CNN, Dominoes, Tweeting, and Damage Control

Everyone is getting into the tweeting act.

On its business page Monday (Apr 20), the LA Times reports "Tweets Are an Ally in Crisis PR" and goes on to talk about the likes of Dominoe's Pizza, CNN and Amazon. And about how knowing Twitter can make or break any one's PR department's ability to avert a crisis. Including theirs.

It also makes clear how an agile tweeter can sell more product simply by doing what people generally like to do and that's relate genuinely to other people.

So, when Amazon has trouble with their image because they don't get Twitter (remember the "glitch" excuse for removing the ratings from gay literature?) and when CNN realizes they'd better have some control over their own branding by handling their tweets from under their own umbrella, isn't it time more authors understood Twitter and got involved?

The answer is yes. But it's more than that. It's also understanding how to use it, not just spinning out your little 140 character tweets. There is a knack of it and I'm happy to consult with you on that. But I want to go deeper with this blog, too.

That is, you can manage social networking much better if you know what is going on in the social network universe. And you can't do that without help. It used to be that a good friend was all you needed to tell you when someone was maligning your name. But now you really need an automated friend. So let's jump from Twitter (or Facebook or any of the other groups like iFogo or Ning or . . . you get the idea!) to alerts.

Very simply put, authors need alerts. They need Google Alerts and they need Twitter Tweets Alert Digest from Tweetlate.com. These online entities will let you know when your name is mentioned for good or for bad. You tell them what you want them to find for you and they do it.

So, as an example, I let it find all my titles for me, in part and in whole. And my name. And my twitter moniker (@frugalbookpromo), and my series' name (HowToDoItFrugally). I use alerts in lots of other ways but this article is about damage control and sales so we'll leave it at that.

So, once you've got an alert, what do you do with it?

You react to it. One of the first rules of great PR is to react and to do it immediately.

When you react you don’t just to say you're innocent and can do no wrong. You examine the accusation to see what part you played in it and own up to that. Only then can you dismiss any untrue part of the statement. Remember, this has to be done fast but not so fast that you don't formulate your admission (or apology). Don't get vague like Amazon did and say "Oh, it was just a glitch." Do what Hugh Grant did when he was caught with a prostitute. He said, "Yes, I made mistake. I'm sorry. My following deserves better than that." And the problem went away. For everyone but me. I remember PR coups like an elephant with a 100 year memory. But I did forgive Grant. He's only human (and adorable.).

And what if you get alerted that someone said something nice?

Well, you've heard it here before. You thank them. Preferably publicly where others will see that someone said something nice. But genuinely. You can't buy advertising as good as this kind of PR.

So, tweet anyone?

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, 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. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

A Carnival of Ideas that Apply to the Future of Publishing: Amazon and Chris Anderson Anyone?

I've never really done what bloggers call a "carnival" before. (If you don't know the term, you may want to learn more about this kind of carnival at http://budurl.com/bookproposalreport.) But there are two developments "In the News" that I have or will cover in my newsletter. Still, both seem so important that I didn't want to wait to get them into a blog. Further, it seems a carnival link to the original articles and discussions will serve my readers better. So, here they are, straight from my "In the News" segments from my Sharing with Writers newsletter:


In the News: Those of you have read my Sharing with Writers newsletter for some time know that I think Chris Anderson's Long Tail theory has much to inform the world of publishing. Now he's at it again. Read his new book Free: The Future of a Radical Price. Time (magazine gives us a hint as to what it's about: "Just because newspapers, e-mail, music and software are all free online doesn't mean those businesses are dying." We all need to know why and how this free business model affects us and applies to us.

In the News: Holy cats! What do you make of this new Amazon development? They've started a new program publishing self-published books that have been well received on Amazon: http://mhpbooks.com/mobylives/?p=6347 They promised an "answer to the demise of Amazon Shorts." This couldn't be it, could it?

For those who don't want to miss any of my hand-selected news about the publishing industry and writing in general (or tips on marketing books, the craft of writing, a poetry corner and more!) let me know. Subscribe using the form in the column to the left of this post or send me an e-mail with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line: HoJoNews @ aol.com. (Remove the space before sending.)

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, 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. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Marv Wilson Shares Kindle Kink for Blog and Book Promotion

I have been around the publishing industry so long I'm always surprised when I hear of something that feels brand new or at least is recognizable as a new kink in an older model that will help writers promote their books. And this is it! Marvin Wilson is an amazing (and avid!) blogger and I asked him to share "his" Kindle model with you. I know you are going to love it because it's FRUGAL of time and money!


