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According to Reviewers
The Frugal Editor
Will Be Your Essential
Desk Companion
Reviews
Click here to see excerpts of the Frugal Editor.
Click here for the author's
biography and contents of the Frugal Editor.
Click here
for Carolyn's first person essay,
"Beating Time at Its Own Game."
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Review
from
A Publisher |
Fom J. D. Vine Publications
blog
November 6, 2007
I'm
encroaching on Sarah's blog today. As you know, J. D. Vine
Publications is dedicated to helping writers achieve. This is why
we post writing tips in our blogs. Today I have a book
recommendation that can help writers like you get published.
 If you
are a writer, you're also an editor. Don't wait for your story to
reach someone like me before it has been carefully edited. If you
want to be a professional writer, your work must be of a
professional caliber. The Frugal Editor by Carolyn
Howard-Johnson is a book that could help writers of all skill
levels increase the professionalism of their copy. Reading and
using the techniques in this book could make the difference of not
being accepted for publication in the Creative Writer or becoming
the series next Featured Author.
After
the announcements were made of the writers chosen for publication in
the first book of the Creative Writer series, a contestant wrote me
to ask how he could be on the next list of writers to be published.
I reviewed writing samples he provide d. His story ideas were as
good as any printed, but his copy was nearly unbearable to read. He
didn't have control of written language. I wrote this young writer
back and encouraged him, discussing rewriting and editing. As I
wrote, I thought about how important the editing process can be for
highly skilled writers.
Being a
small publication company, J. D. Vine Publications is much more
forgiving than most when it comes to copy. However, when two
stories are being considered for the last slot in a publication, the
decision often boils down to which is going to take less time in the
editing process. Likewise, the smallest typo in one story or the
proper use of an arcane rule of grammar in another can be the
tie-breaker, deciding which story wins its author $150.00 and the
title of Featured Author.
The Frugal Editor will help you give your copy the edge it
needs to be chosen over the competition. This book won't just help
your submissions to J. D. Vine Publications, but to any publication
you send your work to. For more information about this book and
others Carolyn Howard-Johnson has written to help writers
succeed, visit
http://www.HowToDoItFrugally.com.
I'm reminded of one of my professors from when I was studying for my
Bachelor's Degree in English: Creative Writing. He always said,
"The world only wants your best." Give it to them.
As
Sarah would say, that's it from the Grape-Vine. Thanks for stopping
by.
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Review
from
An Editor |
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Reviewed by Mindy
Phillips Lawrence for CelebrityCafe.com
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The Frugal Editor: Put
Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success
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By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
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Red Engine Press,
October 2007
THOUGHTS ON READING
THE FRUGAL EDITOR
From the moment
that humans learned to write, scribes have fussed, fumed and fought
with the written word. In The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book
Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success, Carolyn
Howard-Johnson deals with these frustrations in a humorous but
professional manner in her new book from Red Engine Press. I took
the tome for a test-drive over coffee this morning and found myself
laughing more than I had since I read Bill Walsh’s “Comma Sutra”
chapter from Lapsing into a Comma (McGraw-Hill, 2000). I
laughed with a purpose. This book is REALLY GOOD!
Carolyn begins by
letting even the best and brightest who aced English know why they
need her book, as well they do. It keeps people with doctorates in
education from writing things like “I r smart” and embarrassing
themselves permanently. The Frugal Editor discusses types of
editing, how to organize your writing environment, what goes on in
the mind of the literary agent and the details of the editing
process. A section of the book handles the tools available on your
computer – be it WORD’s Tracking Mode or the Internet – to help you
create a near-perfect submission. She has also included appendices
on editing at a glance, common errors, recommended reading and
listening, a listing of contributing literary agents, sample cover
and query letters and other writing aides.
If you want to
write and act like a professional writer, this book clearly says not
to go it alone. Be frugal, but be willing to pay someone that knows
what they are doing when the time comes. If you do find an editor
for your work, listen to them.
This is an
excellent and lively resource for ALL writers. It’s a training
manual to make you think like Sherlock Holmes as you go through your
writing so you will leave no adverb at peace and no dangling
modifier dangling.
