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May 24, 2010
Sharing with Writers
A newsletter that is also a community. Share your ideas. Learn from theirs! Associated with the multi award - winning series of HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers, www.howtodoitfrugally.com


From the Desks of
Carolyn Howard - Johnson
and Sharing with Writers Subscribers

In the spirit of the advice I give in the Frugal Editor - - that is to use an extra pair of eyes whenever possible - - this newsletter is voluntarily copyedited by Mindy Phillips Lawrence ~ mplcreative1@aol.com ~ www.freewebs.com/mplcreative. I also tell writers to be patient with other writers when they make editing boo - boos. We're all human. This letter comes out weekly (except when I'm traveling or on deadline) and it's long!
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Contents
Regular Features
~Note from Carolyn
~Letters - to - the - Editor
~Thank Yous (where you also find leads and great resources!)
~Tips and News Galore! (They're scattered, you'll just have to find them!)
~Opportunities: If Your Book Has Anything To Do With Military
~On Poetry
~Author Successes
~Mindy Lawrence's Itty Bitty Column, “On Being A Frugalismo: Self Promotion III - - Photos”
~Carolyn's Appearances and Teaching
~Wordstuff ™
~Ideas for Cleaner Copy, Part III from Patrika Vaughn
This Issue
~Feature: Your Marketing: On Pricing Policies
~Feature: Suzette Martinez Standring Weighs In on Point of View
~Information from Amazon: Author Connect and Improving Your Profile
and Sales Page
~Feature: Jim of Midwest Review Weighs In on Independent Author Guidelines



Note: You may have better luck with the URLs in this newsletter if you copy and paste. I leave the links long rather than use hyperlinks in this letter because it is available in plain text in your e - mail window as well as by .pdf when you copy and paste the link provided below.
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Note from Carolyn


Dear Subscribers:

I am including a review of my new little booklet meant for you to pop into your briefcase and read on the run. At only $6.95, I know it will help you avoid embarrassing errors but even more than that, the very existence of this review is due to the power of networking. By keeping in touch with Jim Cox over the years, I eventually learned that he loves to review writing - related how - to books himself. I take his newsletter. And I read it! I also take my own advice and send him comments occasionally. It’s never hard to do. He always has something important to say to readers. You’ll see another sample of that in one of the guest features in this issue, too!

~Great Little Last - Minute Editing Tips for Writers: The Ultimate Frugal Booklet for Avoiding Word Trippers and Crafting Gatekeeper - Perfect Copy
~By Carolyn Howard - Johnson
~ISBN: 9781450507653, $6.95
~www.budurl.com/WordTrippersPB

Reviewed for Library Bookwatch, May 1010 by James A. Cox, Editor - in - Chief, Midwest Book Review

A successful author, editor, writing and publishing consultant, Carolyn Howard - Johnson draws upon her many years of experience and expertise to compile a 56 - page compendium of 'user friendly' and immanently practical advice that will enable writers to avoid commonly encountered errors of spelling and thereby making their work, be it a blog, a letter, or the next Great American Novel, to be all that it should. From adapting/adopting to wreak/reek, "Great Little Last - Minute Editing Tips For Writers" is highly recommended reading for anyone preparing to write pretty much anything - - and a fascinating read in its own right for those who appreciate word - play and the occasionally encountered dilemmas of the English language!

This review and all Midwest's reviews are archived on the Midwest Book Review Web site for five years after the review: http://www.midwestbookreview.com
Great Reading, Book Promoting and Editing to You!
Carolyn Howard - Johnson

PS: The twice - a - year AllTips edition of Sharing with Writers is coming. Please tell your writing friends about it. Give them a little nudge to subscribe so they get started with a bang. I’ll sign them up. Just have them put SUBSCRIBE in the subject line of an e - mail and send it to me at hojonews @ AOL.com

PPS: Only four more places at our Roman Retreat in October. You know you want to be with us. We’ll take a few minutes to toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain and wish for, well, you know what! The inexpensive room on the lower level is taken, but the fees are still very reasonable for Rome. We’re sharing the cost of the gorgeous townhouse right in the historical center of Rome. Please, if you’ve been considering it, look again on my blog at http://sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com/2010/02/roman - retreat - e - books - and - yes - promotion.html or just go directly to www.budurl.com/RomanRetreat. If you’re thinking about coming, quit it and just sign up!


===================================================== 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
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Letter to the Editor ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hi Carolyn,

Maggie Ball sent me a note about you wanting to use the review on your blog. You are more than welcome to use it whenever and wherever!

I truly enjoyed Imagining the Future. Both you and Maggie capture such beautiful imagery in your writing. Your poem 'Long Before They Shut the Napster Down', with the references to Lullaby of Birdland and Smokey Joe's, really made me smile. And “Reincarnation” was particularly personal for me. This probably sounds crazy - but when my grandfather passed away, dragonflies became a symbol for me from him.

If you'd like me to place the review somewhere, just let me know. Otherwise, feel free to use it as you like!

Have a great day.

Darcia Helle
Website: http://www.QuietFuryBooks.com
Blog: http://www.QuietFuryBooks.com/blog
Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/DarciaHelle
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/darcia.helle


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Needing something more meaningful for the celebrations in your life? Something that stays within your budget? Imagining the Future: Ruminations on Fathers and Other Masculine Apparitions for Father’s Day (www.budurl.com/Imagining) ($6.95). Cherished Pulse (www.budurl.com/CherishedPulse) ($6.95) for someone you love. She Wore Emerald Then (www.budurl.com/MotherChapbook) ($12.95), for mothers and other women. It’s the Celebration Series of poetry from Magdalena Ball and me.
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In the News: Time magazine talks about the influence index in their 100 Most Influential People issue. They say, “Twitter . . . can provide some basic information about the breadth of a person’s brand.” They admit, though, that such statistics are skewed. Places like Facebook and Twitter “tend to reward the young rather than the old, artists and entertainers rather than scientists and thinkers.” They make the point that Lady Gaga has nearly as many Twitter followers as Barack Obama but is “probably not” as influential. What they were interested in is “who has more ability to change the course of our conversations at a moment’s notice” and note that, “in an interconnected world, that’s what influence is all about.”


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There is a page of contests on the Resource for Writers page on my Web site: http://www.carolynhowardjohnson.redenginepress.com/contests.htm Follow the links on that page to other valuable lists on my site, too. =====================================================


Feature

Your Marketing: On Pricing Policies ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
My writing friend and faithful SWW subscriber Nadine Laman (Thank you, Nadine!) sent me this news. Borders Australia announces it a new pricing policy in direct competition to Amazon at http://mhpbooks.com/mobylives/?p=15017. Here’s my take on it.

For authors and publishers, getting this competitive on price and doing it this way only means a reduced net profit. It means a reduced net profit for even big guys like Borders Australia as well. A few customers will welcome what they see as a lower price, but most will never follow up on a refund (or merely buy from Amazon after Borders has literally sent them there to check prices!). Those who understand this retail ploy will see it as manipulative rather than a straight - forward "better price for all" policy.

A lesson here for retailers (and many authors are retailers for their own books!) is that those TV beat - the - price ads for mattresses and other items - - including this Borders policy - - appeal to the few. They may feel like an assurance that the retail outlet will do its best to price low, but most know a gimmick when they see it. Most know that expensive ads must be paid for, that the retailer must make a profit just as their competitors must.
Further, a gimmick like this sends some prospective customers to the competitor to check for prices. He or she may well stay there and buy if the price is the same. If the price is the same too often, the entire process will start to look like a game, if not collusion. If the price is only a few pennies less (as it probably will be with something as low - priced as a book), it will look like trickery.

The most important reason that this is a poor policy is that, surprise! Customers want service. They want fast shipping. They want ease of checkout. Yes, they want low prices, too. But to focus on price like this seems a very, very bad move. And a dangerous one. Bookstores (like the rest of us) can ill afford a downward spiral in our profit margins even considering high volume.
Just to be clear, this kind of marketing is quite different from the give - soemthing - away free I often espouse. And please note, I don’t say give everything away free!


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Please paste this little blurb - - perhaps with a little endorsement - - in your newsletter or Web site: To subscribe to Sharing with Writers send an e - mail with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line to HoJoNews@aol.com or go to www.howtodoitfrugally.com for an auto subscribe box. Let me know you did it. I will be able to do something similar for you on my Resources for Readers page at www.howtodoitfrugally.com.
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New Series

Ideas for Cleaner Copy, Part III ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Patrika Vaughn will submit short entries for the benefit of her fellow Sharing with Writers subscribers until she runs out of stodgy, wordy or otherwise unattractive constructions. The numbering in each installment takes up where the last column left off. You don’t want to miss any! ( - :

By eliminating stodgy phrases from your letters, e - mails, and even fiction writing, you can make everything you write significantly better.

9. "Enclosed please find." - This phrase, more than any other in the world of business writing, epitomizes the lawyer - like way people start to write when they are either desperate to avoid using a pronoun like "I" or simply love to repeat phrases they’ve seen in other litters without ever thinking for themselves. After all, what do you have to "find"?
Reminds me of a joke: A guy goes into a restaurant and orders a steak dinner. Later, the waiter walks over table, smiles obsequiously, and asks "How did you find your steak?" The guy looks at the waiter and says, "I just moved the mashed potatoes - - and there it was!"
When The Beatles were returning home after coming to the United States, a journalist asked them: "How did you find America?" One the Fab Four answered, "We turned left at Greenland."

Enough said! There’s nothing to "find." Use "enclosed is..." or "I’ve enclosed."

10. "Under separate cover" - - When you write, "I am sending you this "under separate cover," you are perpetuating a formalistic and old fashioned phrase. When I hear the word "cover," I think of a big spaghetti pot and that reminds me to "boil down" the thought to read, "I am sending you it separately [or by FedEx, etc.]"

11. Contact the undersigned (Send it to the undersigned) - - News flash: you are the undersigned! It is perfectly fine to write, Send it to me." People tend to distrust the perfectly fine words "me" and "you." To prove it, think about what you say when you run into a colleague in town. "How are you?" you say, correctly. And they probably answer: "Fine. And yourself?" Of course, it should be, “Fine. And you?"



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My blog, War, Peace, Tolerance and Our Soldiers is where I get to nag and rag and try to make things better for our troops and maybe for the world. It includes a segment of frugal ways to help our troops and veterans. I'd love to have you leave a comment. www.warpeacetolerance.blogspot.com
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Author Successes
(The author successes segment is here to praise, laud, and encourage but the success of one author may give you a resource for another. So, applaud, certainly. But also learn.)

Karen Buley’s Nurse Anthology Debuts ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Nurses on the Run ~Why They Come, Why They Stay, is an anthology of nurses' stories edited by Karen Buley. It is now available at http://www.nursesontherunbook.com. The book is a collection of stories from twenty - five nurses, and a final chapter, "We Must Speak Up," which addresses the nursing shortage and offers suggestions about what each of us can do to help alleviate it. Ten percent of proceeds will be donated to nurse educator scholarships.


Longtime Subscriber Erica Miner Publishes . . . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
. . . her new suspense novel, Murder In The Pit, the story of a young violinist at the Metropolitan Opera who inadvertently puts her life on the line when she investigates the murder of her mentor, a famous opera conductor. The book is available online at Barnes and Noble:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Murder - in - the - Pit/Erica - Miner/e/9781606191101/.
Learn more about Erica at http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=hgfixndab.0.z9pkycdab.t8tg7qbab.1371&ts=S0470&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ericaminer.com


Gina Holmes Publishes New Novel . . . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Tyndale Publishers has published Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes (www.ginaholmes.com). It was ten years in the making. The author says, “It is the story of my heart.” She blogs at www.noveljourney.blogspot.com.


Billie A. Williams Publishes Mystery . . . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
. . . called Money Isn't Everything, a Mary March Mystery, It isn’t love, it isn’t security, and it doesn’t buy loyalty. It can be a tool . . . or a murder weapon. Within minutes, security had the box of dead rats, Dolly and Ebony had their walking papers; Edith thought the abuse was now all cleared up. Mary wondered what Jayde might do next. Until they were all locked up there would be no peace for anyone at Idle - A - While Nursing Home. E - ISBN: 978 - 1 - 59705 - 443 - 2. POD - ISBN:978 - 1 - 59705 - 592 - 5

p. m. terrell’s New Book Wins Prize . . . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

River Passage by p.m. terrell recently won Best Fiction and Drama for 2010 in the Bengal Book Awards. The Nashville Metropolitan Government Archives has determined that River Passage is so historically accurate they have entered Ms. Terrell's original manuscript into the Archives for future researchers and historians.

River Passage is based on the true story of the Donelson journey that left Virginia bound for Fort Nashborough (now Nashville, TN) in the fall of 1779. Their goal was to bring businessmen and community leaders westward to expand America. Terrell's ancestors, the Neely family, were on that expedition. The trip was expected to take four weeks. Instead, more than four months after they left, a ragtag group of survivors limped into Fort Nashborough with a harrowing tale. Their river journey had taken them through hostile Indian Territory at the height of the Chickamauga Indian War. They also faced frostbite, near starvation, disease, deadly rapids - - and a mutiny. The Indians attacked them over hundreds of miles, capturing some of the settlers, killing or wounding others, and leaving a few to tell the tale.

For more information about the journey, visit http://maryneely.com/journey.htm and for more information about the author, visit www.pmterrell.com. The book is available to order at either site, at amazon (http://www.amazon.com/River - Passage - p - m - terrell/dp/097281860X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273066029&sr=1 - 1), other online stores and fine book stores.
Terrell is also the author of the historical suspense Songbirds are Free acclaimed suspense/thrillers Exit 22, Ricochet, Kickback, and The China Conspiracy and four nonfiction how - to books on using computers.



=================================================== Book Proposal Help: "The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need To Know To Sell Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less" for 49 cents at http://budurl.com/bookproposalreport =====================================================

Opportunities


If Your Book Has Anything To Do With Military . . . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . . . you may want to enter in the Branson Stars and Flags Book Awards, now in its third year. It’s associated with the Military Writers’ Society of America. Deadline is August 10. Complete guidelines and an application are available at www.bransonstarsandflags.com. A real plus. Your book need only have been written in the last ten years.


Your Articles to Help Other Authors? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hi Carolyn,

I created a new site, http://authorexcerpts.spruz.com/

A site created for authors by All Things That Matter Press where published and unpublished writers can post excerpts of their work. Feel free to post a chapter, a short story, or poems with links back to your own site or published works. Ask for reader comments and critiques or just promote your work. Please create your own profile and post information about you and what you write. Readers are encouraged to join and check out new or established authors. Publishers may also promote their books on this site. Please, absolutely no porn, racist or hate posts.

It is new but starting to grow. I invite your membership and to maybe post an excerpt as it may stimulate interest in your books.

Thanks,

Philip F. Harris, http://allthingsthatmatterpress.com
MY BLOGS: http://philipharris.blogspot.com
http://allthingsthatmatterpress.blogspot.com
http://wakinggod1.blogspot.com ,




A Fr ^^ E - Book to Inspire You . . . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Is there a goal you've wanted to reach for a long time - start a small business, reconnect with an old friend, run a 5K, finish a book? Maybe it's time to take the first step - that’s courageous, in and of itself.
Phyllis Goldberg, Ph.D. and Rosemary Lichtman, Ph.D. would like to support you on your journey. In our new e - book, Courage and Lessons Learned, you'll find practical tips about drawing on your own strengths to create the life you want.
Log on to our blog, www.NourishingRelationships.blogspot.com, join the e - mail list and download our complimentary e - book, in PDF format. Here's to the courage to begin re - writing your own story.


==================================================== Social networking is one of the best ways to make valuable contact and build a list of readers. The most supportive and interactive one I know with an associated site for displaying fiction to the movie industry is iFOFO. Subscribe at http://www.ifogo.com/buy/order_chj.html
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Tip: Brand new address and contact information for getting reviews with Library Journal:
Library Journal, 160 Varick St., 11th Floor, New York, NY 10013.
Here are LJ's Book Review Editors. Even if they change, it will give you something to Google!
Bette - Lee Fox, blfox@mediasourceinc.com
Margaret Heilbrun, mheilbrun@mediasourceinc.com
Barbara Hoffert, bhoffert@mediasourceinc.com
Anna Katterjohn, akatterjohn@mediasourceinc.com
Raya Kuzyk, rkuzyk@mediasourceinc.com
Heather McCormack, hmccormack@mediasourceinc.com
Michael Rogers, mrogers@mediasourceinc.com
Wilda Williams , wwilliams@mediasourceinc.com
www.libraryjournal.com/about/submission.asp.



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Podcasts are a great way to learn (and be refreshed) on everything from craft to poetry to promotion. Find many f r ^ ^ ones on the sites of those who support writers. You'll find a list of my most recent ones at: www.budurl.com/WritersResources You'll need to scroll down, down, down. That's OK. You may scroll through other resources you need, so read as you go.
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Quote: "I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again." - - - Oscar Wilde
My quote inspired by Oscar: “To serial comma, or not to serial comma. That is the question.”



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No part of this newsletter is paid advertising. If you would like to advertise to subscribers, display ads are available at http://www.carolynhowardjohnson.redenginepress.com/advertising.htm at less per year than most sites charge for a single month. Find classified there, too.
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E - book Tip: Time reports 176% increase in e - book sales from 2008 to '09. I don't want to disregard those readers, for sure! So, did you know it’s fr ^^ to upload your book to read on a Kindle? And that iFOGO provides several e - reader formats including iPad? And that Smashwords.com is at your service?


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Subscribers who have websites or newsletters of their own may be interested
in the F r ^^ Articles 4 Readers and Writers on my site, www.budurl.com/FreeContent . I try to add new articles to it frequently. If you don't see what you need for your blog or newsletter, just ask. HoJoNews@aol.com.
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Feature


Suzette Martinez Standring Weighs In on Point of View ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
CREATE A COMPELLING POINT OF VIEW
By Suzette Martinez Standring, Award - Winning Author, The Art of Column Writing

Wanted: a strong, personal point of view, emphasis on “personal.” No other form of journalism but column writing allows the writer’s individuality to shape both a message and a self - portrait. A columnist or blogger with a unique perspective will stand out amid the competition.

Viewpoint is different from “voice.” Voice is the writing style of the columnist. Point of view is the writer’s perspective, her fixed identity in print. For example, readers expected columnist Molly Ivins’ point of view to be politically liberal, while her writing voice conveyed a “don’t - this - beat - all” sense of humor.
Clear examples of point of view writing can be found in commentary where one’s politics color personal opinion. Advice columnists offer their special slant on handling life’s problems. Humorists personalize their view of a world gone awry.

Personal bias is acceptable in column writing. In fact, objectivity is not required, according to a majority of columnists polled in a survey by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. A columnist is not expected to give equal weight to both sides of an issue. Indeed, many fiercely opinionated columnists boast large and very loyal readerships.

However, in offering written bias, a columnist is obligated to support it with facts. Project passion, but keep it fair with research and accuracy because readers look to a columnist’s viewpoint for help in interpreting events or forming opinions.

“It requires you to be almost like a lawyer. Through your arguments, you will need to convince the jury (your readers) that your client (your viewpoint) is right. Shaping a powerful argument takes practice and requires both breadth and depth of knowledge as well as the ability to critically analyze a particular issue,” wrote Oon Yeoh, a writing consultant and columnist for Today, a Singapore daily and The Edge, a Malaysian business weekly.

Walter Brasch is a university professor of journalism and mass communications as well as an author of a biweekly syndicated newspaper column. A recipient of numerous journalism awards, Brasch strongly offers two point - of - view tips.

Fight Homogeneous Style: Don’t imitate popular columnists. Offer readers something different. “Too often columnists read each other and they start to write like each other,” he said.

Don’t modify your message: Your audience is the reader. Don’t adjust your message to please editors or just to get published. Editors fail their readers when they expect writers to mirror the styles of big newspaper columnists.

“The problem is convincing editors they need to have a vast number of views from all parts of the country from all kinds of writers,” said Brasch.

An original viewpoint is irresistible. Columnist Robin Givhan of The Washington Post won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. This was a first - ever for a fashion columnist. Her work is a good example of a writer who broke away from the pack to develop a strikingly different perspective.

Givhan has covered an international global fashion industry, presidential inaugurals and the Academy Awards as an editor and columnist for The Washington Post since 1995. Previously, she worked for Vogue, The Detroit Free Press and The San Francisco Chronicle.

Her fashion column is popular for its unique point of view: What subliminal messages do politicians and celebrities seek to send by wearing certain clothes? It’s not about designers or trends. Instead she reveals how powerful people use their fashion choices to convey symbolism, create a façade or to further a crusade. Also, clothes can symbolize a national faux pas or disrespect.

“Gown watch” during the Clinton inaugural was her light bulb moment when Washington politics and fashion came together to create her column’s point of view.
Givhan said, “I asked myself why do we care so much about what this gown looks like? I wrote a piece about it and realized the first lady’s role and her clothes are so symbolic.

“Being First Lady is not defined as a job with something specific you have to do, other than essentially represent the American people. As a symbol, as a package, you want her to reflect the best of what we think of ourselves as being. That helped me understand better why the inaugural gown was something significant.

“There are a lot of little moments like when candidates visit factories and take off their coats, roll up their sleeves and talk to blue collar guys. It’s the visual language of, “Hey, I’m a regular guy.”

“I make a unique connection between attire and its national or cultural message. I tell people about the power of that type of symbolism.”

Givhan took her long time experience in the fashion industry and created a viewpoint that is deeply insightful. Explore your own familiarity in a subject or field and offer a perspective not easily found elsewhere. A unique point of view will place a columnist ahead of the competition.

Every writer offers observations that are uniquely enriched, according to journalist and columnist Walter Brasch, “Everything that has gone into a writer’s life from birth to the present helps to develop a point of view. Whenever somebody asks me how long it took me to write a book or column, I say all my life.”

- - - - -
Suzette Martinez Standring is the award - winning author of The Art of Column Writing: Insider Secrets from Art Buchwald, Dave Barry, Arianna Huffington, Pete Hamill and Other Great Columnists. This excerpt is based on her book. Suzette is the past president of National Society of Newspaper Columnists and teaches writing workshops nationally. Visit www.readsuzette.com or email her: suzmar@comcast.net



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Fun and F r ~ ~: If you purchased the Frugal Book Promoter or the Frugal Editor, I'd love you to review it on Amazon or BN.com. Make it simple; just tell what part of it you found most valuable. If you do, send me the review link (URL) and I will send you a handout from one of my UCLA classes. As a thank you, of course. HoJoNews@aol.com
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On Poetry
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This is a running feature for the poets among us and those who would like to try writing poetry but feel, well, inadequate about the writing or the promotion. Please send in your poetry tips and resources for this section.

Kim McMillon and I had a grand time reading poetry and talking about using CreateSpace.com for chapbooks on her BlogTalk Writers Sanctuary program. You really must get acquainted with her and hear me read some of Maggie Ball’s and my poetry from our Celebration Series chapbooks: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/onword/2010/05/08/writers - sanctuary - with - kim - mcmillon
Learn more about Kim at http://kimmcmillon.wordpress.com/


Support Environmental Awareness with Your Poetry
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From Lois P. Jones:
As you may know, 2010 has been designated “The Year of Biodiversity.” A crucial and potentially historic UN - sponsored conference on the preservation of biological diversity on our planet (COP10) will be held in October in Nagoya, Japan. (See URLs below for more details). It is expected to draw 7,000 delegates from 130 nations. A meeting of this scale builds massive expectations, but as Copenhagen demonstrated, no conference is too big to fail. What can be done to help ensure a successful (binding and verifiable) outcome in Nagoya?

Kyoto Journal is a non - profit, long - established all - volunteer English - language international quarterly based in Kyoto, Japan (www.kyotojournal.org <http://www.kyotojournal.org> ). We would like to contribute to the process by creating a special themed issue on Biodiversity, to be made available at the conference and to our readers. Together with several “big - picture” essays, we hope to include a wide diversity of relevant personal viewpoints.

What ideas would you most like to communicate to COP10 participants, and to KJ readers around the world? We are inviting short, focused contributions to this issue. We seek submissions of original and illuminating ideas, in 500 words or less.

Additionally, we seek original works of poetry that touch on the theme of biodiversity. For purposes of this issue biodiversity extends beyond its ecological meaning: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity

Consider one or more of the following three broad questions:

1. What is the single best idea (or tangible success story) you know of for the preservation or restoration of biodiversity?

2. What are the most important things that we need to become aware of, or teach, in the next decade to promote biodiversity?

3. Beyond biodiversity, diversity itself (of languages, cultures, etc) is endangered. What does diversity mean to you personally, philosophically, and/or politically? How can it be effectively protected?

Our deadline for articles/poetry is May 25th. Essays that exceed 500 words may be edited for length (in consultation with the author), and/or published in full on our website. Some contributors for this issue already include Vandana Shiva (eco - feminist), Bill McKibben (author of Earth), Claire Nouvian (exploring deep oceans), Ron Tildon (reintroducing tigers in China), Satish Kumar (editor of Resurgence), Maya Lin (designer of the "What is Missing?" monument for extinct species), Caroline Fraser (author of Rewilding), Janine Benyus (Biomimicry Institute), and Gary Snyder (Pulitzer Prize - winning poet). Contributors receive a one - year subscription to Kyoto Journal.

Please feel free to also share this invitation with other thoughtful, knowledgeable, creative people, or to suggest ideas for graphics.

Please email poems to kyotojournal@sbcglobal.net and essays to submissions@kyotojournal.org





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Endorsement: I wanted to tell you how your workshops, reading your newsletter, and just chatting with you has been a great help to me. I have a background in marketing from the fashion world and even though it has helped me get my foot in the door, I honestly have to say that after getting to know you, reading your books, and everything else I just said has truly helped me put Stories for Children Magazine on the map. ~ VS Grenier, Founder and Editor - in - Chief Stories for Children Magazine. http://storiesforchildrenmagazine.org.
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Tip: When you send out your newsletter, occasionally pose a question in your subject line. It draws the reader in, feels inclusive. Ditto for some e - mail promotion.


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A general marketing rule is that a product must be seen seven times before it is purchased. That is just as true for books (because they are products, like it or not!). Let people see that book cover image! To do that, you are invited to advertise as a site sponsor at www.howtodoitfrugally.com for only $25 to $35 a year. Yep, the frugal way! Click on the Advertising tab at the top of the page or contact me personally at hojonews@aol.com.
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Using Social Media: Twitter will introduce a new feature called Points of Interest where you can view tweets coming from one geographical area. It will be especially useful for tweeting authors of books set in a specific area, tourguide books for certain areas and the like.


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Audio divas bring you audios on many aspects of building a writing career:
www.tri - studio.com/writers.html. Titles include:
~Contest Facts: How to Add “Award - winning” to Your Name;
~Do It Yourself Indexing: The Way to Sell Your Book to Libraries, Schools and Anyone Else That Buys Nonfiction;
~Fury and Destruction: How to Use Violence Effectively in Your Writing
~And more.
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Information from Amazon


Author Connect and Improving Your Profile and Sales Page
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This is the note Amazon sent to those who participate in AuthorConnect. Once again, this is a benefit that Amazon offers authors whose books are for sale on Amazon. I can’t think of any sound reason why you wouldn’t want to have this exposure to millions of your audience - - readers.
Greetings!

Here are your need - to - know Author Central updates:

• We’ve launched Author Central on Amazon.co.uk! If you have books available on Amazon.co.uk, visit https://authorcentral.amazon.co.uk to
sign up and manage an Author Page. Some of the features available in the US are not yet available in the UK. Join us in our first international
venture to promote your work and let us know what you think!

• Some of you may have stumbled onto this feature already, but here’s the official announcement: you can update content in the “Editorial Reviews” section of your books’ product pages directly in Author Central. We know that Editorial Reviews are important to a customer’s
discovery of your book on Amazon.com, and that you sometimes need to make updates or suggest corrections to them.

To learn about the feature, take a look at the Editorial Reviews help page, https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/help?topicID=200436740 You
can create up to 5 new Reviews, and request to make corrections to Reviews that have already been submitted by your publisher. You can also
update content for author - pertinent topics like “About the Author,” “From the Author,” and “Product Description.” Changes you make will
appear on the website in 1 - 2 days; if you encounter any difficulty, don’t hesitate to contact our dedicated author support team.

Since the launch of Author Central, we have solicited you for feedback on the program. We’d like to get more feedback on your experiences and insights on “authorship” via a brief survey. We take care not to spam you; rest assured that surveys like this are used to develop our services to better fit your needs. Visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/amazon_authorcentral to give us more feedback.


Sincerely,
Author Central Team
AuthorCentral.Amazon.com
https://authorcentral.amazon.com

Please note: this e - mail was sent from a notification - only address that cannot accept incoming e - mail. Please direct questions to the Author Central team at https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/help/contact - us



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I highly recommend Jozette Aaron's f r ^ ^ DeSilva's News for writers: http://jozette.webs.com/ not just because I write a column for her. =====================================================


An Itty - Bitty Column on Writing

On Being A Frugalismo: Self Promotion III - - Photos
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By Mindy Phillips Lawrence

Writers need photos for several reasons: (1) Photos are necessary for assembling media packages to promote writing work, (2) they are used to support articles the writer has written and (3) they can be used in developing a story idea. If you know your way with a digital camera, you will find it is a great help in all of these areas.

(1) When you put together your information for the media, you need a strong photo of yourself to go along with it. Think creatively about it but professionally. If you have a friend or relative that can take this shot for you, great. Make sure you get copyright permission from the photographer to use the photo commercially. Also get written permission from anyone whose picture you might use to make sure they agree to its use.

(2) When you write an article about a particular topic, it’s beneficial to have photos of the subject matter. Not only does it make writing about the topic easier, but it also gives you the potential to sell the shot along with your article. Make sure you know what the market for which you are writing wants photographically ~photo size, topic, format, etc.

(3) When you are writing a chapter in your novel, it is beneficial to have a photo album or file that has shots of the setting (like a particular house or street), characters (like photos of people and the way they looks and dress in that environment), and other points of interest. You’ll be combining many of these elements in your story, and may not use them as depicted in the photos, but an album brings so many ideas to mind to use while writing.

The frugalismo way of doing this is to get your own little digital camera and learn how to use it well, save the photos to a database so they can be retrieved easily and do all you can to find markets for them to pad your writing income. Get familiar with programs like Photoshop Elements and resizing software.
It’s not a bad idea to have an album for each piece you are writing. You’ll have a visual representation of what you are working on that you can come back to when you need to refresh your memory while you write.
Good luck on your photographic efforts…!

LINKS

Photobucket
http://photobucket.com/

Shrink Pictures
http://www.shrinkpictures.com/

BH Photo/Video
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Digital - Cameras/ci/991/N/4291645412

Photo Sharing – Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/

Zoomonga
http://www.zoomonga.com/

Photoshop Elements
http://tryit.adobe.com/us/photoshopelements/?sdid=EPZYQ

Taking Digital Photos
http://www.imphotorepair.com/digitalcameratips.html


~ Mindy Phillips Lawrence, www.freewebs.com/mplcreative, is the author of the poetry collections One Blue Star and Above and Below. She is co - author of The Complete Writer and a publicist and literary agent. She is in the process of researching a novel titled Alone is Where We Begin. Blogging at: http://mplcreative.blogspot.com/.
Her specialty is helping writers with their media releases. Reach her at mplcreative1@aol.com.


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Yes, I do consult. I tailor my fees to your needs - - everything from coaching to full edits (sorry no partial edits) to hour consultations to help you with your marketing campaign or your path to publishing. http://budurl.com/carolynsconsulting
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Feature

Jim of Midwest Review Weighs In on Independent Author Guidelines ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This is from Jim’s Midwest Review newsletter, which I highly recommend. It is printed with Jim Cox’s permission. To subscribe go to http://www.midwestbookreview.com. He also reviews writing - related books.

Dear Publisher Folk, Friends & Family:

I want to make a few observations and comments about why it is so difficult for self - published authors to successfully attract the attention of book reviewers, distributors, wholesalers, and retail booksellers. - - And then some suggestions on what to do about it.

As well as authors that set up their own publishing company to produce their books, I include in the category of self - published authors those that utilize POD companies like iUniverse, AuthorHouse, Trafford, Infinity, Booksurge, Outskirts, PublishAmerica, Lulu, Vantage, Tate, and the dozens of other companies who, for a price, will take any author's manuscript and turn it into a book.

It is very well known (or should be) that the Midwest Book Review has championed self - published authors from our very beginning in 1976 down to the present day, and will continue to do so for as long as I remain its editor - in - chief.

Our current book review publications for May 2010 feature reviews for 47 POD published titles and reviews for 6 books whose self - published authors didn't even bother to create a publishing company name for themselves and so were identified in the 'info block' that is a part of all our reviews as being 'Privately Published'.

There's about a half - dozen reviews for self - published books that didn't even have snail - mail addresses available for their 'info blocks' - - only email ones.

Those self - published authors who did make up their own company names (complete with intact address contact information), the number of reviews runs to somewhere around a hundred or so.

Therefore my comments on why self - published authors tend to labor under a prejudice within the publishing industry are well - meant by a truly sympathetic observer.

Here they are:

1. Substandard covers which render a book to be uncompetitive on esthetic grounds to the casual bookstore browser. You can have pure literary gold inside, but if the outside screams 'amateur' or is otherwise repellent, it will get passed over as it's competition on the shelf proves more attractive in seducing the buyer's attention. This lack of competitive appeal also applies to reviewers, bookstore managers, and everyone else in the between the publisher and the reader, when consider to accept or reject a title.

2. Interior flaws that run the gamut from excessive typos, to grammatical errors, to exasperating font selection.

3. Content categories that are flooded in the marketplace with competition and/or have limited mainstream audience appeal. The market for poetry is minuscule. The demand for personal memoirs of overcoming medical, psychological, or flawed upbringing adversities is even smaller. Because of the ease of desk - top publishing, each year sees works of general fiction increasingly flooding a marketplace where each of those years sees a smaller percentage of people spending their leisure time reading general fiction.

4. Ignorance and/or naivety in dealing with the various elements of the publishing industry and therefore coming across as non - professionals. With respect to reviewers, this is often displayed by inadequate review copy submissions where the requirements were not met. With respect to booksellers it is very much the same.

5. When it comes to reviewers, the single most grievous thing a few (and in my experience, very few) self - published authors do to 'spoil it' for all other self - published authors is to harass a reviewer about the review process - - that is, persistent and frequent questioning as to when their book will be reviewed, why their book was not selected for review, taking personal offense with respect to the actual review when one is done. It only takes a handful of such experiences to sour a professional reviewer or a book review editor into not wanting to deal with someone who is not a seasoned, experienced, professional author. For wanting to avoid authors who are so emotionally and/or financially invested in their self - published book that they become rude, and even down right abusive.

And please believe me when I say that in the 34 years I've been doing this I've had these kinds of encounters more times that I can count.

So how can a self - published author overcome this publishing industry reluctance to get involved with a self - published book?

1. Appear and act as professionally and maturely as you possibly can in every aspect of your contacts with reviewers, booksellers, and everyone else in the publishing industry you encounter, solicit, or market to.

2. Insure that your book is flawless with respect to what's inside, and competitive in terms of its outside appearance.

3. If your book is in a category where the numbers of competing titles is enormous, concentrate on marketing your title as if it were something very special, identifying and capitalizing on something that would make it 'stand out in the crowd'. If your book is in a category of a minimal or a specialized readership, target your marketing efforts directly to that niche group.

4. Don't expect to make a profit, or even recoup your initial investment, in the short term. Be prepared to engage in a long - term effort, one in which the months will turn into years, and the years into decades - - with you plugging away in your marketing efforts throughout it all. And expect to learn new (and hone existing) publishing and book marketing tips, tricks and techniques throughout it all.

Jim Cox
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI, 53575
http://www.midwestbookreview.com


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Recent guest blog posts: BookBuzzr.com’s regular blog for writers: http://www.bookbuzzr.com/blog/book - marketing/your - stepping - stones - to - credibility/ Recent podcast links: Elemental Musings from Bev Walton - Porter of Scribe and Quill: http://budurl.com/waltonporter
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In the News: The LA Times says Twitter users are up more than 1500% from last year (now 105 million registered users!). Don't tell me that none are in the demographic we most want for ourselves!


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Visit one of my blogs. Experiment a bit with the little green Tweetmeme logo if you haven't used one before. And, please let me know if mine is working for you. I think the one at www.thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com is working. I used the second offering down on the tweetmeme site and replaced the suggested code with the address of my blog. =====================================================


Thank Yous

Thanks to Billie A. Williams . . .
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . . . who posted last week’s SharingwithWriters mini feature on hieroglyphics on her Web site with a very nice credit. If you didn’t read it in the last issue, you can find it at: http://www.billiewilliams.com/RESOURCES.html



Thanks to Four - Corners Radio Host . . .
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
. . . . Connie Gotsch for publishing my entire newsletter on her blog once again. http://conniegotsch.blogspot.com/


Thanks to Larry Danks
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
. . . .who participated in my The New Book Review (www.thenewbookreview.blogspot.com) offering for more exposure on his book (guidelines are in the left column of the blog). He is helping publicize this opportunity for writers by including links to the blog on his Web sites, www.FindingTheRightManForYou.com and www.DatingAdvice.us Larry is the author of Finding The Right Man For You: Dating Advice For Women (ISBN: 978 - 0578 - 04809 - 3).


Thanks to Dana Lynn Smith . . .
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . . . for including some of my ideas in her article on selling books to gift shops and other specialty retailers (which I know you’ll love!). Find it at: http://bit.ly/bU1c6h. Learn more about Dana, book marketer extraordinaire, at her blog: www.TheSavvyBookMarketer.com. She also mentioned my New Book Review blog as a resource in her newsletter: www.BookMarketingNewsletter.com Also find her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/BookMarketer , on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DanaLynnSmith, and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/DanaLynnSmith


Thanks to Freya of BookBuzzr . . .
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
. . . for publishing my article on book how to make the most of your radio date: http://www.bookbuzzr.com/blog/book - marketing/your - stepping - stones - to - credibility/. There’s a fr ^ ^ bie there for you this month, too.


===================================================== If you're starting your own blog or want to market the one you have or focus it better here’s a f r ^^ chapter from Phyllis Zimbler Miller’s and my coming book. Download it now at http://budurl.com/bloggingchapter. =====================================================


On Structure: Chris Meeks, one of my fellow UCLA Writers’ Program instructors, wrote an article about a writer’s struggle with structure for Caroline Leavitt’s blog, CarolineLeavittville blog. She is another of our UCLA Writers’ instructors (often online!). Read it at
http://carolineleavittville.blogspot.com/2010/05/christopher - meeks - talks - about - writers.html.
Christopher Meeks (www.chrismeeks.com) is author of the novel The Brightest Moon of the Century and two collections of short fiction. Sample or purchase on Smashwords at http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ChristopherMeeks


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Unsolicited endorsement from Chaz DeSimone, book cover designer extraordinaire (www.chazdesimone.com): “Carolyn, this book is amazingly comprehensive, understandable, and is using up all my highlighter ink. Heidi (one of his clients): Start reading! It'll get you excited about promoting, and getting your promotion all ready ahead of time. =====================================================


In the News: An LA Times headline (May 20, 2010, Business Page) says “One day your pants may power your iPod.” The article is about weaving filaments into our clothing that will generate electricity to power all kinds of personal electronic toys. Good fodder for you science fiction writers but also fascinating, futuristic stuff about how we may work in the coming years.