Publishing Your Blog to Kindle

By Marv Wilson

Any blogger who would like to get more exposure and earn a little extra money can now publish their blog to Amazon’s Kindle Reader. It’s easy to do and free. Certainly there is not retirement-in-riches money to be expected from it – unless you are a celebrity blogger of fabulous renown. A monthly subscription to a blog that posts at least once per day is only $1.99, and the blog author gets 30% of that. So to get say, a $6,000 check each month you’d have to have 10,000 paying subscribers to your blog. But hey – I’ll take even a $60 check any old time, and besides, it’s all about that much more exposure, one more way to get branded and get your name and awareness of your blog and books out there, right?

Here’s what you do if you are interested.

A) Log onto http://kindlepublishing.amazon.com/gp/vendor/sign-in/189-3834765-3883341

B) Sign up for a free account, fill in all the necessary information about your blog, upload your mug shot if you want, upload the image you want to have appear on the front page of your Kindle readers’ subscription, etc. You will need to know your blog’s RSS feed address--which is different than the url. On most blogs that is available at the very bottom of your front page where it says, “Posts/Atom” – click on that and it will show the RSS feed in your browser.

C) Once your application is all filled out, click on “Publish.”

D) Bingo was his name-o! That’s it--you’re done! Amazon and Kindle does all the work for you. Every time you publish a new post it automatically appears in the Kindle Blog Store on your blog.

They tell you it takes 48 to 72 hours from the time you click the mighty publish button for it to show up in the store, so you won’t see it right away. But I signed up both my primary blogs and they were both available for sale in less than 36 hours.
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This post was written by the Old Silly from Free Spirit Blog, Marvin D Wilson

Free Spirit Blog – http://inspiritandtruths.blogspot.com/ This one covers lots of ideas for writers. Find my frugal model for a book launch on this site at http://inspiritandtruths.blogspot.com/2009/05/some-hojo-how-tos.html.

Hippie Blog – http://tiedyedtirades.blogspot.com/ This one sometimes does, too. In fact it's from this one I got the idea to ask Marv to share this idea with you! http://tiedyedtirades.blogspot.com/2009/05/tie-dyed-tirades-is-now-on-kindle.html

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, 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. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Poetry Reading and Art Exhibit Invitation

What is poetry if not art? I'll be be reading poetry on the theme Celebrating the Female; Spirit, Mind and Body at Avenue 50 Studio, 131 N. Ave 50, Highland Park, CA 90042 (www.avenue50studio.com) on May 30th, from 7-9 p.m.

The reading is in conjunction with artist-photographer J. Michael Walker (www.allthesaints.com). His exhibit runs through to June 7. The subject is of "empathic images wherein the revealed body discloses the essence within." I have seen some of these nude photos and they are fantastic. The one in this post has been decorously cropped, though that was hardly necessary. His photos of women--from the top of their heads to their tippy toes--are not the stuff of girly magazines but comments on beauty as surely as those paintings of Hans Holbein. Nobody would think of cropping his work.

Still, the world being what it is today, you must come to the studio to see Walker's work and to hear some poetry on subjects relating to women.


Hosting this presentation is my critique partner and mentor, Lois P. Jones. She is guest host of Poet's Café that airs at the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at noon on Pacifica Radio, KPFK 90.7 fm. Both of us will read. She is featured in one of Walker's works of art.

I hope many of my blog visitors can make it. It's not often one gets this combination of artwork with one's love of poetry. (-:

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, 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. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Five Ways for Writers To Be Fantastically Green

Today VH Melville has offered to be my guest blogger while I am launching A Retailer's Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions, (http://www.amazon.com/Retailers-Guide-Frugal-Store-Promotions/dp/1441467246/?tag=widgetsamazon-20) in New York at Javits Center. Melville is a writer who lives green. I think you'll get an idea or two from her.

Five Ways for Writers To Be Fantastically Green

By VH Melville, the author of the soon to be released Ecotastic, the Fabulously
Free Green Guide and Death Toys for Quasar

1. If you run a blog to promote your writing think about going to http://eco-safe.com/ and using their button/widget. You install it on your blog and Website so that people can make pdf copies instead of printing and creating paper waste destined for landfills.

2. Buy packets of seeds and give them as your door prizes.

3. Grow a story garden. Think about the concept of sponsoring a unit at a school. The possibilities are endless including providing plaques that identify the donors of trees and vegetables. That plaque can include your logo and/or book title. of course!

4. Eat less meat. You don't have to become vegan just three to four meet free dinners a week can help the earth and save you money to spend on promoting your writing.

