions in the Third Edition of the Frugal Book Promoter, published by Modern History Press.