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When Your Publisher Does
Nothing
Or Not Enough, You, The Author
Must Be Its Savior!
 Here's
the New Edition
of
Carolyn's
Multi Award-Winning
Frugal Book Promoter
The ultimate
guide to selling your book to an agent, a publisher, and--after it's
published--the media!
Cover by
Chaz DeSimone
3D book cover image by iFOGO
Special thanks
to Dan Poynter . . .
for including the second edition of The Frugal Book
Promoter on his library list of recommended books
for writers. It seems to be a short but essential list,
so I am especially honored!
.And, of course, I'm honored that he contributed a blurb
for the back of this edition, too.
The
Kindle edition of
The Frugal Book Promoter was given Global Ebook Awards'
Honorable
Mention, 2012.
The Frugal
Book Promoter is runner-up in the how-to category for
the
Los
Angeles Book Festival 2012 awards.
The Frugal
Book Promoter is a finalist in the Indie Book Awards,
2012
Endorsements
As a new
author with limited funds, I quickly became
frustrated while searching for ways to
promote my work on a shoe-string budget.
Realizing too much time was spent learning
how and where to promote, I hit the goldmine
when Carolyn’s book THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER
was thankfully recommended to me by a
seasoned author in my writer’s critique
group. Thank you, Carolyn Howard-Johnson!
~
Sheri Fredricks, award-winning fantasy
romance author.
"The most
expensive parts of book promotion are the
mistakes. The Frugal Book Promoter will save you
time and money."
~ Dan Poynter, The
Self-Publishing Manual.
"I love this
book...it is the answer to an author's prayer.
Most authors are shocked and unprepared for the
marketing that goes into having a successful
book. Carolyn creates a resource that you'll go
to again and again for advice and instructions
on promoting. My advice is to get both the
physical and e-book editions. You'll want one to
be within arm's reach in your briefcase and the
other as a backup when you wear out the pages
from use. Seldom do I see a resource pack with
as much practical information as I see in The
Frugal Book Promoter II."
~ Tony Eldridge, author and blogger at Marketing
Tips for Authors
Unsolicited Endorsement
"I love how
you put in the section on writing for
anthologies. I recycled and got paid twice
for my story "Old is New Again" for
Chicken Soup for the Soul in
Menopause and a local magazine titled
Strut. New writers need to learn their
stories can be recycled. Good Work
girlfriend!"
~
Sylvia McClain, Book Reviewer, MyShelf.com
and Atlantic Publishing House and editor of
Scribal Calendar
|
The first
Frugal Book Promoter garnered great ratings
on Amazon, even years after its release--
an unusual record in publishing.
The Frugal Book Promoter:
How To Do What Your Publisher
Won't
A Sample of one of
its lower Amazon ranks on all of Amazon,
not just its category--
achieved with no online launch or sales gimmicks.
Amazon.com Sales Rank:
#13,719 in Books
Carolyn's Promotion Campaign for
The Frugal Editor
won the New Generation Indie Book Award for
Marketing and the book
was a finalist in the How-to book category in that same
contest.
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Two Reviews
of
The Frugal
Book Promoter
Second Edition
|
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Review by David
Menefee for Book Pleasures
Title:
The Frugal
Book Promoter
Subtitle: How to get nearly free publicity on your
own or by partnering with your publisher
Second
Edition
By
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Genre Nonfiction: How-to for writers
Publisher HowToDoItFrugally Publishing
ISBN 9781463743291
Available as paperback and e-book on
Amazon
Reviewed by Dave
Menefee, originally for BookPleasures.com
Would you spend a nickel for
the best advice you could ever receive?
If you are a writer, spending
5˘ a page for a 395-page book packed to the seams with
the most comprehensive collection of established,
helpful advice ever compiled would be well worth the
investment. In The Frugal Book Promoter, author
Carolyn Howard-Johnson details how to get nearly free
publicity on your own by partnering with your publisher.
Spend the $17.95 for the huge book and get your career
on track for success. Carolyn not only shows you the
way, she lights the trail to triumph with a blazing
torch.
The book’s title may seem
misleading, once you dig deeply into the thirty-two
chapters and find that Carolyn’s suggestions often hinge
on either the author or the publisher spending money on
touting a tome. Don’t let this throw you. The Frugal
Book Promoter does not pretend to be a book for an
author wishing to succeed on a shoestring. Instead,
Carolyn shows you how to wring the most out of your
advertising, marketing, and promotional budget. For
example, staging a book signing event usually entails
purchasing books to sell, travel expenses, signage
charges, giveaway costs, buying business cards and
brochures, and laying out money on a long list of other
sundry expenditures that add up to a tidy investment
gamble. Here’s where Carolyn’s expertise gleaned during
years of trial and error pays off: she reveals all the
little tricks of the trade that can spell the difference
between failure and loss or an ample return on your
investment. As your mother might say, “Listen to her!
She knows what she’s talking about!”
