How To Do It Frugally - The Frugal Book Promoter

When Your Publisher Does Nothing
Or Not Enough, You, The Author
Must Be Its Savior!

Here's the New Edition
of

Carolyn's Multi Award-Winning
Frugal Book Promoter
The ultimate guide to selling your book to an agent, a publisher, and--after it's published--the media!

Cover by Chaz DeSimone
3D book cover image by iFOGO

Special thanks to Dan Poynter . . . for including the second edition of The Frugal Book Promoter on his library list of recommended books for writers. It seems to be a short but essential list, so I am especially honored! http://parapromotion.com/library/. And, of course, I'm honored that he contributed a blurb for the back of this edition, too.

The Kindle edition of The Frugal Book Promoter is nominated for
the Global eBook Awards, 2012.

The Frugal Book Promoter is runner-up in the how-to category for the Los Angeles Book Festival 2012 awards.

Endorsements

“The most expensive parts of book promotion are the mistakes.

This book will save you time and money.”

~Dan Poynter, The Self-Publishing Manual.

"I love this book...it is the answer to an author's prayer. Most authors are shocked and unprepared for the marketing that goes into having a successful book. Carolyn creates a resource that you'll go to again and again for advice and instructions on promoting. My advice is to get both the physical and e-book editions. You'll want one to be within arm's reach in your briefcase and the other as a backup when you wear out the pages from use. Seldom do I see a resource pack with as much practical information as I see in The Frugal Book Promoter II."
~Tony Eldridge, author and blogger at Marketing Tips for Authors

Unsolicited Endorsement

I love how you put in the section on writing for anthologies. I recycled and got paid twice for my story "Old is New Again" for Chicken Soup for the Soul in Menopause and a local magazine titled Strut. New writers need to learn their stories can be recycled. Good Work girlfriend!
~ Sylvia McClain, Book Reviewer, MyShelf.com and Atlantic Publishing House and editor of Scribal Calendar

The first Frugal Book Promoter garnered great ratings
on Amazon, even years after its release--
an unusual record in publishing.
The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't

A Sample of one of its lower Amazon ranks on all of Amazon,
not just its category--
achieved with no online launch or sales gimmicks.
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,719 in Books

Carolyn's Promotion Campaign for The Frugal Editor won the New Generation Indie Book Award for Marketing and The Frugal Editor was a finalist in the How-to book category in that same contest.

Links for More on the Frugal Book Promoter

Click here for the Frugal Book Promoter Media Kit

Click here for Frugal Book Promoter Reviews

Click here for a Frugal Book Promoter Excerpt

Your Resource: Other Books on Writing

Quick Links for This Page
Review	Excerpt		Contents
Extended Learning: Carolyn's Newsletter	Buy Links		Browse Every Web Sit Page for Tips
For Carolyn's Marketing Credentials		Article: Measuring Marketing Efforts
Unsolicited Endorsement and Service Ideas from a Reader

Click here to learn more about The Frugal Editor

Review
of
The Frugal Book Promoter

New Second Edition Helps Authors Inspires

If you're looking to do your own publicity, or to augment your publishers and don't have the kind of budget that can support a publicist, or you simply want to do the legwork, connect with your reading public, and do your best to ensure that your wonderful work of art reaches a maximum audience, then this book is really the self-promoter's bible

Reviewed by Magdalena Ball

The Frugal Book Promoter
Second Edition: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher
by Carolyn Howard-Johnson
CreateSpace
Paperback: 416 pages, August 25, 2011, ISBN-13: 978-1463743291

It doesn't matter how many books you've published. Self-published or traditionally published, gaining publicity is always tricky, always critical, and always a moving target. If your budget is limited, it's even harder, and perhaps, even more imperative. Enter Carolyn Howard-Johnson, the queen of frugal promotion. Her frugal books are pitched at the modern writer: time poor, financially parsimonious, and publicity hungry. The Frugal Book Promoter is the jewel in the crown. As with the first version, The Frugal Book Promoter is full of ideas, strategies, and tips for promoting your book cheaply, in innovative and effective ways, but it has been updated with a much greater focus on new technologies, the all-important social networks, and a range of strategies designed to help authors with less commercial offerings such as poetry and fiction.

