December 19, 2007
Sharing with Writers
A newsletter that is also a community. Share your ideas. Learn from theirs!

From the Desks of
Carolyn Howard - Johnson
And Authors' Coalition Friends
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Sharing with Writers is the official newsletter of Authors' Coalition,
http://authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com
an organization of writers who help writers.

To read this letter in plain vanilla text, scroll down. To read this newsletter with a bit more pizzazz (not much, though!) at Authors Den go to:
http://www.AuthorsDen.com/adstorage/1713/SharingwithWriters_DEC_No3Week_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:

Yep. It's a seasonal disease and it's going around. You're invited to get caught up in the elf craze. My fellow producers of audios for writers certainly did. We're the Audio Divas and you can learn more about our audios for writers farther down in this newsletter!
After you've seen us do our elf dance, you can make one for yourself. Gather up some Christmas cheer! Go to: http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1381775525
Left to right, that's Kathe Gogolewski, Allyn Evans, Joyce Faulkner and I. What do you think of the hip action? If you can't let loose at this season, when can you?
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

PS: Time is getting short to take advantage of my free gift of my Amazon Short with your book order. If you missed it, e - mail me and I'll send you the particulars. HoJoNews@aol.com. It can still be done, but I'd need to use priority mail. A tiny extra charge.( - :

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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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Letter to the Editor

Hi Carolyn.

Happy holidays. I was reading your SWW newsletter and couldn't agree more about the use of videos. As you know my business is as much about music as it is about selling books, and last year I came across a company that fit my needs to a "T". Sonicbids.com has an electronic press kit that was perfect for what I do. I know it isn't designed for "author only" use, but the results I have gotten using it have been great. I produced a 7 minute promotional performance video last year and it is a major part of my EPK. The press kit also includes a bio, references and reviews from school and library performances, as well as CD reviews from School Library Journal and Booklist. It also has a half dozen of my recorded songs from both CD's as well as numerous pictures. I just send the link to the web site and allow the school, library, bookstore or festival to view it at their leisure. I sent it out to several schools one morning recently and was booked by a school that same afternoon. It is an amazing tool and I can only testify to the effectiveness you write about. It has gotten me invited to present at several reading festivals this year, and in April I'll be the Keynote Musician and workshop leader at The University of Virginia's Early Childhood Education Conference. It is paying for itself over and over. Visit www.sonicbids.com/darrellhouse if you would like to see what I am talking about. Thanks for all your tips. You're the best!!!
Darrell House, author and performer

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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:

Seven Easy Ways to Keep Dialogue Sharp

By Carolyn Howard - Johnson

1. Keep it simple. "He said" and "She said" will usually do. Your reader is trained to accept this repetition.
2. Forget you ever heard of strong verbs. Skip the "He yelped" and the "She sighed." They slow your dialogue down. If you feel you need them, look at the words—the actual dialogue—your character used when he was yelping. Maybe it doesn't reflect the way someone would sound if he yelped. Maybe if you strengthen the dialogue, you can ditch the overblown tag. ~ ~For the other five tips on writing stronger dialogue go to www.thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com. Feel free to leave a comment, other dialogue ideas or editing questions.

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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 Dallas Woodburn for interviewing me for her class at University of Southern California (my alma mater) and for including information on the Frugal Editor in her newsletter. She says, "Thank you to Carolyn Howard - Johnson for allowing me to interview her for my Entrepreneurship class – - she gave me such detailed, insightful and inspiring answers! You can read my interview with Carolyn on my blog, dallaswoodburn.blogspot.com. Read on for a review of Carolyn's new book, the Frugal Editor, later in this newsletter!"

You might want to look up this dynamic emerging writer - - check out her writing credits with yet a year to go in college!
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To Dr. Tami Brady for reviewing The Great First Impression Book Proposal. It is now listed on her TCM website's homepage (http://tcm - ca.com ) Click on the cover image. She also mentioned it in this week's issue of TCM Reviews Newsletter. (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TCM_News/). She has other services that might interest you as well. Be sure to add her to your list of book reviewers.
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To AC member Allyn Evans for responding with a computer for the writer who needs one because she is recuperating from surgery and on a limited budget. Learn more about this generous writer at www.allynevans.blogspot.com.
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To VS Grenier, editor for Stories for Children Magazine and Newsletter,
http://storiesforchildren.tripod.com,for including one of my articles in her newsletter. She often runs articles on writing and promotion in her letter. Check it out on her website.