Carolyn’s massive set of
revelations are divided into seven sections:
-
Getting Started and Getting On With It: dealing with
typical author angst.
-
Plunging In: Publicity Basics Now: all about the
business of promotions
-
Do-It-Yourself and Partner Publicity: media
releases, book reviews, media kits
-
Promote Your Book by Doing What You Love: extra
writing opps that can fan your flame
-
You and the Media: how to handle interviews, and
using the Internet
-
Well Traveled, Oft Forgotten: wading into the world
of retailing
-
Onward and Upward: stoking the stove for even more
success
In addition, the back matter
contains a set of Appendices containing sample query
letters, media releases, blog entries, trade show
invitations, a phone pitch script, an autosignature for
e-mails, and a tip sheet example.
For an experienced author who
may be battle weary from years of tooting their own
horn, Carolyn’s sage recommendations will enlighten him
or her to hundreds of steps they may have missed that
will prove more encouraging during their next tour
through the trenches. For the beginning author who may
feel baffled and intimidated by the mere thought of
selling during a dreadful economy, Carolyn’s clever
counsel should seem like a Godsend. “This book is for
authors who want their books to soar and do not want
their careers to languish,” she writes. “It is
structured so authors can select chapters that address
aspects of their marketing plan most needed at any given
time.” Indeed, the book features an extensive Index that
will make looking up topics a second time a snap. This
is not a mere book to read; this is a guide to refer
back to time and again—a battle plan for victory.
If you are an author, or if
you know an author struggling over how to build buzz for
their book, The Frugal Book Promoter outlays
literally thousands of nitty-gritty how-tos for
obtaining a foothold in a niche. As the old saying goes,
“When you find your niche, scratch it!” With The
Frugal Book Promoter, you can light a fire under
your ambitions, pick and choose from ideas extensively
developed and refined through endless campaigns, and
match up your pocketbook and personality with hundreds
of Carolyn’s angles for accomplishment.
~Reviewer David W. Menefee is the
author of
Can't Help Falling in Love
Secret Soldier Master of Disguise
Sweet Memories
Sarah Bernhardt, Her Films, Her Recordings
(Foreword by Kevin Brownlow)
Wally: The True Wallace Reid Story (Foreword
by Robert Osborne)
The Rise and Fall of Lou-Tellegen
Richard Barthelmess: A Life in Pictures
The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era
The First Male Stars: Men of the Silent Era
Brothers of the Storm
"Otay!" The Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas Story
(with William Thomas, Jr.)
Charlie O’Doone’s Second Chance
Margot Cranston The Voice in the Shadows
Margot Cranston The Secret of St. Laurent
Lighthouse
Margot Cranston The Mystery at Loon Lake
Margot Cranston The Quest for the Jade Dragons
Falling Stars 10 Who Tried to be a Movie Star
George O'Brien: A Man's Man in Hollywood
A Craving for Travel II (with Jim Strong)
How to Write, Format, and Market a Kindlebook on
a Shoestring Budget
His newly released book,
Master of Disguise, is about secret soldier
Isador Messing who lives up to the title of the
book. Terror strikes when Hitler's SS troops
arrest Messing's fiancé on the day they plan to
escape Nazi occupied Berlin. Alone and stoic in
the face of utter malevolence, he launches a
bold, daring, and desperate plan to liberate
her. Can the remarkable Mr. Messing's one-man
army triumph against all odds and win in a
war-torn world gone mad?
Review by
Magdalena Ball for the Compulsive Readers
If you're looking to do your own publicity, or to augment
your publishers and don't have the kind of budget that can
support a publicist, or you simply want to do the legwork,
connect with your reading public, and do your best to ensure
that your wonderful work of art reaches a maximum audience,
then this book is really the self-promoter's bible
Reviewed by Magdalena Ball
The Frugal Book Promoter
Second Edition: How to get nearly free publicity on your own
or by partnering with your publisher
by Carolyn Howard-Johnson
HowToDoItFrugally Publishing
Paperback: 416 pages, August 25, 2011, ISBN-13:
978-1463743291
It doesn't matter how many books you've published.
Self-published or traditionally published, gaining publicity
is always tricky, always critical, and always a moving
target. If your budget is limited, it's even harder, and
perhaps, even more imperative. Enter Carolyn Howard-Johnson,
the queen of frugal promotion. Her frugal books are pitched
at the modern writer: time poor, financially parsimonious,
and publicity hungry. The Frugal Book Promoter is the
jewel in the crown. As with the first version, The Frugal
Book Promoter is full of ideas, strategies, and tips for
promoting your book cheaply, in innovative and effective
ways, but it has been updated with a much greater focus on
new technologies, the all-important social networks, and a
range of strategies designed to help authors with less
commercial offerings such as poetry and fiction.
