April 1 2007
Sharing with Writers
A newsletter that is also a community. Share your ideas. Learn from theirs!
From the Desks of
Carolyn Howard-Johnson and Authors' Coalition Friends
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"Sharing with Writers" is the official newsletter of Authors' Coalition,

http://authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com

an organization of writers who help writers.

To read this letter in plain vanilla text, just scroll down. To read this newsletter with a bit more pizzazz (not much, though!) at Authors Den go to:

http://www.AuthorsDen.com/adstorage/1713/Sharingwithwriters_April_No1Week, 2007.doc

Learn about an opportunity to participate in the LA Times/UCLA Festival of Books -- whether you live in LA or not -- by going to my blog at http://redenginepress.com/chjohnson

The LA fair is one of the nation's biggest and most prestigious with more than 130,000 visitors and the power of the LA Times behind it.

Find pictures of last year's booth at http://tri-studio.com/kathegogolewskiPHOTOSfair06.html
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Note from Carolyn:

My fellow AC Members and SWW Subscribers:

This is Pass It Forward week. You pass the good news about this newsletter to others because my second All-Tips Edition is coming up and you won't want to let your fellow authors, critiquers, authors' e-groups, etc be without it.

Then you send me your favorite resource or tip. That's Pass It Forward, too. C'mon. Don't hoard your brilliant ideas. Share!

You may have noticed that I like to be specific. If can be a formatting, indexing, writing, promoting or anything-to-do-with writing tip. I'll add it to the newsletter. When it's nice and long, it will get sent out. Those of you who print out the letter and circle the ideas for later use will have a ball!

Carolyn Howard-Johnson
HoJoNews@aol.com
Websites: http://carolynhoward-johnson.com and www.HowToDoItFrugally.com
http://authorscoalitionandredenginepess.com Blogs: A blog focused on book fairs at
http://redenginepress.com/chjohnson and another blog that is about writing and reading at www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com.

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Subscribers who have websites or newsletters of their own may be interested in the Free Articles 4 Readers and Writers on my site, www.howtodoitfrugally.com. I add new articles to it each week. If you don't see what you need, just ask. HoJoNews@aol.com.
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Letters-to-the-Editor

Dear Carolyn:

This fair event [promotion info and how-tos] and all your newsletters and advice have really motivated me to bust my butt to get the word out about my book. Too bad my job gets in the way as it is so time consuming (Ha Ha), but I have such positive feelings now that I am understanding the marketing side of this better.
Thanks!
Janet Goliger
Author of “I need to be SAFE: I’m worth it!”
A unique book for children and parents
with safety and survival techniques that WORK!
ISBN: 978-0-9768273-2-0
http:www.classpublications.com

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Feature

A B&N Fairytale
OR: Why We Should Never Give Up

From Fran Silverman's Book Promotion Newsletter

File this under "Hey, You Never Know." I had gone downtown to distribute invitations to bookstore buyers in the vicinity of the Good News Broadcast. I stopped in the Barnes & Noble on the corner of 18th and Fifth Avenue, figuring I'd be in and out. What I learned is invaluable. I spoke with Kevin Bryant, the trade book buyer, who informed me that this branch is not part of the corporate structure; rather it is part of the Barnes & Noble college division (it is, after all, near NYU). This means the bookstore is independent and can buy self-published and POD books.

He showed me the four racks of books under "Media and Journalism," explaining that most of these books - both textbooks and consumer - are not at other branches. This is where my book will be shelved. According to Kevin, this section is frequented by students, professionals and journalism professors. He suggested that since I live in NYC that I have a book signing there and gave me the phone number of the community relations manager. [I called but have not heard back from him yet]. Before a signing, the books are placed on the end cap and in the window - what better publicity can one ask for?

I'll let you know when the signing is so those of you who could not make the book launch may be able to make the bookstore event.