5. Twitter about how you are supporting green causes in your office. Slip in a note about your title, too.


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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, 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. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Tri-Studio Sponsors "Novel" Contest and It's FREE

Tri- Studio, home of the Fiction Flyer newsletter, is holding a flash fiction Contest: You choose two characters from one of your stories or novels, or one character each from two of your stories or novels. They can be two protagonists, antagonists, or one of each. Select one of the scene openers or premises below, and create a conversation between your characters. Attention will be given to the strength and credibility of your characters. Unusual characters are welcome, but help us believe they are real. And keep them in character and true to themselves. Remember, while flash fiction is short, it still tells a story, so allow enough development to leave us in the end with a feeling or sentiment. Make us laugh or cry! Here are the scene openers or premises for your entry:

*Your first character is kneeling on shore and holding the lead rope to a flimsy rubber raft, which is frothing in the wake of a rain-swollen river. Your second character sits in the boat, hanging on for life.

*Your first character enters the Grand Ballroom at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino for its opening celebration, which has promised to be the best party Las Vegas has ever seen. The first character immediately spies the second character, who is rumored to be having an affair with the spouse of the first character. The first character has just heard the rumor. He or she approaches the second character. All eyes follow him or her.

*Your characters 20 to 50 years later: they meet randomly in a Laundromat.
The grown children of your two characters randomly meet, fall in love, and become engaged. Your characters are invited to dinner so that the two families can “get to know each other.” They have no idea they will be meeting each other.

*Your two characters must compete for the same job.

*Your two characters must work on the same job. Their success depends on their willingness to work as a team.

*You choose the situation that best suits your characters.

Judging Criteria is:

1. Character strength and credibility
2. Dialogue
3. Short story development, including: Tightness, clarity, structure, strength of lead/beginning, impact, satisfactory close

Guidelines:

1. All subscribers to The Fiction Flyer ezine are eligible. To subscribe, send an email to kgogolewski@sbcglobal.net with EZINE written in the subject heading.

2. There will be a first, second and third prize. Each winner receives a certificate, $5 and will be featured in a publication of The Fiction Flyer with a subscriber list of 1,000 readers. There will be an undetermined number of Honorable Mentions. Press releases with the winners’ names will be released from TRI Studio LLC.

3. Work must be original and not a reprint

4. Up to 1,000 words

5. Multiple entries accepted

6. There is no entry fee

7. Arial or comparable 10 pt font

8. No attachments will be accepted. Include your story in the body of your email. Email entry(ies) to kgogolewski@sbcglobal.net. Use the format below.

9. A selected panel of guest judges will determine final winners

10. Contest deadline is July 1, 2009.

FORMAT in Arial 10 pt font:
Your name:
Your characters’ names:
Title of your novels or stories from which your characters previously lived:
Your story title:
Number of words:
Your story (In arial 10 point font) up to 1,000 words:

Kathe Gogolewski
http://www.TRI-Studio.com
Host/The Mother Daughter Club radio show
The Fiction Flyer ezine for writers: www.tri-studio.com/ezine.html
From Amazon: short stories for 49 cents:
The Gold Coin: http://www.amazon.com/The-Gold-Coin/dp/B000IB0JHK/ref=pd_ts_b_13/102-3993851-2836959?ie=UTF8&s=books

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, 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. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Books Shouldn't Be Judged by the Press They're Printed On--A Taxpayer's Expense

Span Connection, the print newsletter of www.spannet.org, runs the headline "The Almost-National Book Festival." Writer Edward Allan Faine tell us that though care was taken to represent diverse groups, a wide variety of reading categories including ethnic and racial groups at the National Book Festival in our capital, one group was woefully neglected.

I’m sure you can guess which one. Sighhhh!

Of the 156 books of invited artists 2/3 were published by the six large conglomerates (many of them foreign owned), about 1/3 by large and mid-size independents, and nine by university presses. The writer of the article notes that there was one out-of-print chapbook by poet Michael Lind so at least out-of print got represented.

So where does that leave what many incorrectly call POD-published authors (really self-, subsidy- or partner-published). Exactly nowhere. By the way, this is a festival sponsored by the Library of Congress (our tax dollars?) and founded by former First Lady Laura Bush.

I have to say that the mix at the LA Times Festival of Books wasn't much better, though it is harder to caluclate because of the extensive free panels and seminars they provide. LA is known for its acceptance in general. I was hoping that attitude would be extended to books.

At least in Christine Alexanians' and my booth, there were authors published every which way. All were welcome this year. All will be welcome next. Those signing in booths are not the invited guests of the fair administration but rather talented, hard-working authors of books.

Books should be judged on their content. All authors deserve readers' consideration. See www.sizzlingbookfairbooths.blogspot.com for more information on how we make that booth successful. You can follow some of our ideas and processes for the booths you will be doing this spring, summer and fall.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, 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. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Facing the Day You Have to Brand and Promote Two Disparate Things

Today I am in New York getting ready to sign A Retailer's Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions at the National Stationery Show and that, surprisingly, made me think of something all writers need to know about promotion, not just retailers. We are going to talk about what all of you have faced or may someday face. Bear with me. You need to know the background story. (-:

I’ve been putting off telling those who follow me for writers' advice about my new book because it isn’t about writing. Nor is it something you will want to curl up by the fire to read unless you are a retailer (although some of the promotion ideas in it might inspire a book launch or other event). You may have noticed that I’ve dropped a few hints in past newsletters and blogs. Call it foreshadowing. But then I thought, Aha! I do have a lesson to derive from the marketing of A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques to share with you. And here it is.