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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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Use Your Writing Skills to Become an Expert

What You Can Do If You Hate To Promote

In the Frugal Book Promoter I suggest that one way people who hate to promote (read that "be in public" or "sell") can get noticed is by doing what they love and that is writing.
Authors or other business people can get their names out there by using letters - to - the - editor or public forums. It's a way to build credibility in your field. And, yes, you have a field even if you write fiction or poetry. Your job is to find out what that field is. Mine is tolerance (see my blog www.warpeacetolerance.blogspot.com) and all the things affected by it or the lack of it. With the world the way it is, I find tons of stuff to write on the subject, both locally and nationally.
Watch for a news item (either in the public forum or in the news pages) that relates to your book or field of expertise and write about it. Here is how to do that . . . Go to www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com for step - by - step instructions on how to let your opinions and expertise help model your marketing campaign and writing career.

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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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Do You Review Books on Amazon?

You may have a badge. You can let them work for you or ignore them but, naturally, I suggest the former. I'd love to get a "The" before my name. Not that there's ever any confusion with a last name like mine. ( - : Here's what Amazon has to say about them. I have a Vine Program badge. More about that in a future issue.

Badges
Here are some badges you might see beside images, reviews, or other content that our customers submit:

 What is a badge?
 What does a badge look like?
 What do these badges mean?
 Where will I see my badges?
 How do I earn a badge?
 Why do I want badges?
 I don't want my badges. How can I opt out?
 I had a badge and it disappeared. What happened?
 I earned a badge - - how did I earn it and what does it mean?
What is a badge?
A badge is a symbol that tells other Amazon.com customers something interesting about you. For example, you may earn a Top Reviewer badge, or a Real Name badge.
What does a badge look like?
Badges may look different depending on where you see them. If you wrote a review, you might see badges under your name and before the review that look like this:

What do these badges mean?
There are many different badges. Here is a brief list of our badges and what they mean.

These badges identify our Top Reviewers and where they are in our Top Reviewer rankings.

You created a Real Name and used a name from your credit card to help other customers identify you. This is a permanent badge.

This badge indicates that the person to whom it was granted is "the" celebrity most people associate with that Real Name. For example, when you see "the" below Jeff Bezos's Real Name on one of his reviews, you know that the celebrity founder of Amazon.com wrote that review. This is a permanent badge.

You participated in the 2004 Community Forum at Amazon.com corporate headquarters in Seattle, WA. This is a permanent badge.
Where will I see my badges?
We will show your badges with your name. Some places on Amazon.com may not display all of your badges at the same time; we try to choose the most appropriate badges for each page. If you want to see all of your badges you can visit your Profile.
How do I earn a badge?
You can earn badges by creating good content on Amazon.com. Some badges may be temporary, like Top 10 Reviewer. Other badges, like the Real Name badge, you earn once and get to keep as long as you use your Real Name.
Why do I want badges?
We believe that badges are a great way for customers to identify our best content contributors. Badges also make your Profile more interesting.
I don't want my badges. How can I opt out?
To opt out of top reviewer badges, e - mail us with your request. If you choose to opt out, we will not display your badges in your Profile, by your reviews, or any other locations. Please allow up to 48 hours for us to process your opt - out request.
I had a badge and it disappeared. What happened?
Check to see if your badge appears in your Profile. If you do not see your badge there, your badge was probably temporary; for example, we can only have ten Top 10 Reviewers and we probably reassigned your badge. If you think there is an error and you had a permanent badge that disappeared, you may e - mail us.
I earned a badge - - how did I earn it and what does it mean?
There are many different ways to earn badges. You can earn Top Reviewer badges by writing good reviews. You can earn a Real Name badge by choosing to create content on Amazon.com with your Real Name.

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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.
Remove screen savers (they use full energy, and are no longer needed with newer monitors).
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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: You need to know about iFOGO™. Its goal is to present not only established writers with major publishers, but to make readers/buyers aware of outstanding authors who often go unnoticed. Many great writers, who are revered today, were once self - published. The following is a brief, but impressive, list:
Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Allen Poe, W.E.B DuBois, Rudyard Kipling, Henry Thoreau, John Grisham, Leo Tolstoy, Alfred Tennyson, Stephen King, Gertrude Stein, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, D.H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf...and many more.