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If you enjoy "Sharing with Writers" please nominate it for Writer's Digest's 101 Best Newsletters for Writers. We aren't big, we aren't old. So it would take a huge outpouring from subscribers to make a dent. Send an e-mail to writersdig@fwpubs.com with subject line, "101 Best Newsletters for Authors" and let them know what this newsletter does for you!
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Thank Yous

(There are leads here, just as you'll find in all the most innocent-looking areas of this newsletter. You never know when you'll find a name or a site that will help you network or write better!)

To Marshall Turner, owner of WebForAuthors and Authors' Coalition sponsor, for including links and logos on his resources page for Authors' Coalition, the LA Times/UCLA Festival of Books booth and the HowToDoItFrugally.com site: http://www.webforauthors.com/pages/resource_03.php.
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To WOW, Women on Writing for publishing my most recent release on the career week panel I'm serving on at UCLA. http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/blog.html
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To Nadine Laman for all the mentions in her newsletter and the lovely blurbs she wrote for each of my books. She says she isn't much for publicity but those blurbs put the lie to her claim. Find her newsletter at www.nadinelamanbooks.com and click on newsletters at the top of the page.

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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 www.howtodoitfrugally.com (see the advertising tab at the top of the page) or at www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com.
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Tip: HowToDoThings.com presents expert-contributed information on a wide variety of writing topics. Some of their most popular articles are on subjects like "How to Write a Theatrical Review", "How to Find Writing Jobs", "How to Self-Publish", and "How to Write a Press Release." Our site link is: http://www.howtodothings.com/hobbies/cm1112-writing--poetry.html

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Please pass this letter on to others. Unlike many others, I do not mind if you use only portions of it as long as you credit the writers and include this subscribe information. "To subscribe to 'Sharing with Writers' send an e-mail to HoJoNews@aol.com with 'subscribe' in the subject line."
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TIP: I posted another new article in the article bank on my website. This one is "How to Get Harvard Bookstore to Stock Your Book." It's fun and will inspire authors but the article bank is designed to let anyone with a newsletter or website or other educational need find content at no c h ^ r g e. So, whether you're reading or looking for content for your latest project, go to www.HowToDoItFrugally.com and click on the
F R ^ ^ Articles 4 Readers and Editors button at the top of the page.

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We have room because of a cancellation for one more one-hour signing segment at the LA Fair. CD and Catalog opportunities are closed but will be available again for the North Hollywood Book Fair in September.

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Editing Tip:

Direct from The Frugal Editor which will soon be available on Amazon: Go easy on italics if you want to get your manuscript read by an agent or traditional publisher. Trust me; there are ways to get around using them for internal dialogue and most other temptations that come your way. I'll be giving some in my seminar on dialogue at the Muse Online Writers Conference (see Carolyn's appearances).

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New members will help Authors' Coalition serve all its members better! Ask your writing friends to join at http://authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com. Paid members get a favorite review posted, consideration for an interview or review in Yarnspinners and Wordweavers. Membership is reasonable, too. We're even planning a speakers' bureau.

Tell friends to visit our blog. There they'll learn how to spark generally insipid book fairs by using value-added promotions: http://redenginepress.com/chjohnson .

http://authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com
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Author Successes

(You are invited to send me news about your successes. New books, awards and more. If you read about others' successes you'll not only be inspired, you'll glean resources for future successes of your own. Please get in the habit of using subject lines, though, that will not be interpreted as spam.)

The success listed below is an example of how you can make waves (and bring your book along in the wake) outside of the traditional reviews and signings.

I need to know about your successes to publish them. New books, awards, etc. Please include URLs in what you send me so others might benefit

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Fun and F r * *: If you purchased Promoter in the past, I'd love for 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 an excerpt from my soon-to-be-released The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success that includes some sidebars from the book that will help you with some tricky grammar. As a thank you, of course. HoJoNews@aol.com, the Frugal Book
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Feature

Work BEA the Frugal Way

Here is a quick baker's dozen of cheap ways to work BEA (www.bookexpoamerica.com) and lots of other conferences and tradeshows:

1. Consider NOT getting a "table" (I hate the term because that's what too many authors do, they come, bring books at sit down at the table supplied by the show director) or booth of your own.