Actually that secret is buried in the prior paragraphs of this letter. Did you find it?

It’s about finding the angles. That sounds like hard-sell marketing but are really about knowing your own book and how it relates to its audience and the world at large. We must find the aspects of our work that will be news at certain times or to certain segments of the population. The skills involved in doing this are what prepares us so we can get the publicity we need for our books. It is what we must know before we write our advertising copy. Before we write our pitch. Before we can know how readers will benefit from our book. And we have to know it well enough so that we don’t fall back on, “Well, it will entertain.” That’s what all books should do. You need to recognized specifically how yours does that differently or better or is especially suited to an audience, a time or an event.

Generally speaking these angles are most visible to us because we know our own books better than others.

So, what is the angle here? Why would you writers be interested in A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques? Here it is.

What I am going through promoting this book is something you may one day face if you haven’t already. It may face you when you write a book in a different genre or one that appeals to a different audience. John Grisham faced this problem when he wrote A Painted House after he had written only courtroom dramas for decades. He was still writing fiction, but Painted House was not a legal thriller and it was not received well by many of his most devout fans. I, for one, adored it because it was more literary. By that I mean that it was more about that connection that makes all humans part of the same species, therefore more lasting and meaningful that “just” plain old entertainment, however great that may be.

But back to marketing. I had to think about branding of this book. I wanted A Retailer’s Guide to benefit from my other nonfiction (and even fiction!) as much as possible but still be different enough that it wouldn’t be confusing. Here’s what I did.

~I used the same color combinations on the cover but varied the style of the art considerably.

~I worked the word “FRUGAL” into the title so it could still be part of the HowToDoItFrugally brand name but I gave it a different series name of its own. “Survive and Thrive.”

~I used my picture on the cover. Those of you who have read The Frugal Book Promoter know that it is the author that is the most interesting aspect of any book--fiction or nonfiction. Without the author a book can’t be easily promoted and readers tend to follow authors they already know--either for their voice in fiction or for their expertise in nonfiction.

~I gave A Retailer’s Guide a page of its own on my Web site but also mention it on my other FRUGAL pages.

There are probably other ways that I subconsciously cross-branded these books but these are the ones that you may be able to learn something from. If you switch genres, you definitely won’t want to throw away the work you’ve done to gain name recognition but you also want to separate your new work from the old enough so that there won’t be too much confusion. I may not have entirely achieved what I was after, but I sure enough gave it a shot on a conscious level.

In many ways it was easier than the marketing I have done with my poetry and fiction. The cross-over has been harder there. Still I often get asked about how to handle a Web site when an author writes in separate genres. The trick is balance. You don’t want to fragment your work so much that you have to market several different sites. At the same time, you want your site not to confuse but still allow your readers to surf other genres instead of only the one they came to the site to find.

You can do that easily by categorizing your work and using

1. separate pages for separate genres and
2. separate domain names that take people to different pages within your site.

Example: When I promote my poetry I lead readers to my site with this domain name: www.carolynhoward-johnson.com . When I promote my HowToDoItFrugally books I use www.howtodoitfrugally.com. I may now get another for retailing. I’m thinking about the domain name for that. Any ideas?

Happy Writing, Promoting and, Yes, Editing, Too!
Carolyn Howard-Johnson

PS: So, what if you don’t write in two genres and never intend to? Rethinking one’s brand almost always leads to new and different ways to promote. So, if your book’s sales have gotten a bit musty, reread this blog post. The principles are at the very root of great promotion.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, 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. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Promotion for the Shy Writer and Newbies

In The Frugal Book Promoter , I advise the shy writer to promote by what they love to do most, writing. Yes, you can sit behind your computer and promote. There are a litany of ways for both publishers and writers to get the message about a book out there; they’re all listed in The Frugal Book Promoter with advice for how to do each of them. But the ones that seem most appreciated are the ones that authors (and their publishers!) can utilize from behind their own computer screens. I also include methods that are accessible to those who haven't yet developed a lot of contacts.

Among those are publishing in anthologies and lesser-known or beginning journals. The emerging writer has a better chance of recognition with these kinds of publications and the shy writer need never show his or her face or even pick up a phone. And "anthology" and "lesser-known" does not mean you don’t have to sacrifice quality. New or small or online does not necessarily mean that a journal isn’t respected.