Of course the book is rich with classic techniques too, such as media releases, query letters, and a whole fantastic chapter pulling together a media kit. There's information on using bylines, writing a biography, obtaining endorsements and blurbs, distribution of releases, obtaining reviews, tradeshows, book fairs, setting up a website, and many more 'must-do' items that have really become part and parcel of any author's promotional toolkit. Ignore this kind of stuff and unless you win some kind of book lotto, your book will almost certainly fall into the obscurity that is an ever-present risk of modern authordom. What I like best about Howard-Johnson's book is the simple, informal prose which is both warmly reassuring ('of course you can do this'), and deceptively intelligent. The reader is encouraged and reminded of his or her own innate capabilities even as they're goaded onto to raising the bar:

You’ve been practicing PR most of your life. Getting along with family. Impressing a new boss. You’ve been a customer and know why you like some products and businesses better than others. All it takes is some examination of the processes that influence you to get a grip on public relations—even on marketing as a whole.

The new version also contains a chapter on some of the most current topics, including information on blogging, working Amazon, using social networks, and even some common pitfalls to avoid in blogging and networking. Howard-Johnson totally practices what she preaches, so her advice comes directly from her many years of experience, and is rich with innovative ideas to minimise the time involved and maximise the input through such things as integration and cross-linking, clever use of soundbites and re-tweetable tweets, setting up a "Quotable Quotes” page on your Web site (I love that one), using RSS, and many other novel ideas. Throughout the book there are links, anecdotes, worked examples, and excellent templates including queries, a sample media release, blog entries, invitations, and even a tip sheet.

No, you don't really need a copy of The Frugal Book Promoter. You could hire a publicist for $100 an hour, or organise a retainer for anywhere from $1,500 to $20,000. But if you're looking to do your own publicity, or to augment your publishers and don't have the kind of budget that can support a publicist, or you simply want to do the legwork, connect with your reading public, and do your best to ensure that your wonderful work of art reaches a maximum audience, then this book is really the self-promoter's bible. You don't have to read it cover to cover, although it's certainly accessible and enjoyable enough to do so. The book is well-referenced and perfectly designed to enable the frugal author to dip in once a week and pull out a new publicity idea to try, or to use as a reference when it's time to pull together a marketing plan for your book, or at that moment when you need to write a press-release and want a template and guide, when you're looking for ideas to maximise your book signing. Whatever kind of promotions you want to do for your book, you're sure to find it in The Frugal Book Promoter. Howard-Johnson makes it all sound simple, and provides such easy instructions, that you'll want to go out straightaway and get to it. Put simply, The Frugal Book Promoter is the best guide around for create interesting, fresh, inexpensive, and relatively easy promotion for your book, whatever the genre.

~Magdalena Ball runs the popular review site Compulsive Reader and is an award-winning author and poet in her own right.

Excerpt
from the first edition of the
The Frugal Book Promoter

Introduction

It is said that business and art don’t mix. Actually they mix very well. The chances of success for artists who are natural promoters (Think Warhol. Think Dickens. Think Stephanie Meyers.) grow incrementally compared to artists who prefer to remain cloistered.

The reasons that authors tend to fail at promotion are two-fold. They think they must only show up at bookstores with a good pen because that’s all that is expected of Hilary Clinton or J.K. Rowling. They may be frightened by the magnitude of what they suspect they must do to give birth to this book of theirs—their baby—and so they dig in their heels and go into a severe state of denial.

This book addresses both groups. That you, the author—experienced or just blooming—hold this how-to book in your hands means that you know you need to hone your marketing skills in order to put this child of yours on the path to success. This book will, indeed, help you plan a campaign suitable for the realities of the publishing world.

THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER will lead you up the publicity rungs of the publishing ladder. You’ll learn what you might do before your book is published, what you must do soon after it is published and beyond. Consider everything offered, as if you were testing desserts at a smorgasbord; then select what suits your book, your personality and your pocketbook.

This book is designed so that authors who already have experience with publicity can select chapters that address aspects of their marketing plan that are weak. If a reference is made to something covered in more depth elsewhere, the reader is given a prompt.

