May 30, 2009

Sharing with Writers
A newsletter that is also a community. Share your ideas. Learn from theirs! Associated with the multi award - winning series of HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers, www.howtodoitfrugally.com


From the Desks of
Carolyn Howard - Johnson
and Sharing with Writers Subscribers

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 Mindy Phillips Lawrence ~ mplcreative1@aol.com ~ www.freewebs.com/mplcreative. I also tell writers to be patient with other writers when they make editing boo - boos. We're all human. This letter comes out weekly and it's long!

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Contents
This Issue
~Note from Carolyn
~Letters - to - the - Editor
~Feature: “Truth and Imagination in Memoirs,” Alexa Wolf
~Feature: “Selling Vs. Soft Selling,” Judith and Jim
~Thank Yous (where you also find leads and great resources!)
~Tips and News Galore! (They're scattered, you'll just have to find them!)
~Opportunities
~On Poetry
~Author Successes
~Feature: A Discussion with the Editor of the Wisconsin Writer's Journal
~Mindy Lawrence's Itty Bitty Column: “Staying Connected”
~Carolyn's Appearances and Teaching
~Wordstuff ™

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Note from Carolyn

Dear Subscribers:

Marian Salzman is chief marketing officer for the PR hugey Porter Novelli in Manhattan. Her success hinges on her projecting the future and making sense of the times leading to this moment, this day. Author of Next Now: Trends for the Future she notes "technology is here to stay." Now didn't we know that! But she takes it a step forward. She says, "The future lies in mastering new technologies."

Judging from my past experience in the publishing field, I'd say she is right on. Luckily, I was forced to learn the Internet in order to submit my novel online in 2001. Since then (just to name the biggies) I've been forced by good friend, author, and publisher Joyce Faulkner to learn to "do" my own Web site using Micrcosoft's FrontPage, encouraged to blog by good friend Allyn Evans who held my hand through some of the basic processes when it was brand new to me, and to get with with Facebook and Twitter (MySpace was pretty much a bust for me though I'm still there).

And now the time I spent in New York to launch A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In - Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques is pointing me in a new direction. I have no wifi and the rentals at the Marriott (shame!) were $8 per 15 minutes. I am not Blackberry or iPhone connected. Thus my e - mail lay fallow, overflowed my e - mail box, and accumulated into days of work before I returned home. It seems my next task is cut out for me - - UPGRADE.
So, Marian Salzman, not only do I agree with you but I am here to ask where each of my writing friends is in their trek on the technology path. If the future is in tech, what do we all need to do next (besides write another book) to get our act on the road? For me it's to get connected when I'm on the road. I'm thinking the 3G iPhone complete with on - the - road e - mail capability and iPod music and in - hotel F R ^ ^ access.

You are probably way ahead of me and my admission - - I hope - - will make you feel better about any of your own perceived technical inadequacies. But in terms of tech, what is coming next for you? Roll out your community college catalog and decide what you can do to forge ahead, keep up, or catch up. We owe it to ourselves to be there when the time comes!
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Information on Marian Salzman came from American Airlines' American Way magazine, May 15, 2009, edition. Other of her predictions include embracing maturity, a more intense interest in wellness, and the interest in looking back to learn evidenced by the new books and references this year on Darwin, Lincoln and the 1930s.

Happy writing, promoting and editing, too!
Carolyn Howard - Johnson

PS: If you'd like a report of how my book launch in New York went - - what I learned from the successes and challenges - - go to Marv Wilson's blog at http://inspiritandtruths.blogspot.com/2009/05/hojo - report - on - book - launching.html.
Also note I've included some extra tips this week. They're left over from readers who wanted to share with you in the AllTips edition. And thanks to all subscribers who shared their favorite tips with other writers.


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Please note the new Resource for Writers page on Contests at http://www.carolynhowardjohnson.redenginepress.com/contests.htm Follow the “Click Heres” to other valuable lists on my site. =====================================================


Letters to the Editor

Dear Carolyn:

Re: The rant in the AllTips edition on signatures and e - mail addresses on postcards, etc.

Wow...good info Carolyn...

I think an author is missing out if they don't have website/email.

Every month I'm so disappointed when I hunt down authors for the Web Awards. I can't believe how many do not have websites... especially the nonfiction authors. Once I tried to find a nonfiction author of craft books because one of our reviewers had praised her work many times. No Web site. Nothing on her publisher's site other than the books. Boy, did she miss the opportunity I was going to offer her for exposure on MyShelf.com. She could have given away fr ^ ^ patterns digitally at no cost to her, which would have, in turn, drawn people to her site, gotten attention for her books, etc. Sad. . .

Accessibility offline is important, too. Like you, I get those postcards with no e - mail addresses. In fact, I speak with people
everyday, all day who say, "I don't have the Internet..."

Brenda Weeaks, owner of www.MyShelf.com

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Carolyn,

I loved your ranting about getting books in the mail with no explanation as
to what you are supposed to do with them. When that happens, I put the book
on my shelf and wait for someone to call or e - mail about it, but that usually doesn't happen. The book just sits there, lost and lonely, waiting for a
ransom note from its author.
I've also had people e - mail (through the contact page on my Web site) to tell me all about their wonderful book. They include no instructions or query so I’m not sure if the blurb is supposed to be for my newsletter or if the person is asking to be a guest on our podcast or if he or she wants a book review. I either send the e - mail to a team member to follow up (more work for them), or depending upon what kind of mood I'm in, I may delete the e - mail without another thought.