Of course the book is rich with classic techniques too, such
as media releases, query letters, and a whole fantastic
chapter pulling together a media kit. There's information on
using bylines, writing a biography, obtaining endorsements
and blurbs, distribution of releases, obtaining reviews,
tradeshows, book fairs, setting up a website, and many more
'must-do' items that have really become part and parcel of
any author's promotional toolkit. Ignore this kind of stuff
and unless you win some kind of book lotto, your book will
almost certainly fall into the obscurity that is an
ever-present risk of modern authordom. What I like best
about Howard-Johnson's book is the simple, informal prose
which is both warmly reassuring ('of course you can do
this'), and deceptively intelligent. The reader is
encouraged and reminded of his or her own innate
capabilities even as they're goaded onto to raising the bar:
You’ve been practicing PR most of your life. Getting
along with family. Impressing a new boss. You’ve been a
customer and know why you like some products and
businesses better than others. All it takes is some
examination of the processes that influence you to get a
grip on public relations—even on marketing as a whole.
The new version also contains a chapter on some of the most
current topics, including information on blogging, working
Amazon, using social networks, and even some common pitfalls
to avoid in blogging and networking. Howard-Johnson totally
practices what she preaches, so her advice comes directly
from her many years of experience, and is rich with
innovative ideas to minimise the time involved and maximise
the input through such things as integration and
cross-linking, clever use of soundbites and re-tweetable
tweets, setting up a "Quotable Quotes” page on your Web site
(I love that one), using RSS, and many other novel ideas.
Throughout the book there are links, anecdotes, worked
examples, and excellent templates including queries, a
sample media release, blog entries, invitations, and even a
tip sheet.
No, you don't really need a copy of The Frugal Book Promoter.
You could hire a publicist for $100 an hour, or organise a
retainer for anywhere from $1,500 to $20,000. But if you're
looking to do your own publicity, or to augment your
publishers and don't have the kind of budget that can
support a publicist, or you simply want to do the legwork,
connect with your reading public, and do your best to ensure
that your wonderful work of art reaches a maximum audience,
then this book is really the self-promoter's bible. You
don't have to read it cover to cover, although it's
certainly accessible and enjoyable enough to do so. The book
is well-referenced and perfectly designed to enable the
frugal author to dip in once a week and pull out a new
publicity idea to try, or to use as a reference when it's
time to pull together a marketing plan for your book, or at
that moment when you need to write a press-release and want
a template and guide, when you're looking for ideas to
maximise your book signing. Whatever kind of promotions you
want to do for your book, you're sure to find it in The
Frugal Book Promoter. Howard-Johnson makes it all sound
simple, and provides such easy instructions, that you'll
want to go out straightaway and get to it. Put simply,
The Frugal Book Promoter is the best guide around for
create interesting, fresh, inexpensive, and relatively easy
promotion for your book, whatever the genre.
~Magdalena Ball runs the popular review site
Compulsive Reader and is an award-winning author and
poet in her own right.
New Book Helps Authors
Conquer the "Black Hole" of Promotion
Reviewed by Leorga G. Krygier
"Where does a new author turn for
help on promoting her book? Sure, there's the usual word of
mouth, advice from fellow writers, close-your-eyes-and
hope-for-the-best reliance on agents, publishers and
publicists. But if you really want to understand the
process, and make educated decisions with regard to what
most authors feel is the "black hole" of promotion, read
award-winning Carolyn Howard-Johnson's
The
Frugal Promoter.
Howard-Johnson's fertile brain
has delivered for us a book that manages to surprise in all
its specificity and breadth of information. She's translated
her hard-earned experiences, the ups and downs of promotion,
into a highly readable how-to, a master blueprint for
novices and veterans of the PR wars alike. Don't be fooled
by the word "frugal." It belies the generous spirit in which
this information is offered up to the reader. This is a
colleague who truly wants others to succeed. But it at
http://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromo.
~
Reviewed by
Leora Krygier,
author of When She Sleeps
(Toby Press).
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Unsolicited Praise
for
The Frugal Book Promoter |
Your book
is simply the best business book for writers that I have
ever come across and I LOVE marketing books.
As a result
of reading the FIRST FEW CHAPTERS of The Frugal Book
Promoter, I created (with a very small team of
volunteers) a full-day writers' conference with great
speakers, an award for our fabulous keynote
speaker, book signing tables, a beautiful buffet
luncheon and a raffle to benefit Catholic Relief
Services' work in Haiti--all accomplished in only 3
months time--and we had about 150 people (professionals,
students and hobbyists in editing, publishing and
writing fields in both traditional and new media from
the NY/CT/NJ tri-state area, PA and as far away as
Boston) in attendance. Their feedback was a resounding
thumbs-up. I got many emails and FB messages from people
who couldn't come and wished they had, or found out
about it too late. I have since had name speakers
contact me requesting to be considered for future
events.