2. If you really want to sign, utilize a cross-promotional effort sponsored by the likes of Span (www.spannet.org), Book Publicists of Southern California, your distributor, your publisher or Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com). Not all organizations have a presence at every show.
Click here or copy and paste to finish the article on my blog . . . www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com

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Opportunity:

Quiet Time Radio to Launch in April
Internet Radio is one of the fastest growing media's in communications. It offers worldwide syndication coverage. Internet Radio is now available in: wireless applications, iPods, mp3 players, cell phones and more... all reaching an expanding global audience. This is an exciting time! For as little as $20.00 per week, you can have your own weekly radio show. Please contact me at Quiettimeradio@aol.com if you would like to become a part of this inaugural radio network. I am a publisher and promoter of books, authors, and radio. I have 14 years of radio experience - CBS Radio/Los Angeles, and 14 years experience as a publisher.

The reality of our market is that we MUST have a mass media platform. It can be television, radio, or Internet but it must be a comprehensive mass media presence of some sort.
Deborah Granger, Publisher
www.qtpress.com
Quiet Time Publishing | Quiet Time Press | QT Fiction | Quiet Time Radio
PO Box 10366 | Marina del Rey, CA 90295
t. 310.452.2922 | f. 310.581.8031 | e. qtpress@aol.com | www.quiettimepress.com

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Carolyn's next one-day seminar on building a promotion campaign for your book is April 14 at UCLA's Public Policy building, 9:30 am. Registrations are available at the door.
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Carolyn's Appearances and Teaching:

Carolyn Howard-Johnson's new course at UCLA is Creating a Promotion Package for Your Fiction or Nonfiction Book (Engl. 735.1, Reg. #S9465). It is scheduled for April 14, 2007, one day only. On the UCLA campus, Public Policy Building, Room 1278, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. By advance registration or registration 1/2 hour before class.
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Coming Saturday April 21, 2007 at 10 am. Led by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Poetry! Don't Let It Molder in a Drawer, Publish It! A seminar and poetry reading at the Glendale City Central Library (California) in the auditorium featuring Sona Ovasapyan and Christine Alexanians.
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Mark April 28th and 29, 2007, for the LA Times/UCLA Festival of Books. Go to www.redenginepress.com/chjonson for the fair-focused blog with details on how even out-of-towners can participate.
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Carolyn will sit on a publishing/writing career panel for UCLA's Career Program. April 10, at the Career center, corner Strathmore and Westwood (near the campus) in Westwood, CA . 5 pm to 7 pm.
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Carolyn will be speaking to PEN USA's Emerging Voices fellows in May at Antioch University. This is a closed event but you can learn more about the program for yourself or to help other talented writers by going to www.penusa.com.
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Free Frugal Editor for Publishing Professionals a BEA! Carolyn will be at the Biblio Booth at Javits Center in New York City at 1 pm Friday, June 1, signing her new The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success.
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Carolyn will train American Business Women of America's (ABWA) newsletter editors publish prize-winning, professional periodicals June 9th at their regional convention in Downey, CA.
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Romance Writers Everywhere! Come to the meeting I'll be speaking at on Saturday, June 16th, in San Diego to meet me and the National President of Romance Writers of America (Jill Limber) who will speak on writing a great synopsis--something most of us aren't that adept at (for lack of practice if nothing else). I'll speak at 10 am, she'll speak after lunch. Lunch and meetings at the Mission Valley Handley Hotel is $25 for members, $30. for nonmembers.
For reservations contact hospitality chairwoman Mary Galusha at: marydave66@yahoo.com . Please copy Linda Sundstrom, lsundstrom@ucsd.edu if you want to arrange seating at my table. The group's website is www.rwasd.com.
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Carolyn will be interviewed by popular author and marketer Janet Elaine Smith hosts an online radio program, "Marketing for Fun and Profit," every Monday evening at July 9 p.m. ET on http://internetvoicesradio.com/ .
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Carolyn will speak on Your Media Release: You Write So You Can Do It! September 8, 2007 at the Valley Cities Jewish
Community Center in Sherman Oaks, CA www.CalWritersSFV.com
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Carolyn will moderate a panel on publishing at the West Hollywood Book Fair on September 30. Circle your calendars. It's f r ^ ^ Even those who are old hands at publishing will learn something new, I promise!
West Hollywood Park
647 N San Vicente Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Learn more at http://www.westhollywoodbookfair.org/Mambo/
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Carolyn will speak at the fourth Annual Pen to Paper Literary Symposium October 6, 2007, Dayton Marriott, 1414 S. Patterson Blvd Dayton, Ohio, 45409. The conference will include tracks for music and screenwriting, in addition to writing and publishing books. Start planning now to attend this elite event and take advantage of the early bird special (www.penofthewriter.com/pentopaper).
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The f r ^ ^ Muse Online Writers' Conference, sponsored by Lea Schizas and Carolyn Howard-Johnson, is accepting early registration. More than 1,000 attended last year and openings are limited. Learn more about this year's conference, October 8 to 14, and how you can assure your spot 2007. We will present an all-new program soon. Go to:
http://www.freewebs.com/themuseonlinewritersconference/presentersregistration.htm
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For 2008! As you can see 2008 is already beginning to fill. I will be sharing with the nation's humor writers again in the spring of 2008 at Dayton University's Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop. I'll speak twice at the Kennedy Union on campus.

