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The
secret to the success
of any promotion--including reviews--is
you gotta promote the promotion!
 Here's the Newest Book
in Carolyn's
Multi Award-Winning HowToDoItFrugally
Series of books for Writers!
How to Get Great
Book Reviews
Frugally and
Ethically
The ins and
outs of using free reviews to build and sustain a publishing career
Cover by
Chaz DeSimone
3D book cover image by Gene
Cartwright at iFOGO and @AmazonLinks
Endorsements
"The most
comprehensive book on getting book reviews
I've ever come across. In her usual warm and
easy-to-follow manner, Howard-Johnson
outlines everything you need to know to
maximise your book's chances . . .an
excellent resource that both beginning and
seasoned authors can return to again and
again."
~Magdalena Ball, owner of the
prestigious review site, Compulsive
Reader.com
Unsolicited Endorsements
"I've already got a ton of new review
opportunities for my authors!"
~ L. Diane Wolfe, author, speaker, and owner
of Dancing Lemur Press. L. L. C.
"Getting well-written and fair reviews
is the single biggest block to
independent authors and small presses.
Carolyn
 Howard-Johnson takes on the
problem head-on in this easy-to-use
recipe for book review success. To
paraphrase the late great Dan Poynter,
your book is your business card so the
single best marketing tool you have is
to send out copies for review.” ~ Victor
Volkman, publisher Loving Healing Press
Victor's snapshot of his second shipment
of holiday gifts for his authors came
complete with rainbows!
From Facebook
 I
am rereading Carolyn Howard-Johnson's
How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally
and Ethically; I'm adding little flags
to ideas I especially want to remember
and use. It's a good thing I have more
of those flags! ~ Joy V. Smith, author
Joy reviewed How to Get Great Book
Reviews Frugally and Ethically and then
posted this on her Facebook page. What a
gift!
"Our North Street
contest partner Carolyn
Howard-Johnson's latest
book, How
to Get Great Book
Reviews Frugally and
Ethically,
was favorably reviewed
at Bassocantor,
the
blog of Amazon "Hall of
Fame" top reviewer Chris
Lawson. "I can see that
the author is a very
wise person, who also
understands marketing
and the review
process...How to Get
Great Book Reviews is
the BEST material I have
seen on this subject—by
far." Everyone who
enters their
self-published book in
our North
Street contest will
receive a free PDF
of How to Get Great Book
Reviews. ~ Adam Cohen,
WinningWriters.com
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Reviews
of
How to Get Great Book
Reviews Frugally and Ethically
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Reviewed by Dr. Bob Rich, Editor of Bobbing Around
This, third, volume in Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s “How to do
it frugally” series is written in her usual clear, chatty
style. Like the other two books in the series, it is not a
read-and-put-away book, but a detailed instruction manual.
You cannot learn from reading but only from doing, and
Carolyn offers step by step recipes for what to do when, and
how to do it.
Clearly, I am not going to give a synopsis of 340 pages of
helpful advice, and the title says it all. This is a map to
guide you along the journey of obtaining and using reviews
as part of book promotion. It is however full of gems worth
reading in their own right. Here are just three examples:
1. Her advice on plagiarism is so good that I asked her if I
could reproduce it on my blog
https://bobrich18.wordpress.com
2. Then there is the idea, new to me, that lists of
neighbors, fellow parents at your kids' school, generally,
members of groups you belong to, are all potential lists of
reviewers. Brilliant!
3. How about this advice when contacting a potential
reviewer: “Please let me know if there is anything else you
need. I have a media kit I can send by post or attachment,
high and low res cover images and headshots, and a sell
sheet with complete metadata if you wish.”
I've been writing and seeking reviews for many years, and
simply didn't know about all the many aspects this book
covers. Mind you, publicity hound (let's be polite,
publicity expert) Carolyn uses this book to direct the
reader to her previous publications. Depending on your point
of view, this could be a negative, or a shining example.
My overall assessment is that this is a very useful tool in
a writer's toolkit. |
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INTRODUCTION
FOR
How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically |
Before We Get Started
“The old idea that this is the best
of times and the wort of times is too simple for
publishing. This is the first time since the early
days of printing that authors have as much control
over their own success as they are ever likely to
have.” ~ CHJ
Reviews have traditionally been the
critiques your book receives from professionals in
the publishing industry. In this age of indie films,
indie music, and indie publishing we have indie
reviewers, too. That is, readers get to critique
your work publically, primarily on online bookstores
and blogs.
