Nov. 6, 2005--Sharing with Writers:
From the Desks
Of Carolyn Howard-Johnson and Friends

Most recent issues of Sharing with Writers are posted at Fairgo E-Books in full color and with live links http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/fairgoebooks/literary.htm. You will find the *Best of Sharing with Writers* at Apollos Lyre (www.ApollosLyre.com). Sharing with Writers is the official newsletter of Authors* Coalition, an organization of writers who help writers.

Note: In order to cut down on computerese I do not use (or I substitute for) many punctuation marks. They seem to disagree with Yahoo and others. I hope it doesn*t drive you crazy and I have discontinued the table of contents. I suspect that it was more trouble than it was worth!
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Note from Carolyn:

Dear Authors* Coalition Members:

Because our subscriber list has grown dramatically. I have had to go to this generic-looking newsletter. My regular service will not accommodate your numbers which have grown incrementally, thanks to your passing the word about this letter.

If anyone prefers a letter with live links and in living color, refer to the sites noted above.

Keeping networking. Keep telling others not only about your own book but those of others. It's all about Karma. We all benefit from generosity.


Carolyn Howard-Johnson
HoJoNews@aol.com
http://carolynhowardjohnson.com
http://authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com


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No part of this newsletter is paid advertising. At the suggestion of a subscriber who reads every issue of Sharing with Writers, you will find brand new material so noted with a pointing finger.
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Excerpt from Fran Silverman*s
Book Marketing from A-Z:

Kate Stormer is author of a children*s book series called Casey*s World. She is also owner of two dogs, Casey (the star of the books), a miniature schnauzer, and Reba, a red standard poodle. Casey is *retired* now, but Reba is a 2+ old dog that needs lots of exercise. So several times a week, Reba is taken to the dog park. Because the dog is the color of landscape, *we put a bright orange vest on her (so we can see where she is at all times). Yep, you guessed it…we have put a small iron-on sign on her vest that says, Yes…I*m the Reba of Casey*s World books. You can*t believe how many people stop to ask us about Casey*s World books….and I*m prepared to hand them a Casey*s World bookmark, so they remember our conversation.*
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Learn more about Kate Stormer at http://www.caseysworld.net/.
Learn more about the author of A-Z at www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com and check out a special holiday offer for this book below.
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GREAT HOLIDAY AUTHOR*S GIFT

Two award-winning marketing books that complement one another make perfect holiday gifts for anyone who writes. Start your Christmas shopping early and save.

This special offer ends Dec. 15. For guaranteed Christmas delivery, please order before then.

BOOK MARKETING FROM A-Z (Infinity Publishing 2005) by Francine Silverman retails regularly $18.95
*The book would be a perfect gift for writer friends..*
Barbara Scott, book reviewer

THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER (Star Publish 2004) by Carolyn Howard-Johnson retails regularly at $17.95
*THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER is truly a remarkable gift to authors and for authors!*
Marilyn Peake, author and reviewer

Buy both books for only $25 at: http://www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com/holiday.htm
This low price includes free shipping to any place in the continental USA.

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Tip: John Kremer has compiled a list of printers that is sure to be useful to anyone considering true self-publishing (that is different from subsidy publishing--a common error in terminology we authors make. Picky? Well, we ARE all about clear communication, aren*t we?) Here is the URL: www.bookmarket.com/101print.html.
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Opportunities:

The sixth annual DIY Convention: Do It Yourself in Film, Music and Books will be held February 5-12, 2006 at the Egyptian Theatre and Roosevelt Hotel, both located in the heart of Hollywood. Early-bird tickets to the event are now available online at http://r.pm0.net/s/c?31.e1p8.1.armp.a2. Entrants to the 2006 DIY Film Festival and 2006 DIY Music Festival will receive free admission to the 2006 DIY Convention
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Long Story Short School of Writing still has some classes available including these and several more:
The Nitty Gritty of Grammar and Great Writing with Francis X. Curry, http://www.LssWritingSchool.com/TheNittyGrittyofGoodGrammarandGreatWriting.html,

