August 19, 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, 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_Aug_No3Week2007.doc

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Note from Carolyn:

My fellow AC Members and SWW Subscribers:

Our--yours and mine--semi-annual AllTips edition of "Sharing with Writers" is coming up in September.

That means this edition is one I plead with you to mention this newsletter in your newsletter or on one of your YahooGroups or in your blog or on your website. That's because we don't want any fellow author to miss an AllTips edition, do we? And they only come twice a year!!

And, of course, I also urge you to submit a great tip--one you know might help someone else. Just send it to me at hojonews@aol.com.

Happy, happy writing and promoting!
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 and
www.thenewbookreview.blogspot.com

Letters to the Editor
Corrections:

Regarding the virus warning last week. Several of you responded. Subscriber Karen Magill says, "The link was right. The title was wrong. 'A Virtual Card for You' [in the subject line] is a hoax. 'You've Received a Postcard from a Family Member' (or whoever) is real. It is getting so out of hand!"

Note: It may be the last time I report on viruses. I just know too little about them. It's kind of a crazy-maker.
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Jim Stevens, of PRDigital.com, sends these two links to help subscribers clarify this virus thing:

Hoax (explanation): http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/virtualcard.asp

Real (explanation): http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/postcard.asp
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Hi, Carolyn,

I'd like to add something to the very useful warning about the "A Card for You" virus. I got one of those e-mails at my office, which was pretty much a dead giveaway something must be wrong (using government e-mail for sending and receiving greeting cards isn't exactly an encouraged practice). I floated my mouse pointer over the link that I was being asked to click, to see just where it would lead me. Instead of the URL for somewhere like Hallmark.com, it was an .exe file. Very bad, indeed!

Anyone can do [what I did], if in doubt about the legitimacy of an e-mail link. Float your mouse cursor over it, and you'll be able to see what you're about to open. If it's an .exe file, DON'T.

Best,
Nina M. Osier
http://www.geocities.com/nina_osier/
Author of Sagamartha, best selling science fiction available from Fictionwise; and Mistworld, sequel to 2005 EPPIE finalist Matushka

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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 and ditto for The Fiction Flyer. Membership is reasonable, too.
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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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 try to add new articles to it each week. If you don't see what you need for your blog, or newsletter, just ask. HoJoNews@aol.com.
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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 Nancy Cleary, publisher, for quoting me on her Amazon page for A Book Is Born under the "Editorial Reviews" section. Find it here. http://www.amazon.com/Book-Born-Nancy-C-Cleary/dp/1932279504
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To Connie Gotsch, for linking her new blog, www.conniegotsch.blogspot.com, to mine. Connie is the author of Snap Me a Future

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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 at less per year than most sites charge for a single month (see the advertising tab at the top of the page). Authors' Coalition www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com is also accepting ads.
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Tip: May Lattanzio sends this link for research on anything spiritual, all kinds of terms and more. http://www.worthlink.net/~ysabet/spirit/index.html

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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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Tip: Anyone need to know how teens talk for authentic dialogue in their next novel? Thanks to Leora Krygier (www.leorgakrygier.com), author of When She Sleeps for submitting this great site for finding up-to-date slang, colloquialisms, etc. www.urbandictionary.com

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Watch for the third annual All Tips Edition of Sharing with Writers coming in September. Send your favorite tip for inclusion to: HoJoNews@aol.com with "SWW TIP" in the subject line.
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Dear Carolyn A La Ann Landers

Trade Show Booth Not the Best Promotion Expenditure--Generally Speaking

Carolyn:

Ever hear of the situation below; if so, is it a good idea?
Thanks,
Michael J. Wallach, author How To Get Arrested
www.HowToGetArrested.com

Dear Michael:

The letter that you sent me urges participation in fall library shows. These are really tradeshows where books are on display to professionals, not for sale to the public. Some library tradeshows are combined with different library systems for greater exposure. These tradeshows are generally for library personnel and are held regionally for easy access by librarians. Anyone who wants more information about them can find it at BookPublishing which sponsors booths at these shows. Their URL is http://www.bookpublishing.com/ip/includes/cbe_2007/jgicbe_8shows_8_10_07.pdf

Other tradeshows include international shows that call themselves book fairs or expos. There is one in Frankfurt every year. Book Expo America (BEA) is also a trade show.