Hint: Do not skip the chapters on mailing lists even if you already have one. An effective campaign is only as sound as this essential database and the hints therein are the product of more than three decades of publicity experience in the fashion, retailing and publishing industries.

Most ideas are presented in practical, easy steps; you’ll also find hints and caveats in bold face for easy review.

When you finish this book you’ll know what it took me three years to learn—with a publicity background. Publicity for authors is a specialized arena of public relations. I tripped and fell into many PR potholes; negative experiences can be good teachers but learning from a book like this is less painful.

THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER is not a text. It contains many opinions—some as black and white as the page you find them on. You may also notice omissions. I avoided topics that have been covered ad infinitum and for which I have nothing new to add but you will find some new (or rarely used) ways to promote that have not been scorched, stirred, and then warmed over.

Contents
for
The Frugal Book Promoter
Second Edition

Section I:
Getting Started and Getting On with It 23

One: Excuse Me! I Have To Do What? 25
WORRY NUMBER ONE: Plagiarism 27
WORRY NUMBER TWO: Oops! Swiping Others’ Work 35
WORRY NUMBER THREE: Being Sued 36
WORRY NUMBER FOUR: Success or Rejection 37
WORRY NUMBER FIVE: I’m Not Enough 39
WORRY NUMBER SIX: Fear of Marketing 41

Two: Marketing Basics: The Short Course 43
A MARKETING UMBRELLA 46

Three: To Hire or Not to Hire a Publicist 51

Four: Promoting Ethically 57

Section II: Plunging In: Publicity Basics Now 59

Five: The Three Ps and Your Writing Career 61

Six: Public Relations: Publicity’s Granddaddy 65
PUBLICITY COMMANDMENTS 65

Seven: Free Publicity Isn’t Really Free 75

Eight: Branding: Publicity’s Cornerstone 77

Nine: Advertising: The Weak Partner 83

Ten: Your Now-and-Forever PR Skills 87
       YOUR CREDITS, TAGLINES, MINI BIOGRAPHIES 88
       YOUR BYLINES 91
       ENDORSEMENTS, TESTIMONIALS, BLURBS 91
       SOUNDBITES 97
       YOUR PITCHES 98
       YOUR PHOTO 111
       CROSS-PROMOTION 113
       TUNING IN 116
       THANK-YOU NOTES 118

SECTION III:
Do-It-Yourself and Partner Publicity 121

Eleven: Media Kit Preparation Now 123
YOUR CONTACT LIST 124

Twelve: The Media Release 129
      BUILDING YOUR MEDIA RELEASE 130
      WRITING RELEASES 135
      DISTRIBUTION OF YOUR RELEASE 140

Thirteen: The Rest of Your Media Kit 143
       YOUR CONTENTS PAGE 144
       YOUR ABOUT-THE-AUTHOR PAGE 145
       YOUR AWARDS AND PUBLICATIONS 147
       YOUR LIST OF APPEARANCES 147
        YOUR PRAISE AND ENDORSEMENT PAGE 149
        YOUR BOOK REVIEW 149
        YOUR SAMPLE INTERVIEW 151
        YOUR FIRST-PERSON ESSAY 153
        YOUR AVAILABLE SEMINARS LIST 155
        YOUR FELLOW EXPERTS LIST 157
        OTHER MEDIA KIT ITEMS 157
        ASSEMBLING YOUR MEDIA KIT 163

Fourteen: Your Query and Cover Letters 169

Fifteen: Your Reviews 173
       BIG-JOURNAL REVIEWS 176
       ALTERNATIVES TO MAJOR REVIEW JOURNALS 182
       ALTERNATIVES TO THE ALTERNATIVES 184
       NOW YOU HAVE A REVIEW, WHAT? 186
       FACING REVIEWER PREJUDICE 187
       REVIEW SCAMS 188
       SENDING BOOKS OR ARCS 189

Section IV:
Promote Your Book by Doing What You Love 191

Sixteen: Loving Writing and Recycling 193
       RECYCLE CREATIVE WORK 193
       WRITE NONFICTION ARTICLES 196
       WRITE A COLUMN OR BLOG 198
       PUBLISH YOUR OWN NEWSLETTER 202
      WRITE BOOK REVIEWS 205
        WRITE FOR ANTHOLOGIES 207
        WRITE FOREWORDS AND INTRODUCTIONS 209
        WRITE TIP SHEETS 210
        WRITE OP-ED ESSAYS. 212
        WRITE PROMOTIONAL E-BOOKS 212
        TRANSLATE WORKS YOU LOVE 219