Creating Unforgettable Characters with Virginia McMorrow. http://www.LssWritingSchool.com/CreatingUnforgettableCharacters.html

Writing the Nonfiction Book Proposal with Jean Lauzier. http://www.LssWritingSchool.com/writingthenonfictionbookproposal.html

Novel Building with T.C.McMullen. http://www.LssWritingSchool.com/novelbuilding.html

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Our Last Teleclass is offered by QueenPower.com and Authors* Coalition and Double Dragon Press. as a FR** podcast at the Double Dragon site, http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/podcasts.asp. We*re working on plans to be sure those who can*t arrange to attend our teleclasses will be able to learn from them. So go listen to Marilyn Peake and I hold forth on Radio: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Promoting Easy and Cheap!

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Tip: One of the students from my last class at UCLA, Dennis Danziger, thought those of you with interest in acting, speaking or theater might benefit from this Website announcement for learning a new way to broaden your writing skills: http://www.frompagetostage.com/
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Affecting Words ™
A Writer*s Vocabulary

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

(Note: Carolyn has a series of these brief rills on words that are related to the writing process. Anyone interested in using them for their own newsletter or site may contact her at hojonews@aol.com. Find the whole series at http://sellwritingonline.com/colhoward.html, a site you will find useful in many ways.)

Paronym : Linguists love this word because it helps them communicate the difference between a word that is derived from another but doesn*t change its meaning (an inflection) and those derived from another but come to mean something different (paronyms). Authors who work with fellow authors in critique groups or who teach may find the word an equally useful tool. Here are examples of both paronyms and inflections:

*Derived* and *deriving* are inflections of the word *derive.* They are both still verbs and the meaning (excepting for the time element or tense) is the same.

*Derivation* and *derivative* are paronyms of *derive.* They have become nouns that represent some things substantially different. , *Derivative,* as an example is the word for whatever comes of the verb *derive* after the action is performed. *Derivative* could refer to anything from oily gunk to an inspirational potion.

So what? So what if you don*t want to be the most perfect critique partner or a teacher? Well, how about using the *paronym* in your writing? YourDictionary.com suggests two fun possibilities including a literal and a metaphorical one:

*Since taking up with Annegrette, Lucien has become a more lustrous paronym of his former self.*

*Captain Marvel is a genius: he knows ever word in the English language and all its paronyms.*
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson*s award-winning novel, This is the Place is set in Salt Lake City, the site of the recent Olympics. Evie Grossfield, host of KTLA*s Talk of the Town with Evie, calls it*…fascinating…I highly recommend it to everyone.* She teaches at UCLA Extension*s renowned Writers* Program and facilitates a critique group. Learn more at http://carolynhowardjohnson.com .)

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Your Copy of Tracings is delayed. It should be in the mail the first week in November. If you would like a book of poetry for a Thanksgiving hostess gift, Christmas gift or ???, e-mail me (HoJoNews@aol.com) for directions or go to http://finishinglinepress.com and click on *New Releases for 2005.*
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Tip: Here*s a great newsletter for writers who might be interested in writing in general and grants in particular. It is edited by C. Hope Clark. Subscribe to FundsforWriters at: www.fundsforwriters.com
Tip:.Here*s a paying market for poetry! The Culture Star Reader will accept up to five stories of 3000 words or fewer from daring, unique, short fiction writers or five poems of up to 1000 words. (Pays $10 for poetry, $15 for stories. http://www.culturestarreader.com/submission_guidelines.html. This note was contributed by Christine Louise Hohlbaum (http://www.sahmiam.com/ ) author of Diary of a Mother: Parenting Stories and Other Stuff
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Reciprocal Links:

The Reading Tub is a charity that promotes family and children*s literacy. They read every children*s book that is sent to them for a review. They are then donated to community organizations. Go to www.thereadingtub.com.

Walter Brasch*s America*s Unpatriotic Acts: The Federal Government*s Violation of Constitutional and Civil Rights. ) is a look at the history and effects of the USA Patriot Act upon the erosion of our civil liberties and violations of at least five of the Bill of Rights. It has been endorsed by liberals and conservatives.

