January 06, 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:/www./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_Jan_No1Week_2007.doc

In the spirit of the advice I give in the Frugal Editor - - that is to use an extra pair of eyes whenever possible - - this newsletter is voluntarily copyedited by Authors' Coalition member, Mindy Phillips Lawrence ~ mplcreative1@aol.com
www.freewebs.com/mplcreative
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Note from Carolyn:

Dear Subscribers and Authors' Coalition Members:

New Year's resolutions. Blah, blah, blah.

They are usually way too pie - in - the - sky. Way too vague. Once when I was young I resolved to keep Lent and not eat any sweets. That lasted until the first Valentine's chocolates arrived, a gift from a cute young boyfriend who probably had never heard of Lent. If he hadn't, then maybe the whole deprivation thing wasn't such a good idea. Chomp.

Now, goals. That's something else. I have lots of those. Sometimes they get kept. Sometimes they don't.

Well, finally I did what I said I was going to do last January. That's isn't too bad, is it? A year? I got a speakers' bureau going on the Authors' Coalition site. Here's the URL to exactly that page:
http://www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com/join_our_speakers'_bureau.htm

You'll notice there is an amazing grand opening special of sorts. Anyone who has priced out speakers' bureaus will agree. It's new. I want you to grow with us. You'll see when you go there.

But while you're there, you really should browse around. I have been reworking it. This is the site that killed my personal site, so you'd better appreciate it. Ha!

Also, if you find broken links or typos, I'd love to hear about them. Do send me the URL though, and be specific. I mean, this site is HUGE!

And just because I don't make resolutions well, doesn't mean you shouldn't. Resolve to take extra care of your book! Your writing career! You know the best way to do that it is to speak and teach! So sign up for the speakers' bureau now. You'll grow with us and lock in those rates that are about 1/10 what I've seen elsewhere. You know me. If I'm Frugal, I guess I can't expect you to be otherwise.

Happy writing and, yes, editing!
Carolyn Howard - Johnson, HoJoNews@aol.com
Websites: http://carolynhoward - Johnson.com (literary)
http://HowToDoItFrugally.com (all things about writing)
Authors' Coalition: http://www.AuthorsCoalitionandRedEnginepress.com
For the Frugal Editor, Amazon - direct: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870/
Blogs: http://AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog focused on book fairs
http://www.SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com, a blog on all things publishing
http://www.TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog focused on YOUR reviews
http://www.TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com, a blog focused on editing, formatting and craft

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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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Letters - to - the - Editor

Hi,

I just received the wonderful Great First Impression Book Proposal from Amazon. I love it! My husband was amazed at all the info crammed into this short. You could have charged a lot more. I just re - vamped my proposal to follow the guidelines in it for my latest book, PALMS READ IN LOVE & LIGHT. If you need a testimonial let me know. I already have your Frugal books.

In Love & Light
Myrna Lou
Palmist/Psychic/Author
www.myrnaloupalmistry.com
303 - 651 - 6273
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History, Cross - Promotion and Puzzles:
A little story about how Authors' Coalition came to be and how you can play with puzzles with us! ( - :

By Joyce Faulkner (www.JoyceFaulkner.com), Authors' Coalition director

Carolyn Howard - Johnson is a problem solver. From the time she published her first book, This is the Place, she realized that she wasn't the only author struggling to promote her work with limited resources. As a retailer, she knew that authors are brands and books are products - - and that no one can be successful unless target audiences are familiar with the brand and know where to find the product. It didn't take long before she had a 'eureka moment.' "We have to work together," she says. "We have to find ways to share costs while taking our message to our audiences."

That's when The Frugal Book Promoter was born. Shortly after that, Carolyn founded Authors' Coalition - - an organization that focuses on finding ways to help authors cross - promote.

