|
Inspiration, References,
How-To Books,
Audios, and Other Helps for Writers!
The Best Places
To Learn About
Craft
and Promotion Is Books.
Of
Course!
|
|
|
Great Books for
Writers
Nice
Desk Companions for Any of the Frugal Series
for Writers |
|
Carolyn's newest in
the How To Do It Frugally Series of books for writers is two-time
award-winning The Frugal Editor designed to help authors hire
better editors, better partner with their editors and self-edit when
necessary. The marketing plan for this book also won the New Mi
The promotion
campaign for The Frugal Editor won the Millennium Award for Marketing.
Sylvia McClain,
editor of Scribal Calendar, talks about branding
and how reading business books targeted to other industries
can help writers on my
Sharing with Writers blog. |
|
|
Carolyn Recommends Other
Books for
Writers |
|
So, you're on the right track!
Find what you need for your writing and promotion efforts here!
Terry Whalin will
help you get on the right track. He and I met while speaking at a
writers' conference. I loved what he had to say, bought his book on
writing proposals by for my husband and highly recommend his advice.
He says:
 "'You should write a book.'
"'Some day I'm going to write a book.'
"Over 80% of people plan to write a book and more than six million of
them have already written a manuscript. Admittedly there are dozens of
companies who will take your money and publish your book. How do you get
a book publisher to pay you for your book?
"Former book acquisitions editor Terry Whalin says editors and
publishers don't read manuscripts. They read book proposals. In
BOOK PROPOSALS
THAT SELL, 21 SECRETS TO SPEED YOUR SUCCESS, you learn the inside
scoop to achieve your dreams."
~~~
I Recommend This
Do
It Yourself Program for Book Launches
This is a tried and true
program developed by a
Anna Maria Prezio and Denise Cassino.
It will teach
you to propel your own book to a Number One Bestseller
as they have done
for
dozens of other authors!
~~~
Procrastinator's Guide To Authorship:
A Step-By-Step, 7-Month
Training Program To Complete Your Book Get
It Published and Make Big Money .
I recently reviewed author
coach and bestselling author Rita Emmett's new program titled:
Procrastinator's Guide To Authorship: A Step-By-Step, 7-Month
Training Program To Complete Your Book Get
It Published and Make Big Money. If you're in a hurry, just go right ahead & take a look at this
web page to see what I'm talking about:
http://frugalbook.authoru.hop.clickbank.net
If you're frustrated. If you're big on starting but not so good at
finishing then Rita's program may be perfect for you.
http://frugalbook.authoru.hop.clickbank.net
Publishing Possibilities by Cheryl Picket is a fine companion to
Carolyn's series of HowToDoItFrugally Books.
www.publishinganswers.com
Write, Get Published, and Promote: An
Easy e-Guide for New and Aspiring Writers
by Joyce Shafer:
A reader says, "I
just finished your e-book. I really enjoyed it and will use the
information provided. I really enjoy your writing style. I always feel
as if you are talking with me or right next to me. I have read other
books on writing, but you cut through all the fluff and provide very
pertinent and usable information. Definitely worth the money! Your
e-book will absolutely help me as I continue to write mine.
(Download and preview chapter available at
http://www.lulu.com/content/2805803)
Getting Control
Over Your Own Writing Career
Billie
A Williams has struck gold--spice!--again with her new book on writing.
Write, Publish, Sell!: Quick, Easy, Inexpensive Ideas for the Marketing
Challenged:
by Valerie Allen:
People do business with people they know - which is why you must tell to
sell. This book is your step-by-step guide for name recognition,
networking, and creative marketing to increase book sales. With little
or no promotional budget, you can do these painless activities for
successful marketing and book sales.
Two highly recommended
e-books for maximizing your Twitter account from Tony Eldridge
are written especially for authors:
Twitter E-Book:
http://www.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=150314&AdID=482099
Twitter E-Mail Course:
http://www.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=150314&AdID=482103
and an
interactive e-book on running a Twitter contest:
http://www.on2url.com/app/adtrack.asp?MerchantID=150314&AdID=482099
Get Published Today! is a must-read if you have ever considered
going it on your own. By marketing expert Penny Sansevieri.
Big Recommendation for Audio CD I Love
Terry Whalin and I often
appear at writers' conferences together and I've read his books and
recommend them. But I'd never attended one of his presentations
because they conflicted with my own. At the last one we were at,
Terry said he had repurposed one of his seminars to an audio CD and
graciously presented me with one. I just listened to it as I drove
the California freeways. It is Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and
I love, love, love it! Terry comes at helping other authors through
experience and he loads his talks with anecdotes that make his
advice entertaining, understandable and memorable. Even though this
is recorded live at a seminar, the recording is clear and
professional. All I can say is "Wow!" I could tell you all the
points he covers, but I won't. You might be tempted to think you
know that stuff. But this audio is so much more than the sum of its
parts.
If your publishing
career is lagging or if you'd like to change that path you've been
taking (or if you just need a review and a big shot in the arm of
energy and ideas!), this is an audio workshop worth the money—even
for frugal me. Find it at:
http://bit.ly/RxJcfa.
Think of it this way.
The CD is maybe 1/8 the cost of a real live conference. And you can
play it any old time you have the time.
 The
Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write
(ISBN: 978-0-9795475-5-3) by Mark David Gerson. Tools, Tips
and Inspiration to Unleash the Power of Your Creative Potential.
 "Building
a character from the ground up is simple. Building a memorable,
living, breathing human being is a most daunting and complicated
task, until now. ...Billie A Williams...[gives] character-building
tips, tricks, and tools you can master in one afternoon." ~ Beth
Erickson, editor, publisher and freelance copywriter.
This single CD packs
into one hour what you might get from a week-long writing workshop.
It has been distilled from classes, seminars and workshops given
from Florida to Finland and holds the accumulated wisdom of 25 years
of writing, editing and publishing savvy. It will open your eyes
and save you time.
A low-priced e-book from
Yvonne Perry is great for beginning promoters.
Book Marketing in
the Digital Age: Online Promotion Made Easy.
There have been plenty
of books on writing a novel, and plenty on how to get published. YOUR
FIRST NOVEL by novelist Laura Whitcomb and seasoned literary agent
Ann Rittenberg is the first to cover both topics
comprehensively. Published
by Writers Digest Books, YFN is an insider's guide through the
entire process for the aspiring novelist. Read more about it on
MySpace
or purchase
it now on Amazon!
 June Casagrande's
Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies
(Penguin) is not only full of good stuff that will make a better editor
of you, it's fun. It is a great companion to The Frugal Editor: Put
Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. Find
Meanies at Amazon.
Your life is unique.
Now learn to write it - for history, as a legacy for your family, to
discover a new perspective on your life. It will guide you step by
step in the writing; tell you how to publish it and explain how to
market it. This got high marks from The American Library
Association's Booklist.
PS:
My award-winning novel This Is the
Place and my book of creative nonfiction stories,
Harkening, are examples of how your genealogy and your
diaries might turn into different kinds of books. Find them both at
www.bn.com .
The
Slippery Art of Book Reviewing by
Mayra Calvani
will teach you everything you’ll ever need to know about reviewing,
from how to write them to understanding their influence over the
wider spectrum of the publishing world.
Check out Peter Bowerman's
Well-Fed Writer books.
In-depth help with your
writing, focusing on the all-important aspects of plot, viewpoint,
characters and openings. By Patrika Vaughn.
Michelle Dunn's e-book report on a
book marketing success
system ix excellent.
The Shy Writer: An
Introvert's Guide to Writing Success
- Author C. Hope Clark advises you how to
"sell your words, not your soul" when you promote your work.
|
Website Tip
Offer something
free to your loyal followers. That could be a free e-book or
a free article. I once gave a free e-copy of the first in my
Celebration Series of Poetry
to my newsletter subscribers.
Find at least one tip on writing,
promotion or tech on every page of this Web site.
|
 Write, Publish & Market Your
Book
ISBN 0-9656309-1-9.
As Sandpiper
Publications put it, "Throw everything else away! If you're
serious about writing a book, this is the only book you'll
ever need on the subject." By Patrika Vaughn.
For
memoir writers out there: I recommend Nan Merrick Phifer’s
Memoirs of the Soul: A Writing
Guide from Ingot Press.
Writing for Profit: Break into
Magazines by Cheryl Wright.
Click here to
order this e-book. Click here for Carolyn
Howard-Johnson's review of it. The review is available for reprint at no charge.
Those who order Writing for Profit get a free list of
magazines that pay for content.
Calling
All Authors, How to Publish with Your Eyes Wide Open
by Valerie Connelly. Read, learn and give a review. Order the it at the
Nightengale Press bookstore.
Don't Murder Your Mystery and by
Chris Roerden is an
Agatha Award winner and a Writer's Digest Book Club selection.
Watch for
Don't Sabotage Your Submissions
by Chris Roerden, a fine complement to The Frugal Editor.