Seventeen: Learning to Love What You Need to Love 221
       SPEAKING IS THE STAR OF PR AND LIFE 221
       AWARDS SET YOUR BOOK APART 227
       WRITERS’ CONFERENCES WORK 234

Eighteen: Publishing Dreams vs. Marketing Needs 241
      TRADESHOWS ARE NOT WHAT YOU THINK 242
       BOOK FAIRS ARE FOR THE PUBLIC. 247
       BOOK SIGNINGS AND BOOKSTORE TOURS 254
       LAUNCHES ARE THE BEST 270

Section V: You and the Media 271

Nineteen: Radio and TV: The Ageless Pair 273
      GETTING MEDIA INTERVIEWS 273
      BEING INTERVIEWED 274
      TELEVISION IS A MANY-SPLENDORED THING 281

Twenty: The Old Internet 287
       YOUR WEB SITE 287
       NEWSLETTERS 291
       E-MAIL 292
       DIRECT E-MAIL MARKETING 294
       AUTORESPONDERS 295
       LIST-SERVES, YAHOO GROUPS 297

Twenty-One: New Net Game Changers 299
BLOGS 299
ONLINE BOOKSTORES 311

Twenty-Two: Using Social Networks 323
SIMPLE SOCIAL NETWORKING 323

Twenty-Three: The Dangers of Online Promotion 329

Section VI: Well Traveled, Oft Forgotten 333

Twenty-Four: Reading Groups 335

Twenty-Five: Catalog Sales 337
BONA FIDE RETAIL STORE CATALOGS 338
COOPERATIVE CATALOGS 340

Twenty-Six: Corporate Sales 343

Twenty-Seven: Retail Is More than Bookstores 347

Twenty-Eight: Library Sales 351

Twenty-Nine: Postcards 353

Thirty: Get Quoted 357

SECTION VII: Onward and Upward 359

Thirty-One: Success as a Motivator 361

Thirty-Two: Book Sales Getting Musty? 363
       FIGHT THE IT’S-TOO-LATE URGE 363
       READERSHIP EXTENDING IDEAS 364
       STAY IN THE PROMOTION HABIT 368
       PLUMB THE WEB AGAIN 368

Appendices 373

One: Sample Query Letters 375

Two: Sample Media Releases 381

Three: Sample Blog Entry 387

Four: Sample Invitation for Tradeshow 389

Five: Sample Script for Phone Pitch 391

Six: Sample Autosignature for E-mails 393

Seven: Sample Tip Sheet 395

Index 401

Tip

Even The Frugal Book Promoter popped for this banner and stand after watching fair-goers go ga-ga over authors using them
when we did a test at the
LA Times/UCLA Festival of Books.
E-mail me if you'd like details on them. HoJoNews@aol.com

Find at least one tip on writing, promotion, or tech on every page of this Web site.

Here are links on this site where you will learn more about Carolyn Howard-Johnson's books, audios and more--written with the welfare of authors in mind:

Audios I coproduced to share the ins 'n' outs of writing, book promotion and marketing on the net.
Other publishing including shorter works.
The Frugal Editor, second in the HowToDoItFrugally series, sharing my system for keep editing gremlins at bay.
The Great First Impression Book Proposal: How to Sell Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less (Originally published by Amazon, now an updated version proudly self published).
Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips, an easy dose of word trippers you may have forgotten since the fourth grade.

Carolyn's Marketing Credentials

University Study	Conference/Teaching Expertise	Marketing
University of Utah, journalism Arizona State University, English literature University of Southern California (USC), BA in English Literature, classes in public relations Glendale Community College, overseas study and computer classes Cambridge University, Trinity College (UK), post graduate study Herzen University (St. Petersburg RU) Charles University (Prague, Czech Republic), Certificate in Education from UCLA's Instructor Development Program, 2006	Speaker and learner at many writers' conferences throughout the US Instructor for UCLA Extension Writers' Program since 2004 Cosponsor of the Roman Retreat, 2010 Cosponsor of the free Muse Online Writers' Conference Presenter at conferences nationwide Workshop leader at bookstores, expos, tradeshows, etc.	Owner of a chain of retail stores/ VP Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations Publicist Eleanor Lambert Publicity, New York (fashion) Journalist. Staff writer for several newspapers including Salt Lake Tribune. Columnist Pasadena Star News. Reviewer for papers like Glendale News-Press. Recent media releases. Please see "Published Works Almanac" on this site for others.