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Review
from
The Respected Midwest Book Review |
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Reviewed by Mayra Calvani
The Frugal Editor: Put Your
Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Red Engine Press
Branson, Missouri
Copyright 2007
ISBN: 978-0-9785158-7-4
Paperback, 208 pages, $18.95
Reviewed by Mayra Calvani for
Dark Phantom Wordpress, B&N, Habitual Reader, Associated
Content, American Chronicle, Ezine Articles, Midwest Book Review
(Sept. issue) and August issues of The Fountain Pen and Voice in
the Dark newsletters
The publishing world is so
incredibly competitive nowadays, both aspiring and experienced
authors who wish to succeed need to make sure that their
submissions—be that queries, proposals, partials or complete
manuscripts—are as flawless as they can possibly be. It goes
without saying that these submissions must be free of spelling
and grammatical mistakes; that’s only the beginning. Editors and
agents pay attention to a lot of other amateurish mistakes in a
submission. In this her latest book, award-winning author
Carolyn Howard-Johnson reveals what those other mistakes are,
what you can do to spot them on your manuscript and, more
importantly, correct them.
Howard-Johnson demystifies how to spot
dangling participles, gremlins of the passive voice (which
stubbornly keep appearing after having edited your manuscript
twice), and innocuous agreement errors, among other sneaky
problems like overuse of adverbs and adjectives, gerunds,
unnecessary question marks and exclamation points, handling
possessives and apostrophes, hyphens, double adjectives, and
more.
You’ll learn how to make the
editing process more effortless, including how to set up your
Word program to make markings easier, as well as manual and
electronic techniques for spotting errors. The book also
includes helpful sidebars with particularly important
information on all aspects of self editing.
Johnson also discusses the most
common amateurish mistakes writers often make. At the end of
the book there is a chunky appendix with lots of pertinent and
relevant resources.
One of the things I found more
interesting about this book is the ‘inside’ information from the
point of view of various agents. I also think Johnson gives very
valuable advice when she recommends NOT doing the final two
edits on the computer screen, but on printed copy instead. I
particularly like the chapters on how to set up Word for
optimizing the self editing process; I have read many books on
editing but never came upon this practical element before.
Moreover, Johnson writes in a friendly, engaging style, making
the reading of this book both an enjoyable and enlightening
experience.
Ideally, hiring a professional
editor is the best way to go, but unfortunately, not every
writer has the resources to hire one. Getting a copy of The
Frugal Editor and using it as a reference guide is the next
best thing. Highly recommended for authors who are serious about
their work and willing to beat the odds.
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Review
from
An Author
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The
following review is a prepublished review by
Cheryl Wright,
editor of Writer2Writer.com, author and freelance writer.
© 2006 – All rights reserved
The Frugal Editor:
Put Your
Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success
Second in the How
to Do It Frugally series
Many writers wrongly
believe an editor (or publisher) will overlook their editing errors if
the story is suitable. They couldn’t be further from the truth.
Having your book edited
by a professional is by far the best option, but the cost is generally
out of reach for most writers. Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s The Frugal
Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward To Avoid Humiliation and
Ensure Success teaches writers how to self-edit; something I believe
all writers should know how to do.
Howard-Johnson discusses ways to eliminate passive
writing (one of my pet hates), and gives practical tips for using
hyphens, prefixes, and apostrophes. She also shares her expertise on
the correct usage of find and replace, as well as many other
little-known techniques used in professional editing.
In the vein of The Frugal Book Promoter,
Howard-Johnson’s The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward
To Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success will become a well-used
reference for writers around the world.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
and her husband Lance G. Johnson,
author of Everything Asians Need to
Know About Americans A to Z,
editing his book at home. His book is published in China in simplified
Chinese
by Oriental Press.
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Tip
The more you know about
grammar, the better writer you will be. Yes, you will!
Learn more the fun way and if you buy
The Frugal Book
Promoter along with the
Frugal Editor on Amazon, you'll probably get free
shipping. Tip from the Frugal Editor: Break the rules
but only when you know that you're breaking them and why and
be positive that your independence will do your career no
harm.
Find at least one tip on writing,
promotion or tech on every page of this Web site.