This kind of booth offering at tradeshows generally charges about $70 to $100 per title, though charges vary. I once paid an organizer $395. to take my The Frugal Book Promoter to Frankfurt hoping that a European publisher would pick it up. Hoping to avoid the downside of these booths, I suggested that the person sponsoring the booth act as my agent/representative and be paid depending on results. My offer was a no-go. I should have known better. I received back a list of publishers who had "shown interest" and every single one on the list either could not be reached or didn't remember that they had looked at my book. That my German and French are poor didn't help.

The upside of the kind of booth participation being offered to you, Michael, is that library decision-makers (read that buyers) certainly do attend these shows. Ditto for many of the other kinds of tradeshows. Others include distributors, wholesalers, foreign rights agents and other publishing professionals. The downside is that there are many, many booths and many, many books in each booth. YOU, the author, are not there to talk about your book. The caretaker in the booth may or may not be particularly invested in your book. Probably the latter.

Those of you who own The Frugal Book Promoter (available at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193299310X/ may remember reading that I don't recommend book fairs except under certain conditions. Those conditions are listed in that book and they include promoting your appearance at the fair. That includes, of course, being there to sign. I signed at two Book Expos, one in Chicago, one in New York. One was at the back of the signings sponsored by BEA itself. More recently I signed in the Biblio booth. Biblio is my distributor for the just-released The Frugal Editor. Because I was present to sign and could promote my appearance, both met at least some of my goals. In The Frugal Book Promoter, I give other specific ways to promote and points to negotiate for fairs and even book signings).

So, Michael, unless you want to back up the appearance of your book at one of these tradeshows with e-mails and/or postcards to lists of those distributors, wholesalers, foreign rights agents, librarians and other publishing professionals who are attending, your book (or even your appearance) may very well get lost. If you should choose to utilize shows like these, the show administrators may or may not share the lists of their attendees with you. There may also be a charge for the list. Keep in mind, too, the fact that your book will be appearing at these shows— as opposed to your little author-self—is not really newsworthy so you will not benefit from the usual kind of local publicity you might get for some events you do. Nor would the fact that ten library buyers chose to shelve your book interest most editors. If, however, a foreign publisher picked up the rights, that might be good for some publicity mileage if not credibility. The thing is, what are the chances without you there to sell it?

That these shows are so often unproductive is one reason that I founded Authors' Coalition (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com) and that we sponsor booths at selected fairs which are not the same as tradeshows—book fairs are for the public. You know, real readers who may buy your book on the spot! We use lots and lots of value-added promotions including catalogs for book sellers, CDs, and a video program. To build interest we provide a free book with purchase offer and sometimes drawings, too. We also give our participants guidance in how to promote their appearance including flier and media release templates. For those who want to follow our efforts with these book fairs (and learn from them) go to my blog at www.authorscoalition.blogspot.com .

So, for most of these offers and for most authors, including you, Michael, I encourage you to take the money you would use to let someone else perch your book on a shelf and use it instead for postage and a great sales letter to send to the group you'd most like to target. You can glean lists from the Web and from your library. Some lists are free, some cost. But for a couple hundred dollars you can target your audience and chisel out a sales approach that will appeal to that audience.

If one of your targets is libraries (and it should be) here are the names of a few different library councils. You can Google them to get more information, addresses, etc.

American Assn. of School Libraries
California Library Assn.
Illinois Library Assn.
New England Library Assn.
New York Library Assn.
New York State Reading Assn.
Ohio Library Council
Pennsylvania Library Assn.

You'll also find lists of tradeshows and book fairs on the Resource for Writers page of my website at www.hotodoitfrugally.com. If you have a book that is regional, you can even rent a booth of your own (or share it with a couple of other people). Yes, you'd have to travel to do it. But your efforts (and money spent) will be better rewarded and you'll be doing something that can be promoted more broadly.

You might also suggest that your publisher sponsor a booth at some of these shows. He or she would have a real interest in putting your book into the hands of those for whom it would be a fit. Your publisher would probably take books to give to people who showed an interest. That would at least be an outstanding calling card for your book when the librarian or foreign rights buyer arrives home with a short memory after a very busy show.

Because your book, Michael, is about acting, it might do very well at a fair or tradeshow in New York or California, but probably only with guaranteed personal attention. Or you might contact librarians in both areas individually, by mail, e-mail or even phone.

It all boils down to this: Let your promotion dollar work where it will do the most good. The caveat is, of course, if you have very little time and a big fat promotion budget, have at it. You could always get lucky and having your book exposed is always better than doing nothing at all.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Your Frugal Book Promoter and author of the HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers
www.howtodoitfrugally.com

PS: For more high-content, straight-shooting articles like this go to the "F r ^ ^ Articles 4 Readers, Editors" page at www.howtodoitfrugally.com. All are available at no c ^ s t for use in your newsletter or blog or on your website.


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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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Author Successes

(If you read about others' successes you'll not only be inspired, you'll glean resources for future successes of your own. You are invited to send me news about your successes. Please use "AUTHOR SUCCESSES" as a subject lines.)

None to report this week. Please send me yours!

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Fun and F r * *: If you purchased The
Frugal Book 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 The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success that is now available for pre-order on Amazon. The excerpt includes some of the sidebars from the book that may help you with some tricky grammar. As a thank you, of course. HoJoNews@aol.com, the Frugal Book
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Carolyn's Appearances and Teaching:

Carolyn will moderate a panel titled
Reach for Your Dream: Prepare for Publication the Professional Way
at the West Hollywood Book Fair on September 30. Circle your calendars. From 1:00-1:45 pm. 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/
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Carolyn will speak at the fourth Annual Pen to Paper Literary Symposium October 6, 2007. The conference, spearheaded by Valerie Coleman is sponsored by Dayton Urban League at 907 West Fifth Street Dayton, Ohio 45402. It 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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Carolyn Howard-Johnson will speak at the Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written Word (October 12-14) in Nashville, TN. The subject is Realize Your Dream: From Query Letter to Bestseller--Frugally!
The time will be announced later. And don't you just love the title of the fair? You'll find more information on this fair and others you might participate in at www.howtodoitfrugally.com. Click on the Resources for Writers page and scroll down. For more on this specific fair, go to
http://tn-humanities.org/festival.
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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 in 2007. We will present an all-new program soon. Go to:
http://www.freewebs.com/themuseonlinewritersconference/presentersregistration.htm
To see the growing list of presenters go to: http://www.freewebs.com/themuseonlinewritersconference/2007workshops.htm
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson talks to Valerie Connely's audience on

"Editing as Branding: Spelling success from queries to your book's manuscript."

Circle your calendar on Wednesday December 12th at 8PM Eastern, 7PM Central, 5PM Pacific time. More details to come. Reach Valerie at Nightengale Press, 847 810 8498, www.globaltalkradio.com/shows/callingallauthors

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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 from scolding Oprah to free speech. 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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Carolyn's Appearances and Teaching for 2008:

Carolyn will speak on Jan 2, 2008, at Ridge Writers, the East Sierra Branch of the California Writers Club founded more than 100 years go by Jack London and friends in the Bay area. The provide f r ^ ^ programs for writers at High Desert Haven in Ridgecrest. Learn more at www.ridgenet.net/~curtdan/ridgewriters.
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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. http://www.humorwriters.org/
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson will appear on Write On Four Corners with host Connie Gotsch on KSJE FM Public Radio from San Juan College. Access the broadcast at: www.ksje.com 10:30 am Wed. 2:30 pm Fri. Mountain Time. Click on the website to listen live in your appropriate time zone. Connie is the author of the mystery suspense novel Snap Me a Future as well as host of Roving with the Arts on KSJE and regular contributor to The Four Corners Free Press www.fourcornersfreepress.com

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Carolyn's new blog for the participants in Authors' Coalition-sponsored booth is designed to help all authors learn to make often hum-drum book fair booths into sizzling successes. Visit at www.authorscoalition.blogspot.com. Leave comments, of course.
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TIP: Use a postscript for anything you really, really want someone to read. It's not strictly kosher, but that might even include a query letter. In a sales letter, the postscript might include the most important benefit of reading your book.

PS: Better still, handwrite that PS.