Sharing with Writers Newsletter
An Extension of the HowToDoItFrugally Series
of Books for Writers

Endorsement for Carolyn's newsletter:

"The text-based Sharing with Writers e-newsletter published by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the Frugal Book Promoter and other truly insightful tomes, is probably the best electronic publication that comes across my screen.

"Sharing with Writers is always loaded with practical tips and advice. It takes me only seconds to implement the ones that hold promise for my books, and many of those I’ve tried have led to definitive results like more traffic to my Web site, participation in a new online venue or more exposure to libraries and the book buying trade. The newsletter provides a by-product of camaraderie with other authors and promoters in the community that reads Sharing with Writers, sharing motivation among the members."
~Peggi Ridgway, author, Successful Website Marketing and Wordpix Solutions,
Web Design & Hosting, Brochures, Newsletters & Books

Sylvia McClain, editor of Scribal Calendar, talks about
how reading books meant for other industries
can help writers on my Sharing with Writers blog.

Article
Measuring Marketing Success

Getting alerts is a miraculous thing. I woke this morning to an alert from Social Oomph that Thornton Publishing had named The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success #1 book for authors who want to put out a professional self-published book. Boy, was I all puffed up and happy. What a gift! Find it at http://ping.fm/bMnCb or http://advancedbookmarketing.com/BookEditing.php.

But it is a gift I might not have known about were I not using the alert functions of services like SocialOoomph.com and Google Alerts. Measuring Marketing Success--the results of techniques I espouse in The Frugal Book Promoter as an example--is not easy. Authors who are disappointed in the results of their marketing are often the same ones who don’t use alerts to let them know when their name or title is being mentioned on the Web. So, if you aren't doing this, go to your Google account and sign up for their Alerts. Then hustle on over to SocialOomph.com and let them alert you when people are tweeting about you!

Unsolicited Praise
for
The Frugal Book Promoter

Your book is simply the best business book for writers that I have ever come across and I LOVE marketing books.

As a result of reading the FIRST FEW CHAPTERS of The Frugal Book Promoter, I created (with a very small team of volunteers) a full-day writers' conference with great speakers, an award for our fabulous keynote speaker, book signing tables, a beautiful buffet luncheon and a raffle to benefit Catholic Relief Services' work in Haiti--all accomplished in only 3 months time--and we had about 150 people (professionals, students and hobbyists in editing, publishing and writing fields in both traditional and new media from the NY/CT/NJ tri-state area, PA and as far away as Boston) in attendance. Their feedback was a resounding thumbs-up. I got many emails and FB messages from people who couldn't come and wished they had, or found out about it too late. I have since had name speakers contact me requesting to be considered for future events.

We were covered by both print and television media before, during and after the event and we got a nice list of bloggers to promote us in exchange for a mention in our program. We e-mailed and called every diocesan newspaper in the tri-state area, called and e-mailed all 140 parishes on Long Island, used all our social media outlets and e-mail lists to promote and get others to spread the word. We put out media releases all over the place. We printed all the pre-registered attendees' professional bios and contact info in our program to help them network, which they loved. Networking was a big draw. The event was a tremendous success that created a lasting buzz well beyond the borders of Long Island. I sent out beautiful certificates I made very inexpensively on my computer (with certificate paper from Staples) to all our donors and sponsors. Now, instead of just being a first-time author, I'm seen as someone who makes things happen, does good in the community, acknowledges the work of others, and provides opportunities for others to learn and get connected professionally. Where did all these ideas come from? Your book and only your book.