I want to scream, "Make it easy for me to help you!"

Yvonne Perry
Owner of Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services. It is a team of highly qualified writers and editors with many years of experience in writing for articles, books, ad copy, media releases, PR kits, Web text, biographical sketches, and newsletters. Editing, proofreading, book review, and book evaluation services offered individually and as packages. http://www.writersinthesky.com and http://twitter.com/writersinthesky


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Please pass this letter on to others. Unlike many, 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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Feature

Truth and Imagination in Memoirs
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By Alexa Wolf

Recently I was working on my next memoir in a writing class, but I just couldn’t get the right angle on my material, and I therefore could not hold the group’s interest. One suggestion after my third rewrite was, “Embellish it.” Someone else said, “Just make things up. You can do that in a memoir.” Several heads nodded in agreement.

I was startled at the ease with which these writers were willing to fictionalize a memoir. For one thing, James Frey was still being hotly discussed - - and condemned - - for calling something that was largely fiction true. For another, their view was so antithetical to my own. I have always believed that if you possess the insight and skill to really capture an event, the truth of it will provide all the drama necessary to rivet the reader.

This is not to say that every event about which a memoirist writes requires every last detail to be exact. The memoirist relies upon her memories, which contain lacunae and distortions. I remember the event one way; the other person in the recalled scene remembers it differently. Maybe I don’t recall a particular conversation or essential incident at all.

However, if you are absolutely certain your memory is correct, then that is the way to write the story. You simply do your best. As Tobias Wolff says, “It all has to do with the intention.” That intention, as Colleen Mondor writes, is to tell “an honest story.”

But what about the times when you’re not certain your memory is correct? One approach to the material is to tell your readers, “This is the way I remember it.” Your uncertainty can in fact become part of the story, part of the ambiguity of a life of which you are trying to make sense in your memoir.

However, another requirement of memoir is that you must keep the story moving forward. Sometimes this precludes signaling the reader that the next scene may be inaccurate.

In My Mother's House, A Memoir - - my first book - - about ninety - five percent of the dialogue between my mother and myself is exact. We were very close - - sometimes in good ways, sometimes in bad - - and all the episodes and periods of our relationship about which I write were very emotional, fraught with an intensity that made the details, especially our verbal exchanges, indelible in my mind. Moreover, my mother had a flair for language that added to my awareness of her use of it.

But what words did my mother use when she explained her treatments of the cancer she eventually conquered? I just couldn’t hear her in my mind.
Should I tell the reader, “Well, here my memory is a little hazy about exactly what we said, but it went something like this?” However, throughout the rest of the book, I’ve got our sundry conflicts, diatribes and conversations nailed. Ultimately, I decided that pulling the reader into my memory process by explaining it would also take them out of their experience of the story. I recalled enough bits and pieces of what Mother and I said to inventively fill in the rest as best I could. So for the sake of the narrative, that’s what I did.

Similarly, you may indeed recall an event exactly, but that very exactitude might derail the momentum of the story or distract the reader from the meaning of the scene. In my book, an incident occurs in which I deliberately altered a detail for both reasons. In reality, the scene took place while my mother was sitting on the toilet. I moved it to the kitchen table.

Then there are those moments you are recounting in which you cannot possibly know what the other person felt. They never told you, and you were not there when the incident occurred.

If you make up the scene and don’t inform the reader, you will be deceiving her. But another way to resolve this quandary is to say, “I can imagine the terror/pain/joy she must have felt when . . .” and then, knowing the person, go on to imagine those emotions for the reader. Similarly, you can “just imagine” the way this person thought or what she must have done when she got that job or caught that plane.

Some memoirists employ very large swaths of fiction among their memories. But where the intention is an honest story, the writer will signal the reader in some way that these are fabricated deviations from what actually happened. The problem comes when that signal is absent. While Frey is the ultimate liar, another memoirist, for the sake of story convenience, might give us composite characters while leading the reader to believe they are actual people. To me, that choice exceeds legitimate alterations.

In the end, the key thing is for the writer to maintain her integrity and the trust of her readers. The public already must contend with a staggeringly obscured reality. Politicians lie; some lie like crazy. They all spin reality. The corporate media quotes the lies and spin without discrimination or investigation and comes up with its own myths. Digital cameras can transform any visual reality into any other visual reality. What is true? What really happened? We can’t even depend upon the food we eat to be real. Currently, one company is considering placing mouse genes in pigs and not labeling the meat as such. Once they get that down, they will clone the pigs. Then we’ll be eating the genetically exact same animal over and over, with its genetically identical mouse genes, and not even know it. We ought at least to be able to rely upon someone who is telling us some aspect of their own life story, from which they learned this or that, and from which we might learn the same from them, to tell it truthfully.
Alexa Wolf is the author of My Mother's House, available at http://www.amazon.com/My - Mothers - House - Alexa - Wolf/dp/0741435209/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243653628&sr=1 - 1