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Review
from
MyShelf.com
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Reviewed by Suzie Housley for MyShelf
The
Frugal Editor: Put your best book forward to avoid humiliation and
ensure success
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Red
Engine Press
ISBN-10:
0978515870
ISBN-13:
978-0978515874
Non-Fiction/Self Help
Paperback
Oct 1, 2007
Buy at Amazon.com
We are the products of
editing, rather than of authorship.
~George Wald
The time has come when you as an author
take that final step to write the last word that brings your book to
closure. For many a sigh of relief is felt but it is short lived.
The hard part comes when it is time to edit the finished product to
make it publication worthy. Whether you are an experienced author
or new to the craft it is essential to realize that all finished
work requires a highly skilled editor.
Millions of books are published each
year. In order for anyone’s book to have a fighting chance against
all of the stiff competition it must be free of any glaring grammar
errors. It is crucial that every author has the knowledge and skill
that is required to recognize good editing services.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s
The
Frugal Editor: Put your best book forward to avoid humiliation and
ensure success
is the vital
ingredient needed for any author to experience publication success.
In this one book you will find all the knowledge it takes to educate
yourself on how to tell if an editor is a professional, or just
someone who is able to recognize a typo.
By far ever author who
wishes to become published should definitely add this title as a
must have to their book collection. With Carolyn Howard-Johnson
being your guide to learning the ins and outs of editing you are
assured to gain the knowledge needed to make publishing an easy
task. Very highly recommended. |
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Review
from
Alternative Read |
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Reviewed by Lucille
Robinson for Alternative Read
Permission given by
reviewer to reprint with credits. Title: The
Frugal Book Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward To Avoid Humiliation and
Ensure Success
Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Website of Author: http://carolynhoward-johnson.com
Publisher: Red Engine Press
Genre: Nonfiction/Self-Help for Writers
Publication Date: Coming Spring of 2007
ISBN: Not assigned yet.
Format: E-Book
This book serves as a desk reference for any writer who composes any
type of writing. Written in a conversational style, THE FRUGAL BOOK
EDITOR offers instruction on one topic at a time thereby making the
whole process of editing much more manageable. Encouragement for those
of us who are easily frustrated with the ‘cleaning up’ stages of our
manuscripts highlights the instruction.
One may approach the book in several ways. Read THE FRUGAL BOOK EDITOR
from beginning to end to get a good idea of what Ms. Howard-Johnson is
offering as well as a good understanding of her conversational style.
Once an overall read is completed, a writer may use the contents or
index to zero in on the part he/she needs at any given time.
I’m a writer who would love to have someone else take over the editing
and proofreading stages of my manuscripts because I hate editing,
proofreading, and rewriting. Ms. Howard-Johnson’s techniques and her
encouragement from page to page of THE FRUGAL BOOK EDITOR lifts my
spirits to the level where I can approach these hated tasks in a better
attitude and get the job done. I advise all writers to obtain a copy of
THE FRUGAL BOOK EDITOR and keep it handy as your write.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson has studied writing at Cambridge University in
the United Kingdom, UK: Herzen University in St. Petersburg, RU, and
Charles University in Prague. Ms. Howard-Johnson is a lecturer, an
instructor, and a writer. She has appeared on TV and hundreds of radio
stations nationwide. She received the award Woman of the Year in Arts
and Entertainment by members of the California Legislature. She has also
published a nitty-gritty how-to book, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER that won
USA Book News' "Best Professional Book 2004" and a chapbook of poetry,
TRACINGS (Finishing Line Press). She loves to travel. Find more
information about her at www.authorsden.com/carolynhowardjohnson.
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Review
from
Readers
Network |
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Reviewed by
Charlene Austin,
Editor of Writers and Readers Network and Writing Road
www.writersandreadersnetwork.com
www.writingroad.com
Review of:
The
Frugal Editor
Put
Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success.
By:
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Publisher: Red Engine Press
ISBN: 978-0-9785158-7-4
Carolyn
Howard-Johnson, author of "The Frugal Book Promoter: How
to do What Your Publisher Won’t," adds another generous offering to the
Frugal series, a professionals guide to professional manuscript
presentation in her new book, "The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book
Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success."