We were
covered by both print and television media before,
during and after the event and we got a nice list of
bloggers to promote us in exchange for a mention in our
program. We e-mailed and called every diocesan newspaper
in the tri-state area, called and e-mailed all 140
parishes on Long Island, used all our social media
outlets and e-mail lists to promote and get others to
spread the word. We put out media releases all over the
place. We printed all the pre-registered attendees'
professional bios and contact info in our program to
help them network, which they loved. Networking was a
big draw. The event was a tremendous success that
created a lasting buzz well beyond the borders of Long
Island. I sent out beautiful certificates I made very
inexpensively on my computer (with certificate paper
from Staples) to all our donors and sponsors. Now,
instead of just being a first-time author, I'm seen as
someone who makes things happen, does good in the
community, acknowledges the work of others, and provides
opportunities for others to learn and get connected
professionally. Where did all these ideas come from?
Your book and only your book.
My network
has exploded and my publisher is very happy. I have just
written a second booklet for them. As a result of my
first event, I am now the president of a new and
exciting organization--Catholic Writers of Long
Island--that continues to draw new members and has over
170 people on it's e-mail distribution. I have a much
greater platform both locally and
nationally/internationally in my niche market because of
my wonderful new friends, one of whom--after the
conference, where we first met--hired me to write a
weekly column at a major religion website (Patheos.com --Catholic
portal). My presence online and in the Catholic writing
community at large is expanding all the time and I'm
getting more radio and TV interviews and public speaking
engagements as a result.
Yes, I'm a
VERY satisfied customer and I can't WAIT to read this
latest work of yours, Carolyn!!! You're the BEST!!!
Affectionately your grateful fan,
Lisa
Mladinich
Author, "Be
An Amazing Catechist: Inspire the Faith of Children"
Founder,
Amazing Catechists
Three
More Unsolicited Comments
There couldn't be a
better time to get my copy of The Frugal
Promoter, Second Edition. As I assemble my
new e-book, The Itty Bitty E-book on Writing, I
realize that I need the information you offer in
your book to update my media kit, put out
releases, and plan the promotion of my work. I
also need the wonderful information in
The Frugal Editor
to make sure my copy
is clean and well written. As I update and
expand my Itty Bitty columns dating from 2008
until 2011, I am grateful to have the help of
someone who knows the ropes so well.
~ Mindy Phillips Lawrence
~
I have read through the first edition of
The Frugal Book Promoter so many times so I know I'll learn even more
from your updated edition. Just the section about book signings was a great
eye-opener! I realize now that there were many things I could have done better
to promote both of my books when they were launched...especially my most recent
dog and cat photo book. There is still time! For example, I had about 1000 18x24
inch posters that I give away a lot at my talks and workshops, but I didn't
think of promising them to people with purchases of my book at bookstores.
~ Andrew Darlow, Award-winning author of Pet Photography 101 and 301 Inkjet
Tips and Techniques
~
Your book is a tremendous help to me as a first time published author, and the
discount for Display Stands 4 You in the back of the new edition was very nice
too.
~Ginger K. King, cookbook author and blogger
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Excerpt
from the first
edition of the
The Frugal
Book Promoter
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Introduction
It is said that business and art don’t
mix. Actually they mix very well. The chances of success for
artists who are natural promoters (Think Warhol. Think
Dickens. Think Stephanie Meyers.) grow incrementally
compared to artists who prefer to remain cloistered.
The reasons that authors tend to fail
at promotion are two-fold. They think they must only show up
at bookstores with a good pen because that’s all that is
expected of Hilary Clinton or J.K. Rowling. They may be
frightened by the magnitude of what they suspect they must
do to give birth to this book of theirs—their baby—and so
they dig in their heels and go into a severe state of
denial.
This book addresses both groups. That
you, the author—experienced or just blooming—hold this
how-to book in your hands means that you know you
need to hone your marketing skills in order to put this
child of yours on the path to success. This book will,
indeed, help you plan a campaign suitable for the realities
of the publishing world.
THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER will lead you
up the publicity rungs of the publishing ladder. You’ll
learn what you might do before your book is published,
what you must do soon after it is published and
beyond. Consider everything offered, as if you were
testing desserts at a smorgasbord; then select what suits
your book, your personality and your pocketbook.
This book is designed so that authors
who already have experience with publicity can select
chapters that address aspects of their marketing plan that
are weak. If a reference is made to something covered in
more depth elsewhere, the reader is given a prompt.
Hint: Do not skip the
chapters on mailing lists even if you already have one. An
effective campaign is only as sound as this essential
database and the hints therein are the product of more than
three decades of publicity experience in the fashion,
retailing and publishing industries.
Most ideas are presented in
practical, easy steps; you’ll also find hints and
caveats in bold face for easy review.
When you finish this book you’ll know
what it took me three years to learn—with a publicity
background. Publicity for authors is a specialized
arena of public relations. I tripped and fell into many PR
potholes; negative experiences can be good teachers but
learning from a book like this is less painful.
THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER is not a text.