However, they present their site so that authors of every ilk are there. The means any given authors - - emerging or otherwise - - is among others that readers will recognize. That's all about credibility. So go to: http://www.ifogo.com/IFH/iFOGOHome.php. See what they've done for my books. Imagine what they can do for yours. And then contact author and iFOGO team member, Jonathan Scott, proudparents@adelphia.net . Then let's all ask what we can do to help him because he is helping all deserving authors.

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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.)

Betty Dobson, editor of Inkspotters, an e - zine for writers, just published Holiday Writes, an eclectic mix of essays, poetry, and fiction celebrating the many holidays celebrated around the world and throughout the year. Find it at Holiday Writes is now available at http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=19596
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Gary Carter's novel, For the Good of the Many, recently won a Silver Award for literary excellence from the Military Writers Society of America for 2007. It is a military/political thriller with ties to Vietnam. ISBN # 1424138515 on Amazon.

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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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Virgil Jose's A - List of Editors

Virgil Jose, http://www.authorsden.com/virgiljose , is an old friend and former participant in the Authors Coalition booth at the LA Times Festival of Books. He is the author of The Examined Life, a sophisticated murder mystery. He says, "Here's some goodies I compiled on my own. For what it's worth and for all I know this may exist somewhere already:

"These are publications and a few other sources that accept ARCs and/or press releases for books. Send your media release or information on your book in the body of emails to avoid viruses. They don’t like attachments."

ausbooks@theaustralian.com.au

editors@bookforum.com

contact@bookpage.com

letters@phx.com

review@bostonreview.net

news@citypages.com

Harvard Book Review
hbr@hcs.harvard.edu

litera@austinchronicle.com and
books@austinchronicle.com
(Send press release in body of email.)

book.review@latimes.com (In body of email)

Amber Gillies, Weekender Editor, Daily Press
amb@link.freedom.com and kyosten@vvdailypress.com

Book ‘em Mysteries
(A bookstore that does author signings in store and at the UCLA Book Fair. They specialize in mysteries.) www.bookem.com
1118 Mission St, S Pasadena, CA 91039
626/799 - 9600

Mysterious Galaxy (A bookstore in same vein as Book
‘em above).
Maryelizabeth Hart, Publicity Mgr,
7051 Claremont Mesa Blvd, #302, San Diego, CA 92111
publicitymgr@gmail.com, www.mystgalaxy.com

Borders has a big booth at the UCLA LA Times Festival of Books. Linda Caine is the contact for this.
Borders Group, Inc.
100 Phoenix Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
734 477 1909

Nathan Whitlock (Submit ARC and/or press release.)
Quill & Quire
P.O. Box 706
Markham, ON L6B 1A7
Canada

Rain Taxi
Submit ARC and/or press release
PO Box 3840
Minneapolis, MN 55403

Aude Jeanson (Send ARC and press
release)
Dalkey Archive Press
University of Illinois
605 E. Springfield Avenue
MC - 475
Champaign, IL 61820
ph 217.244.5700
fax 217.244.9142

The Stranger, (Seattle)
press@thestranger.com

Books Editor: Village Voice LLC, 36 Cooper Square,
New York, NY 10003

Geeta Sharma - Jensen
Books Editor
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
PO Box 371
Milwaukee WI 53201
gjensen@journalsentinel.com

Cambridge Book Review bobkat@smallbytes.net Submit press release or ARC
Editor: Bob Wake
Box 222
Cambridge, WI 53523

Curled Up With a Good Book (Send ARCs to this
address)
5408 W. 32nd St.
Sioux Falls, SD 57106

Star Tribune
Books Editor
425 Portland Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55488

Books Editor
Telegraph Media Group
111 Buckingham Palace Road,
London SW1W 0DT
England

Books Editor
The Austin Chronicle
PO Box 49066
Austin TX 78765

Note: The Authors' Coalition site is being reworked but you will find an extensive list of book editors at local newspapers there under Writers' Resources. www.authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com/reviewers1.htm

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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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E - Card Idea from Randall Platt:

This from a fellow conference speaker and author. I thought you could use her idea. How could anyone not love getting this S P A M?
Here's my annual Christmas Ping - hope it finds you and yours well and happy and looking forward to a wonderful 2008.