No matter how much we study and learn, no matter how proficient,
knowledgeable, and skilled we become with language, grammar,
punctuation, and spelling, Carolyn tells us little gremlins are
always chipping away at our work. And they are sneaky. They hide in
the little chips and holes and errors from our creative sight so we see
only the intended message on the page.
With simple words and
easy step-by-step sidebar instruction boxes"The Frugal Editor" zooms in on all those tricky little problems
"gremlins"
that haunt every writer, and teaches you the tools and steps to hunt
down and eradicate them. You'll discover you can tame that risky, frisky
spell and grammar check word editor on your computer, so it actually
works for you, and how to effectively use your word program's tools
to ensure proper formatting. And more. Beginner or master will find
helpful tips and information for professional presentation in "The
Frugal
Editor."
Every writer, no
matter their skill level dreads that four letter word: Edit.
Every writer is haunted by gremlins. Arm yourself with Carolyn
Howard-Johnson's "The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward
to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success." for a frugal, successful hunt
and an acceptance feast when editors and publishers feast their eyes
on your polished work.
--------
Charlene Austin writes fiction under the pen name
Carrie Lynn Lyons. She is the author of several short stories and her
novel, book one of the Carnival Soul Trilogy: Dream Pictures is
available from Mundania Press. |
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Review
from
A
Listserve Owner |
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Reviewed by
Billie A. Williams,
listmom for Yahoo Group Word_Mage
The Frugal Editor
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Red Engine Press
publisher@redenginepress.com
Branson, Missouri
Copyright 2007
ISBN: 978-0-9785158-7-4
Paperback, 208 pages, $18.95
How to Get a Leg Up on Six Million Other Authors
In this day an age, when according to
some studies, over 81 percent of Americans feel they should write a book
and more than six million of them actually have at least written the
manuscripts. What are your chances of getting published when that is
just over two percent of the population? Most of these manuscripts
however, are doomed to failure because they don’t understand the
intricacies of polishing (read that as editing) their manuscripts
before sending them out, and/or hiring an editor to give it the
final tweak before they send them off.
According to a recent article by Robert
McCrum in The Observer and I quote,
“…according
to the New York Times, there's a new book published in the United States
every half an hour, and - wait for it - that's just fiction. RR Bowker,
the company that compiles the Books in Print database in the USA, has
calculated that no fewer than 175,000 new titles were published in 2003.
That's one book roughly every 20 seconds.”
And as you can imagine that trend has only increased since then. As
McCrum says, the new books have the shelf life of yogurt, but that
quality will always stand above the rest and will persevere. So how do
you bring that quality to your own work?
The Frugal Editor
by Carolyn Howard-Johnson is like having an editor in a box, or more
correctly, between two covers of a book. Concise down-to-earth advice
about how to edit your manuscript before you even begin to think about
sending it out into the red pencil world of publishers, where their
editors get the first chance to evaluate your hard work.
Frugal Editor is a veritable thesaurus of
how to spot the gremlins that can mess up your prose. If edits and
editors paralyze you with fear, take heart. Carolyn Howard-Johnson makes
the whole process palatable. She intersperses her directives with light
hearted humor making the whole process nearly enjoyable.
If there is an error your manuscript
could contain, you’ll find the method for search and eradication in this
delightful book. You’ll want to read it cover to cover, but then you
will keep it by your side as you write, rewrite and edit so you can be
frugal when you do decided to hire that editor to give it one last
polish before you submit it anywhere. As Howard-Johnson says; “The
lesson here for all of us is that attention to detail and craft counts,
and that even experienced writers can flub an opportunity if they don’t
pay attention to the last great step toward publishing, a good edit.”
Howard-Johnson explains the difference
between and editor and a typo hunter. She also cautions that “…no matter
how skilled an editor is, the author needs to know a lot about the
process too. The cleaner the copy you hand over to your editor, the more
accurate she can be and her edit may cost you less in time and money.”
When Howard-Johnson says frugal in her book titles she means it and she
goes to great lengths to insure the reader gets her/his money worth by
providing resources with links, examples of the often scary Query letter
construction, and more. She doesn’t leave the reader high and dry at any
point. Further advice or learning is a matter of using the comprehensive
index to find the detail you need and then following the advice, link or
resource mentioned to guide you in your search for excellence.