One of my poems about morning glories and chicken poop was just published in Writings from the River edited by Frederick Bridger (www.frontrangereview.org). It is Montana State University’s journal (so it has the academic cache), but they specialize in a Midwest sensibility which this little poem (borrowed from my childhood experiences) had in abundance. By the way, they will soon be publishing under the name Front Range Review.

I had a similar experience with Mary, a journal put out by St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles.

I also had the luck to publish with a brand new journal Pear Noir . When one submits to something brand new, one has no idea of what to expect. It turned out to be beautiful and this note today is mostly to urge you poets and short story writers to submit to them. When I received this well-designed volume, I was surprised to see that a fellow UCLA instructor, Les Plesko, was also published in it along with quite a few recognizable names in the literary world.

So, one can luck out. But even if the newbie journal doesn’t turn out to be all that you’d hope, it is always a thrill to have someone think enough of your work to want to include it.

Keep in mind that payment for some of these journals is often very low. Sometimes they pay only in copies. I wouldn’t submit, though, if they don’t offer at least one copy in return for using your work. That feels a little scammy. You’ll want to see your work, after all, and you shouldn’t be forced to buy a copy to see it. In fact, that’s one of the ways you can determine the difference between an authentic literary journal and one that will publish anything to get unsuspecting authors to buy lots of copies or one big, thin-paged, unedited, and generally awful volume.

On the other hand, it is nice to buy an extra copy or two of a legitimate journal to support the people who cared enough to publish the very best--YOU.


PS: All of these literary journals will qualify for Poets and Writers'list of published poets (and other writers)--even if they don’t presently have these journals on their list of publications. It is a nice little literary touch to be listed among the nation’s greatest authors on that magazine’s site.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, 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. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Score! When a Publisher Gives Up, It's Time for You to Get Going

Score! Get those rights back! New Paths to Explore
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Guest Blog by Randy Platt

Just because a publisher 'gives up' on a book, does not mean we have to give up. Get a reversion of rights letter from your publisher. This usually includes the original copyright certificate.

The minute your book goes out of print and you get those rights back, start again!
I just sold audio rights to three of my YA novels, considered by the publishers to be dead ducks. Score! Two out of three of those 'dead ducks' have been optioned for feature film. Think of the possibilities IF/WHEN those films get made! I will also look into e-books for Kindle or other handheld reading devices. Foreign rights are a bit more difficult to figure out, but as long as there is print on that page, there is life in that book! And don't forget large print and the Authors Guild's Back In Print program. Score!

Try to get as many copies of your books as you can before your book goes out of print.

How? When doing a book signing, make sure the bookstore orders A LOT of books - far more than you think you can sell, with the understanding that you will buy the unsold copies at their discount, usually forty percent. Why? The books show up as 'sales' on your royalty statement (and you get your royalty percentage), the bookstore does not have to send them back (less work for them and less wear and tear on the books) and you start to build an inventory of books which, after the book goes out of print, you can sell or use as copies to score other deals. And, if you are offered remaindered copies, grab them up! I check my older titles on 'used' book sites every now and then and buy what are obviously remaindered and therefore 'new' copies. Some are still in their shrink wrapped bundles. Score!

Remember, with the release of every subsequent novel, you can breathe life into your older titles and continue to score!
-------From Gues blogger Randall Platt. Her books Honor Bright, The Likes of Me and The Cornerstone will soon be available in audio from Books In Motion. Coming this November are Hellie Jondoe from Texas Tech University Press. So just who is this Hellie Jondoe? A tough street Arab, a seasoned pickpocket and a small girl in big trouble. There’s a time to cut and run and there’s a time to stay and fight - knowing which takes savvy and guts. It also takes heart - all found deep down inside Hellie Jondoe. So you’ve been warned about that Hellie Jondoe - she’s a girl who can pick your pocket, lift your watch and just possibly steal your heart.
Randall Platt writes fiction for adults and young adults and people who don't own up to being either.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, 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. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Rooting for Amazon's Better Instincts

It appears that the review issue with Amazon has been resolved. At least according to the author whose reviews were summarily removed from that site a few weeks ago on grounds that they were advertising/mentioning her own books.

I know that because she took the time to tell me in a comment on this blog (see the blog and comments below).

I am glad that she got her problem resolved satisfactorily. That she pursued it with with Amazon. That she made waves with her letter to John Kremer.

That many--like me--picked up on it probably didn't hurt her case. And that this came on the heels of Amazon's recent "glitch" snafu that was covered by about every newspaper in the nation probably helped as well. (BTW, that disaster was also fixed--but only after it made headlines.)

Having said that, the removal of my Listmanias was not handled well. They were removed and never replaced, some 87 of them (if my memory serves). Listmanias I had spent many, many hours on. Listmanias that I had used to recommend lists of books to my classes at UCLA. Listmanias that were complete with mini reviews. Listmanias that I had taken pains to show the reader which books I listed were mine and even which were books of colleagues They were disclaimers of sorts--but without apology.