Star Publish offers near self-publish profits on your paperback; it is an alternative to unapproachable publishers. http://starpublish.com.

Do you dream of becoming a published writer? Or maybe you want to hone your skills? Writer to Writer features tips on writing, marketing, submitting, selling and more. Regular no-fee contests. www.writer2writer.com
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Kathe*s Kollection:
Tips You Can Use

Editor*s Note: Kathe will be contributing tips on a regular basis--many of them gleaned from her reading and the conferences she attends:

When designing your site, always use a call to action: after text blocks; tell your visitors what to do, such as **Click here to buy now.*
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Kathe Gogolewski, http://www.tri-studio.com/. Blog: http://www.anndurand.blogsforauthors.com.

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Reach for the Stars Best Frugal Promoter Contest is Now Being Judged. Watch for the E-book Compiled of Winners* Entries! Reach for the Stars is the contest that keeps giving. You*ll want to grab you*re free copy when it*s ready in early 2006! Reach for the Stars:
A Contest for the Best Frugal Promoter of 2005 is sponsored by Carolyn Howard-Johnson and Star Publish
http://starpublish.com/Contest.htm

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Everyone can learn how to make yawn-provoking book fairs into blockbuster tools for exposure by following our. Authors* Coalition booth model plans and progress in my blog at http://redenginepress.com/chjohnson.
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Carolyn*s Appearances:

 A Utah writers* conference: Association of Mormon Letters (http://www.aml-online.org/awards/a/A200409.html presents
Life of Words; Words of Life on Saturday, November 19th at Westminster College Gore Auditorium. I will speak on Savvy Marketing for Authors: It*s never too early--or late--to learn promotion skills! Dean Hughes is the keynote. To register online go to http://www.aml-online.org/events/aml2005wcprereg.html.
For answers to any questions, email aml@aml-online.org.

 New Teleclass: Multiply your book marketing efforts! Publishing myths can side rail the success of your book. This teleclass, powered by http://queenpower.com/ in collaboration with Authors* Coalition http://authorscoaltionandredenginepress.com/ will help you avoid that.
TOPIC: The Greatest Myth of Publishing: Your book is written, now you can let the publisher promote it. Publishing your first book? Or trying to do better with your second than you did your first? Know that what YOU know about promotion can make or break it. What YOU know about promotion can make a so-so publicist great. And what YOU know about promotion may be more than what your publisher knows. Carolyn Howard-Johnson and Marilyn Peake, will share everything that they had to RE-learn after their books were published!
GUEST SPEAKERS: The Queen of Frugal Promotions, Carolyn Howard-Johnson, and Marilyn Peake, author of The Fisherman*s Son Trilogy.
DATE: November 17:
TIME: 4 PM ET, 3 PM CT, 2 PM MT, 1 PM Pacific.
HOW TO: It*s easy! Just call: 641-297-7200. Then punch in the access code: 345277. Advance registration accepted but not required. E-mail maggie@queenpower.com. Please note, you will be charged a long distance call. For some, that means you*ll not be charged at all; and for others, it may mean 3 to 6 cents a minute.
And the news gets even better - we*re going to start taping our classes to have them available at Double Dragon Press as podcasts.

 Palm Springs Lovers unite! Circle Saturday December 3rd on your calendar for The Desert Woman*s annual authors* luncheon. I will be sharing my chapbook of poetry Tracings, and, of course, Frugal. One feeds the soul of writers, the other feeds their careers. The fifth annual mini-book fair and holiday luncheon begins at 11:30 at the Palm Valley Country Club,39205 Palm Valley Drive, Palm Desert, (Off Country Club Drive between Cook & Washington). It will be moderated by Kate Porter. Judy Lunn will sing. Make reservations with Cheryl McFadden at (760) 327-3983 or go to http://www.desertwoman.com/clubs.html

 Jump-start Your Credibility and Salability: Publish a Book: is the topic of a workshop I*ll be presenting at the American Board of Hypnotherapy*s 2006 Convention: Newport Beach, CA, Radisson, Monday, Feb. 20, 2006, 3:30 pm. I will also be presenting a seminar on marketing skills on Sunday, Feb. 19th at 9 am. Visit their site at: www.hypnosis.com.