Reviews can be magic (and they can be
downers). They can bring you as much joy (and as
much pain) as the actual writing process. They can
be the instruments of your book’s success. They can
inform, change, and mold your future writing
technique. Poor reviews (or the lack of reviews) are
sometimes blamed for a failed writing career.
If that seems like an overstatement
consider this. Marketing is a huge part of a book’s
success, and getting reviews is a huge part of
marketing a book or any other business. If you don’t
believe it, ask a plumber who has had poor reviews
on Yelp!.
Many authors grew up dreaming
of one day having a book
reviewed in the book section of their local
newspaper. It may surprise them that traditional
book reviews that once determined the trajectory of
a book’s success aren’t as important as they once
were because there are now so many other ways to
reach readers beyond traditional bookish journals.
We talk about some of those alternatives in this
book.
That’s not to suggest authors should
give up on getting reviews. Authoritative and
credible reviews can be influential and one of the
most useful tools in your marketing kit.
Most writers think of reviews as
teaching tools for
prospective readers, but when a reviewer cares
enough to critique a writer’s work—anything from
dialogue to structure—it is a precious gift. (Later
in this book, we’ll talk about ways to assure that
they work for you and not against you.) When writers
get in a huff and ignore these critiques, they do so
at their own peril.
Would you get in a huff? Sure. Go
ahead. Have a little tizzy. Get it off your chest
(privately). But disregard or discount the critical
parts of your reviews? Please don’t do that until
you have given those critiques careful
consideration, maybe even run them by an
accomplished writer or editor to see if they think
the criticism can be used for the betterment of your
next work or if they warrant a rewrite of the book
you (perhaps too hurriedly) published on your own.
If you decide the reviewer’s input is
frivolous or uninformed after you have done due
diligence then—and only then—should you discard (and
forget) this unpleasant experience. More often
reviews will be a source of pride and extremely
useful. (This book shows you exactly how to put them
to use.)
The review process is both a
collaborative and networking effort.
When we realize that reviewing—both the getting and
giving of reviews—is a way to connect with others in
the publishing industry, we become aware that we can
learn from those who review our books. If we’re
smart, we learn from them, keep in touch with them,
and call upon them in need.
You may also be surprised that I
include a section on writing reviews in this
book when its title focuses on getting them. That
discussion includes suggestions for developing your
reviewing skills and there are suggestions in
Appendix One that will hone your review-writing
skills.
So, just why should we care? Well,
getting reviews is part of marketing a book
and that includes the networking aspect of the
process. But writing reviews can do that for
us, too. It’s true. Writing reviews increases
our review-getting success incrementally.
Many writers may write reviews to help finance their
love of writing in the early part of their careers.
Sometimes they love doing it and learn so much from
doing it that they never give it up. Occasionally it
is the writing of reviews that gives them the
prestige they seek in the publishing industry.
But here’s the best reason for
writing reviews of others’ books: It
increases the chances for having our own books read
more widely. Yes, that networking thing again, but
also the magic of Internet links and Amazon. Keep
reading.
We all know that publishing has
made cosmic changes in the
last decades. In the second edition of my multi
award-winning The Frugal Book Promoter (bit.ly/FrugalBookPromo),
I devote a section on how to get reviews and itemize
some new methods that didn’t exist in the old
traditional-publishing world. It wasn’t the
good-old-days. Not when a few big publishers had
complete control over the publishing of a book and a
few big review journals had complete sway over
whether a book would sell to bookstores or get shelf
space in libraries and therefore be accessible to
readers.
I don’t have to enumerate how
different things are now—in terms of both publishing
in general and of getting reviews—because you are in
the throes of experiencing them. Thanks to
self-publishing. Thanks to online bookstores and
their amateur review models. Thanks to both
grassroots bloggers and the big, powerful ones with
many thousands of subscribers.
Of course, it’s always been true that
authors who contributed to their own success had a
better chance of seeing their writing stars rise and
retain their sparkle for a long, long time. Think
Charles Dickens. Or don’t. Think Mark Twain
instead.
Laura Skandera Trombley, president of
Pitzer College in Claremont, California, and a noted
Mark Twain scholar, says the image we have of this
American icon is the one we have “because that’s the
image [Twain himself] wanted people to have,” and
that Twain was a man “so gifted at marketing himself
that nearly a century after his death, his name
still evokes his white-haired likeness.”