I hope that Amazon has learned its lesson about treatment of its authors who are also readers and therefore also its customers; authors (customers) not only deserve respect but their credibility can be used to give Amazon's reviews (and other features) more cache, rather than less.

It is probably too late for my Listmanias. That event occurred more than two years ago. The "glitch" incident (and the review incident) only a few weeks ago. Yay! The review case is resolved! But I still advise authors to use caution before investing a lot of time in Amazon's features. It has been risky in the past and it is any one's guess whether it will continue to be risky. I will probably not recommend using it in my next edition of The Frugal Book Promoter, or rather I will warn authors about spending too much time supporting Amazon's interactive features.

That Cheryl took the time to fight back on behalf of herself and other authors is admirable. I hope that she continues to do so.

Her fighting attitude will be needed! It appears that Amazon does not have a clear policy on what is commercial and what isn't (they themselves are commercial and criticism of others who practice good, solid capitalism like theirs should not be punished.) Nor do they appear to be clear on how to define opinion (which they invite). Until their policies are clearly considered and disseminated among their forces, these kinds of things will continue to happen.

Amazon is a big organization with a history that will be hard for them to purge with a couple of apologies. I am wishing them well. I hope they go at it with the same vengeance they seem to have misguidedly used in the past to protect what they saw as their interests.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, 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. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Dana Lynn Smith Gives You 21 Things to Tweet About

This guest article from Dana Lynn Smith is part of the virtual book tour for her new book, The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Successful Social Marketing. See the complete tour schedule at http://bookmarketingmaven.typepad.com/booktour/.


Twitter is a great way to meet people, develop relationships, and promote yourself and your book. But it's important to avoid being seen as someone who just promotes themselves.

Most of your tweets should be about helping others, but you also need to inject some personality, to put the social into social networking and help people get to know you. Here are 21 ideas for tweeting:

1. Link to helpful or entertaining articles, websites, and blog posts. Add your own comments or ask for feedback.

2. Re-tweet good posts by other people, but don't go overboard—most of your tweets should be original. Include "re-tweet" or "RT" in your post to indicate that you're re-tweeting someone else's post.

3. Another way to re-tweet is to add a thank you to the previous tweeters at the end of the message. This works well if you have edited the original post.

4. Comment on someone else's tweet by hovering your mouse over it, then clicking the arrow. Be sure to refer to the original message in your reply, because your followers will not be able to see it.

5. Invite people to subscribe to your ezine, blog, or group, and offer an incentive.

6. Announce your live and virtual events, such as book tours and teleseminars.

7. Introduce other authors or experts in your field who are also on Twitter.

8. Teach a mini lesson in 140 characters.

9. On Fridays, recommend your favorite tweeters by using the #followfriday hashtag along with their user names. It's best to say why you recommend them.

10. Send congratulations to other Tweeple when they share good news.

11. Link to your own articles and blog posts, but do it sparingly.

12. Link to photos or videos (yours or others) on Flickr, Twitpic, or YouTube.

13. Ask for advice or ask questions that encourage responses.

14. Comment on someone's interesting Twitter background or clever bio.

15. Offer a free downloadable ebook or sample chapter, with no strings attached.

16. Thank others for mentioning you on Twitter.

17. Recommend a book, product, or service, other than your own.

18. Mention your hobbies, pets, kids, or personal activities. Just don't talk about what you ate for lunch!

19. Talk about your writing or what you're doing in your business.

20. Post an inspirational quote or message.

21. Welcome new followers.


Dana Lynn Smith is a book marketing coach and author of The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Successful Social Marketing, www.SavvyBookMarketer.com. To view other articles in the Successful Social Marketing book tour, visit http://bookmarketingmaven.typepad.com/booktour/

To buy Dana's book go to: http://bookmarketingmaven.typepad.com/savvy_book_marketer/successful-social-marketing.html

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, 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. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Amazon, Reviews, Free Speech and More. C'mon, Let's Rant!

Many of your know that I am very touchy about free speech rights. After all, I am a writer and writers who live where speech is curtailed are, to say the least, limited creatively as well as politically.

As a former retailer, I am also sensitive to the needs of retailers. I also know that retailers need to be sensitive to the needs of their customers. Online bookstores are indeed retailers. That includes Amazon.com. Thus when my friend John Kremer sent this letter that he had received from one of his readers around, I was...mmm, on alert! You can read the letter (with permission) below as well as John's answer and then one from me. I'd really, really like to hear from you all on this! See the comment link below this post.
Letter from Cheryl Kaye Tardif send by John Kremer:

"I am bcc'ing this to ALL my author friends because I really want you to have this information before Amazon deletes all your reviews.