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Please paste this little blurb - - perhaps with a little endorsement - - in your newsletter or website: To subscribe to Sharing with Writers send an e - mail with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line to HoJoNews@aol.com or go to www.howtodoitfrugally.com for an auto subscribe box. Ask for a f r ^ ^ classified ad on my Web site in return.
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In the News: I believe that relatively unknown authors worry too much about plagiarism; there is not much money in pirating their books and if one's book did get copied in some way and you followed my ideas for turning lemons into publicity lemonade, you might find yourself more famous and selling more books that you would have otherwise. Still you will want to know more on the subject and this link on the digital piracy of books was submitted by poet, photographer and SWW subscriber May Lattanzio: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/technology/internet/12digital.html?_r=2&emc=eta1


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My blog, War, Peace, Tolerance and Our Soldiers is where I get to nag and rag and try to make things better for our troops and maybe for the world. I'd love to have you leave a comment. www.warpeacetolerance.blogspot.com
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Feature

Selling Vs Soft Selling ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
By Judith and Jim

Until the introduction of soft sell marketing, the primary if not exclusive point of marketing campaigns has been to increase the bottom line. But you can tap into the powerful core of soft sell marketing by approaching what you are doing with love:

~Love for the people you are serving because they are your partners;
~Love for their needs;
~Love for your product or service;
~Love for the benefits you provide through your product or service; and
~Love for your self as you partner in co - creating sales with your customers.

When your marketing is infused with love, you not only stay far away from any danger of selling out—either you or your customers—you tap into a reservoir of clear energy, magnetic energy, an energy of cosmic persuasion that you cannot reach any other way, and that your customers can’t help but find appealing.

Love your customers and they will love you back.
As you market with consciousness and conscience, you are alert to rank your customers’ well - being as just as important as your own. In doing this, your key objective is to include your care for your customers—and that’s called love.

It’s not romantic love. It’s not the love you feel for your family. It’s a dimensional love: It's a form of self - love when you identify with your potential customer and you can see how you would want to be treated. It's a love of your potential or actual customer as you market to them with care and respect, authenticity and transparency.

So the heartbeat of soft sell marketing is love.
So how do you sell with love? Ask yourself:
1) How often do you express to your potential customers your authentic and transparent passion for what you have to offer?

2) How often do you share your excitement about the success stories that come back from your buyers?

3) How often do you reveal the deep calling that brought you to do what you do, so your customers can feel the heart of your commitment to them?

You may not think of sharing your passion, your success stories, and your professional calling as love, but it is. Because, when you do, you show yourself—emotionally and spiritually—and open the truth of who you are, which is the basis of your connection with those who do business with you. And that is love.

We’re not getting woo - woo here. Not at all. We’re simply calling you to share more of yourself with your buyers, so they can feel who you are, so they can identify with you, so they can feel safe buying from you, and trust that they will get what you say they will get.

It all starts with letting yourself be known.

Practice expressing your care for your buyers and potential customers through your sales copy, through other writing whether articles, special reports or books, through radio and/or television appearances. In other words, in the context of your business, open the window to a new degree of intimacy in your communication.

We trust that, as you’ve been reading this article, you can feel our love for soft sell marketing. We’ve openly communicated our care for you and for your customers.

It's the same with our book. It isn’t just a platform statement. It’s not just a teaching tool. It’s our way of sharing an orientation toward sales and marketing that we know benefits you, your readers and customers, and benefits the well - being of the entire world through the vehicle of soft sell, heart - based commercial transactions.

So as you express more of your love through the marketing you do to build your business, not only will you increase your sales and help attract more and more list members, it will also feed your soul—day after day after day.
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To expand your success by changing how you think about selling and marketing, be sure to get Judith & Jim's new book The Heart of Marketing—Love Your Customers and They Will Love You Back (Morgan James Publishing) as well as any or all of the 62 Free Book Launch Gifts by going to:
http://TheHeartOfMarketing.com


=================================================== Book Proposal Help: Phyllis Zimbler Miller and I ran a fun Tweetchat on book proposals. She edited it for easier reading and posted it for those who missed it. There is lots of info in it on shopping your book to agents, too. Remember, you read tweet chats like you follow blogs. From the bottom up. http://budurl.com/bookprotweetchat Another book proposal help is The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need To Know To Sell Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less for 49 cents at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YG6O5U/
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Editing Tip: I am still working on a little booklet, an addendum if you will to The Frugal Editor (www.budurl.com/frugaleditor). This is one of my favorite entries because it's misused so much in both conversation and in writing:
anxious/eager: You're eager to learn new things. You get anxious when a friend coaxes you into going for your first paragraph jump. Big difference.
Remember, The Frugal Editor urges zero tolerance on grammar rules, even style choices that people tend to think are grammar "rules." That's because you have to get your manuscript by the gatekeepers so you should aim not to give them anything to criticize - - and certainly not to tick them off.


===================================================== So you got As in English. You know grammar and spelling. That's great but an editor of you those skills alone doth not make. An editor knows formatting, front and back matter, indexing, structure, the elements of fiction and on and on. But mostly she'll see your manuscript in a fresh, new light. Learn how to hire a great editor and learn to be a better partner for any author, awful to superb, in The Frugal Editor. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870/
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TIP: I have a list of recommended writers' conferences on my Web site at www.carolynhowardjohnson.redenginepress.com/writers_conferences.htm.