You can do the same thing given the
motivation and the knowledge necessary to sway the
media. Reviewers are part of the media. By
understanding marketing and PR and knowing the basic
skills for getting reviews, we have in our hands the
Mark Twain magic—only in many ways the new model
offered by the world of computers is enormously more
powerful and costs less in both time and money.
Today we authors have even more power and control
over creating, publishing, and promoting our own
books from the moment they’re conceived to however
long their theme or topic is pertinent. Twain would
have been envious.
This book is structured
so authors can select chapters
that address aspects of their review-getting plan,
aspects most needed at any given time. It’s meant to
function as a perpetual reference for authors who
want their books to soar and do not want their
careers to languish. It shows authors how the review
process can be one of the easiest and most
successful tools for making that happen.
If I refer to something covered in
depth elsewhere, I give you a prompt for finding it.
I also include an Index. I hope it makes it easy for
you to find tips for different kinds of
review-getting situations as you need them. As an
example: When you scan this Index, you may notice
the words “media kits” (less accurately known as
press kits) and wonder what media kits have to do
with reviews. I urge you to use the page indicators
to find every entry on that topic in this book. That
way you can be sure you are applying the magic of
reviews to your media kit in as many ways as
possible. Without that cue, you may pass over the
references to media kits as you read.
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 not a textbook. It
contains opinions—some as black and white as the
page you find them on. It is me talking to you,
sharing with you. I had no desire to write a tome
that would make people hearken back to their boring
(and heavy!) high school texts.
I may not cover every possible idea
for getting reviews. In fact I avoid anything I have
not tried as a professional publicist in promoting
my own books, in writing reviews for others’ books,
and in managing my own New Book Review (thenewbookreview.blogspot.com).
I started that review blog because I could no
longer accommodate all the requests I get from
readers of my HowToDoItFrugally series of books for
readers. My journalism training comes into play,
too. Just as judges are expected to recuse
themselves from cases where they may have a vested
interest because they can’t be considered impartial,
so it is for me with writers I know. You will,
however, find lots of new (or rarely used) ways to
get and use reviews that have not been scorched,
stirred, and then warmed over.
You must find review-getting paths
that fit your
interests, skills, pocketbook, and your book’s
title. I expect you to pick and choose from the many
suggestions I give you for using reviews, too. I
want my experience to save you time and heartache. I
also don’t want you to spend money on a review
that—if not downright fake—lacks credibility among
the gatekeepers that many reviews are meant to
persuade.
Fake reviews? Now that I have your
attention, keep reading!
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Excerpt
from
How to Get Great Book
Reviews Frugally and Ethically
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Chapter Four
Free Books, Shifty Reviewers, and Other Scams
“‘Buyer beware’ never felt truer than it
does to authors starting out in an industry that is new
to them. The trick is discerning perceived dangers from
real dangers and the extent of the latter.” ~ CHJ
Remember Mary Englebreit? She’s the
greeting card artist who drew a feisty little girl who
stamped her foot and said, “Get over it.” This is the
chapter that helps you manage your fears (and your
frugal book budget). It is here to help you avoid all
the aspects of getting reviews you most want to avoid or
at least make the ones you can’t avoid more palatable.
Englebreit would agree you can “get over” just about
anything you understand better.
SENDING YOUR BOOK TO STRANGERS
The idea of letting anyone—even
professionals—get a glimpse of your precious book may
seem a foreign concept to you.
People you don’t know might steal your
ideas or plagiarize your work. And you’re especially
worried about doing it before it’s published.
This fear isn’t limited to the review
process. Fear of plagiarism is a topic of discussion
among the writers I meet on the Web, in my critique
groups, in my classes, or wherever authors get together
to further their careers. Some writers are crippled by
the fear that someone will steal their idea or
plagiarize their work. That fear keeps some from sending
their manuscripts to publishers and agents, from
trusting professional editors and teachers to advise
them, and from seeking spotlights that might assure the
success of their books.
Of course, you should take precautions,
but worrying about plagiarism or giving away an idea
instead of focusing on the joy of sharing your talent
with others can be destructive to both your creativity
and to the business of building your career in the
publishing world. I would rather have a million people
read one of my poems in a Dear Abby column credited only
as “Anonymous” than have it read not at all. Having our
voices heard is more important than selling books.