Authors Coalition began with the UCLA/LA Times Book Festival. Purchasing a booth is beyond the means of most authors, however, by sharing the costs several authors were able to participate in the fair. It soon became clear, that to have enough authors to make the two - day annual event affordable, the booth would be uncomfortably crowded. Carolyn approached Red Engine Press, an emerging small publisher, to act as AC's first sponsor. This allowed AC to buy two adjacent booths. The first year of the arrangement, one half of the dual booth was dedicated to AC authors and the other half to Red Engine Press authors.
Over time, AC and Red Engine Press began to find ways to share costs and increase promotional options available to all participating authors throughout the year. Now, AC has a web site (www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com), blogs (http://sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com and http://authorscoaltion.blogspot.com) , and two newsletters (Sharing With Writers, Yarnspinners & Wordweavers and two associated letters, Inkspotters and Fiction Flyer). The organization offers two hour signing slots at various fairs and events throughout the year, a catalog sent to bookstores around the country, CDs given away at shows and events.
Last year, AC introduced a popular slide show that was originally intended just for events and speaking engagements - - but now has been modified for participating blogs and web sites too.

In another cross - promotional project, Carolyn put together The Complete Writer's Journal with co - editors Pat McGrath Avery and Joyce Faulkner which was then published by Red Engine Press. Authors, agents, publishers and illustrators from around the world submitted quotes and their tag lines. In total, 100 people participated for free. Participants could purchase the journal at 50% off of list - - although there was no obligation to buy anything. The journal was then sold on Amazon and through other outlets. Authors have used the journal as a gift to bookstore owners at book signings, as prizes for writing contests and as holiday presents. Some purchased the book in quantity to give to charities like Girls Going Places. Others sell the journals as companion pieces with their own books. Each time someone gives it away - - each time someone buys it, each time someone receives it as a gift - - each time someone uses it, one hundred people have a chance to have their words read and their products advertised.

Now, AC has come up with a new cross - promotional idea that is free to AC members - - crossword and word search puzzles published in AC and Red Engine Press' associated Newsletter Yarnspinners and Wordweavers. Anyone one who submits a poem, article or story - - and anyone who buys an ad for Y&W or who sponsors a page - - is included in the puzzle for that edition. The puzzle is published with the Newsletter itself. An electronic version is on the Red Engine Press and AC sites - - and if a participant wants to distribute the puzzle to friends or print out and use as giveaways at signings or shows, all they have to do is contact Joyce Faulkner at katieseyes@aol.com.

Also, a crossword puzzle will be created using the authors and/or their books (as keywords or clues) that participate in any of the promotional activities for the 2008 UCLA/ LA Times Book Festival. That includes signers and slide show, catalog or CD participants. This is a free promotional add - on. One thousand copies of the puzzle will be printed out and given away at each 2008 AC event including the UCLA/LA Times Book Festival and the Branson Veterans' Week event. The puzzle will also be available in electronic format at the AC site and each participant may have a .pdf file to print out and use for his/her own events.
Ads will be sold to appear on the puzzle flyer or on the online version. If your organization or business is interested in this, contact Carolyn at Hojonews@aol.com for pricing.

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New members will help Authors' Coalition serve all its members better! Ask your writing friends to join at http://www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com/. Paid members get a favorite review posted, consideration for an interview or review in Yarnspinners and Wordweavers, ditto for The Fiction Flyer and Betty Dobson's Inkspotter. 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. www.authorscoalition.blogpsot.com.
http://authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com
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Feature

Mentor or Mentee and Mentoring

I believe in mentoring. Not just young people but big people, too.

One of my favorite mentees is Dallas Woodburn. Trouble is, I don't know which one of us is mentor and which is being mentored (which, as it happens, is most often the case with me). Dallas, only a college junior, is doing more than many writers who have been at it for decades. She is my idea of what Sharing with Writers is all about. Won't you visit her site, donate to her causes, or simply leave a note of encouragement on her blog. Think of what we can all do together. Learn more about what she is doing, on my Sharing with Writers blog, www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com