===================================================== Recently Yvonne Perry, owner of WritersintheSky Creative Services, and I chatted about editing, everything from em dashes to why what works on the Web doesn't work for you book's manuscript. Yvonne offers you the f r ^ ^ podcast on her blog: http://yvonneperry.blogspot.com/2008/12/do - you - have - questions - about - editing.html. You'll find other f r ^^ podcasts on writing on her blog, too.
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Opportunities
Learn More About Writing and Publishing ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A first ever Stanford Publishing Courses Writers Workshop Jul 31, Aug 1 on campus in Palo Alto. It includes up - to - date, new publishing format and promotion (a day of how writers can achieve a "public persona"). http://publishingcourses.stanford.edu/writers - workshop. Don't forget I'm teaching a day - long seminar on Aug 1, too. At UCLA. At about 1/5 the cost. Still, I'd love to be at the Stanford conference!


What the Heck is a Book Preview, Anyway? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Book previews are the newest trend in book promotion and are quickly becoming one of the most popular tools for authors to get the word out about their books and for readers to sift through the millions of choices in reading material. What is a book preview, you might ask, and why would anybody watch one?

A book preview is much like a movie trailer. It's a short commercial with images, music, voice - over, sound effects and text that promotes a book. They are fun to make.
After [I produced] my first two trailers, I found myself addicted. I started watching previews all of the place and comparing mine to others. What I quickly noticed is the wide range of previews out there, and the shortage of great sites to view them on. Most video sites inundate you with advertising and offer random samples of other videos you may not wish to watch. ~ Kim Chatel, founder of Blazing Trailers
Blazing Trails is for readers. Come on in. Get your favorite furry companion or cup of joe and settle in for some exciting previews!
But it's also for writers who want to promote their books with Blazing Trailers. contact Cindy Bauer ( www.CindyBauerBooks.com) at cindybauerbooks@yahoo.com


Get Children Involved in Reading and Writing Early ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Keep your children, or little ones you know, reading over the summer; introduce them to the writer's life by having them do book reviews of their favorite books for VBT - - Writers on the Move Kid's Pick Review. Contact Karen at: karenrcfv@yahoo.com


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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 http://www.carolynhowardjohnson.redenginepress.com/advertising.htm at less per year than most sites charge for a single month. Find classified there, too.
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Tip: Smashwords is an e - book sales site that lets authors upload Word files and output in various e - book formats for sale. (Here's a sample book sale page https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1839). Authors get 85% royalties from and retain copyright control.

Other benefits: You can set the percentage of the book, which is available for free viewing. You can also set a pay - what - you - wish version. Readers can buy an unencrypted version for the Kindle or an e - pub version (which is quickly becoming the publishing standard). Here's the FAQ https://www.smashwords.com/about/supportfaq. I can't remember offhand, but I think both authors and reviewers can upload videos.

Here's an interview that TeleRead did with the Smashwords founder http://www.teleread.org/2009/02/26/the - digitizers - how - smashwords - helps - indie - writers - bypass - a - broken - system/

You still need to do your own promoting (and in fact, this might be a business opportunity for those who could help out authors with the marketing side).
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Tip from Robert Nagle, http://www.imaginaryplanet.net/weblogs/idiotprogrammer/



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Subscribers who have websites or newsletters of their own may be interested in the F r ^^ Articles 4 Readers and Writers on my site, http://www.carolynhowardjohnson.redenginepress.com/free_content.htm I try to add new articles to it frequently. If you don't see what you need for your blog or newsletter, just ask. HoJoNews@aol.com.
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In the News: The University of Michigan Press is moving its academic publishing from primarily print to primarily digital. If you call it POD it's OK with me but obviously, we're not talking self - published here, which is not what POD means, anyway! ( - :


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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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On Poetry
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This is a running feature for the poets among us and those who would like to try writing poetry but feel, well, inadequate about the writing or the promotion. Please send in your poetry tips and resources for this section.

I just started a new poetry group on the new ning edition of iFOGO Village. Magdalena Ball, my coauthor for She Wore Emerald Then has promised to help facilitate it. We need lots of participation 'cause time is so short. I hope you'll join and use it any old poetry - related way you'd like. Go to http://ifogovillage.ning.com/group/ifogosbusypoetsvillage. You may need to do an iFOGO profile first. That would be good, too. It is a social network site for writers. ( - :


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Endorsement: I wanted to tell you how your workshops, reading your newsletter, and just chatting with you has been a great help to me. I have a background in marketing from the fashion world and even though it has helped me get my foot in the door, I honestly have to say that after getting to know you, reading your books, and everything else I just said has truly helped me put Stories for Children Magazine on the map. ~ VS Grenier, Founder and Editor - in - Chief Stories for Children Magazine. http://storiesforchildrenmagazine.org.
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Tips from Elysabeth Eldering :
A few promotional tips:

1) Think outside the box. Don't do traditional bookstore signings but go to places associated with your book in some way. Example: Launch a mystery about wineries at a winery or at least have a wine and cheese sampling launch. For my series, the Junior Geography Detective Squad, 50 - state, mystery, trivia series, I was invited to the Welcome Center in South Carolina to promote my books. I have planned to use plenty of giveaways that will get my name out there and my books noticed.