Here is a CD that will step you
through the process of copyrighting your own book by Grace LaJoy.
http://www.gracelajoy.com/eshop/20Review.asp?ProductCode=24
The Publisher’s Bookstore (
http://www.texanapublishing.com/ ) features
nearly 100 books about writing, publishing and book marketing, arranged by
category to help you quickly find the resources you need. Whether you are just
beginning your publishing journey or looking for ways to boost your book sales,
you’ll find a wealth of information from experienced authors, publishers, and
marketers.
Speak with
Passion, Speak with Power! by Pamela Gilbreath Kelly is an essential
book to learning to use your innate speaking skills (and, yes, your passion!) to
sell your brook. It's available on Amazon and B&N.com.
From Book Signing to Best Seller
by Joe Condril.
Produced
by Fleetwood Multimedia, Inc., The Complete Recordings of Workshops and Keynotes
from The University of Dayton's Erma Bombeck Writer's Workshop.
www.fleetwoodonsite.com/bombeck.
Includes a session on humor from Craig Wilson of USA Today, "An Evening
with Garrison Keillor" (Yes, the real Garrison), a keynote from Connie
Schultz and, yes, "Don't Tick off the gatekeepers: Great editing counts"
from Carolyn Howard-Johnson. Order it at
http://www.fleetwoodonsite.com/product_info.php?cPath=104_105&products_id=2457
.
Take your
writing to the next level with Writers On Call writing
teleclasses.
Nancy
Mills, founder of Spirited Woman, produces a tele-chat series
where you can learn from other successful authors.
To query Nancy get a strong platform behind
you. To learn to do that, check HowToDoItFrugally books on book
promotion. Nancy has only a handful of spots each year so you will
need to prove the power of your following to her. (-:
Sign up now
listen to this exciting series,
http://www.thespiritedwoman.com/spirited_woman_circle/2008/01/conversation--4.html
or to the likes of Jacqueline Mitchard, author of the Deep Sea of
the Ocean and Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of Pay It Forward. Find
the entire series at:
http://www.thespiritedwoman.com/spirited_woman_circle
.To
listen live, register in advance. CDs are available after each interview.
Hear
Roger C. Parker interview book promotion experts of every ilk,
including Yvonne Perry, John Kremer, Rick Frishman and me. His
site is amazing. You're sure to get an education.
http://www.publishedandprofitable.com/public/department80.cfm
Stacie
Vander Pol includes a chapter on the packages offered by different subsidy
publishers in her Top Self Publishing Firms.
In this bleak economy, there is
still one avenue that's free - being a guest on radio. Talk
Radio Wants You - An Intimate Guide to 700 Shows and How to Get Invited
(McFarland & Co 2009) provides all you need to know about each show before
contacting a host - the theme, guest criteria, the host's opinion of the
best and worst guests and what determines who gets invited back. Read more
about it at
http://www.talkradioadvocate.com
|
|
|
Finding Great Writing
References and, Yes, Inspiration
I love making lists. You'll find many books not listed here
in the indexes of my books.
I just figure books are one of
the most frugal ways for us authors to learn what we need to
know. And we're supporting our own industry by buying them!
Find at least one tip on writing, promotion or
tech on every page of this Web site.
|
|
|
|
Feeling
Depressed or Blocked? |
Joyce White's book
Sculpting the Heart might help. It's not really a book specifically
for writers, but I recommend it for those blue days or even more serious
depression. Learn more at
http://www.joycewhiteblog.com/
Millie Thornton's
book covers the gamut of writing fears.
The Frugal Book Promoter includes
information on overcoming
both fears of writing and fears of success, too. (Yes, it happens!)
|
Promotion
Tip
Use Listmanias on Amazon to
get better exposure for your book. Just make a list of great
books in the same category as yours and add yours to it!
That list may eventually appear on the buying page of every
single one of the books you list! More than 46,000 people
have clicked on my lists. Can't sniff at that kind of
targeted marketing, now can we! PS: You'll find more
details of how to build a list in The Frugal Book
Promoter.
Find at least one tip on writing,
promotion or tech on every page of this Web site.
|
|
|
Subscribe to
Carolyn Howard-Johnson's Sharing with Writers Newsletter
and get a FREE copy of
Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers
"I have been a professional writer 40 years, and am also a
tenured full professor of journalism. Carolyn's Sharing with
Writers newsletter is most useful for me--and for my
students. I emphasize to them that while research is 90% of
writing, and the actual writing is about 10%, there's another
100% out there called promotion. Carolyn shows numerous ways to
get the message to the mass media."