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This is an example of one of my Twitters: "FrugalBookPromo New trend? Borders will buy nonreturnable books from HarperStudio in return for a deeper discount." My tweets cover everything from news to more tips and resources, all in 140 characters or less. If you don’t want to tweet, at least follow me for more great tips. Make a profile page and invite me at www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromo. =====================================================


Tip: Editor and Sharing with Writers subscriber Robert Medak (www.stormywriter.com) sent this resource for all of You.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/. He warns, “Be careful, it could be addicting.” I hope it is! You’ll also like my blog (www.thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com) where you can get questions answered personally.


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The New Book Review is a f r ^ ^ service of this newsletter. It allows authors to get more exposure from their favorite review and reviewers a chance to have more readers see their reviews - - with links, of course. Please check the guidelines on the blog site at www.TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com.
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Carolyn's Appearances and Teaching
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 Carolyn Howard - Johnson and fellow UCLA Writers' Program Instructor, Eve LaSalle Caram (a UCLA Award - Winning Instructor at that - - yes note the caps!) are planning an amazing intimate conference in Rome for October, 2010. Find details at www.budurl.com/RomanRetreat. Jo Linsdell, a writer living in Rome and founder of the online conference PROMO Day, will also be offering a seminar. Accommodations are extremely limited.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 The Muse Online Writers Conference cosponsored by Lea Schizas and Carolyn Howard - Johnson is now taking reservations for the f r ^ ^ event beginning October 11 of 2010. http://themuseonlinewritersconference.com/ To avoid a small late registration fee, please register before Aug. 15.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 I am working with Freya at BookBuzzr as a regular blogger for their blog on marketing. The first, “Ten Marketing Excuses That Can Kill Your Book and Career,” was posted on May 5th at http://www.bookbuzzr.com/blog/book - marketing/10 - marketing - excuses - that - can - kill - your - book - and - career/. The thing is, there is so much to benefit authors at Bookbuzzr.com including their fantastic page - turning widgets for your book (all f r ^ ^!) that you’ll want to use this occasion to zip on over and explore.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


 Carolyn Howard - Johnson will teach a one - day seminar in book promotion including a planning a thrifty online campaign. The place? UCLA Extension's Writers' Program on campus, of course. Mark August 7, 2010, on your calendar. Sign up online at www.uclaextension.edu

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 Carolyn Howard Johnson, author of A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In - Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns w th Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques, will make a guest appearance on Paul Bruno's Career Czar® radio program. At 10:00 am Pacific at www.alltalkradio.net/careerczar, we'll talk about making retailing work in a down economy and how authors can make their case to retailers to let them boost profits with a book signing on December 17, 2010. You can also listen at www.alltalkradio./careerczar/career121710.mp3 In the meantime, listen to his other shows at www.alltalkradio.net/careerczar or at the show's blog at www.careerczar.wordpress.com. Ask to be on Paul's notification list for free podcasts.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 Carolyn Howard - Johnson will be a featured speaker at the Wisconsin Regional Writers Association Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, with “How To Do It Frugally: Free Exposure for Your Book and Your Bod.” A breakout session will be “"Become Your Own PR Person, Frugally: How to Write a Killer Media Release and Produce a Great Media Kit." The dates are September 25 - 26, 2010. Find information on that at www.wrwa.net. This active group invites writers from everywhere to join.


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Sign up to receive a copy of my Sharing with Writers blog in your e - mail box. It is a focused blog on all things related to writing and publishing. Go to www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com. Sign up in the left hand column. Find related resources by scrolling to the bottom of the blog.
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Wordstuff ™

Something to Make Writers Smile
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(Fun with language from The Washington and other publications.)


Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.




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Essential Book and Record Keeping:

This is a place to share with others and learn from others.

Although I do attempt to verify information used within this newsletter's pages, Sharing with Writers does not guarantee entities or information. Subscribers should research resources.

To submit information articles, tips or other information, e - mail Carolyn at HoJoNews@aol.com. Please put "Submission: Sharing with Writers" in the subject line.

If you do not care to receive this newsletter, send an e - mail to HoJoNews@aol.com with "Unsubscribe” in the subject line, but please, please don't tell me you've given up writing or promoting!

To subscribe to Sharing with Writers send an e - mail with "Subscribe" in the subject line to:: HoJoNews@aol.com.

Please pass this newsletter to friends or e - groups. It needn't be pasted in its complete form, but please credit this newsletter, and the individual contributors with anything you snip and paste.

Ordering Information:
Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't http://budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo
The e - book at http://starpublishllc.com/id43.html

The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success
http://budurl.com/TheFrugalEditor

The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need To Know About Selling Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less, http://www.amazon.com/Great - First - Impression - Book - Proposal/dp/B000YG6O5U/

A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In - Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques http://budurl.com/RetailersGuide

To learn more about This Is the Place,
Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered, Tracings, and She Wore Emerald Then: www.carolynhoward - johnson.com.

She Wore Emerald Then: Reflections on Motherhood, a chapbook of poetry coauthored with Magdalena Ball. http://budurl.com/MotherChapbook

Tracings, a chapbook of poetry (Finishing Line Press)
www.budurl.com/CarolynsTracings

Contact Information
Websites:
http://carolynhoward - Johnson.com (literary)
http://HowToDoItFrugally.com (all things about writing)


Blogs:

http://www.SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com, a blog on all things publishing
http://www.TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com, all things grammatical and ungrammatical
http://www.TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog focused on YOUR reviews
http://www.TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com, a blog focused on editing, formatting and craft
http://www.WarPeaceTolerance.blogspot.com War. Peace. Tolerance. And Our Soldiers.
http://www.sizzlingbookfairbooths.blogspot.com, a blog where you can learn to get some mojo behind your own booth by learning from the successes and mistakes of others.

Tweeting at:
www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromo
www.twitter.com/frugalretailing