Having our voices heard is sharing our souls. I
fervently hope more writers will come to share this
view.
The kind of plagiarism that authors worry
about is quite rare. It’s hard to steal an idea. For one
thing, there are no truly new ideas in the world. If you
don’t believe me, read Joseph Campbell’s works (which
you should do anyway). He divides all of literature from
Greek plays onward into a few categories with a few
basic elements. It’s unlikely your work is so unique
that it doesn’t fit into one of them.
Further, ideas cannot be copyrighted. A
recent court case reaffirmed this notion. If it had not,
much of Shakespeare’s works would be considered
plagiarism and, because science fiction writers often
borrow theories from those who win Nobel prizes in
physics, that genre could no longer exist as we know it.
Many kinds of borrowings are not
plagiarism but the result of the similar way our brains
function. You’ve probably heard the story of monkey
colonies on one island who take up the same habits of
monkeys on another island with no understandable way for
them to have communicated.
You should know that anyone who uses your
idea—including a prospective reviewer—would surely write
a different book than yours. Bolster your confidence by
trying this exercise: Ask three writers to pen a piece
using a very specific subject—maybe even something
you’ve considered writing yourself. My critique group
used a story about how, as a child, one of our members
sneaked into a neighbor’s house and ate frosted
strawberries out of the Fridge. We then set a lunch date
and read each work aloud. In spite of the similar plot
lines, the voices, characters, and details were so
different we wondered why we had been concerned about a
fellow writer stealing an idea. Usually, a writer won’t
be interested in writing someone else’s stuff, anyway.
Most writing, after all, is about self-expression.
Often when a case of plagiarism occurs
among those who have the public trust, it gets lots of
press. However, by the time the perpetrator is found
innocent, the case has lost its news value, and we never
hear about the accused’s exoneration. Thus, authors feel
bombarded with reports of
plagiarism-that-never-happened.
Plagiarism is most rampant in academia.
If you need proof, google “plagiarism.” Yep, a few
famous cases and lots more stories about kids trying to
make the grade at school. We cannot condone such theft,
but we authors should not allow the idea of plagiarism
to doom the progress of our writing careers. Generally
it is only the poor young schmuck who grabbed down
someone else’s work who suffers—whether or not he is
caught.
Another consideration. If someone should
swipe a few of your words or an idea, his chances of
becoming rich, famous, and envied because of them are no
better than yours. If he should, that sets him up for
legal action worth pursuing. If he doesn’t get rich on
your work, you have the satisfaction of knowing he
didn’t and won’t need to bother your talented head about
chasing after a pauper. You might even benefit. The
publicity surrounding such a case could be the lucky
stroke that makes you the rich, famous, and
envied author.
Simply put, you take precautions. You
copyright your work at the Library of Congress site (loc.gov).
When you are researching the reviewer you hope will
review your book, you check a couple journals or Web
sites where she publishes the reviews she writes. Don’t
worry too much. This process is more about getting a
handle on whether your book will actually be reviewed
and will be published somewhere—a prestigious journal or
online at Amazon, Goodreads, or the reviewer’s own blog.
If you’ve done even rudimentary research your chances of
being plagiarized or wasting a good book on someone who
was only fishing for a freebie will be reduced even
more.
PAYING FOR ALL THOSE FREE BOOKS
I know. Brrr. The idea of giving away a
book you toiled over and loved may not appeal to you.
The idea might tempt you into trying to con reviewers
into accepting an e-copy rather than a paperback or
ARC.
Don’t do it. In
fact, try not to think of it this way. You are getting
at least as much for the cost of your book from the
reviewer including reading, writing, and posting time.
For one thing e-books are more dangerous
in terms of copy-and-paste plagiarizing than a print
book. It seems that someone who plagiarizes is
inherently lazy and it is lots easier to copy-and-paste
from an e-copy than it is to type a chosen sentence,
paragraph, or book from scratch. But the real reason you
want to give a reviewer a copy of your book in the
format they prefer is that you want her to be happy
reading it.
I am a Vine reviewer for Amazon.com and I
can tell you from experience that I am not as favorably
influenced when a company skimps on sending the
instruction booklet that goes with, say, a piece of
exercise equipment. Books are products, too. A reviewer
will be subtly prejudiced against a book with a crumpled
cover or one that shows up with no cover letter, sell
sheet, or media kit. (Not to worry. More is coming on
how to make a great impression wherever you might need
to send a review copy.)