My network has exploded and my publisher is very happy. I have just written a second booklet for them. As a result of my first event, I am now the president of a new and exciting organization--Catholic Writers of Long Island--that continues to draw new members and has over 170 people on it's e-mail distribution. I have a much greater platform both locally and nationally/internationally in my niche market because of my wonderful new friends, one of whom--after the conference, where we first met--hired me to write a weekly column at a major religion website (Patheos.com --Catholic portal). My presence online and in the Catholic writing community at large is expanding all the time and I'm getting more radio and TV interviews and public speaking engagements as a result.

Yes, I'm a VERY satisfied customer and I can't WAIT to read this latest work of yours, Carolyn!!! You're the BEST!!!

Affectionately your grateful fan,

Lisa Mladinich

Author, "Be An Amazing Catechist: Inspire the Faith of Children"

Founder, www.AmazingCatechists.com

There couldn't be a better time to get my copy of The Frugal Promoter, Second Edition. As I assemble my new e-book, The Itty Bitty E-book on Writing, I realize that I need the information you offer in your book to update my media kit, put out releases, and plan the promotion of my work. I also need the wonderful information in The Frugal Editor to make sure my copy is clean and well written. As I update and expand my Itty Bitty columns dating from 2008 until 2011, I am grateful to have the help of someone who knows the ropes so well.

Thanks Carolyn!

Mindy Phillips Lawrence

Buy Links for Carolyn's Books

Great Fiction
Purchase THIS IS THE PLACE
and HARKENING at Amazon.

Great Poetry
Purchase TRACINGS (Finishing Line Press) at Amazon.

Give the gift of poetry with a chapbook from Magdalena Ball's and
My Celebration Series
CHERISHED PULSE: Unconventional Love Poetry
IMAGINING THE FUTURE: Ruminations on Fathers and Other Masculine Apparitions
SHE WORE EMERALD THEN: Reflections on Motherhood
BLOOMING RED: Christmas Poetry for the Rational
DEEPER INTO THE POND: A Celebration of Femininity

HowToDoItFrugally Series for Writers
Purchase
THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER
THE FRUGAL EDITOR
GREAT LITTLE LAST MINUTE EDITING TIPS FOR WRITERS
THE GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION BOOK PROPOSAL

Survive and Thrive Series of HowToDoItFrugally Books for Retailers
A RETAILER'S GUIDE TO FRUGAL IN-STORE PROMOTION
FRUTAL AND FOCUSED TWEETING FOR RETAILERS
YOUR BLOG, YOUR BUSINESS

Purchase audios for writers at Tri-Studio.

Most of Carolyn's books are also available for the Kindle reader.

"Careers that are not fed die as readily
as any living organism given no sustenance."
~ Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Studio photography by Uriah Carr

Logo by Lloyd King

All Carolyn's Frugal Books Are Available on Kindle
As Well as Paperback

Helpful Books for Writers

Helpful Books for Retailers

Poetry: The perfect inspirational gift

Fiction and Short Stories

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Learn more about Carolyn's newsletter and blog.

To subscribe to Carolyn's FREE online newsletter send an e-mail.

Learn more about Carolyn's newsletter and blog.

Learn more
about the classes offered by
UCLA Extension Writers' Program

Check out my classes, too!
They're usually inexpensive one-day seminars.

Subscribe to
Carolyn Howard-Johnson's Sharing with Writers Newsletter
and get a FREE copy of

"I have been a professional writer 40 years, and am also a tenured full professor of journalism. Carolyn's Sharing with Writers newsletter is most useful for me--and for my students. I emphasize to them that while research is 90% of writing, and the actual writing is about 10%, there's another 100% out there called promotion. Carolyn shows numerous ways to get the message to the mass media."
~Walter Brasch, author and educator

Find Carolyn on the Web


	writers	retailers

Carolyn's Calendar

Please click on my Google Calendar button to learn more about my upcoming UCLA Extension Writers' Program classes, my writers' conference and book fair appearances, and more.

Carolyn's Tips

You will find at least one promotion, writing or tech tip on every page on this site. Happy browsing and collecting!