~Walter Brasch, author
and educator
|
|
Carolyn's Blogs |
|
Sharing with Writers
All things publishing with
an emphasis on book
promotion. Named to
Writer's Digest
101 Best Website list.
|
The New Book Review
Great way for readers, authors, reviewers and publicists to get more
mileage out of
a great review.
|
|
The Frugal Editor Blog
This is the Frugal, Smart
and Tuned-In Editor blog.
Covers editing, grammar, formatting and more.
Get the answers you need.
|
|
|
Website Sponsor |
|
As Featured in Publishers Weekly
This unique book is the perfect book to help
immigrants and those who need better English
skills to deal with Americans. You'll love the
chapter on language and accent reduction. And
love even more how the author uses idioms
throughout the book--and explains them!
Available on
Amazon bookstores worldwide, at Vroman's in
Pasadena and other fine bookstores. |
|
Carolyn's Awards |
|
Awards for Carolyn's Books, Blogs and More The New Book Review
Named to
Online Universities'
101 Book Blogs
You Need to Read
Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites
for Sharing with Writers blog.
Best Book Award for The Frugal Book Promoter (2004) and The Frugal Editor (2008)
and the Second Edition of The Frugal Book Promoter
(2011).
Reader Views Literary Award for The Frugal Editor
New Generation Award for Marketing and Finalist for The Frugal Editor
Book Publicists of Southern California's Irwin Award
Military Writers Award of Excellence for
Tracings, A Chapbook of Poetry.
A Retailer's Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotion wins author Military
Writers Society of America's Author of the Month award for March, 2010
Gold Medal
Award from Military Writers Society of America, 2010.
MWSA also gave a nod to
She
Wore Emerald Then,
a chapbook of poetry honoring mothers.
The Frugal
Editor
Named #! on Top Ten
Editing Books list.
Finalist
New Generation Book Awards 2012, The Frugal Book
Promoter, Finalist 2010 The Frugal Editor,
Winner 2010 Marketing Campaign for the Frugal Editor
The Oxford Award
recognizes
the
alumna who exemplifies the Delta Gamma precept of
service to her community and who, through the years,
devotes her talents to improve the quality of life
around her.
The Frugal
Book Promoter is runner-up in the how-to category for
the
Los Angeles Book Festival 2012
awards.
Nominated: Diamond Award
for Achievement in the Arts
Glendale
California's Arts and Culture Commission and the City of
Glendale Library.
And more than a dozen other awards for Carolyn's novel, short story collection and poetry.
See the awards page on this site.
|
|
Tip |
Clips from an
interview I did with Valerie Connelly are included in her
book, Calling All Authors. Besides a radio
host, Valerie is also a publisher so this book is full of
things she'd like her authors to know. The more the author
knows about publishing and promotion, the more successful
both the author and his or her publisher.
Find at least one tip on writing,
promotion or tech on every page of this Web site.
|
|
Endorsements |
|
I've been reading
your chapter on Amazon again because there is so much
great stuff that you write about and so many resources that authors
can utilize.Your book is now a fixture on my desk.
~
Anna Maria Prezio, author of Confessions of a Feng Shui
Ghost-Buster
Your
book on frugal publicity is a 'classic.' I have it, I've read it, I've
recommended it, I believe in it, & I've met you... and I can easily
talk about it.
~ Deborah
Granger,
radio
host
and publisher |
|
Site
Sponsor |
|
Highly recommend visual tool for
writers to use for their promotion. It's produced by a novelist who
understands their needs.
Funds for Writers:
You write for money. You know you
do. Learn how to find the sources. Newsletters, e-books and a
magnificent, award-winning Web site. Chosen Writers' Digest 101
Best Web Sites for Writers seven years in a row. A site that
cares about the writer in you.
Republished as an
e-book from the Writer's Digest original...
"Memoirs
of the Soul
will
be forever on my recommended lists for memoirists
who have trouble getting to the core of their
stories and for more advanced writers who simply
need to be inspired."
~Carolyn
Howard-Johnson
|
|
Book
Fair Resources |
|
Click Here
for a list of book
fairs, tradeshows, conferences and conventions. Your aid to planning
ahead. |
|
Site
Secret |
|
Browsing Allowed
You will find at least one promotion, writing.
or tech tip on every page of this site. Sometimes you'll find, two or
three! Happy browsing and collecting!
|
|
Video
|
|
Click on the logo below to see an example of Reno Lovison's trailer for
my Survive and Thrive Series of books.