Some reviewers go to pains to remind you
not to “deface” your review copy in any way. Midwest
Book Review is one of those. They ask you not to mark or
label it as a review copy. Try to think of it this way:
A reviewer is giving you a gift. They put hours into
reading your book and more time and consideration into
writing the review. Often (not always) their pay is only
the book you send them. If they should decide to pass
along your book to charity or to a friend, they are
doing you a favor. That sharing of your book is a
recommendation for your book and the more people who see
your book, read your book, like your book, and tell
someone else about your book, the more successful your
book will be.
PAY-FOR REVIEW SCAMS ABOUND
Authors are a profitable target for scam
artists because the publishing industry is burgeoning.
There are just so many naïve authors to rope in. Because
so many of them are new at publishing, they often can’t
discern real help from . . . er, disingenuous offers.
Some who offer that help—help like
pay-for reviews—are well-intentioned folks. They may
even be hard-working writers trying to make additional
income. Some are out-and-out cons. Regardless of their
motives, they lure authors who believe their books are
doomed to failure without reviews into these
little-or-no value schemes.
There may be a few pay-for review
services that are worth the money—in particular those
that package the review you pay for with other
services—but think about it. It is difficult for a
reviewer employed by the author or publisher of that
book not to be influenced by that relationship. When
readers or industry influencers aren’t sure they are
getting honest reviews, they don’t consider them
credible. That is why paid-for reviews fly in the face
of accepted journalism ethics.
Most of these paid-for-review plans are
out-and-out scams even when they are offered by
reputable journals. Booksellers, librarians, and some
readers know paid-for reviews when they see them (even
when they see them in Kirkus and Publishers
Weekly).
Reviews in these trusted journals can
easily cost $400 or more. They are often relegated to
inferior status in the very same journals that are happy
to take your hard-earned money for the privilege of
giving you such shabby service. By that, I mean they put
them into a section apart from the legitimate “honest
and fair” reviews.
Some offer special stars or praise to a
select few of their authors who have paid for reviews.
So few of those books are so honored that the system
smacks of the snake-oil promises of old. Buy first and
learn how useless the product is later. In the meantime,
the unfortunate author’s book is devalued in the eyes of
the very gatekeepers the author is trying to impress by
spending their advance or out-of-pocket money on a
review.
Paid-for reviews are especially
lamentable because there is no need to put yourself in a
regrettable position like this. Authors can tweet a
request for a book review. You offer a copy of your
beautiful book in exchange for a review and will
probably get more acceptances than you bargained for.
These reader reviews may not appear in the big journals,
but they can be used in all the ways an in-the-know
author uses reviews for and they are likely to be more
honest.
Authors often get tricked into buying
(and participating in) all kinds of promotional services
that are unethical, don’t sell many books, and aren’t
useful as lasting marketing practices. One such scam
from a well-known publisher offers to send your book to
Oprah—including guaranteed delivery, but—of course—they
don’t mentions guaranteed consideration! I picture your
book arriving on her threshold in a box with books of
fifty other hopeful (and gullible authors—a box that
will immediately get sent to Goodwill or returned. I
could mention other such “opportunities,” but I don’t
want to give them any traction. As they say, “Buyer
beware.” Now you know they are rampant you’ll be more
likely to know ‘em when you see ‘em—even if they have
nothing to do with reviews.
Review-and-opinion sites, online
bookstores, and online popularity contests like the
annual one run by Preditors and Editors that seems to
encourage ballot box stuffing do a disservice to the
publishing industry as a whole. You waste your time
corralling votes for an “honor” that has no credibility.
I’ve also seen real benefits offered by Web sites like
Amazon.com disappear after authors abused them.
Be alert to anything that feels
manipulative. If your book is going nowhere, do
something positive for it instead. Take a writing class.
Go to a conference on publishing like the one IBPA
(Independent Book Publishers of America) offers every
year to learn more about the industry you have chosen to
be part of. Learn the time-honored publicity techniques
in The Frugal Book Promoter (bit.ly/FrugalBookPromo).
Learn more about how to maximize the effect of the
reviews you want—the ones you can get without paying
someone to rave about your work. I show you how to do
that in the next few chapters of this book. Your career
will soar—ethically.