2) Bookmarks with pictures of your book's cover and contact information can be a very inexpensive promotional investment. If you are putting them in the hands of readers, they are seeing you and your books. www.gotprint.com has bookmarks (one sided, color, glossy finish). They sell 2500 for about $70 dollars. (This amounts to about 2.8 cents a bookmark.)

3) Keep copies of books with you or because you never know when you might sell one. Carry bookmarks with you at all times and put them in the hands of readers. This works especially well for the kids because you can give them the bookmarks and then do a pitch to the parents or adult with them).

4) Contact businesses to provide small items that relate to your stories to use as giveaways. If they won't provide anything for free, ask them to sell to you at cost or in bulk below cost. This can be a win - win situation for you and the business; they will get their name out there and so will you. For my state - related series, I contacted all the travel and tourism departments asking for state - related items. So far eight have responded.

True stories - - I ordered 2500 bookmarks the first go round (some of them were at the booth Sharing with Writers sponsors at the LA Book Festival) and I've ordered another batch of 1000 already. I've signed over 2900 bookmarks since placing the two orders. Because I put those bookmarks in the hands of individuals, I've also sold maybe a dozen books from my pocketbook and/or car - - right on the spot. I'm also passing out "travel activity booklets" that I created. They have info about South Carolina with some coloring and activity pages, games and puzzles to keep kids busy.
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Elysabeth Eldering, author of the Junior Geography Detective Squad (JGDS), 50 - state, mystery, trivia series and member Sisters in Crime, Greenville chapter
http://jgdsseries.blogspot.com
http://junior - geography - detective - squad.weebly.com/
http://elysabethsstories.blogspot.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jgdsseries/ (series newsletter forum)


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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

Foreword Magazine Award Finalist ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Along the Templar Trail: Seven Million Steps for Peace, a book about Brandon Wilson's trek from France to Jerusalem, has been named a finalist in ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Awards (Adventure/Recreation).

Meanwhile, Brandon and his wife and I are heading off on another peace walk - - this time along the Via Alpina. He says, "Imagine 1500 miles of tranquil Alpine hamlets stretching across eight countries. It's a perfect opportunity to discover the distinct cultures, history and natural beauty - - one step at a time. Of course, it will all be well - fueled by great local wine, crusty bread, curiosity and an abundance of wanderlust. I see it becoming a Euro Appalachian Trail someday, and a chance for Americans to find their own peace as they get off the beaten path to discover a region far beyond the stereotypical tour of cheese and gnomes."

This odyssey will provide the perfect grist for a new book scheduled for late 2010. Here's preview: http://www.pilgrimstales.com/upcomingadventures.html Visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pJaLpWZWbUhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pJaLpWZWbU for a video preview. Or explore: http://www.pilgrimstales.com
http://www.pilgrimstales.com/


Republishing Success from Leora Skolkin Smith
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From an e - mail from Leora Skolkin Smith

I'm so excited about this, it's hard not to scream, but just in case you wonderful friends are interested (since I've spoken to many about the feature film of Edges and it has meant so much to me to have you all there), I wanted to announce that Hamilton Stone Editions, Ltd. will be publishing my novel, the Fragile Mistress, an expanded version of Edges, with new text added from the screenplay.

The new novel, The Fragile Mistress, will be a movie tie - in for the feature film now in development with Triboro Pictures, and currently part of the Cannes Film Festival's Producer's Development Lab. The Fragile Mistress was also selected for this year's Producer's Lab at the Berlin Film Festival. It is being co - produced in the UK with FilmHouse Company, Ltd and has three co - producers currently from France, Germany, and Israel. Very exciting for its totally surprised author. Edges was a tiny, literary book and no one is more shocked about all this than me!

The editorial board at Hamilton stone Editions, Ltd includes Sharon Lynn Schwartz, Carol Rosenthal, and Meredith Sue Willis. They were established to publish new and reprint editions of literary fiction, and is especially attuned to women's literary fiction and contemporary women's voices.

The Web site for Hamilton Stone Editions is: http://www.hamiltonstone.org

For the Feature Film based on Edges, now called The Fragile Mistress, the Web site is here: http//www.thefragilemistress.com


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Audio divas brings you audios on many aspects of building a writing career: http://www.tri - studio.com/writers.html. Titles include Contest Facts: How to Add “Award - winning” to Your Name, Do It Yourself Indexing: The Way to Sell Your Book to Libraries, Schools and Anyone Else That Buys Nonfiction, Fury and Destruction: How to Use Violence Effectively in Your Writing, and more.
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Tip: Literary writers will want to look up Agni at www.agnimagazine.org, published by Boston University. Study new poetry approaches, uses of point of view, etc.


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Yes, I do consult. I tailor my fees to your needs - - everything from coaching to full edits (sorry no partial edits) to hour consultation so help you with your marketing campaign or your path to publishing. http://www.carolynhowardjohnson.redenginepress.com/consulting.htm
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Tip Free bookmarks, expecially for children's authors at http://www.sweetjessie.com/2008/11/bookplates.html Tip submitted by poet and photographer May Lattsanio.


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Thank Yous


Thanks to Samanthi Fernando . . .
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. . . who has added a new page called “Links” on my website that links to my blog.
http://www.starsafire.starrayz.com/downloads/links.htm. This is something all authors should do when they have an article or other work published online.


