Just Starting? Need to Brush Up for a New Project?

....Found in my mailbox so this comes to you with a HT [initialism for "Hat Tip" among professionals!] to both Winning Writers and Ingram Spark. This course seems to be available to any writer looking to start a new publishing career or learn even more about the one they’re already knee-deep in!  Yes, I borrowed it.  [That “HT” might also mean “Heard Through.”  I haven’t taken the course myself, but if you do, I’d welcome a review to post on my The New Book Review blog, with your byline and a nice creditline and links about your own books or current author-related project! Find the submission guidelines in the tags near the top of the home page at  https://thenewbookreview.blogspot.com.

Your SharingwithWriters blogger, Carolyn

Learn to Self‑Publish With Free Course You’ve poured your heart into your writing. You’ve polished your manuscript and designed your book cover, but understanding the business of self-publishing is another critical piece to help you sell more books!   Navigate the self-publishing landscape with confidence in this practical course designed for aspiring authors and publishing entrepreneurs. Discover how to navigate publishing options, set realistic goals and budgets, and master the business essentials like ISBNs and copyright that protect your work and establish your credibility.   Enroll in our FREE IngramSpark Academy course to learn the benefits of self-publishing and what you need to self-publish professionally. Whether you’re just getting started or ready to level up your publisher education, this course empowers you to create smarter strategies and move forward in your author business with clarity.   Start your free course today and take control of your publishing success.

Get Started

If you want to know more about it directly from Ingram Spark go to https://www.ingramspark.com/self-publishing-courses.  

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER 

 Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the multi award-winning author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning #HowToDoItFrugally Series (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTXQL27T/ ) of books for writers including "The Frugal Book Promoter" (https://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromoIII), and "The Frugal Editor" both offered in their third editions by Modern History Press. Others in that series are "How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically," and two booklets, both in their second editions also from Modern History Press. The booklets, "Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers" (https://bit.ly/LastMinuteEditsII) and "Great First Impression Book Proposals" (https://bit.ly/BookProposalsII) are career boosters in mini doses and both make ideal thank you gifts for authors. The one on writing book proposals is also available as an Audio Book. "The Frugal Editor "(https://tinyurl.com/TheFrugalEditor), was recently released in its third edition. It is the winningest book in this series for writers. Carolyn also has three frugal books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it helps them understand what is needed to convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It 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" (https://bit.ly/RetailersGuide). In addition to this blog, Carolyn helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at https://TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at "The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor" (https://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). Learn more and follow it to get news on her new releases directly from Amazon at https://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile and/or join her Facebook Group under ‘Carolyn Howard-Johnson.” It’s new! 

And feel free to share this blog post using this permalink at https://sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com/2026/04/just-starting-need-to-brush-up-for-new.html .

WinningWriters Announces New First-Ever Value: A FREE Copy of Grand Prize Winner--Limited Time

I am so glad to be able to share this first for the industry, share it with my visitors and subscribers here on my #SharingwithWriters blog. It’s a free copy of Theresa Tennyson’s “Five Years,” a super important book for our world in these days. But due to technical problems, you must click to get it NOW! Scroll for the review and the download icon.  https://sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com/2026/03/winningwriters-announces-new-first-ever.html

And all my author friends will want to make note of the other offer that expires July 1 online or by mail, and look at that grand prize! Put it on your calendar to submit before this deadline.

Happy writing in 2026 for sure.  Your SharingwithWriters blogger!

Having trouble viewing this email? View the web version.

Now through March 19, you can download the Amazon Kindle edition of our latest grand prize book for free. See below for details! Deadline: July 1 North Street Book Prize $23,500 in Prizes | Final Judge: Jendi Reiter Submit your self-published or hybrid-published book to this year's North Street contest from Winning Writers. The grand prize winner will receive $10,000. Choose from nine categories: • Mainstream/Literary Fiction • Genre Fiction • Creative Nonfiction & Memoir • Inspirational/Self-Help (new!) • Poetry • Children’s Picture Book • Middle Grade • Graphic Novel & Memoir • Art Book $23,500 in cash will be awarded in all, and the top ten winners will receive additional benefits to help market their books. Books published on all self-publishing and hybrid-publishing platforms are eligible. Any year of publication is eligible. Entry fee: $95 per book, with free gifts for everyone who enters. All entrants who submit online can choose to receive a brief commentary from one of the judges (5-10 sentences) at no extra charge. Winning Writers is one of the "101 Best Websites for Writers" (Writer's Digest, 2025), and this contest is recommended by Reedsy. Click to read about past winners and learn more about our contest. SUBMIT HERE   Prefer to enter the North Street competition by mail? You may mail your entry and $95 fee to Winning Writers, Attn: North Street Book Prize, 351 Pleasant Street Suite B PMB 222, Northampton, MA 01060-3998, USA. Please postmark your entry by July 1. Please note that feedback will only be provided for entries submitted online, and not those entries submitted by mail. If you would like us to return your book at the conclusion of the contest, please request this at the time of your entry and enclose an extra $10 for postage and handling. Download the Latest Grand Prize Winning Book for FREE! Now through March 19, last year's top winner Teresa Tennyson invites you to download the Amazon Kindle edition of Five Years at no charge (regularly $7.99).   Elise never asked to shepherd her small town through the apocalypse.   Yet here she is, the senior leader of a tiny New England town two years into humanity’s five-year death sentence. Amid dwindling rations and supplies, her job is to lead Middlewich through its last days in relative peace.   But she faces a new menace in the form of political challenger Grant Greene, an authoritarian whose radical new ration distribution proposal threatens to plunge half of Middlewich into early starvation. Adding pressure to the situation is the shocking reemergence of a critical resource.   Middlewich has successfully walled itself off from the outside world, but is it ready to battle the enemy within while saving the human race?   From the North Street critique by Jendi Reiter "I felt the scale of this story was exactly right, which elevated it over other speculative fiction in the contest. The worldwide catastrophe affects every aspect of the characters' lives, but the focus remains tightly on this small town that the reader has come to care about. We don't need to see the chaos and suffering outside Middlewich's walls because we feel it pushing in on their fragile boundaries at every turn. The characters are well aware that their choices are a microcosm of the human condition, a final verdict on whether humanity can and should survive. The story's central dilemma is also refreshingly different from most climate apocalypse fiction—not whether but how we choose to die."   Read an excerpt from Five Years (PDF)   Find this book on Amazon.

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER 

 Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the multi award-winning author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning #HowToDoItFrugally Series (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTXQL27T/ ) of books for writers including "The Frugal Book Promoter" (https://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromoIII), and "The Frugal Editor" both offered in their third editions by Modern History Press. Others in that series are "How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically," and two booklets, both in their second editions also from Modern History Press. The booklets, "Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers" (https://bit.ly/LastMinuteEditsII) and "Great First Impression Book Proposals" (https://bit.ly/BookProposalsII) are career boosters in mini doses and both make ideal thank you gifts for authors. The one on writing book proposals is also available as an Audio Book. "The Frugal Editor "(https://tinyurl.com/TheFrugalEditor), was recently released in its third edition. It is the winningest book in this series for writers. Carolyn also has three frugal books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it helps them understand what is needed to convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It 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" (https://bit.ly/RetailersGuide). In addition to this blog, Carolyn helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at https://TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at "The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor" (https://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). Learn more and follow it to get news on her new releases directly from Amazon at https://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile.