April 28, 2005 Sharing with Writers:

News from the Desks of Carolyn Howard-Johnson and Friends

Each issue of SHARING WITH WRITERS is posted at FairgoeBooks, com. The last letter is now up at http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/fairgoebooks/literarythree.htm

Note: I'm trying to cut down on gobbeldy gook for some subscribers. I do not use quotation marks, possessives or about any other punctuation's. They seem to disagree with Yahoo and others. Thus you will find bold and caps in their stead and even omissions of stuff you just know should be there. I hope it doesn't drive you crazy.

Included in this newsletter:

Note from Carolyn
Letters to the Editor
Blatant Promotion
Tips are scattered throughout. In fact every single link in this newsletter may lead you to something or someone you can work with to sell or promote your book.
Links
News
Opportunities
My THANK YOUS (Per my own advice in FRUGAL. Each is a possible lead for your own publicity.)
Fellow Writer News
FRUGAL Excerpt: How to Get 73,000 New Readers.

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Note from Carolyn:

Welcome to the many, many new subscribers who found us at our Authors' Coalition booth at the LA TIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS. This is probably a good time to tell the newbies (and remind the oldies) that this is your newsletter. You will note it is from me AND FRIENDS. That means I welcome your contributions, tips, articles and book news--both your own book news and industry news.

Having said that, please don't send me anything until after May 25. I am going on vacation and it is very hard to track e-mail from an Internet cafe or from a ship's computer. In addition, your next letter will not be until the end of May. Try not to miss it too much! (-:

You will also note that I am trying a new way to send this newsletter. My AOL account gets upset with me when I post a letter since the SHARING WITH WRITERS subscriber list has grown so big.

Thank to you all.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
http://carolynhowardjohnson.com
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Letters to the Editor

Word of mouth is the best kind of marketing. If we all made it a point to support the writers whose names you see in this newsletter, we would all benefit. This is how some support me. It is only Karma to return the favor. (-:



There is, as always, wonderful information in this! Thanks, Carolyn
Leora Skolkin, author of
EDGES,skolkin@nyc.rr.com

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Been referring to your book right and left.
Allyn Evans, editor of a site for women,
http://www.queenpower.com/.

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I am still reading your book and have many pages tagged with Post-it notes, I think your book is really great and I hope it is doing well for you.
Michelle Dunn Author of: HOW TO MAKE MONEY
COLLECTING MONEY STARTING A COLLECTION AGENCY,
and BECOME THE SQUEAKY WHEEL: A CREDIT AND
COLLECTIONS GUIDE FOR EVERYONE. Learn more at:
http://www.michelledunn.com/

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I had lunch with a publicist friend yesterday who told me that she has a friend who has just had a book published by Putnam. Did you know that big publishers don't promote books? Hah! I happen to have your FRUGAL business card with me and told my friend to tell her author friend to BUY THIS BOOK. Your book is so easy to sell!
Laura Peters, co-author PILGRIM GIRL: DIARY AND
RECIPES OF HER FIRST YEAR IN THE NEW WORLD.
Order as an e-book
http://starpublish.com/starbooks.com where it is
book of the month, or as a paperback at
Amazon.com

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Blatant Promotion:

The editors of Long Story Short accepted my story HELPER, for their May issue, available online until June 7. The story was inspired by trips my father took to rural Utah in his big Coca Cola truck, the bottles rattling as loudly as the slots did back in those days--yes, slots in Utah. I kid you not. Linda Barnett-Johnson is the assistant editor who selects short stories for LSS. This site also publishes poetry and children's stories. (LSS honored one of my poems with an award last year.) Find them at: http://www.longstoryshort.us. PS: You'll find a story by a member (Emily Heebner Young) of my Chevy Chase Library Critique group there, too,

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Tip: In her Kennel Club tip, Joan Stewart passes on Fern Reiss* idea for starting one*s own trade association. Go to http://www.publicityhound.com/kennelclub/tip.html to glean a little more information on the subject. This seems to be relevant to what is happening with our AUTHORSS* COALITION booth at the LA TIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS. It has happened rather organically. It started from a seed and has grown. It was more successful this year than last.



Tip: This tip also appears in FRUGAL but because Connie Martinson was a star interviewer at the LA TIMES/UCLA FESTIVAL OF BOOKS, I thought I would mention that she has a syndicated TV show out of LA in which she interviews authors. She does not accept self or subsidy published books but if yours is pubbed that way, write one whale of a query letter (see FRUGAL for tips and a sample of how to do this!) and she might make an exception. Reach her at Connie Martinson Talks Books, talksbooks@lycos.com . Remember, however, that unless you can come to LA to tape, there is no point in sending her a query letter.

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Reciprocal Links: These are the result of my call for promotion trades. Many subscribers are in a position to try this. Let me know if you'd like to trade something (almost anything! J) for a permanent spot here. All links must be "Carolyn-Approved."


Join Queen Me and other queens at QueenPower.com. Gather in a place where women promote, support and encourage women. Don't wait till you're ready, have more time, or are a little older. Start living your best life now! http://www.queenpower.com/

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Sign up for the Cindy Appel Newsletter and be automatically entered into the "Make the World Smile" contest. Details at http://cynthianna.bravehost.com/

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Read Joyce Faulkner's CelebrityCafe column to learn about anything from aging feet to her favorite books on writing: http://thecelebritycafe.com/features/Columnists/The_Weekly_Shriek/

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FREE Publicity Resource: Let this site send your media release to book trade professionals including Associated Press, Reuters, DowJones, and more! Learn more at http://press.heliographica.com/

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STAR PUBLISH offers near self-publish profits on your paperback and an alternative to noncommunicative publishers. A different kind of publisher where the author is the STAR. http://starpublish.com.

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Do you dream of becoming a published writer? Or maybe you want to hone your skills? WRITER TO WRITER is one of my favorite sites that features tips on writing, marketing, submitting, selling and more. Regular no-fee contests. www.writer2writer.com

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THE COMPLETE WRITER from RED ENGINE PRESS offers a wide range of how-to and motivational advice on many writing topics. It also offers writing, editing and proofreading, layout and design, and publishing services. Check out our business writing services along with their list of fiction, nonfiction and children's titles at http://www.redenginepress.com/.

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NEWS:

Want to Nag Oprah?

Word of Mouth Authors.org has sent an open letter to Oprah requesting she begin considering contemporary authors again. The letter and the sign up form for authors to add their names to the list is at their website: www.wordofmouthwriters.org. Thanks to Leann K. Potts, author of POWWOW PICKUP for this tip. Learn more at: leannwrites@hotmail.com

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NEW YORK TIMES Pubs Article Recognizing Viability of Subsidy Publishing:

BOOKS / SUNDAY BOOK REVIEW | April 24, 2005
The Book Business: How to Be Your Own Publisher
By SARAH GLAZER

In the past decade, technology has made it possible to print books one copy at a time, ushering in a new era. Now, with the industry in flux, self-publishers are losing their stigma.

Submitted by Laura Peters, co-author of PILGRIM GIRL: DIARY AND RECIPES OF HER FIRST YEAR IN THE NEW WORLD, available in paperback at www.Amazon.com and as an e-book at http://starpublish.com/starbooks.htm. Learn more at: http://webpages.charter.net/selbo-peters-pilgrimgirl

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OPPORTUNITIES:

A Competition for Poets from the Press that Will be Publishing My Chapbook, TRACINGS, Fall of 2005:

A prize of $1,000 and publication by Finishing Line Press will be given annually for a chapbook-length collection of poetry. James Scruton will final judge. The prize is open to all poets, regardless of publication history. All entries will be considered for publication and up to 15 manuscripts will be selected for the fall and spring lines. Submit up to 26 pages of poetry, bio, acknowledgments, and cover letter with a $15 entry fee by June 30, 2005. POSTMARK. Send to: Open Chapbook Competition, Finishing Line Press, PO Box 1626, Georgetown, KY 40324. Other contact info: (859) 514-8966 finishingbooks@aol.com, http://finishinglinepress.com

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Tip: Judith Sherven and James Sniechowski, best selling writing team, has just finished their fourth book THE SMART COUPLE'S GUIDE TO THE WEDDING OF YOUR DREAMS published by New World Library, to be released in November 2005. They researched hundreds of wedding stories for this book and found that compensated for *the stereotype of the lonely writer, cut off and isolated* and suggest a call for submissions as a way to combat lonely writers syndrome. They are master promoters and have been guest experts on over 900 television and radio shows including Oprah, The O'Reilly Factor, 48 Hours, Canada AM, and The View. Visit their website at www.themagicofdifferences.com and sign up for their relationship e-zines.
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Special Thanks Feature:

Peruse the following thank yous for sites, editors and ideas for promoting. All of them featured or recommended THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T or my other books in the last few weeks.

To Hugh Rosen, author of SILENT BATTLEFIELDS: A NOVEL, who sent this letter to authors he knows (see below). This kind of word-of-mouth promotion is wonderful for everyone because everyone wins.

Hi folks. As I've been moving toward publication of my book, Silent Battlefields: A Novel, I've been familiarizing myself with the publishing industry generally and promoting one's own book in particular. One thing that has been driven home to me is that regardless of whether you go the traditional route of obtaining a mainstream publisher (e.g. Random House, Simon and Schuster, etc.) or use a print on demand publisher, as I have done this time around, it is imperative that the author takes responsibility for promoting his or her own book. Even if you go the traditional route, the mainstream publishers have a limited marketing budget and it gets reserved mostly for big name authors such as Stephen King and Margaret Atwood. So either way, your work doesn't end with publication, just as one's responsibilities don't end with the birth of a baby.

Toward that end (of pursuing the promotion of one's own book), I have come across a terrific book that I'd like to recommend to you whether for present or future use. It is called THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T, by Carolyn Howard-Johnson. I've read quite a good many books on the subject by now and this is one of the very best. In fact, it has just been honored by being the winner of the USA Book News' "Best Professional Book 2004" It can readily be purchased through http://www.amazon.com/. If you want to learn more about the book, the author's website is http://carolynhowardjohnson.com/.

SILENT BATTLEFIELDS by Hugh Rosen will be available to order in May at iUniverse and on Amazon.

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To Allyn Evans who introduced me as the Queen of Promotion in her newsletter this week. Women are invited to sign up for her e-zine at http://queenpower.com/.

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To Authors' Coalition Booth Participants at the LA Times Book Festival. They not only supported the booth but were excellent cross-promoters, willing and open to talk up all the books on our shelves, not only their own. Because of them we have many new subscribers to this newsletter. We earned nearly $200 with Ann Durand's raffle to support LA Community College's Writers' Program and did a fine job of selling books and branding ourselves. Here are the pictures of the author's books one more time. Please support them. All are available on Amazon.com:
Leora Krygier
Laura Peters and Jule Selbo
Pinkie Paranya
Bob Stone
Don Strachan
Marilyn Meredith
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Joyce Faulkner
Ann Durand

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Fellow Writer News! A word to the promotion savvy: Some of these links and names may help YOU with your publishing or promoting!

Connie Gotsch, past contributor to this newsletter, has had a busy month. The New Mexico Press Women announced the results of their 2005 Communication Contest. Connie Gotsch*s novel SNAP ME A FUTURE won second place in the Full-length Fiction category. Gotsch also won a first place for Special Programming, Radio, first place and third place for two Prepared Radio Reports; and two-second place awards for articles in the Farmington Daily Times. SNAP ME A FUTURE is available from http://dlsijpress.com , as is Gotsch*s first novel, A MOUTH FULL OF SHELL. Learn more at www.authorsden.com/conniegotsch
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Leora Skolkin-Smith (skolkin@nyc.rr.com ): Her new book, EDGES, will be displayed at BEA (Book Expo America) by the Jewish Book Council. This is how she describes the requirements:

This is a wonderful opportunity offered to Jewish writers or authors who are writing about Jewish themes. Quite prestigious. I was invited to a cocktail party to introduce the book, and the seventy-five members of the council will then consider it for inclusion on a completely paid book tour on behalf of the council. But just to get selected for the cocktail party was enough to make me very thrilled. My publishers submitted it for a review and then I was asked to attend the event to take place on May 31. For those interested, here's the URL for the council: http://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/
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Georgia Richardson AKA Queen Jaw Jaw is featuring an excerpt from HARKENING on her new website: http://www.queenjawjaw.com/guestwriter.html. The story is about a child who experiences her first taste of exclusion and then of acceptance--two neighbors on different sides of the fence. While at Georgia's site, do a bit of exploring. It is a perfect example of great branding (she is a humorist) and I'm sure she would love a note from you. She is the author of A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE THRONE.

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Here is an abbreviated excerpt from THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER. I highly recommend that you use the perks Amazon offers for exposure to readers. I also would love it if you would include FRUGAL on one of your lists.

Amazon Offers Perks Authors Can Use to Promote
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson ©2004


Ahhhh, Amazon. When it comes to book sales, she strides on the sturdiest of legs.--Carolyn Howard-Johnson



Among authors, Amazon.Com has earned its name. For many it is their most important tool for online sales; sometimes it is their not-so-gentle giant. It is a business many love to hate. Several of its policies are perceived to be anti-author. Because it has so many features that are an advantage to authors, I, instead, hate to love it.

Amazon will sell your books here and overseas. She may not cater to authors of any stripe, but she tolerates them as long as they are assigned an ISBN (the number on the back of your book near the barcode). Small or large publishers, subsidy, and self-published books may be found in her pages making her a unique buying and selling tool. She also offers--with an outstretched hand and only a few guidelines—avenues that will expose your book to a very important target, readers. Because Amazon is fickle—always adding a feature or taking something away, always changing page designs, I can only attempt to give exact instructions for implementing the features she offers. It is important for you to sign in so that a little index tab sporting your name pops up on the home page. Mine says *Carolyn*s Store.* Yours will be equally well personalized once you are a customer. Click on that tab for a myriad of possibilities for you book.

Amazon*s YOUR ABOUT YOU AREA is the cog in the wheel that exposes you, the author--if you are a publisher all of your authors--to readers. This area on Amazon.com is a page—much like a website of your own—that you can tailor to appeal to readers surfing for something to read. When a visitor to Amazon finds your book, or the reviews, essays, and recommended reading lists you have posted on the site, they will also find a link to this page where they can read more about you—not necessarily the private you, but the author you. Because these perks reach your targeted audience—readers--and because they cost you nothing but time, they are a bargain. Make them part of your promotion strategy. Here*s how you post your page:

Go to www.amazon.com.
Find the tabs near the headline. You*ve signed in with Amazon so you*ll find a personalized tab at the top of the page. Click.
Find an area that says *Friends and Favorites* on the blue strip near the top of the page. Click.
Find the link to *Your About You Area.* Install your page Add your picture or book cover art. Use a short synopsis of your book as part of your biography.
While you’re there, explore this area. There are many features here which I discuss in THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T. I have excerpted only the one below for readers of this news letter.

Now you have Your About You Area posted, you have the foundation for a virtually free media blitz on Amazon ready go. My favorite Amazon feature is their So You*d Like To...Guides. SYLTs are set up so that you can post essays, rills or rants on any subject that you wish. At the bottom of the article you type in the ISBN numbers (but Amazon calls them ASIN numbers) of books or other products related to the subject of your piece. Readers who visit the pages of the books you listed may then find your article available to read.

So You*d Like To…Guides are an excellent place to recycle your old articles (Learn more about recycling in Chapter 6 of THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER) because the interest of readers is as wide as the world and beyond. That means that pretty much anything you still own the rights to can be posted here to be read by book-lovers. Edit the material so that it relates to your book in some way. This connection is the primary reason for giving an essay to Amazon.

Here are some tips for contributing a successful So You*d Like To:

Find the So You*d Like To…. link on Your About You Page.
Read the instructions and guidelines at the top of the page.
Come up with a title that invites browsers to read it. One of mine that has attracted heavy readership is So You*d Like To… Know More About Elizabeth Smart*s Culture. Every time Elizabeth*s court case makes the news, this essay gets another spurt of curious readers and the subject of the essay is closely related to my award-winning novel, THIS IS THE PLACE.
Copy and paste your article into the text window.
Carefully edit. Amazon*s free offer deserves to be honored with your best. Besides, you reputation as a writer is on the line.
At the end, type in up to 50 related book, tape, and video titles according to the instructions. I used the book written by Elizabeth*s parents and others on facets of Utah*s culture including its renegade polygamist cells.
Include some books on your list that will attract heavy traffic from book-lovers. That helps exposure. Longer lists are spotted throughout Amazon more often than short ones.
You can use my So You*d Like To…Guides as examples by going to:. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/cm/member-guides/-/A3JH18T58CY65P/ref=cm_hp_stats_sylt-count/002-9442750-5248854 So far I have 23 of them and each day they attract more readers.
Include the title of your book in the body of the essay. If you have chosen your subject carefully your book will be a natural fit.
Click on the *publish* button when you are done. You don't want your brilliant new ploy for getting hundreds of readers to go to waste. (My SYLT Guides have been read by nearly 73,000 readers so far.)
You may begin with a short list and add to it using the edit feature.
Voila! This list will magically appear on many pages throughout the Amazon site. It will be targeted primarily to the books that you chose to list but may appear elsewhere.

I recently started helping authors I know by offering to include their books on one of the So You*d Like To… lists. I rewrote one of the BACK TO LITERATURE columns I had published at www.myshelf.com. It was an opinion piece on how important it is for authors to be accessible to their fans. Then I posted an offer to fellow authors who share a list-serve with me. I told them what I was doing and asked for volunteers. I also asked them to promise me they would be accessible to fans by offering a gift or a signature label to them if they were contacted. I had to turn away so many grateful authors who wanted to be included that I’m planning another article as soon as I figure out a new angle that will help other authors and give the right kind of exposure to my books. Here is the link for that essay:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/H3M5DP3WRXDS/ref%3Dcm%5Fbg%5Fdp%5Fl%5F2/102-2927160-6432116./002-9442750-5248854

Some of my SYLTs have made it to Amazon*s top 100, but I haven*t figured out the criteria they use and I can’t find anyone else who has either.

There are at least a dozen other ways to use Amazon to publicize your book. Read more about how to do so in either the paperback or e-book version of THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T. To purchase an e-copy go to: http://starpublish.com/starbooks.htm and to get the paperback, well, go to Amazon.com, of course!

Carolyn's THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO
WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T is USA Book News'
BestProfessional Book 2004. Her THIS IS THE PLACE
and HARKENING are both multiple award winners.
Learn more about her and download her FREE
promotional e-books at
http://carolynhowardjohnson.com.

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Essential Book and Record Keeping

This letter is an occasional and informal way for me to share with my writing and publishing friends and for them to share with each other. Please send me your tips and news and I will try to pass them on for the benefit of others. If you do not care to receive this letter, just let me know but please, please don’t tell me you've given up writing or promoting!

You are encouraged to pass this newsletter on to friends or e-groups who may have an interest. It needn't be pasted in its complete form, but please include this credit of anything you “snip and paste:”

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To subscribe to Sharing with Writers send an e-mail with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line to: HoJoNews@aol.com. It is edited and distributed sporadically by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, http://carolynhowardjohnson.com, author of THIS IS THE PLACE, HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED and THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T.

Ordering Information for THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T

Order it in e-book form for only $9. at: www.starpublish.com/starbooks.htm

Paperback copies may be ordered at Amazon where they are discounting books this month: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/002-0672916-9668863 . This is the Place and Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered may also be ordered there.

And at Barnes and Noble by clicking on this link: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=the+frugal+book+promoter&userid=Rt39vFn9pM&sourceid=00393694016245851818&bfdate=12%2D30%2D2004+19%3A13%3A56&cds2Pid=946 THIS IS THE PLACE and HARKENING are also available there and if you order more than $25. in product, you'll get free shipping, no tax.


Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Author
THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER:
HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T,
Winner USA Book News' "Best Professional Book 2004"
#1 Bestselling E-book at: http://starpublish.com/starbooks.htm.
Purchase the paperback at http://www.amazon.com/.
Learn more at: http://carolynhowardjohnson.com/ .


"I have not seen a better reference (than
FRUGAL) for writers who need direction in
getting their book noticed. "
Gordon Kirkland in his column for the
National Society of Newspaper
Columnists' Newsletter