"A week ago I found that all 85 of the reviews I've written for other books had been deleted. It has been a very difficult and stressful week dealing with Amazon. They are not very accessible and I was given at least 3 different reasons why my reviews had been deleted. After numerous e-mails, this is what it's come down to:

"Their final ruling: 'Please know that our participation guidelines don't allow customers to promote their own titles in their reviews.' If you sign your review with anything other than your name, your reviews could be deleted.

"If any of you are in the habit of signing your reviews with something like "..., author of Whale Song", which has been common practice for years, Amazon has deemed this as "inappropriate" and will be deleting them. It seems they're on a campaign to go through reviews posted.

"Amazon recently made changes to the Amazon Connect program and all our blogs were temporarily gone too. Most are back up.

"Amazon will delete your reviews if you have added the book link (that they supply) and directed it to your own book title's Amazon page. Many authors have used links like that in their signature line. It can lead to deletion and suspension, according to Amazon's latest e-mail.

"I argued the that thousands of authors sign their reviews like this,and that it's common practice in our industry. I was told by my last publisher to sign my reviews like this... . It made no difference to Amazon that this is what my publisher wanted me to do; they aren't accepting signatures with titles.

"Amazon is starting to take note of such practices and you'll get no notice; they'll just pull all the reviews you have written. That's what they did with me, even though many of my older reviews were signed with just my name.

"So to clarify, according to Amazon, when posting a review, you are not allowed to have a signature of anything more than your name, and NO links to or mention of your books whatsoever in the review or sig line.

"I am giving you the heads-up now so you can go in and edit your reviews if you choose. That's what I'd do, to be honest, because fighting with Amazon is not easy. There is no one who will talk to you by phone, and waiting for their response is not easy.

"This rule also applies to any comments you leave on a book review. Amazon does not want authors to mention their own books anywhere on the review pages.

"I haven't heard from Amazon.ca yet, but I expect this will be funneled over to all the Amazons, so I'll be working on editing my reviews there next week..."

John Kremer's response:

I think Cheryl's e-mail sums up the problem with Amazon.com right now. How stupid can they be! How really, really stupid. This leaves the door open for someone to create an unAmazon that really serves authors rather than exploits them brutally.

Amazon is stupid. Amazon is stupid. I want them to know that I think they are stupid. I hope they read this newsletter (which will be reposted to my Website). I think Amazon is incredibly stupid, stupid, stupid. I really do hope someone creates an alternative.

I do agree with them that reviews written only to insert your link do no good for the book buyer, the author, or Amazon. But legitimate reviews that reveal that the reviewer is an expert (a book author) should be allowed, indeed should be highlighted.

Amazon is stupid. The people at Amazon.com are imbeciles. Jeff Bezos is sleeping at the wheel. This is what happens when one Website becomes too dominant. Watch out for Google next. Start sending your customers to BN.com today.

Signed -- John Kremer, author, 1001 Ways to Market Your Books
You can order my book at BN.com here: http://search. barnesandnoble.
com/1001-Ways- to-Market- Your-Books/ John-Kremer/ e/9780912411491

From My Letter to John

John, you said policies like this open the door for "someone to create an unAmazon that really serves authors."

Well, I'm not big like Amazon but I've had a sort of "unAmazon" for a long time. Authors may submit their reviews (up to one a month) to my www.TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. I let them put a nice tag/credit on their review. After all, reviews ARE about selling books and though my blog doesn't get any money for doing so, still the more books that get sold, the better for the entire publishing industry.

Recycling reviews this way is a great way for reviewers and authors to get more exposure for their favorite books. They need only get permission from the reviewers to reprint their work. Reviews must be submitted according to the guidelines in the left column of the blog where they'll find the e-mail address for submitting, the format, etc.. I need submissions to be pretty much a copy and paste process because, unlike Amazon (ahem!), I'm not automated.

BTW, I'm not going back to fix any of my Amazon reviews. I'm a Vine review for Amazon and will be cautious about credits in the future but as for back reviews. Nope. Not going there. It's time consuming and I have better things to do with that precious commodity.

A few years ago Amazon deleted all my Listmanias with the same excuse, too commercial. It seems they don't know that THEY are in the business of SELLING books, too! I even used my Listmanias as references for the classes I teach at UCLA (so of course they had to include my books. I mean, they were texts for my classes!).

Those Listmanias were such a handy way to recommend books on the subjects I was teaching and still build traffic for my lists. I view policies like this as Amazon's loss. There are other ways to promote. Your 1001 Ways, my book and many others are full of them. If they take down my reviews, I will simply move on to other promotions.

I’ve long recommended writing reviews as a good way for new authors to build a platform. There are many venues other than Amazon available for that. MyShelf.com is looking for reviewers. Norm Goldman at BookPleasures.com may be open to taking you on. BN.com and Powells. Both allow authors to post their reviews of others’ books as do many other online bookstores.