 Sold Out!! Dayton University*s Erma Bombeck Writers* Workshop, March 23-25, 2006. Plan to sign up early for 2007!!! http://www.humorwriters.org/

 Las Vegas Writer*s Conference, Henderson, NV. March 30 to April 2, 2006 is slated for Sam*s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall, 5111 Boulder Highway, LV, NV. I will be presenting. To learn more go to www.LasVegasWritersConference.com or contact Gregory Kompes, conference coordinator, at Gregory@kompes.com for more information.

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Reciprocal Links: Many subscribers are in a position to cross-promote. Let me know if you would like to trade some recommendation or promotion for a permanent spot (or as my list grows, semi-permanent) spot in this newsletter. I use only links that benefit writers
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Tip:, Here is a literary agent*s site. I do not pass on information for agents who charge reading fees and this one does not. This site also posts excellent articles to help writers. http://www.northernlightsls.com/writersresources.htm
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Request for Help:

The working title of my next book is The 100 Stupidest Things Guys Say and Do to Make Women Disappear. I would love to hear about your experiences in this department of male/female relations. Why am I doing this? I continually hear from single women that all the good men are married and they have to choose from the leftover jerks who don*t have a clue...that is why they are single. Maybe my book, with your help, will be a club that beats some sense into guys.
Girls, I would love to hear your stories about bonehead guys who tried to pick you up and said the wrong thing, or they did something on a date that convinced you to lose interest in them. One of my female friends, for example, met someone on a blind date and within 5 minutes asked her if she would like to inspect his...ahem…organ. Believe it or not this is true. She couldn*t wait to finish her spaghetti and run from from the jerk. On another occasion she was on the telephone for the first time with a guy she met through a dating service and he asked if it would be okay to bring his mother along for their first date--there was no first date.

Guys, same thing. Looking back, do you now realize it was the wrong thing to do or say that insured that a woman wouldn*t give you a second look? Come on, be honest. Others can learn from your blunders. Or, if you have led an exemplary life as a Romeo, maybe your male friends have committed a deadly sin or two that you can share with me.

I would love to hear your tales. Give me the juicy details. Give me your first name and your city or state. I won*t use these identifiers unless you tell me it is okay, but please include a geographical area where the incident happened, like a NYC subway, LA movie theater, Nebraska corn field, Washington DC White House.

Please e-mail them to: LGJHERE1@AOL.COM.

Thanks for your help.
Lance Johnson, author of Everything Asians Need to Know about America A to Z (published in China in simplified Chinese).
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News:

This is submitted by Eric Dinyer, book cover artist and designer of several books published by Andrews-McMeel (including Support Our Troops for which I wrote the foreword). He found it in USA Today. It was authored by Jefferson Graham.

Graham says, *Soon you can buy a book on Amazon and read it online. Amazon is trying to do for books what Apple*s iPod digital player did for portable music.* Beginning next year, Amazon will offer this service for a fee to those who buy hard copies of the same book. They also plan to sell individual pages of books online. Graham calls this a *twist on pay-per-view television.* He also notes that Google is being sued for a similar ploy to make excerpts of books available on their site and that Microsoft will be similarly digitizing books in conjunction with Yahoo. Random House plans to get into the act with its books, too. I*m wondering if they will pay their authors a portion of the fees as royalties--information no one seems to be addressing.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon*s CEO, says consumers will pay about $1.99 for digital access to the book at the time of purchase, and will pay *a few cents* per page for page views. The books most likely to be viewed this way are books on technology, cookbooks and other how-to books.
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Information submitted by Eric Dinyer, Dreamless Studios. http://www.dreamless.com

Dreamless Radio
1. open itunes
2. go to *advanced*
3. pull down to *open stream*
4. paste http://radio.dreamless.com:8008/listen.pls
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More Reciprocal Links:

Gather at QueenPower.com 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/

Sun Signs for Writers: Learn how astrology can benefit (and entertain!) writers with a new Writers* Digest book: http://www.writersigns.info

Judith Woolcock Colombo: Author of The Fablesinger and Night Crimes: Learn more at: http://odin.prohosting.com/~night01

 Discover love, laughter, romance, and eccentric, meddling neighbors among other things... Discover a novel by Cynthianna Appel and receive your choice of another e-book at no cost. Go to http://pages.sbcglobal.net/cynthianna/promo.html today!