Thanks to Joel Katte . . .
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . . . for reviews of both The Frugal Editor http://www.amazon.com/Frugal - Editor - forward - humiliation - Frugally/dp/0978515870/ref=cm_cr - mr - title and The Frugal Book Promoter on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Frugal - Book - Promoter - What - Publisher/dp/193299310X/ref=cm_cr - mr - title. By the way, he took advantage of my f r ^^ white paper offer for those who review any of my books. Why not? I hope you will, too. ( - :


Thanks to Gene Cartright . . .
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I am a proud premium member of iFOGO, thanks go to Gene Cartright, the guru behind iFOGO Village for writers. This is my official thanks for his including The Frugal Editor and The Frugal Book Promoter on his neat home page scroll. http://ifogovillage.ning.com/ He is in the process of making this an even better site for authors and for readers to find authors. You may want to add your own f r ^ ^ profile. Check this page for membership levels: http://www.ifogo.com/buy/order.html


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If you're starting your own blog or want to market the one you have or focus it better here’s a f r ^^ chapter from Phyllis Zimbler Miller’s and my coming book. Download it now at http://budurl.com/bloggingchapter. =====================================================


More Shared Tips: Conversation Starters ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
From Raff Ellis

I’ve been pondering some of my sales techniques and thought I’d let my fellow authors in on a couple that I’ve been effectively using to introduce complete strangers to my book. I know most authors are probably more bashful than I am but the two favorite ploys I use are as follows.

#1. It never ceases to surprise me how many people actually read the T - shirt you are wearing. I have several Ellis Island Ts and try to have one on whenever I’m going places where I’ll be sitting among strangers for any length of time. This includes venues such as airports, planes, and doctor’s offices. I usually break the ice with innocuous comments about the weather and such. Invariably someone will inquire about the T - shirt, which leads to a conversation about their immigrant forebears having entered the US through that location. I then take the opportunity to mention that my book has a whole chapter on the Ellis Island experience. This usually ends with my giving them one of my two - sided cards, which has a brief ad for the book, my web site, and how they can contact me for more information.

So the medium is the message after all. If you can find a T that naturally leads into a discussion about your book, try it out. Have one made up if you have to.

#2. Whenever I’m sitting on a plane and my seatmate is reading a book, I take the opportunity to ask if it’s a good read. I’ve never run into a book reader that isn’t willing to share their tastes in reading material. After listening to the reader critique their current read, I ask what other genres they like. I then take the opportunity to mention that I know of a non - fiction work that has gotten great reviews. I proceed to give them my canned pitch about my book, a copy of which I always have in my carryon. The worst thing that can happen is that the person walks away with one of your cards.

A month after one such encounter I got a letter from a woman whose name and address I didn’t recognize. She was from Dallas, Texas and said: “Dear Mr. Ellis, You told me about your book, KISSES FROM A DISTANCE, on the plane to Orlando. You had just had a successful book signing and media event in Birmingham. The title was so intriguing that I got Borders to order it for me. I’ve just finished reading it and found it easy to relate to the struggles, disappointments, and emotional roller coaster your characters endured… This note is to thank you as I can’t imagine the hours of research that were required but your perseverance proved worthwhile! Keep writing and God bless…”

Last Sunday, as I was coming back from a gig in Louisiana, I struck up a conversation with the lady next to me and before we reached the runway for takeoff, she had already paid me for a book! She read the first six chapters before we reached our destination.

So, my fellow authors, don’t be bashful! Every book you sell with personal contact has the potential of blossoming into referral sales. People love to tell their friends that they met an author and suggest they also read the book.
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Raff Ellis, Author
Kisses from a Distance
www.raffellis.com
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohsvMi - VCjI


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I now have a social media page on my Website. I’m including the link for you to see so you can use it as a sample if you don’t have a similar page on your own Web site. And yes, this can work even if you only network on one site. Just use more space giving your visitors an idea of how they will benefit if they join you. http://www.carolynhowardjohnson.redenginepress.com/new_page_4.htm =====================================================

Feature

A Discussion with the Editor of the Wisconsin Writer's Journal ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(Below are excerpts from a recent conversation I had with Boyd Sutton about Self Publishing and Success. He gave me permission to reprint his thoughts.)

Email #1: I have an acquaintance in WRWA (Wisconsin Regional Writers' Association) who has been on a tear for the past six years writing and self - publishing one book of genre fiction after another. I think she has 12 books out now. In the past couple of years, she has switched from purely self - publishing to being published by a small press. She gave a presentation about the whole process at one of our conferences at about the six - book mark. I asked her about finances. She said she was able to barely break even on her first project and has done that and a little better ever since. "I'm not making much money, but I'm paying all the costs (not costing the family a dime) and I'm having a ball."
I know that some people actually make enough to pay the rent - - and more, but you really can't ask for much more that what this woman is achieving. She's following her writing dream, paying the bills, and "having a ball." I call that "success."

So, what I tell people is to give it a shot. Be realistic in your expectations. You almost certainly are not going to get rich and you'll probably have to hustle your books. But if you love what you are doing and work hard enough to break even, the rest is gravy. Have fun. If you aren't having fun, find another way to spend your time.