Authors
Broadcast for reasonably priced and thoroughly professional
video book trailers.
|
|
Site
Secret |
|
Carolyn's favorite resource
for writers is the one that lists media (or press)
release disseminators--complete with mini reviews.
Can you find it? |
|
Proud
Member of |
www.wrwa.net
ABWA is a group of highly
skilled networkering women in business.
Military Writers' Society of America
Honorary member of
Publishers and
Writers of San Diego.
Book Publicists of
Southern California
(BPSC) Pix: Proud Irwin Award Winners
Carolyn and Janet
Goliger, l. to r.
|
|
Spirited Woman Interview |
|
You'll love Nancy Mills' Interviews
with Famous Women Writers
(When you check out the link, scroll down to see the
one with Carolyn!)
My
interview with Spirited Woman Nancy Mills included a bit of
nostalgia. The way journalism used to be before computers,
what it was like to be in New York in Christian Dior's time,
how Good Housekeeping magazine used to be. Sign up with
Nancy now for the CD or podcast of this interview or to hear
her interview with fellow
Spirited Woman authors including
USA Today's Most Influential winner Jacqueline Mitchard,
author of the Deep End of the Ocean and Catherine Ryan Hyde,
author of Pay It Forward. Scroll for information on
my CD.
|
|
Free
Content |
|
Carolyn's
Reviews for Riters
(tm)--include reviews
of her recommended books for authors. These reviews
are available for reprint at no cost. See a
partial list of all the articles at the
free content page of
this site. For more information
e-mail Carolyn. |
|
Site
Sponsor |
|
MaAnna
Stephenson offers training, design, and site
consultation for non-geeks. She specializes in helping
artistic, creative, and intuitive folks with WordPress, Blogger, and RSS feeds. Yep, books, too!
http://www.blogaid.net.
|
|
Writing Tip |
Passive
construction has gotten a bad wrap. We obviously have it in
the English language because it serves a purpose. There are
times when passive can work for an author. An example of
that is in an excerpt of This Is the Place where I wanted to
slow down the prose, wanted to make readers feel as if they
were stepping back to the 50 and even farther, to the 1800s.
Find an example of how I used it in an
except from that
novel. Learn about other ways writers can use it
to their advantage in my
The Frugal Editor.
Find at least one tip on writing,
promotion or tech on every page of this Web site.
|
|
Your
Book Marketing Resource |
|
The Frugal Book Promoter
is one of your most valuable resources
because it is written from personal experience and
gives you the basics for promoting everything else
you do--in print, on TV or radio, or online. See an
excerpt on
Fifteen
Publicity Commandments,
and excerpt from that book. |
|
Site
Sponsor |
|
Shop
our budget minded menu of promotional services.
Don't be bullied into buying bundles that cost you
thousands and include services you don't need.
At
Promotion a la Carte lets YOU choose from our
publicity buffet WHAT you need, WHEN you need it.
www.PromotionalaCarte.com
|
|
|
|
Free Books
On Publishing and Writing |
|
Publishing Basics for Children's Books: A Guide for the Small Press and
Self-Publisher is available on request at
www.BooksJustBooks.com or
by sending a request on a postcard to RJ Communications, 41 E. 42nd St,
Ste 1202, NY, NY 10017. It is a hardback that looks like the children's
book you may want to publish.
A full
paperback, Publishing Basics: A Guide for the Small Press and
Self-Publisher by Robert Bowie Johnson, Jr. with Ron
Pramschufer, is available on request at
www.BooksJustBooks.com or
by sending a request on a postcard to RJ Communications, 41 E. 42nd St,
Ste 1202, NY, NY 10017.
The
Career Novelist may be downloaded free at
http://www.maassagency.com/books.html . It''s
highly recommended by my friend Terry Whalin.
(For resources and links
galore, grab yourself copies of the Frugal Book Promoter and
The Frugal Editor.)
Click here for Carolyn's first
person essay, "Beating Time at Its Own Game."
|
|
Click Here
for a list of book fairs, tradeshows, conferences and conventions.
Your aid to
planning ahead.
|
|
"Careers
that are not fed die as readily
as any living organism
given no sustenance."
~
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Studio photography by
Uriah Carr
Logo by
Lloyd King
All Carolyn's Frugal Books Are
Available on Kindle
As Well as Paperback
Helpful Books for Writers
Helpful
Books for Retailers
Poetry: The perfect inspirational gift
Fiction and Short Stories
To
subscribe to Carolyn's FREE online newsletter send an
e-mail.
Learn more about Carolyn's
newsletter and blog.
|
|
|
|
|
|