It contains many opinions—some as black and white as the
page you find them on. You may also notice omissions. I
avoided topics that have been covered ad infinitum and for
which I have nothing new to add but you will find some new
(or rarely used) ways to promote that have not been
scorched, stirred, and then warmed over.
Thanks to
Reno Lovison for
synthesizing some of the tips
on the advantages of marketing with newsletters from
The Frugal Book Promoter in this slideshow/video: |
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Contents
for
The Frugal Book Promoter
Second Edition |
|
Section I:
Getting Started and Getting On with It
23
One: Excuse Me! I Have To Do What?
25
WORRY NUMBER ONE: Plagiarism 27
WORRY NUMBER TWO: Oops! Swiping Others’ Work 35
WORRY NUMBER THREE: Being Sued 36
WORRY NUMBER FOUR: Success or Rejection 37
WORRY NUMBER FIVE: I’m Not Enough 39
WORRY NUMBER SIX: Fear of Marketing 41
Two: Marketing Basics: The Short Course
43
A MARKETING UMBRELLA 46
Three: To Hire or Not to Hire a Publicist
51
Four: Promoting Ethically
57
Section II: Plunging In: Publicity Basics Now
59
Five: The Three Ps and Your Writing Career
61
Six: Public Relations: Publicity’s Granddaddy
65
PUBLICITY COMMANDMENTS 65
Seven: Free Publicity Isn’t Really Free
75
Eight: Branding: Publicity’s Cornerstone
77
Nine: Advertising: The Weak Partner
83
Ten: Your Now-and-Forever PR Skills
87
YOUR CREDITS,
TAGLINES, MINI BIOGRAPHIES 88
YOUR BYLINES 91
ENDORSEMENTS,
TESTIMONIALS, BLURBS 91
SOUNDBITES 97
YOUR PITCHES 98
YOUR PHOTO 111
CROSS-PROMOTION
113
TUNING IN 116
THANK-YOU NOTES
118
SECTION III:
Do-It-Yourself and Partner Publicity
121
Eleven: Media Kit Preparation Now
123
YOUR CONTACT LIST 124
Twelve: The Media Release
129
BUILDING YOUR MEDIA RELEASE 130
WRITING RELEASES 135
DISTRIBUTION OF YOUR RELEASE 140
Thirteen: The Rest of Your Media Kit
143
YOUR CONTENTS
PAGE 144
YOUR
ABOUT-THE-AUTHOR PAGE 145
YOUR AWARDS AND
PUBLICATIONS 147
YOUR LIST OF
APPEARANCES 147
YOUR
PRAISE AND ENDORSEMENT PAGE 149
YOUR BOOK
REVIEW 149
YOUR
SAMPLE INTERVIEW 151
YOUR
FIRST-PERSON ESSAY 153
YOUR
AVAILABLE SEMINARS LIST 155
YOUR
FELLOW EXPERTS LIST 157
OTHER
MEDIA KIT ITEMS 157
ASSEMBLING YOUR MEDIA KIT 163
Fourteen: Your Query and Cover Letters
169
Fifteen: Your Reviews
173
BIG-JOURNAL
REVIEWS 176
ALTERNATIVES TO
MAJOR REVIEW JOURNALS 182
ALTERNATIVES TO
THE ALTERNATIVES 184
NOW YOU HAVE A
REVIEW, WHAT? 186
FACING REVIEWER
PREJUDICE 187
REVIEW SCAMS
188
SENDING BOOKS
OR ARCS 189
Section IV:
Promote Your Book by Doing What You Love
191
Sixteen: Loving Writing and Recycling
193
RECYCLE
CREATIVE WORK 193
WRITE
NONFICTION ARTICLES 196
WRITE A COLUMN
OR BLOG 198
PUBLISH YOUR
OWN NEWSLETTER 202
WRITE BOOK REVIEWS 205
WRITE FOR
ANTHOLOGIES 207
WRITE
FOREWORDS AND INTRODUCTIONS 209
WRITE TIP
SHEETS 210
WRITE
OP-ED ESSAYS. 212
WRITE
PROMOTIONAL E-BOOKS 212
TRANSLATE
WORKS YOU LOVE 219
Seventeen: Learning to Love What You Need to Love
221
SPEAKING IS THE
STAR OF PR AND LIFE 221
AWARDS SET YOUR
BOOK APART 227
WRITERS’
CONFERENCES WORK 234
Eighteen: Publishing Dreams vs. Marketing Needs
241
TRADESHOWS ARE NOT WHAT YOU THINK 242
BOOK FAIRS ARE
FOR THE PUBLIC. 247
BOOK SIGNINGS
AND BOOKSTORE TOURS 254
LAUNCHES ARE
THE BEST 270
Section V: You and the Media
271
Nineteen: Radio and TV: The Ageless Pair
273
GETTING MEDIA
INTERVIEWS 273
BEING INTERVIEWED 274
TELEVISION IS A
MANY-SPLENDORED THING 281
Twenty: The Old Internet
287
YOUR WEB SITE
287
NEWSLETTERS 291
E-MAIL 292
DIRECT E-MAIL
MARKETING 294
AUTORESPONDERS
295
LIST-SERVES,
YAHOO GROUPS 297
Twenty-One: New Net Game Changers
299
BLOGS 299
ONLINE
BOOKSTORES 311
Twenty-Two: Using Social Networks
323
SIMPLE SOCIAL NETWORKING 323
Twenty-Three: The Dangers of Online Promotion
329
Section VI: Well Traveled, Oft Forgotten
333
Twenty-Four: Reading Groups
335
Twenty-Five: Catalog Sales
337
BONA FIDE
RETAIL STORE CATALOGS 338
COOPERATIVE
CATALOGS 340
Twenty-Six: Corporate Sales
343
Twenty-Seven: Retail Is More than Bookstores
347
Twenty-Eight: Library Sales
351
Twenty-Nine: Postcards
353
Thirty: Get Quoted
357
SECTION VII: Onward and Upward
359
Thirty-One: Success as a Motivator
361
Thirty-Two: Book Sales Getting Musty?