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I just added my fifth blog to blogspot.com. Yes, I love blogging. This one is called War, Peace, Tolerance and Our Soldiers and it is where I get to nag and rag to try to make things better for our troops and maybe for the world. I'd love to have you leave a comment for its inaugural. www.warpeacetolerance.blogspot.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 Myrna Lou Goldbaum, for mentioning that the review of her book on palmistry was up on The New Book Review (www.TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com). It's the perfect place to let your favorite review keep working for you.
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To Jim Cox for including my article on Amazon Shorts in his Jim Cox Report this month. You can learn more about Jim and all the services his website offers including his extensive and helpful newsletter by going to http://www.midwestbookreview.com. It is one of my favorite sites for helping writers, right up there with http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com (which is out of service right now) and http://www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com.
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To Joyce Faulkner for promoting her Noble (Not Nobel!) Prize on her profile at Amazon. See what she's done. http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A3ISPVKHJEALVV
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To Donna McCrohan Rosenthal and the board of Ridge Writers, the East Sierra Branch of the California Writers Club for inviting me out to speak. I loved the drive to Ridgecrest, found an amazing desert canyon I didn't know existed (Red Rock Canyon), and stayed in a bed and breakfast for the first time. Find info on their group at www.ridgenet.net/ ~curtdan/ridgewriters. Special thanks to Liz Babcock who did a great job promoting the event in their newsletter.
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To Star Publish for naming The Frugal Book Promoter their first Book - of - the - Week Club honoree. It's announced in their official website, Tradewinds.
http://publishinginfo.blogspot.com/
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To Lynn Goodwin, editor of Writer Advice for including my article "Marketing IS Editing: Boning Up on First Impressions" on http://www.writeradvice.com/advice.html

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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: From Subscriber May Lattanzio comes this link that will benefit freelance writers among us. http://www.freelancewriting.com/index.html

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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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Tip: When I was speaking to the Ridgecrest Writers, I found a promotion item that I like lots better than those that cost lots of money. The small little notebooks - - the kind you might put in your purse - - can be personalized with labels or glued messages on the cover. They will get used and while they are being used, your message will be in front of your intended audience. Hers includes Upcoming 2008 Programs. They were intended as an outreach to entice new members but they would also work as reminders of meeting for their membership. Yours might include your book cover art, a blurb and a website address. This is the brainchild of Donna McCrohan Rosenthal who buys the notebooks during the back to school promotions (July/August) at Walgreen's, Staples, etc. She pays only about a dime each for them.

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Fun and F r * *: If you purchased the Frugal Book Promoter or the Frugal Editor, 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 a handout from one of my UCLA classes. As a thank you, of course. HoJoNews@aol.com
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Serial Feature

On Green Responsibility

In the next few issues Diane Tinney will share ways that you might green up your office.

Replace desktop computers with more efficient, greener, laptops.
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Offered by Diane Tinney, president and publisher, Keene Publishing, Home of Moo Press Children's Books
www.KeeneBooks.com
Illuminating lives, one book at a time.

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Don't suffer with book proposals. You can be a pro with and investment of only 20 minutes and 49 cents with my Great First Impression Book Proposal Short.
http://www.amazon.com/Great - First - Impression - Book - Proposal/dp/B000YG6O5U
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Tip: Here's a way to learn more on all aspects of publishing. Starting this Sunday, from 3:30 - 4 p.m. ET, PIVTR (Passionate Internet Voices Radio) will feature a new show called Authors On Track. Each Sunday, they will interview a different author and a different book on Sunday. I will be their first featured author: http://internetvoicesradio.com/AuthorsonTrack.htm. The program will also feature special activities.
PIVTR has a LIVE listening audience of 1000!

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A general marketing rule is that a product must be seen seven times before it is purchased. That is just as true for books (because they are products, like it or not!). Let people see that book cover image! To do that, you are invited to advertise as a site sponsor at www.howtodoitfrugally.com for only $25 to $30 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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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.)