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

Fr** Publicity Resource: Let this site send your media release to book trade professionals including Associated Press, Reuters, Dow Jones, and more! http://press.heliographica.com/

Milli Thornton, created a clinic to help promote her book, Fear of Writing. She is also the author of an e-book called Become a Workshop Presenter. Learn more at: http://www.fearofwriting.com/
Has writing lost some of its spontaneity? Find a fun remedy in the online writing course at Fear of Writing: http://www.fearofwriting.com/course

Discover a true-life philosophy about making marriages last a lifetime in Choose Love For Life, by Joe and Edwina Roady (http://www.chooseloveforlife.com/.)

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Please forward Sharing with Writers to other writers. Unlike many others, I do not mind if you send only part of it. I do ask that you paste the subscribe information I have provided at the end of this newsletter and credit individual contributors as well.
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Tip: My husband, Lance Johnson, who is shopping his memoir called Finding Me, sent me a newsletter edited by Mahesh Grossman, President of The Authors Team. You can learn more about this organization and sign up for this well-written letter at www.AuthorsTeam.com .
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Thank Yous:

To Millie Thornton for featuring The Frugal Book Promoter in her newsletter, the Fear of Writing Gazette complete with link. To subscribe and check out her site go to www.fearofwriting.com .

To Deron Douglas, publisher of Double Dragon Publishing for including a biography page on his site for me and for the other producers/instructors of our new teleclass series. Find it at: http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/Authors/eAuthor.asp?Name=Carolyn%20Howard-Johnson

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Carolyn*s The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won*t is USA Book News* Best Professional Book 2004. Ordering information is at the end of this newsletter. Her This is the Place and Harkening are both multiple award winners. Learn more about her work and download her fr** promotional e-books at http://carolynhowardjohnson.com
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Reciprocal Links You Can Use:

The Complete Writer offers advice on writing, editing, proofreading, publishing and design. Published by Red Engine Press, it offers writing services. A traditional press, it publishes fiction, nonfiction and children*s titles. http://www.redenginepress.com/
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 Dr. Bob Rich is a freelance editor. He finds the good things in your book and makes suggestions for improving it. His clients include independent publishers, and a long list of writers. Find him at http://bobswriting.com/editing.html

The Compulsive Reader reviews books by some of the hottest writers working today. Find author interviews, literary news, criticism, a free e-zine, giveaways, and more. http://www.compulsivereader.com/html.

Do bookstores owe you money? Michelle Dunn*s books How to Make Money Collecting Money: Starting a Collection Agency and Become the Squeaky Wheel, A Credit and Collections Guide for Everyone will help you get your checks in full and on time. http://www.michelledunn.com/

Erica Miner, queenpower.com*s Queen of Journaling, has a monthly e-mail newsletter that rocks. News and tips for writers, with an emphasis on journaling will enrich your writing. Subscribe at: http://www.ericaminer.com/newsletter.php

A Cappela Publishing*s very successful audiobook, How to Write Your Own Life Story (or Your Family*s Saga) is now also available as a CD set. The American Library Association*s Booklist highly recommends it, for both professionals and those who have never before written anything beyond a letter. It takes you step by step through the process, even discussing your publishing options and which is best for you. A great gift for that reluctant parent or favorite aunt or uncle. www.acappela.com

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Author Successes:

Ilona Hegedus*s *Haunted House,* a poem from Unearthly Companion, Ilona Hegedus* first book of genre poetry has been nominated for Muses Prize Best Poem of Year 2005.