So, go for it!

Oh! Also look up Mayra Calvani’s The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing (note I’m not including the Amazon link--I’m a little ticked this morning, but I get over those things fast!) and the section in your copy of The Frugal Book Promoter which gives tips on how to use reviews to help others, to network, and to promote your book.

So, what do you think? About free speech. About a commercial entity denying commercialism to its customers. About reviewing as promotion. About Amazon's short sightedness.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, 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. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

The Power of Poetry--Samanthi Fernando's Inspiration on Mother's Day

I thought this the perfect piece of inspiration at this time of year when we honor mothers. Though not specifically for this holiday, it seems that art (writing, poetry and all the others!) and mothers should be linked because the contribution mothers make to each human being is the most artistic and inspired kind of art in the universe.

By Samanthi Fernando

Have you ever moved a long lost friend to tears and helped heal a hurting heart from thousands of miles away? Have you ever told a family member how proud you are on their biggest day, without being present to witness their achievements? Have you ever shown just how much you love someone without having to speak a word? Have you ever said your piece and made your peace all through the power of poetry? Well I know all this is possible because I have seen it happen. So I keep on writing.

My first impressions of poetry started when I was about six years old, when I listened to my older sister practicing “The Snare by Walter de la Mare” for a poetry recital completion. I recall my mother telling her to recite it with feeling, which my sister learned to do so beautifully and went on to win the competition. It was around this time that I wrote my very first poem “The Lake” which was published in the school magazine. A fiery passion had begun in my soul that would compel me to write words that celebrate the essence of life and have the power to touch hearts all over the world.

Poetry for me has bridged the distances that I cannot cross, to give someone a hug on their birthday. It has brought to life friends who have passed in a way that they will never be forgotten. With my decision to make my poems available online on my website, I have had the pleasure of getting to know the wonderful Carolyn Howard Johnson who has taken the time to read and comment on some of my poems.

Most importantly I have been able to uplift my readers with a different perspective on pain and joy, hope and despair and the unlimited scope of friendship. I have empowered my readers with vehicles to express and share their own feelings with others. A reader recently asked me if she could share my online chapter “Lost” with her friends. She said “every single poem just has some connection or relates to us at some given point”. This to me was the validation of the power I knew existed.

What I hope to do next is a poetry reading of my work. Would I reach an even wider audience when they hear the words read out loud with feeling? I am yet to find out. What I do know is that the sincerity of inspiration will prevail...transcending time and space and circumstances to bring the writer, the reader and the listener together through the power of poetry.
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Samanthi Fernando is a poet. Learn more about her at http://www.starsafire.starrayz.com/
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, 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. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.

Action Adventure Novelist Provides Video Resources for Writers

I don't usually blog about it when I am a guest blogger for someone else. Partially because I do it so frequently that my blog visitors would get bored. But novelist Tony Eldridge has developed so many ways to help authors with their promotion (and good reading, too!) that I thought I'd let him tell you about it himself. In the meantime, I am a guest blogger for his Marketing Tips for Authors blog (http://marketingtipsforauthors.blogspot.com/) where he sets every Tuesday aside for a guest. Of course, if you query him, that guest might be YOU! My article was posted yesterday. And here is a little about Tony and his services:



I am the author of the action/adventure novel, The Samson Effect. Two items I am particularly proud of securing are 1) and endorsement from Clive Cussler and 2) I sold the film rights to a major Hollywood producer.

I have also developed a passion for helping authors find low cost/no cost ways to market their books. Before I published The Samson Effect, I was the Marketing Director for an Internet company that sold training videos online. A big part of my job was finding low cost ways to promote our products.

I took that knowledge and applied it to my book. Soon, other writers began asking me to give them advice on what they could do to market their books. That led to speaking appearances in the Dallas-Fort Worth area specifically on marketing for authors. In fact, I conducted a workshop on the subject recently for the Writer’s Guild of Texas .

This has led to my daily blog where Carolyn is guest blogging on and about two weeks ago, I rolled out a free newsletter where subscribers will be e-mailed at least 1 free Video Marketing Tip every Monday. I also created a new website at http://www.marketingtipsforauthors.com which is open to the public. My vision for it is to corral all my marketing tips resources into one place and create a directory that scours the Internet for marketing tips from around the world. Visitors can even see a sample video tip on my website before they join the free newsletter.

Tony Eldridge

http://www.marketingtipsforauthors.com

Author of The Samson Effect, soon to be a motion picture, Editor's Choice, Publisher's Choice, and Reader's Choice Action/Adventure novel, The Samson Effect. The Samson Effect is a “first class thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure.” -Clive Cussler

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, 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. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.