Sandra McLeod Humphrey just published Hot Issues, Cool Choices: Facing Bullies, Peer Pressure, Popularity, and Put - Downs (Prometheus Books 11/20/07). It is a collection of 26 scenarios depicting various forms of bullying with thought - questions following each scenario. The book has received very positive prepublication endorsements from nationally recognized educators and is dedicated to a 12 - year - old boy who took his own life as a result of being bullied. The thought - questions facilitate great discussions and the book is a valuable resource for both the home and the classroom. For ages 10 and up.
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Kevin Gerard, author of Conor and the Crossworlds series, http://www.conorandthecrossworlds.com was published by Stories for Children, http://storiesforchildren.tripod.com/id370.html

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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/eAuthor.php?Name=Carolyn%20Howard - Johnson ) 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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On Editing

About those Acronyms and Initialism!

I had to laugh. It seems the auto companies have gotten themselves into hot water over initials. It used to be they gave cars names that meant something—exotic car names like El Dorado. Or words that connoted speed like Mustang. Or mischievous ones like Gremlin (a word I use in The Frugal Editor, by the way, to establish an image of the stuff that happens to upset our best editing intentions.)

Ken Bensinger, an LA Times staff writer*, points out that Ford's Mark Fields made a mistake when he was speaking at the LA Auto Show. He apparently couldn't keep all his MKXs and MKZs and MKTs straight. Bensinger asked that if he can't, how is the car - buying public going to do any better?

Which brings us to those acronyms. The word acronym applies to those initials that spell out another word that is often related to the meaning of what they stand for in some way. SPAN (Small Publishers of North America) is one of those. Ford's MKX is not one of those because the letters don't spell a name. Some are calling this a initialism. And we're seeing more of it all the time.

The letters MKX might initially give a car - buyer a certain feeling of power, but that intent is getting lost among all of Ford's other MKs. And Lexus's LSs, GSs, ESs, ISs, etc. Volvo uses S with lots of numbers. S40, S60, S80. Vs, too. My point is they soon become meaningless until even the executive vice president of Ford Motor Company can't keep his letters straight—or meaningful.

The same is true of our writing. Theoretically we write for clarity. Many suggest writers use the full name of an entity and then resort to initials or acronyms thereafter. That makes sense. But have you ever run into those letters later in an article and had to go back to search for what they meant? That is not clarity. That's a damned puzzle.

Some might counter that we use initials and acronyms in the interest of brevity. Sometimes we are limited to word count, though that's rarely the case online. Web pages can go on forever.

Some say brevity is next to Godliness. I say, no! With a resounding but seldom used exclamation point! Not when it comes to acronyms and strings of initials. No, sir. I'll take a few extra words any time.

So, here's a good rule of thumb. To see the rest of this article go to www.TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com. You'll also want to know what marketing professors say about this. ( - :

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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.
You know you want it on your website! Be sure to link it to the AC site, too!
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Tip:

From iFOGO.com.
1. At iFOGO.com, things just got even better for authors.
For the month of January, all sign - ups get a " Two for One" - a second year free.
2. We now offer authors a "Free" limited listing.
3. Highly respected Book Marketing expert, John Kremer, has just named iFOGO.com, to his list of 101 TOP BOOKMARKETING SITES on the Internet.

Why? Because iFOGO.com offers cutting - edge technologies which benefit
writers and their readers.

SEE 24 Author Benefits: http://www.myifogo.com/Authors/authors.html

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Authors' Coalition: No Hum - Drum Book Fair Promotion Allowed is a blog where you can watch how Authors' Coalition members make book fairs successful with cross - promotion, value - added promotions and a good assessment process. Find it at www.authorscoalition.blogspot.com. It's time to sign up for 2008's LA Times/UCLA Festival of Books.
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Q&A a la Ann Landers

On First Rights and Web Publishing

Questions: Hi Carolyn, I've had great success with AuthorsDen.com and thank you for recommending it.
If I posted a story there, can I submit it or is it considered already published? I couldn't find the answer on the FAQ's for AuthorsDen. Do they hold any publishing rights to things on the web site?

Let me know if and when you have time if you could please. Eileen
Answer: Dear Eileen:
I'm glad Authors Den (AD) is working out for you. It is certainly a Frugal way to go. ( - :

AD doesn't hold any publishing rights to the work you place on your website there. But that doesn't mean that if you post a story, poem or whatever, that some sites and journals might not consider it published. Those for whom first rights are very important may not want to consider it.