For the list of nominees for Muses Prize go to
http://www.geocities.com/musesreview/musesprize2nd_nominees.html
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Brandon Wilson*s Dead Men Don*t Leave Tips: Adventures X Africa is being released from Pilgrim*s Tales. It is the story of one couple*s pursuit of their dream--to cross Africa, 10,000 miles from top-to-tip. It was edited by Dr. Bob Rich. Subscribers may have a preview the book at http://www.PilgrimsTales.com.
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Kathe Goggolewski*s (http://www.tri-studio.com/kathegogolewski.html) children*s book, Tato, a fantasy adventure for children ages 8 to 13, was just released from Wings Press. An excerpt is available at http://wings-press.com/newrelease.htm#Tato. It*s available in both trade paperback and e-book format. Kathe, a teacher, has test-marketed this book with about 400 children and responses have been overwhelmingly positive.
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Teleclass Success:
Here is an example of how little promotions can grow like Thanksgiving pumpkins! The teleclasses you have seen in this newsletter (or attended because of it) have been picked up Double Dragon Press and will be available as podcasts. The last class in 2005 (on Nov. 17th--see above) will be a traditional teleclass. Then in 2006 five Authors* Coalition members will produce a series of 27 teleclasses that will be sold as MP3 podcasts and CDs beginning in January. The teleclasses will be produced and taught by:

Allyn Evans http://www.queenpower.com
Joyce Faulkner http://www.joycefaulkner.com
Kathe Gogolewski (DDP pen name - Ann Durand) http://www.TRI-Studio.com
Carolyn Howard-Johnson http://carolynhowardjohnson.com
Marilyn Peake http://www.marilynpeake.com

These teleclasses will include three categories: Technology and the Writer, Writing, and Promotion. For a sample podcast of an earlier teleclass produced by Allyn Evans, Carolyn Howard-Johnson, and Marilyn Peake, please go to DDP*s free podcasts and audio productions http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/podcasts.asp.
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Leora Skolkin-Smith*s Edges: O Israel, O Palestine, edited by Grace Paley, was optioned for an original radio production by three-time Peabody Award-winner Marjorie VanHalteren. Leora says, *For the first time, I will have the amazing opportunity to hear my words, exactly as written, performed in this new and thrilling way. It*s a project I am looking forward to with all the channels of my artistic being turned on and up. I know I will be a little scared but, also, curious and enchanted.* Learn more about Leora at http://www.leoraskolkinsmith

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Featured Article

The Voice of Experience:
Sharing is What We Do Best

By Chris Meeks

My eyes are now open. There*s so much I*ve learned in doing my first book that I*d do earlier next time. Before I explain that, I*ll point out what I did correctly. My goal was to create a book that looks like a major publisher created it, and to that end, I did it.

What I Did Correctly

1) Editing. I*d been a senior editor for a publishing company once, and one thing I learned was that you cannot be your own editor. Two years ago, I hired a professional editor, Nomi Isak Kleinmutz in Santa Monica ( nomik@ucla.edu), who taught professional editing at UCLA. She was fabulous in that she didn*t just X things out, but would question some things with the notation, *Needed?* Though I*m good with grammar, she nonetheless found mistakes. She was great at details.

2) Book Design. Lulu Press, unlike iUniverse, is all do-it-yourself. Creating a book and with them and getting it on Amazon.com and to Ingram, a nationwide distributor, costs under $200, but you have to do everything yourself. I knew I couldn*t do all of this well, so I hired a book designer, Daniel Will-Harris ( http://www.will-harris.com/), who took my Microsoft Word files and played with fonts and created a book design. There*s a lot that goes into where the words land on each page. It takes patience. He also gave me options for the cover.

3) Marketing. In the last year, I was seduced into watching The Apprentice with Donald Trump. The one thing I*ve learned is to do market research. After Daniel Will-Harris and I came up with the original cover for The Middle Aged Man and the Sea, I put it up on my website ( http://www.chrismeeks.com/) to see if anyone clicked on it and responded to me. No one did. That told me our cover was too esoteric. I then sent the table of contents (all my short story titles) to a number of friends and asked which story would make the best title. To my surprise, most people selected *The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea.* Then Daniel made four designs for the cover with that title, and I sent those four selections around. Everyone selected the fish jumping out of the fishbowl.