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Very
Frugal Endorsement! |
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I
must confess: I'm a big fan of all of Howard-Johnson's
Frugal books. As a relatively obscure author with a
limited marketing budget and niche titles that only a
miracle could elevate to bestseller status, I've gleaned
so much valuable information from the the Frugal
series (The Frugal Book Promoter, The Frugal Editor, and
How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically)
that I'm able to supplement my meager Social Security
income to the tune of seven or eight thousand additional
dollars every year--which is a very big deal. And the
more I actually put her tried-and-true systems and
processes into practice, the higher my income from book
sales climbs. So I'm sticking with her lessons
because I have every intention of heeding Captain
Picard's command, "Make it so!"
~Kristine M. Smith,
LGBT Memoirist |
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Contents
for
How to Get Great Book
Reviews Frugally and Ethically |
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Contents
Before We Get Started
SAMPLE QUERY LETTER:
AUTHOR TO LITERARY AGENT
SAMPLE QUERY LETTER:
PUBLISHER TO REVIEW JOURNALS
SAMPLE COVER LETTER:
FOR PACKAGE GOING TO REVIEWER
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More Resources |
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Tip
Use excerpts from reviews as blurbs
(endorsements) everywhere. In your media kit, in the header
of your stationery, printed on your checks. How to Get Great
Book Reviews will tell you how to manage those excerpts and
give you even more ideas about where to put them. Learn to
do this professionally in
How to Get Great Book
Reviews Frugally and Ethically.
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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Unsolicited Praise
for
How to Get Great Book Reviews
Frugally and Ethically |
"As one of your biggest fans, I humbly nominate you for the next Nobel
literature prize. In a world where women's intelligence is often
marginalized, "Imperfect Echoes" resounds with thoughtful and heartfelt
desires to make sense of our world. ~ Marlan Warren, Reviewer Roadmap
Girl
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A Brief
Biography
Focusing
On Carolyn's
Book Marketing
Experience |
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson brings
her experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer,
and retailer to the advice she gives in her
HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers and the many
classes she taught for nearly a decade as instructor
for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program and
writers' conferences across the US. The books in her
HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers have won
multiple awards. That series includes both the first and
second editions of
The Frugal Book Promoter
and
The Frugal Editor.
They won awards from USA Book News, Readers’ Views
Literary Award, the marketing award from Next Generation
Indie Books and others including the coveted Irwin award.
How To Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically the
third in her HowToDoItFrugally series for writers was
introduced in a prepublish campaign by Bookbaby.com for the
benefit of their authors.
Howard-Johnson is the recipient
of the California Legislature’s Woman of the Year in Arts
and Entertainment Award, and her community’s Character and
Ethics award for her work promoting tolerance with her
writing. She was also named to Pasadena Weekly’s list
of “Fourteen San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen”
and was given her community’s Diamond Award for Achievement
in the Arts. She has also been a speaker on Princess Cruise
lines.
The author loves to travel. She
has visited eighty-nine countries and has studied writing at
Cambridge University in the United Kingdom; Herzen
University in St. Petersburg, Russia; and Charles
University, Prague. She admits to carrying a pen and journal
wherever she goes. Her Web site is
www.howtodoitfrugally.com.
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Buy Links for Carolyn's Books |
"Careers
that are not fed die as readily as
any living organism
given no sustenance."
~
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Studio photography by
Uriah Carr
3 Dimensional Book Cover Images by iFOGO
Logo by
Lloyd King
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Frugal
E-Book Tip |
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Kindle E-Books
Aren't
Just for Kindle Anymore
Did you know that Amazon’s Kindle
e-books are a low-cost/no-cost way to access books
even if you don’t have a dedicated Kindle reader?
You can read Kindle's e-books on smartphones,
desktop computers and any e-device in between. You
can even store the books on the Amazon cloud.
~
Quote from
Diana Schneidman, author
of
Real Skills, Real Income: A Proven Marketing System
to Land Well-Paid Freelance and Consulting Work in
30 Days or Less |
To
subscribe to Carolyn's FREE online newsletter send an
e-mail.
Learn more about Carolyn's
newsletter and blog.
Read
past issues of Carolyn's
Newsletter.
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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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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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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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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
Philadelphia, Nov. 2017
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 David for inexpensive viral book
marketing!
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Marketing Tip |
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Carolyn Loves Author Learning Center. She 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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