363
FIGHT THE IT’S-TOO-LATE URGE 363
READERSHIP
EXTENDING IDEAS 364
STAY IN THE
PROMOTION HABIT 368
PLUMB THE WEB
AGAIN 368
Appendices
373
One:
Sample Query Letters
375
Two: Sample Media Releases
381
Three: Sample Blog Entry
387
Four: Sample Invitation for Tradeshow
389
Five: Sample Script for Phone Pitch
391
Six: Sample Autosignature for E-mails
393
Seven: Sample Tip Sheet
395
Index
401
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson was one of the best
presenters at the 2008 Erma Bombeck Writers’
Workshop. Her advice was both plentiful and
practical, and I’m still relying on some of her tips
[from The Frugal Book Promoter] today.
~
Mindy Hoffbauer blogs at
“Perfection in Moderation”
|
"This book is like the
Energizer Bunny . . .it just keeps going and going and going. . ."
~ Kristie Leigh Maguire,
CEO of Star Publish.
"The Frugal
Book Promoter, is excellent. . . . It has
given me ideas that would never have occurred to
me before and has changed the way I think about
book promotion."
~Mark Logie, poet and short-story writer and
winner "most promising author"
prize from CanYouWrite. com |
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Tip
Even The
Frugal Book Promoter popped for this banner and stand after
watching fair-goers go ga-ga over authors using them
when we did a test at the
LA Times Festival of Books.
E-mail me if you'd like details on them.
HoJoNews@aol.com
 Find at least one tip on writing,
promotion, or tech on every page of this Web site. |
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Here are links on this
site where you will learn more about Carolyn Howard-Johnson's books,
podcasts, and more--written with the welfare of authors in mind:
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Carolyn's Marketing Credentials |
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University Study |
Conference/Teaching
Expertise |
Marketing |
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University of Utah,
journalism
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Arizona State University, English literature
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University of Southern California (USC), BA in English Literature,
classes in public relations
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Glendale Community College, overseas study and computer classes
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Cambridge University, Trinity College (UK), post graduate study
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Herzen University (St. Petersburg RU)
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Charles University (Prague, Czech Republic),
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Certificate in Education from UCLA's Instructor Development Program,
2006
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Speaker
and learner at many writers' conferences throughout the US
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Instructor for UCLA Extension Writers' Program since 2004
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Cosponsor and director of the
Roman Retreat, 2010
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Cofounder of the
free Muse
Online Writers' Conference
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Presenter at conferences nationwide
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Workshop leader at bookstores, expos, tradeshows, etc.
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Owner of a chain of retail stores/ VP Marketing,
Advertising, Public Relations
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Publicist Eleanor Lambert Publicity, New York
(fashion)
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Journalist. Staff writer for several newspapers
including Salt Lake Tribune. Columnist Pasadena Star
News.
Reviewer for papers like Glendale News-Press.
Recent media
releases.
Please see
"Published Works Almanac"
on this site for others. |
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Sharing with
Writers Newsletter
An
Extension of the HowToDoItFrugally Series
of Books for Writers
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Endorsement for Carolyn's newsletter:
"The .pdf
based Sharing with Writers e-newsletter
published by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the
Frugal Book Promoter and other truly insightful
tomes, is probably the best electronic publication
that comes across my screen.
"Sharing with Writers is always loaded with practical tips
and advice. It takes me only seconds to implement the ones that hold
promise for my books, and many of those I’ve tried have led to
definitive results like more traffic to my Web site, participation
in a new online venue or more exposure to libraries and the book
buying trade. The newsletter provides a by-product of camaraderie
with other authors and promoters in the community that reads Sharing
with Writers, sharing motivation among the members."