The twenty plus pages of appendices is not
mere fluff or padding of book length or word count, it is more than a
bibliography of recommended reading (though it also contains that). You
will find samples and links such as the query letters mentioned above,
helpful groups to investigate, grammar helps and books. It’s hard to
believe more could be contained in any book on your shelf. Spare no
gremlin—search and destroy, polish and perfect before you send out your
hard work. This book is the tool to help you do that. I highly recommend
this power house of methods and means that will not only enhance your
chances of publication, it will help you make any publishing house sit
up and take notice – perhaps even pushing your book to the coveted
best-seller lists faster than you ever imagined. |
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Review
from
Midwest Review |
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Reviewed by Christy Tillery French
The
Frugal Editor
As the literary
market continues to tighten its proverbial belt, today’s writer must
assume more of the responsibilities surrounding book publishing than
ever before. No longer can a writer depend on a publisher or agent to
accept a manuscript in need of editing, and submitting a manuscript that
isn’t as near perfect as possible will, in all probability, result in
rejection. To the rescue comes acclaimed author Carolyn Howard-Johnson
with The Frugal Editor, the latest in her How to Do It
Frugally series. This little gem is a must-have for any writer,
published or not, bestselling or unknown. Filled with valuable tips,
The Frugal Editor touches on all aspects of self-editing, such as
how to spot common grammatical errors, from superfluous adverbs to
confusing dangling participles, as well as how to organize the
workspace, format the manuscript, and use Word’s tools to the fullest.
Also included are sample query and cover letters, and pointers on
correcting intrusive taglines, when to use an ellipsis, and correct
spacing, to name a few. The book takes the reader step-by-step through
the editing process, from rough draft to galley. No questions are left
unanswered, no topics left uncovered. This generous writer goes so far
as to recommend resources through other books and Web sites, with plenty
of advice from agents and editors.
The Frugal
Editor
is one of those reference books every writer should have by their
computer for constant use and study. Highly recommended.
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Other Reviews |
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"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:
To
subscribe to Carolyn's FREE online newsletter send an
e-mail.
Learn more about Carolyn's
newsletter and blog.
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Subscribe to
Carolyn Howard-Johnson's Sharing with Writers Newsletter
and get a FREE copy of
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Carolyn's Blogs |
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Sharing with Writers
All things publishing with
an emphasis on book
promotion. Named to
Writer's Digest
101 Best Website list.
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The New Book Review
Great way for readers, authors, reviewers and publicists to get more
mileage out of
a great review.
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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.
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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.
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Endorsements |
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“Good editing is like
honest business accounting: If you don’t have it, you end up with a
mess. The Frugal Editor
is a must for the novice writer who needs to make that ideal first
impression and the writer with a tenth book hitting the shelves who has
become complacent about his brilliant prose.”
~
Kristin Johnson, author
and writing consultant
"Wow, what a great book,
what an eye opener! I loved it . . ."
~Billie Williams, listmom at
Word_Mage. |
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Tip |
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Tip
It has been said that only a fool represents himself in
court or edits his own book. The Frugal Editor will
help an author do just that if she insists but it will also
help her get her query letters, media releases, book
proposals and cover letters past the critical eyes of
gatekeepers who have the power to nix her project. The
tip? Do it yourself if you must, but do it right.
Find tips on writing, promotion or
tech on every page of this Web site.
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Carolyn's Shopping Plaza |
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Please visit Carolyn's
Shopping Plaza
for autographed copies and occasional special offers.
Order two or more books and get Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers free!
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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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Carolyn's Speaking Engagements |
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Presenter 2009, 2010
Presenter, 2008, 09, 10
Presenter, 2007
National Span College, 2002
Fellows presenter, 2007, 08
Co-sponsor and presenter, 2007, 08, 09,
10
University of Dayton Erma Bombeck Writers' Conference, 2006,
2008
Sisters in Crime,
Pasadena, 2009
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Carolyn's Awards |
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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).
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.
And more than a dozen other awards for Carolyn's novel, short story collection and poetry.
See the awards page on this site.
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