4) The Copyright Page. Real books--those from big publishers, show a lot of information on the verso page, also known as the copyright page. I made my page look like that exactly. I joined the Library of Congress to get a Library of Congress Control Number after Lulu Press gave me my ISBN number. I had my wife, a librarian, create Cataloguing-in-Publication information. I gave information for reprints and more. Look at a big publisher*s book and make yours look as professional.

5) Be Obsessive. With Lulu Press, you can get a copy of your book before you make it available to anyone else, and if anything needs correcting, you can make another version. I got not just one but five copies of my first version, and I had that proofread by friends, even though the text had been thoroughly proofread. I found places where italics were missing, for instance, and where some of the spacing for justification was odd. One can make made microadjustments if you have a good book designer. I went through three versions before it was all right.

What I*d Do Next Time

1) Publication Date and Press Releases. Even though I*d read Carolyn*s book first, until you are involved in your real book, some of the information may not sink in. My first press release explained the book well, but it did not give a publication date. Once your book is uploaded at Lulu, it*s virtually published. Of course, it takes a month or more to show up on Amazon and in Books in Print, so that part made me impatient. Then I was asked from the first place I gave my press release to (a publicity department at school where I teach) *When*s the publication date?* Long story short: books are like movies. They are advertised before they come out, and if your book is available everywhere, it*s too late. Suddenly my month until people could get it all over was too short. I*m still scrambling. In the future, I*ll get out the first press releases just after I put up my first version.

2) Reviews and ARCS. I also didn*t remember from Carolyn*s book where she tells that most book reviewers want your book three months in advance of the publication date. I thought I was going to send books out once it was published. Wrong. An ARC is a galley. (Carolyn*s book explains this well in Chapter 23.) Next time, I*d put a plain cover on my first version and make it an ARC and send it out three months in advance. Even though all the mistakes weren*t found in the first version, that*s okay for a galley. While you*re obsessing, reviewers can be reviewing.

I*m sure I*ll discover more as I forge ahead, but this is what I*ve learned so far.
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Christopher Meeks took a class in promotion from Carolyn at UCLA and is an instructor there as well. He is the author of The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea. For a reading sample or buying information, go to www.lulu.com/white-whisker or to http://www.chrismeeks.com/.)

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Please feel free to pass on this newsletter or portions of it to others but do include this credit: *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, as an entity of Authors* Coalition, http://authorscoaltionandredenginepress.com. *
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Feature #2

Warning: Do Not Read if Sex or Promotion Offends You! (:

Walking the Edge of Promotion

By Edward Lee Goldstein

I believe, I have crossed a fine line. There are only a few people on the planet who might appreciate what I have done. And God forgive me…please.

I went to a small lecture at Woodbury College in Burbank, which honored Rev. Robert Schuller, founder of the Crystal Cathedral. So what did I do? First I sold a copy of my book to the Vice President in charge of fundraising for the College. He had a funny look on his face after finding the book in his hands, since I think he believed he was going to get money out of me, but I beat him to the punch.

Then I went up to the Rev. as he was finishing signing his own literary masterpiece. I said, *I have just autographed a copy of my book and I want you to have it. But I must warn you there is a lot of SEX in my book, because sex happens in a life. And I told the truth about everything.* This internationally known, revered, man of the cloth then walked around the rest of the evening clutching it in his holy hands The Male Thing Explained: Secrets of An Orgasmic Urban Baby Boomer.

I can hardly wait to hear Schuller*s opinion of my memoir. I wonder if he will ever admit to reading it. Do you think I*ll get a quote I can use in my promotion campaign? Is it possible, he may be quoting Goldstein*s *Male Thing Explained* at his next sermon??? Hmmmm? And the saga continues.
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Edward Lee Goldstein MA, MS, RPT, is author of The Male Thing Explained and recipient of a Book Publicists of So. Calif. 2005 Irwin Award for Excellence. Women and men may go to find answers at: www.MaleThingExplained.com .


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