Here's how I get around this:
1. I post work that doesn't seem particularly commercially viable (that means saleable! Ha!)
2. I post work I've already submitted frequently with no luck (also apparently not commercially viable.)
3. I post work that has already appeared in a journal, for which I still own rights. That gives it double duty. You know how big I am on recycling.
4. I post work that will help promote some of my other work but still give great content.
5. I always use taglines on the work that I post that will, in fact, promote something else. A book. A site. A blog.

By the way, the above ideas work well for any website or blog you'd like to post your work, to. And, keep in mind that posting your work does not keep YOU from publishing it later, say in a collection or an anthology you might edit, or even as a chapter in a novel.
CHJ

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Learn more about tips booklets and how to make them work for you. Paulette Ensign was one of the first master promoters I came in contact with. She'll teach you to make promotional booklets work for you with a variety of programs. http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/?af=696843
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Tip: Use your media kit to track what you've published, the awards you've won, etc. Otherwise you may forget to include them when you're ready to use your kit.

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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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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.)

FREE BLOG SITES - As many as 75,000 new blogs are created every day according to KPBS Radio Legal Analyst Dan Eaton. Blogs (web logs) are slowly changing the way we get our news, the way we are entertained, but mostly the way we can share our own points of view(s). As an author, this is the best way to add new content to your site, and give your readers a reason to come back to your website and increase your page ranking:
http://www.blog - city.com
http://www.myblog.com
http://www.blogger.com/start
http://www.typepad.com
http://wordpress.org
http://www.xanga.com
and don't forget http://www.myspace.com They have blog capability too
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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 - - from 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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Tip: Subscriber Jewel Sample sends us this list of words and phrases to avoid: http://www.lssu.edu/banished/current.php

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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. Please use this link:
http://www.vistaprint.com/frf?frf=815651421184
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Feature:

Every once in a while I like to publish something in this news letter that helps fiction writers promote better. Sometimes that means illustrating to them how they need to find angles that relate to the outside world within the pages of their book. You know, what's in the news. What you see below is also an example of a kind of tip sheet. It takes up 1/2 page of a regular sheet of paper. I use quotations and endorsements on the other half. The individual elements in this tip sheet (not really tips here, but you get the idea) could be used as filler or as a sidebar by an editor doing a feature related to the subject matter. I am using it as a flier this year - - for a book that is now nearly seven years old and just keeps going, and going.
12 Fun Things You Don't Need to Know During the Coming Election

Yes! Utah is the news! Big Love just completed its second season on HBO, Warren Jeffs, a Mormon sect prophet was convicted of accessory to rape and Mitt Romney, a devout Mormon, is running for President of the US. That' why you need to read This Is the Place to find out what the place is really like.

1. The people in Utah consume more Jell - O per capita then any other state.
2. Green Jell - O is Utah's favorite.
3. The 2002 Winter Olympics featured a Green Jell - O pin
4. The people in Utah consume more ice cream than any other state.
5. Utah is home to more pianos per capita than any other state.
6. The people in Utah consume more ketchup per capita than any other state.
7. More Joyce and Jantzen products were sold in Utah in the 50s than anywhere else in the world.
8. Some doughnut places in Utah make their doughnuts out of potato flour. They're called spudnuts.
9. People in Utah consume lots of sugar made with beets rather than cane. It's sold under the brand name U&I Sugar, or Utah and Idaho Sugar.
10. People of the Mormon faith call Utah their Zion.
11. People of Utah have the lowest percentage of DUIs than any other state.
12. Mormons call all Nonmormons gentiles.