~Peggi
Ridgway, author, Successful Website Marketing
and
Wordpix Solutions,
Web Design & Hosting,
Brochures, Newsletters & Books
To
subscribe to Carolyn's FREE online newsletter send an
e-mail.
Learn more
about Carolyn's
SharingwithWriters Newsletter.
Read back issues
of Carolyn's SharingwithWriters Newsletter
Serving Writers Since 2003
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Tip
Measuring Marketing Success |
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Getting alerts is a miraculous
thing. I woke this morning to an alert from Social Oomph
that Thornton Publishing had named The Frugal Editor: Put
Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure
Success #1 book for authors who want to put out a
professional self-published book. Boy, was I all puffed up
and happy. What a gift to be able to help so many of their
writers.
But it is a gift I might not
have known about were I not using the alert functions of
services like SocialOoomph.com and Google Alerts. Measuring
Marketing Success--the results of techniques I espouse in
The Frugal Book Promoter as an example--is not easy.
Authors who are disappointed in the results of their
marketing are often the same ones who don’t use alerts to
let them know when their name or title is being mentioned on
the Web. So, if you aren't doing this, go to your Google
account and sign up for their Alerts. Then hustle on over to
SocialOomph.com and let them alert you when people are
tweeting about you! |
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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
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Carolyn's Tips |
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You will find at least one
promotion, writing or tech tip on every page on this site. Happy
browsing and collecting! |
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Endorsements |
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"Howard-Johnson has the comforting tone of a mentor and writes with the
precision of a surgeon."
~
Francine
Silverman, editor Book Promotion Newsletter
"When I
finished my first novel, Edges, O Israel, O Palestine, I was in
tears. Not my usual tears about letting go of my creation, but tears
because the world of publishing, promotion, publicity was a hostile
enemy camp, I was lost in anxiety bordering on paranoia bordering on
terror. How in the world does a novice author navigate this
guerilla warfare without a bankroll? There were so many promises
made by publicist charging over $5,000 a month.
~From
The Jewish Press,
Letters to the Editor
"Carolyn, as your excellent review has noted, DOES make you feel as
if you've earned an PhD in publicity. she gives your confidence and
arms you well, like a good pacifist. Her non-violent approach is
about frugal, common sense practical ways of making your book
visible and read.
"As you also say in
this review.. "In this era of cash-crunched PR budgets and time
consumed publishing house staff members, The Frugal Book Promoter
is an important item for empowering any author’s publicity planning.
"
"Thanks for letting
others know about our dear Carolyn Howard-Johnson (uh..yes, that is
her real name)."
~
Leora Skolkin-Smith
"...you
can't go wrong in faithfully following Carolyn Howard-Johnson's
advice in her INVALUABLE eighteen page book proposal [The
Great First Impression Book Proposal from Amazon Shorts.]"
~ Frances Lynn, author of Crushed
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Carolyn's Blogs |
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The Frugal Retailer Blog
Carolyn shares nearly three decades of
retailing experience with
an emphasis on marketing.
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.
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Carolyn's Awards |
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Awards for Carolyn's Books, Blogs and More The New Book Review
Named to
Master's in English.org Online Universities'
101 Essential Sites for Voracious
Readers
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.
Winner Diamond Award
for Achievement in the Arts
Glendale
California's Arts and Culture Commission and the City of
Glendale Library,
2013
And more than a dozen other awards for Carolyn's novel, short story collection and poetry.
See the awards page on this site.
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Easy
Access to Resources for Writers |
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Proud
Member |
 www.wrwa.net
Honorary Member
ABWA is a group of highly
skilled networkering women in business.
Military Writers' Society of America
Also, honorary member of
Publishers and
Writers of San Diego, Greater Los Angeles Writers Society
(GLAWS), IWOSC, and Publishers Association of Los Angeles (PALA)
Book Publicists of
Southern California
(BPSC) Pix: Proud Irwin Award Winners
Carolyn and Janet
Goliger.
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Carolyn Consults |
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For a variety of reasons, I've been
using CreateSpace.com to publish many of my how-to books
and poetry chapbooks. I can help you find the
right way to publishing your book, too, even guide you
through the publishing process. Learn more on my
consulting page. |
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Promotion Tip |
Don't wait
until your book is published (or even until you have a
contract in hand) to start building your brand. Now is
the time for all good authors to promote. It's never too
early or too late (unless you waited until your
traditionally published book has gone to the shredder!).
One way to start early is to write book reviews for
Amazon and other places -- online or or in print.
Find at least one
tip on promotion,
writing,
or tech on every page
of this Web site.
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Promotion Tip |
Learn how
to direct your promotion efforts to your audience.
Amazon is a great place to start. The perks offered to
authors there are free and Amazon is where readers hang
out. The chapter in
The Frugal Book Promoter
on Amazon benefits will
help you do it right.
Find at least one
tip on promotion,
writing,
or tech on every page
of this Web site.