E - mail #2: I have another friend who is making a small income (better than break - even) selling subscriptions to his online short stories (just as Bruce Holland Rogers does). And I'm about to write a book review for another WRWA acquaintance who has a novel marketing approach that is doing well for him. His book, Point: The Beer that Made me Famous, was produced/published by Cornerstone Press, a division of the UW - Stevens Point. That school has a program for students who want to get into publishing. As part of the curriculum, they accept submissions and select two manuscripts per year that they take from submission through hard cover publication. Each author is then responsible for selling. This author did the usual stuff - - sales to friends and family, at conferences and book fairs, and made some money. Now he has about 1,000 books left. He gives them away at writing conferences - - with a self - addressed, self - stamped envelope inside the book and asks readers to send him what they think the book is worth. He's actually made more money this way than through regular up - front sales. There are all sorts of ways to promote and sell your books IF you are willing to hustle. I always carry a few copies of my club's anthology in my car. I've probably sold 30 as a result of serendipitous conversations about writing.

I was at the Post Office the other day and a nice lady who was still wrapping a package let me get in front of her in line. The guy ahead of me at the counter was taking forever. I noted that I was mailing copies of the Journal "that I produce and edit." That led to a conversation with the woman and, surprise of surprises, she was a writer, too. Even more surprising, her last name was Sutton. She ended up buying a copy of the anthology and signing up as a WRWA member. You just have to force yourself to be outgoing and to seek and take advantage of every opportunity.

E - mail #3: The woman I recommended to you is very committed and professional about how she approaches any topic. She produces a weekly church column that runs in three newspapers, and she's been published in many other venues. This is her first book. I'm one of those people who feel that most authors who go the self - publishing route can at least break even - - if they make wise selections for a publisher and are willing to hustle their books.

My local club (Wisconsin Regional Writers Association) has produced five anthologies over the years. I've been the producer/editor of the last two. In both cases, we broke even within three months and went on to put close to $2,000 in the club's treasury. That's big bucks for a little club. (We hold back enough to pay 50% of the cost of the next anthology and spend the rest on community writing programs in the schools.) But no one is going to get rich.
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Boyd Sutton is editor, The Wisconsin Writers' Journal, a publication of the Wisconsin Regional Writers Association (www.wrwa.net).



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This is an example of one of my Twitters: "FrugalBookPromo New trend? Borders to buy nonreturnable books from HarperStudio in return for a deeper discount." They cover everything from news to more tips and resources all in 140 characters or less. If you don’t want to Tweet, at least follow me. Make a profile page and invite www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromo. =====================================================


In the News: Holy cats! What do you make of this New Amazon development? They've started a new program publishing self - published books that have been well received on Amazon: http://mhpbooks.com/mobylives/?p=6347



Tips from Patrika Vaughn: ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On Social Networking: Gather.com is a site where book lovers congregate. The members are genuine and friendly. If you'd like to publish to the Writing Essentials group, join at http://writing.gather.com
On Writing: Before editing your work, Read it aloud! It's amazing how you can polish the rhythm and flow by hearing the words instead of mentally reading them. It can save you a lot of editing time later.
On Marketing: The lifestyle editor of your local paper is much more likely to be interested in you and your book than the book editor. More of the right people read the Lifestyle section than the Book section. You are an information provider. Your book is an inspiration to readers and you are an expert on our subject (because you wrote the book.) Contact the Lifestyle editor
On Process: Don't loose your momentum by letting things slide. I remember when I first started writing for magazines (before I was published in over 100 of them) I had a deadline one day when I felt really crappy. I couldn't get my head on straight. But a deadline is a deadline, so I just sat down and pounded it out, based on the notes I'd accumulated. To my great surprise, I got a note from the editor telling me it was one of the best articles they'd ever printed! When you're a professional with a honed craft, you can do this, even if your dog died that day. And nothing will hone your writing craft more than practice.
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Submitted by Patrika Vaughn, your Author's Advocate www.acappela.com


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The New Book Review is a service of this newsletter. 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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An Itty - Bitty Column on Writing

STAYING CONNECTED
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By Mindy Phillips Lawrence

A group of writers I belong to has a number of members without Internet connections. I was not sure how they got by without the Internet until I faced an outage of my own and had to figure out how to keep working without it for a while. What I discovered was that I could still keep my online contacts and keep connected in several ways whether or not I had a home connection.

(1) LIBRARIES
If you have a community or university library with Internet and computer access, you can use that service to keep in contact and keep working. Actually, this is like having your very own research department next to you to tap as you write and market your work. Often there is a time limit on the used of library computers so come organized to work as quickly and efficiently as possible.

(2) AREA CONNECTIONS (McDonalds, Burger King, Starbucks)
If you have a laptop with a WiFi connection (and you can get a used one pretty cheap these days), you can go to many area McDonalds, Burger Kings or coffee shops that have Internet connections.
If you don’t have WiFi available in your computer, some cell phones (like Blackberries) can be used as modems. Check out what is available for these situations. Talk to a friendly ‘puter person.

(3) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CENTERS
If you are using your computer to get a job, write a resume or draft a cover letter, then you try your local state WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CENTER. There is always staff available to help you with the task and to show you how to use job search tools to find work – this includes writing work.

(4) HOTELS AND MOTELS
If you are traveling, most motels and hotels offer free WiFi connections. Bring your laptop and keep up with your e - mail and online contacts.