Carolyn Howard - Johnson, a UCLA Extension Writers' Program instructor has been named Outstanding Woman of the Year by members of the California Legislature, a woman who makes things happen by the Pasadena Star News, an outstanding woman by the American Business Women's Association (ABWA) and was honored for her work with tolerance by her hometown's Ethics Committee.
This Is the Place won seven literary awards and one award from its publisher for sales and promotion. They include the Readers Choice award. It was also named a finalist in the Masters Literary Award and semifinalist in the New Millennium Literary Award. Learn more at Carolyn Howard - Johnson's website http://www.carolynhowardjohnson.redenginepress.com/this_is_the_place.htm or www.AuthorsDen.com/carolynhowardjohnson

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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.
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E - Tips for E - Promotion

You can now get Amazon to make mini slideshow - widgets. To see one go to my blog at http://thenewbookreview.blogspot.com. Scroll down a tad. Find it on the left of the page. It's pale green. To make your own go to http://associates.amazon.com/gp/associates/join . If you haven't already signed to be an Amazon Associate, you'll have to do so first.
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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 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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Opportunities:

Mary Emma Allen is getting her Potpourri of Writing blog (http://maryemmallen.blogspot.com ) more active. She hosts quite a few authors there during their blog tours. She says, "I'm also receptive to press releases that I might work into posts. E - mail me at: me.allen@juno.com .
"Also, anyone with quilting news, books about Alzheimer's and care giving, as well as home business information may contact me. I write blogs about these for b5media: Alzheimer's Notes (www.alzheimersnotes.com); Quilting and Patchwork (www.quiltingandpatchwork.com)l; Home Biz Notes (www.homebiznotes.com ). Mary Emma Allen is an author/ and speaker. Reach her at: me.allen@juno.com
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Attention Adventure Writers: The Clive Cussler Award is something you will want to look into. Here is the link. http://www.cusslersociety.com/writers_competition.html
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F r ^ ^ Promotion Idea Contest
Kathe Gogolewski wants your best promotion ideas. I want them, too! We have plans for the winners of this contest that go beyond the modest cash prizes.

It's the Out - of - the - Box Promo Contest, offered by Kathe Gogolewski, www.tri - studio.com. She is looking for different and creative promotional ideas for writers, ideas not yet tested or tried.

Check it all out at www.tri - studio.com. Kathe and I may do an e - book or article featuring you and your ideas. We need YOU to do that, though.
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Star Publish is sponsoring a first - chapter award. Janet Elaine Smith (www.janetelainesmith.com), marketing director, says, "What do you have to do to win? Go over to http://internetvoicesradio.com at 3:30 p.m. ET every Sunday and you will hear an interview with the author of that week's featured book. By midnight on Friday of that week, every person who has either heard the radio program and/or followed the information on the blog here will have a chance to enter the first chapter of their own writing in that particular genre. The winning piece will be judged by staff from the Internet Voices Radio station. The winner will be announced the following Saturday on the Tradewinds blog (http://publishinginfo.blogspot.com ), as well as on the Authors on Track program (that the one that airs on Sundays at 3:30 pm - - see above) the following Sunday. This is your chance, as authors not associated with Star Publish to share a bit of the spotlight."

Carolyn is the program's first featured authors with the award - winning Star book The Frugal Book Promoter. Won't you join us if you get this in time?

Please stay tuned. Tomorrow we blast off!
Janet Elaine Smith, Marketing Director
Star Publish LLC
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Tip from Jim Cox's newsletter called the Jim Cox Report: (It's a long tip, but hang in there. It's worth it!) He says, "Something that drives me to distraction are those incoming emails that want a response from me, but make me have to go to the extra step of "signing in" on some on - screen form because the person who wants something from me is trying to control their spam and using this "sign in" process to separate the wheat from the chafe.

I deeply sympathize with the desire to minimize spam. I download between 3 and 4 hundred spams every morning. But believe me, after going to the trouble to craft an email response to a question or a request, hitting send, only to get an email "sign in" demand - - most of the time I don't bother to proceed any further.
My advice for authors and publishers is that if you are making an initial, first - time contact with a reviewer - - and good reviewers of status and stature within the publishing industry always have severely limited time or interest in responding to unknown authors and previously unacquainted small press publishers - - you would be well served to use an email address that doesn't have that extra 'sign up' feature to get past your spam controls."