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Authors' Coalition members! For credibility, use the AC logo on your promotional materials. Ask for it by sending an e-mail to HoJoNews@aol.com or download it with a click from the AC site http://authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com.
Be sure to link it to the AC site, too!
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Web Advice from WebforAuthors.com Expert

From Marshall Turner

Get your domain name today!
Once someone purchases a domain name it’s gone. So even if you are a long way off from having a website, at about $10 per year it’s cheap insurance to buy your domain name. Don’t be like the author who called me who had a book about to be published. I checked and found her name had been registered just six months before. And when I visited the site it was a website in memory of someone’s dearly departed mother! If possible get “yourname.com” as people are most familiar with this dot.com ending. You may also want to get the “.org” and “.net” as these are the other two that are most well know.

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website at http://www.webforauthors.com/ or contact Marshall at mturner@webforauthors.com.

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TIP: Did you know you can sign up to receive some blogs directly in your e-mail box, just like a newsletter? Did you know you can provide a place for people to sign up for your blog right on your blogpage? To see how it works, go to mine at www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com. Some of my old friends who aren't writers and don't even read much signed up for my blog, just to keep in touch -- people who would never be interested in something like this newsletter! If the idea of serving your blog readers sounds good idea to you, go to www.feedblitz.com and let them do it for you.

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Endorsement:
"www.HowToDoItFrugally.com , by Carolyn Howard--Johnson [is] a top website for writers . . . I'd say my ROI is over 1,000%. The advice is particularly strong in addressing the new author where they are in learning the publishing/selling process. Very practical. The site is excellent." ~ Hill Kemp, author of Capitol Offense, http://www.capitoloffense.com/, and contributor to Secrets, Fact or Fiction? I, ISBN 0-9737282-5-6 and Secrets, Fact or Fiction? II, ISBN 1-59594-062-6, LOC 2006904627, http://www.secretsfactorfiction.com
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Resources
From Elizabeth Lucas-Taylor

(Elizabeth contributes at least one valuable paying resource per SWW issue--either a great place to sell material or find writing craft or promotional idea--and sometimes throws in a resource for you.)

SHADOW POETRY CONTESTS – http://www.shadowpoetry.com/contests/poetrycontests.html

WRITER’s TIPS - Some great writer’s tips for all genres http://www.romantictimes.com/resources_tips.php?cat=WRITER'S%20TIPS
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Find Elizabeth at http://www.authorsden.com/elucastaylor or her new blog at http://www.elucas-taylor.blogspot.com/

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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 place on my Resources for Writers or Resources for Readers pages on www.HowToDoItFrugally.com.
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CD Promotion: We're Excited

Picture is here in the online version of this letter.