(4) FRIENDS AND RELATIVES
Offer a friend or relative lunch or a small favor for allowing you to use their computer system when they are not using it. Get a flash drive (under $20) and save your files to it so as not to take up their computer space. You do not want to rearrange the way they have their computer set up or download things to it that you don’t have permission to download, but this is a way to get computer access for a little of nothing.
As always, follow the rules of the location where you connect. Stay organized and get your own connection as soon as you can. It’s essential in the 21st Century writing market.

LINKS
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
http://www.google.com/search?q=workforce+development&hl=en&rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS243US244&start=10&sa=N

PUBLIC COMPUTER ACCESS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_computer

SOMETHING’S BREWING (Conway, Arkansas)
http://www.openwifispots.com/spot_free_wifi_wireless_hotspot_Something_Brewing_Conway_AR_19654.aspx

WIFI FREE SPOTS (By State)
http://www.wififreespot.com/


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Tip: I'm recommending a book for both reading and research, especially for fiction writers. The review was just published by Sassy Brit and I think you'll find useful some of the other benefits she offers writers. Go to: http://tjbook - list.blogspot.com/2009/05/review - slang - peoples - poetry - by - michael.html

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Carolyn's Appearances and Teaching
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Watch for a new podcast on writing The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need To Know To Sell Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YG6O5U/ ) at Authors Access’s great, f r ^ ^ service for writers in June. In the meantime, find an old one on book promotion we did on book promotions at http://authorsaccess.com/archives/90. It was their most listened - to podcast last year.

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For the first time, Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles and Mystery Writers of America/SoCal are joining forces to present a new venture, the California Crime Writers Conference, to be held June 13 - 14 at the Pasadena Hilton, Pasadena, CA. The conference is titled “Breaking In & Breaking Out: Plotting the Write Course,” and is the next incarnation of the successful No Crime Unpublished conference held biannually by Sisters in Crime/LA. Carolyn Howard - Johnson will be presenting a class on “Marketing Your Book Online” on Saturday June 13 at 9 am. The time is to be announced. The public is welcome. Learn more at http://www.sistersincrimela.com/ccwc.htm.

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Carolyn Howard - Johnson will talk to a group of Creative Memories saleswomen at a meeting on June 23. She'll introduce her new book A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In - Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques and will discuss how the "in - store events" part of the book applies to those in home sales industry like Amway, Avon, and, yep, Creative Memories. If your in - home sales business would like a similar educational meeting for sales people, contact me at hojonews@aol.com.
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Carolyn Howard - Johnson will teach “Creating a Promotion Campaign for Your Fiction or Nonfiction Book.” A one - day seminar, it will meet on the UCLA campus’ School of Public Affairs Building (Room 2317) Saturday, August 1, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. Reg# U9836B Request a UCLA Extension catalog at www.uclaextension.edu.
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Mark October 12 to 18 on your calendar for The Muse Online Writers Conference cosponsored by Lea Schizas and Carolyn Howard - Johnson:
We are now taking reservations for the conference. More to come on my presentations there at http://themuseonlinewritersconference.com/. This year we’ve added pitch sessions: http://www.themuseonlinewritersconference.com/2009workshops.htm

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Carolyn Howard - Johnson will speak on writing picture - perfect query letters at the November session of Scribblers' Retreat Writers' Conference, www.scribblersretreatwritersconference.com at Sea Palms Resort, St. Simons Island, Georgia. Scribblers Retreat Writers’ Conference offers four conferences of specifically chosen genres throughout the year. It is brand new and one of the few chances I will speak on the East Coast in 2009.


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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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Wordstuff ™

Something to Make Writers Smile
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(Definitions in the next few newsletters are from www.butlerwebs.com/jokes/definitions.htm.You might have some favorite neologisms, metaphors or similes that make you smile. If so, please contribute.)

HANDKERCHIEF: Cold Storage


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Essential Book and Record Keeping:

Sharing with Writers is edited and distributed by Carolyn Howard - Johnson,http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com. and proofread by Mindy Phillips Lawrence.

This is a place to share with others and learn from others.

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

Ordering Information:
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 or at Amazon where it is discounted:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/193299310X/qid=1149015406/sr=2 - 1/ Order it as an e - book at http://starpublishllc.com/id43.html

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
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/

A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In - Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques is available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1441467246/

To learn more about This Is the Place,
Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered, Tracings, and She Wore Emerald Then: www.carolynhoward - johnson.com.

She Wore Emerald Then: Reflections on Motherhood is available on Amazon. It is coauthored by Magdalena Ball. http://www.amazon.com/She - Wore - Emerald - Then - Reflections/dp/1438263791/

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/

Contact Information
Websites: http://carolynhoward - Johnson.com (literary)
http://HowToDoItFrugally.com (all things about writing)

For the Frugal Editor, Amazon - direct: www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870

Blogs:

http://www.SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com, a blog on all things publishing

http://www.TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com, all things grammatical and ungrammatical

http://www.TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog focused on YOUR reviews

http://www.TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com, a blog focused on editing, formatting and craft

http://www.warpeacetolerance.blogspot.com War. Peace. Tolerance. And Our Soldiers.

And now! Tweeting at: www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromo and Squidooing at http://www.squidoo.com/HowToDoItFrugallyforAuthors and at http://www.squidoo.com/carolynhoward - johnson