Jim is editor of the Midwest Review. Now, you don't want to tick off someone like that, do you? http://www.midwestbookreview.com
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Tip #2. Same subject. Oh! Must tell you. The reason I think it's a mistake to censor spam - - from your e - mail box or your regular mailbox - - is that "junk" is a great resource. One can study the way pitches are made. Some of the junk mail will make good vehicles for book sales. One of my writing pals, Joyce Faulkner, even got a very humorous article out of the "Hey, Sexy" and other assorted posts along that line.

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

Please join Carolyn Howard - Johnson for the
f r ^ ^ January Wasabi Club meeting, a teleseminar the last Friday of every month at 1 pm ET/10 am PT where you can learn from the PR pros about how to conduct a savvy PR campaign. To join, please visit the 'Wasabi Club' page at www.wasabipublicity.com .
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New! Please join the Star Publish Book - of - the - Week Club broadcast. Carolyn Howard - Johnson has been selected as the first honoree to be interviewed by Janet Elaine Smith and Lillian Cauldwell at http://internetvoicesradio.com on Sunday, Jan. 6th, 12:30 PM Pacific time. Listen each week to hear a new book and new author. To learn more visit http://www.tradewinds.blogspot.com.
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Carolyn Howard - Johnson will be Valerie Connelly's guest on her teleseminar March 19th, 2008 at 8PM Eastern, 7PM Central, and 5 PM Pacific Time. The subject is: "It's Your Call: Frugal Book Promotion with Carolyn Howard - Johnson." A downloadable MP3 recording of the teleseminar is available to registered attendees after the event. Please sign up by March 18th. Space is limited. Let Valerie tell you more about it: info@callingallauthors.org.
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Carolyn Howard - Johnson will share with the nation's humor writers again in April 3 - 5 of 2008 at Dayton University's Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop. She'll speak twice at the Kennedy Union on campus. Go to www.humorwriters.org/2008SpeakerBios.html. Tapes will be available even though this conference sold out 77 hours after opening registration. It is not too early to be thinking about 2010.
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Carolyn will teach a new seminar on the UCLA campus on March 22, 2008, Room 1323 Public Service Building. It's called The Business of Writing: Carve Your Career with Great Queries and Covers. Here's the class description: "You've written your story, your poem, your book. What now? You've tackled your craft like a professional but when it comes to introducing yourself to the decision makers—the marketing and editing part of your work—you may show a lack of expertise with seemingly innocuous departures from accepted procedures. Like using a cover letter when you need a query. In this one - day seminar, the students will use basics taught in the class to critique drafts of letters they have brought with them. In the process you'll get grammar, punctuation, and even computer editing tricks you may apply to your other writing as well as your queries. You'll receive a handout of the do’s and don'ts for approaching gatekeepers straight from the mouths of agents who contributed ideas on the subject for the instructor's book on editing and samples of letters that have produced results. Participants will not only walk away with two letters they can be proud to send out, but will also have a low - cost plan for using them effectively in a variety of ways." So, are you all planning to come to spend a weekend in the sunshine in LA and make it a business expense? ( - :

To enroll call Marcus Hennessey, 310 - 267 - 4888, or go to www.uclaextension.edu and enroll for 735.18, Registration # T6393.
Because it is a one - day seminar, it is less than $100.
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Carolyn Howard - Johnson will appear on Write On Four Corners with host Connie Gotsch on KSJE FM Public Radio broadcast from San Juan College. Access the program 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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Wordstuff ™

Something to Make Writers Smile

(Definitions in the next few newsletters are from http://www.butlerwebs.com/jokes/definitions.htm .You might have some favorite neologisms metaphors or similes that make you smile. If so, please contribute.)
" ACRE: Literally means the amount of land plowable in one day. So in my case it would be four feet by four feet."
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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.

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/

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

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

Please pass this newsletter 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/

The second in the How To Do It Frugally series of books, The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success, is available at this link to Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870/


The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need To Know About Selling Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less, is available on Amazon as a Short for 49 cents.
http://www.amazon.com/Great - First - Impression - Book - Proposal/dp/B000YG6O5U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199595319&sr=8 - 1