Endorsements

"Howard-Johnson has the comforting tone of a mentor and writes with the precision of a surgeon."
~ Francine Silverman, editor Book Promotion Newsletter

"When I finished my first novel, Edges, O Israel, O Palestine, I was in tears. Not my usual tears about letting go of my creation, but tears because the world of publishing, promotion, publicity was a hostile enemy camp, I was lost in anxiety bordering on paranoia bordering on terror. How in the world does a novice author navigate this guerilla warfare without a bankroll? There were so many promises made by publicist charging over $5,000 a month.
~From The Jewish Press, Letters to the Editor

"Carolyn, as your excellent review has noted, DOES make you feel as if you've earned an PhD in publicity. she gives your confidence and arms you well, like a good pacifist. Her non-violent approach is about frugal, common sense practical ways of making your book visible and read.

"As you also say in this review.. "In this era of cash-crunched PR budgets and time consumed publishing house staff members, The Frugal Book Promoter is an important item for empowering any author’s publicity planning. "

"Thanks for letting others know about our dear Carolyn Howard-Johnson (uh..yes, that is her real name)."
~ Leora Skolkin-Smith

"...you can't go wrong in faithfully following Carolyn Howard-Johnson's advice in her INVALUABLE eighteen page book proposal [The Great First Impression Book Proposal from Amazon Shorts.]"
~ Frances Lynn, author of Crushed

Carolyn's Recommendations

A highly Recommended Reading Companion to The Frugal Book Promoter :

BOOK PROPOSALS THAT SELL, 21 SECRETS TO SPEED YOUR SUCCESS,:

~~~

Wasabi Club, a group of PR professionals, presents Carolyn in a teleseminar on editing We talk about the PR business, about finding the right editor, and more. Michelle Tennant Nicholson is the interviewer.

Time to Kindle

Carolyn's How-To and Poetry Books Are Available on Kindle.
Click here to buy the big, powerful Kindle that I love:

Carolyn's Blogs

Sharing with Writers
All things publishing with
an emphasis on book
promotion. Named to
Writer's Digest
101 Best Website list.

The New Book Review
Great way for readers, authors, reviewers and publicists to get more
mileage out of
a great review.

The Frugal Editor Blog
This is the Frugal, Smart
and Tuned-In Editor blog.
Covers editing, grammar, formatting and more.
Get the answers you need.

Carolyn's Writers' Resources and #MovieReview Tweets

Carolyn's Awards

Awards for Carolyn's Books, Blogs and More

The New Book Review
Named to
Online Universities'
101 Book Blogs
You Need to Read

Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites
for Sharing with Writers blog.

Best Book Award for The Frugal Book Promoter (2004) and The Frugal Editor (2008) and the Second Edition of The Frugal Book Promoter (2011).

Reader Views Literary Award for The Frugal Editor

New Generation Award for Marketing and Finalist for The Frugal Editor

Book Publicists of Southern California's Irwin Award

Military Writers Award of Excellence for
Tracings, A Chapbook of Poetry.

A Retailer's Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotion wins author Military Writers Society of America's Author of the Month award for March, 2010

Gold Medal Award from Military Writers Society of America, 2010. MWSA also gave a nod to She Wore Emerald Then, a chapbook of poetry honoring mothers.

The Frugal Editor Named #! on Top Ten Editing Books list.

The Oxford Award recognizes the alumna who exemplifies the Delta Gamma precept of service to her community and who, through the years, devotes her talents to improve the quality of life around her.

And more than a dozen other awards for Carolyn's novel, short story collection and poetry. See the awards page on this site.

Other Interests

Acting
Speaking
Travel

Carolyn's Poetry

Tracings
Celebration Series
Travel

Carolyn's Literary Works

This is the Place
Harkening
Published Shorter Works

Carolyn's How to Do it Frugally Series

For Writers
For Retailers

Proud Member of. . .

www.wrwa.net

ABWA is a group of highly skilled networkering women in business.

Military Writers' Society of America

Honorary member of Publishers and Writers of San Diego.

Book Publicists of Southern California
(BPSC) Pix: Proud Irwin Award Winners
Carolyn and Janet Goliger, l. to r.

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At Promotion a la Carte lets YOU choose from our publicity buffet WHAT you need, WHEN you need it.

Carolyn Consults

For a variety of reasons, I've been using CreateSpace.com to publish many of my how-to books and poetry chapbooks. I can help you find the right way to publishing your book, too, even guide you through the publishing process. Learn more on my consulting page.

Promotion Tip