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Promotion Tip |
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Most writers' conferences
are expensive. Carolyn's The Frugal Book Promoter
may be the only book that presents a step-by-step system
for getting the most out of one. There are alternatives
to books for frugal learning, though. Check the
Muse Online
Writers' Conference cosponsored by Carolyn and Lea
Schizas.
Find at least one tip
on promotion,
writing,
or tech on every page
of this Web site.
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Promotion Tip |
Trade shows
are different from book fairs; for authors with restricted
budgets can find a publisher or organization that have
booths. An appearance at one will helps you
start a buzz for your book. They are most effective when you
plan to attend (and sign!) just before or just after your
book is published. Check out
Book Expo America for USA's biggest.
Find at least one
tip on promotion,
writing,
or tech on every page
of this Web site.
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Promotion Tip |
Don't wait
until your book is published (or even until you have a
contract in hand) to start building your brand. Now is
the time for all good authors to promote. It's never too
early or too late (unless you waited until your
traditionally published book has gone to the shredder!).
One way to start early is to write book reviews for
Amazon and other places -- online or or in print.
Find at least one tip on promotion,
writing, or tech on every page of this Web site.
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A
Selection of Carolyn's Past
Speaking Engagements |
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Presenter
2009, 2010
Presenter,
2008, 09, 10, 11
Panel moderator, 2007
National Span College
presenter 2002
Fellows presenter, 2007,
08
Co-sponsor and presenter,
2007, 08, 09, 10, 11
University of Dayton Erma
Bombeck Writers' Conference, 2006, 2008
Sisters in Crime,
Pasadena, 2009
On the
Los Angeles Valley College Campus 2012, Rancho
Library 2013,
Valley College Spring 2014
Wisconsin Regional Writers Association
Presenter, Keynote 2010
Book 'Em,
NC,
Three Panels 2013
Presenter, 2013
Seminar Speaker, 2014
Keynote, 2013; 2014
Secrets of Great
Dialogue, 2015
Digging Up Memories and Bringing the Dead Back to
Life
2015
Frugal
Book Promotion.
Judith Briles' Extravaganza,
Denver, CO, 2016
Learn
more about
Carolyn's conferences. |
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Proud to Support |
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World Wild Life
Fund
with
Sublime Planet
book of poetry
celebrating
Earth Day
Featured
in
Pasadena Weekly Arts and Entertainment Section
All Proceeds to be donated to the World Wildlife Fund |
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Carolyn's
Poetry |
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Cover art by Vicki
Thomas, Poetry by Magdalena Ball and Carolyn Howard-Johnson
"Cherished
Pulse is full of poems that describe love from the eyes and
hearts of young and old. We see love in its youthful stage, stirring the
hearts of man and woman alike and tying a bond that even death cannot
break. As we continue reading, we understand that love deepens into an
awesome, but quiet joy as the couple grows older. These poems renew our
faith in love as they remind us of our own experience with this most
sought after emotion."
~
Lucille P Robinson for
Alternative-Read.com
Third in the Celebration
of Chapbooks with Magdalena Ball,
Imagining the Future is written expressly for fathers "and
other masculine apparitions."
She Wore Emerald Then is a book of Moods of Motherhood:
thirty poems by award-winning poets Magdalena Ball and Carolyn
Howard-Johnson, with original photography by May Lattanzio. A
beautifully presented, tender and strikingly original gift book, ideal
for Mother's Day or any day when you want to celebrate the notion of
motherhood in its broadest sense. Share this collection with someone
you love.
More on
Blooming
Red: Christmas Poetry for the Rational on this Web site.
Sublime Planet
is an e-chapbook and paperback
published in the time-honored
tradition
of poets everywhere.
This collection of
ecologically oriented poems traverses a wide terrain, moving
from the loss of species to the beauty of the natural world,
from drought to the exploration of alternative planets. It's
an exhilarating collection that breaks boundaries and leads
the reader deep into the personal heart of perception.
Released by award winning poets Carolyn Howard-Johnson and
Magdalena Ball to celebrate Earth Day, this is a collection
of poetry that weaves the personal with the universal.
Photograpy by Ann Howley.
“Whatever your age these
poems celebrating women will
speak to you of times to look forward to or to remember. These are not
poems to be read once. They will stay with you forever.”
~ Nancy Famolari, author.
Also by
Carolyn:
Tracings is winner of the Military Society of
America's Award of Excellence and named to the Compulsive Reader's Ten
Best Reads of 2005
 Imperfect Echoes is
Carolyn's newest poetry book. Writing Truth and Justice with Capital
Letters, lie and oppression with Small.
Cover and interior
art by Richard Conway Jackson
All proceeds go to Amnesty International |
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Marketing Tip |
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Carolyn Loves Author Learning Center. She even
recorded a tip for their free
Learning Center tutorials on finding something
in your past that will add credibility to your query
letter and bio--even if you haven't yet published! |
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Motto |
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"Careers
that are not fed die as readily as any living organism given no
sustenance."
~
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
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