This is the picture that will be burned on the outside of Authors' Coalition's new CD. It includes the work of participating authors. It will be given away to readers and the press at the LA Times Festival of Books, more than 1,000 copies. The participants can make their own copies and give them at fairs and events they participate in during the year. A perfect cross-promotional effort! The artwork is by Kathe Gogolewski, a well-know muralist from San Diego (more about the availability of her work for your promotional purposes in a future newsletter!). So . . if you're coming to the LA Fair drop by to get your CD! It is packed with short stories, book excerpts, poetry and ideas and resources for your own book campaign.

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Opportunities

Empty Nester Stories Wanted

You’ve raised your family, and they've left home or are preparing to leave – maybe. That’s why we are creating Chicken Soup for the Empty Nester’s Soul. We’re looking for stories that explore the losses and discoveries, the rifts and rescues – and the hope and humor in it all. Please share your inspirational, true experiences of 1000 words or less. Payment is $200 for each story selected. A 50-word author biography will be included. The submission deadline is May 1, 2007. For guidelines and sample stories, go to http://www.emptynesterssoul.com/
Co-Author Carol McAdoo Rehme
Co-Author Patricia Cena Evans
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Reaching Your Readers

Imagine that your book will be seen by the kind of web visitor you want to appeal to whether that be poetry, the general reading audience or writers looking for information that will help them. Ads are now available at both http://www.carolynhowardjohnson.redenginepress.com/advertising.htm and www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com (think of all those fair visitors searching the site because it is listed in the LA Times Fair guide!) Contact me at hojonews@aol.com with questions.

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When was the last time you bought a book from an author you know? Tracings, my new chapbook of poetry is available for that honor at www.amazon.com/gp/product/1599240173/qid=1141623936/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-4692447-2218401?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
but any book mentioned in any one of your Sharing with Writers newsletters would be a nice gesture. If all of us directed more of our reading to newer authors who write in genres we love or genres we need to stretch into, we would do ourselves and the publishing industry a great favor.
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Wordstuff ™
Something to Make Writers Smile:
(Every year the Washington Post conducts a neologism contest. These are the winners, one at a time. You might have some favorite neologisms metaphors or similes that make you smile. If so, please contribute.)

"Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller."

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"AC is the current that powers your writing career." http://authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Authors' Coalition Founder
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E-Tips for E-Promotion:

Let Google tell you how effective your different webpages are! You probably already have a Google account. Click on "Analytics" and follow the instructions. You may learn something new about copying and pasting HTML code (don't let that scare you!) This is not nearly as painful as it sounds!
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This is a regular Sharing with Writers feature by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of USA Book News' Best Professional Book THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T and the soon-to-be released THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS. (E-tips for E-promotion was originally a regular feature of SellWritingOnline.com.)

========================================================If you enjoy "Sharing with Writers" please nominate it for Writer's Digest's 101 Best Newsletters for Writers. We aren't big, we aren't old. So it would take a huge outpouring from subscribers to make a dent. Send an e-mail to writersdig@fwpubs.com with subject line, "101 Best Newsletters for Authors" and let them know what this newsletter does for you!

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Essential Book and Record Keeping:

This letter is an entity of Authors' Coalition http://authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com

Edited and distributed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson,

http://carolynhoward-johnson.com

author of This Is the Place, Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered, Tracings, and The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't, this is a place to share with others and learn from others.

Though 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 letter, unsubscribe at HoJoNews@aol.com

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

Order the Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't
at stores like UCLA, Dayton University and San Diego State University's bookstores. Order it as an e-book at http://starpublish.com/carolyn_howard-johnson.htm

or paperback at Amazon where it is discounted:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/193299310X/qid=1149015406/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-4692447-2218401?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Tracings, a chapbook of poetry, published by Finishing Line Press may be ordered at www.amazon.com/gp/product/1599240173/qid=1139084827/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-7824821-4156653?s=books&v=glance&n=283155