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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. Let people see that book cover image! So, you are invited to advertise as a site sponsor at www.howtodoitfrugally.com. for a year at the same price many sites frequented by readers and writers charge in 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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Tip: You know those nifty testimonials (also called endorsements, blurbs and sometimes even bullets)? Don't under use them. And don't put them all in one place. Scatter them throughout your website and your media kit. Include one in your e-mail autosignature. How about on a return address label with a picture of the cover of your book? People rarely read a whole page of endorsements but you can put them everywhere. I even use one on my business cards.

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Available: Audios from Audio Divas on many aspects of building a writing career are published by Double Dragon Press. Here is the page where you'll find the full list (http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/glist.php?imprint=AUDIO) including one on "Do It Yourself Indexing." The first audio, "Promoting Easy and Cheap!" is a
F R ^ ^ sample you can download. Each comes with a resource guide. Here is an example of a guide for the audio-lesson Your Divas did on "Contests": http://www.derondouglas.com/audiosample/AwardResourceGuideContests.pdf
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Tip: When you punctuate dialogue you don't need both the question mark behind the quotation and the works asked. If you insist on using the word asked, use a comma instead of the question mark. Don't believe me? Read Stephen King's On Writing for this tip and lots of others.

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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! You know you want it on your website!
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Tip: Want to sell more of your freelance articles? Try spicing up your proposal (and the article itself) with some expertly written anecdotes that include dialogue. Don't believe me? Start paying attention to how much more frequently both are being used in the nation's top newspapers.

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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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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.)

LINKS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS:
http://www.authorsguild.org/news/freelancers_bring_class.htm
http://www.internet-law-firm.com/pub_netlaw_6.htm
http://www.well.com/~couey/authorsrights.html
http://www.jdlasica.com/articles/NAA-tasini.html
http://www.freelancerights.com
http://www.unionwriters.org/campaigns/writers-rights-foi.php
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Find Elizabeth at http://www.authorsden.com/elucastaylor or her new blog at http://www.elucas-taylor.blogspot.com/ or at MySpace http://www.myspace.com/elucastaylor
where you will find a writers' community.

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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 any of my books -- the HowToDoItFrugally Series to my chapbook of poetry --for a place on my Resources for Writers or Resources for Readers pages on www.HowToDoItFrugally.com.
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In the News: Amazon.com acquired Brilliance Audio, the largest independent audiobook publisher in the US.

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I use Vista Print for lots of my promotional materials. Be aware that shipping prices may fluctuate, depending on the deal of the moment. Even at that, the prices generally are good, the products they offer excellent quality and they do short runs. (I don't advise long runs on promotion material because your needs can change very quickly.) Please use this link:
http://www.vistaprint.com/frf?frf=815651421184
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Web Advice from WebforAuthors.com Expert Marshall Turner
Images 3
Images used on a website are surprisingly low resolution. So don't make the mistake of using your original pictures without resizing and possibly cropping. Cropping is used to select only what you want of the picture. The rest gets trimmed. So first crop to have the exact picture you want.
Next, size the file appropriately. That will make it easier to upload to your site and faster for your visitors to download. Smaller is faster!

Web browsers do a bit of magic when displaying images. No matter what size the file is, the browser will resize to display it in the space provided. While this can be a good feature, it can lead you to think all is fine when
it is not. By that I mean that any file that is larger than needed will take longer to download.

If you know the size allocated for the image you can size the image to fit exactly. But what if you do not know? Well, a simple trick is to size it to appear (at 100%) about the same size as the image placeholder on the webpage.

Generally, files should be less than 100KB in size.
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Learn more about WebforAuthors.com at http://www.webforauthors.com/ or contact Marshall at mturner@webforauthors.com.

========================================================The New Book Review is a service of this newsletter and Authors' Coalition. 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. This has been popular so please allow some time before your review will be posted. ========================================================

E-Tips for E-Promotion

Learn more about how to improve your Internet search ranking at Aaron Wall's blog, www.seobook.com.
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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.)

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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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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.)

"Cashtration: The act of buying a house, which
renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period."

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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 How To Do It Frugally Series of books for writers, www.howtodoitfrugally.com.

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, 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 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/

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/