O Christmas Card!
(to be sung to the tune of O Christmas Tree)

O Christmas Card, O Christmas Card,
I feel some apprehensions.
O Christmas Card, O Christmas Card,
I really had good intentions.

I bought the stamps, I bought the cards,
But I can't buy time to send regards.
O Christmas Card, O Christmas Card,
I really had good intentions.

O Christmas Spam, O Christmas Spam,
I really love this email.
O Christmas spam, O Christmas Spam,
So easy on my time scale.

I email you, you email me,
We save the eath, we save a tree.
Oh Christmas Spam, O Christmas Spam,
It's filled with good intentions.

Happy, happy. Joy, joy. !

Randi Platt, author
Lest Ye Forget: http://www.plattbooks.com

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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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Tip: People who subscribe to SWW may be among the first to know about this brand new website from master promoter Nikki Leigh, www.nikkileigh.com . If you're published, you can use it to promote your books plus opportunities galore. Start small: Register yourself and create a profile page for you and your book. Branch out for more opportunities from there. Go to: http://inspiredauthor.com/promotion/be - registered - author

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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: It is time to sign up for your place in Authors' Coalition's catalog that goes out to more than 500 bookstore buyers and media members. Why a catalog? The big publishers do it. It adds to your credibility and reaches people hand - picked by us and by your fellow catalog participants. That means follow - up opportunities for you, too. E - mail me at hojonews@aol.com.

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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.)

More Short Story Resources:

Short Stories/Collections Competitions - http://www.mwgraves.com/Writers/sscontests.htm

All Types of Writing Contests - http://www.proofpositive.com/contests/writecontests.htm
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Find Elizabeth at http://www.authorsden.com/elucastaylor or her new blog at http://www.elucas - taylor.blogspot.com/ or at MySpace http://www.myspace.com/elucastaylor
where you will find a writers' community.

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Reciprocal Links: Many subscribers are in a position to cross - promote. Let me know if you would like to trade some recommendation or promotion for any of my books - - the HowToDoItFrugally Series to my chapbook of poetry - - for a place on my Resources for Writers or Resources for Readers pages on www.HowToDoItFrugally.com.
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Tip: Authors' Coalition offers a cross - promotional slideshow opportunity. Slideshows are so important that Google's blogger.com just added easy access to them for people's blogs. To learn more about the AC slide show, the cost, and why it is better than one that's all your own, e - mail me at hojonews@aol.com.

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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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Tip: Philip F. Harris, author of Waking God, hosts a dynamic talk show at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pharris and you can find Nikki Leigh and me talking about everything from branding to platforms to her blog tours on the site. It's right there on the front page. It's like a free consultation. While you're there, query Phil for an interview.

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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

Lots - - in fact most - - of your web promotion is f r ^ ^ . What a deal. It's also true that much f r ^ ^ promotion is the best kind. Readers either know or sense that it hasn't been paid for and thus it comes with credibility a notch above what you must pay for.
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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:

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 and they go beyond the modes 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, not yet tested or tried. New technology might be employed in this promotional idea; networking with other authors may be part of the plan. Perhaps it's a funny idea, like writing interviews between the author and a main character in his or her book (Sorry! That's been done!) Strange ideas are okay, too.

Check it all out at www.tri - studio.com .

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Carolyn's Appearances and Teaching

Carolyn Howard - Johnson will be a guest on the Iris Fanning Show on Quiet Time Radio. The show will air daily in late December. The topic is "Everyone Has a Book Inside" from creative direction, writing process, publishing & marketing your book. Visit www.qtworldradio.com and click on the Iris Fanning Show for schedule & details.

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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 for 2008:

Carolyn will speak on Jan 2, 2008, at Ridge Writers, the East Sierra Branch of the California Writers Club founded more than 100 years go by Jack London and friends in the Bay area. The topic? "From Editing to Promotion: Create a Savvy and Frugal Marketing Plan for Your Book." This group provides f r ^ ^ programs for writers at High Desert Haven in Ridgecrest. Learn more at www.ridgenet.net/ ~curtdan/ridgewriters.
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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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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.)
"ADULT: A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in the middle."

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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 Amazon at
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.