Radio Guru Shares Radio Resources with Authors

One of the complaints I hear from my clients is the time it takes to scrounge up appropriate resources for radio gigs--and everyone loves the ease and effectiveness of doing radio, right?

Fran Silverman is a recognized expert on radio with a huge reference book in print published by McFarland (just in case one of these categories isn't a fit for your book). However, she also has less expensive and targeted books of resources by genre or subject matter available that she keeps updated. I thought it important that you have the one best suited to your title so I asked her to send me the rundown. At first glance, these categories seem more suited to nonfiction writers, but they can work for fiction writers--and even poets--by following the advice I give in The Frugal Book Promoter. That is, to reread one's literary book for the angles or broader topics at work within in it.  Here is the information I asked Francine to share with you:

The following ebooks for radio guests are available. Each entry contains show title, host name, theme, guest criteria, email, website, phone and Best Method of Contact – everything a potential guest needs before contacting a host. To order any of the e-books, please contact Fran at franalive@optonline.net.

Animals ($12 for 42 shows) - Covers animal advocacy, health, care, competition, communication, behavior, longevity, dog relationships, pets and the paranormal, pet peeves, wildlife, training,

shelter and rescue.

Authors ($12 for 64 shows) - Covers writing, editing, publishing, marketing, literary agents, Christian authors, author spotlights; genres include thrillers, suspense, action/adventures, novels, teen/YA, romance, poetry, science, historical, baseball, screenplays, songwriting.

Business ($25 for 261 Shows) - Covers workplace issues, innovation, entrepreneurship, business strategies, careers, finance, small business, sales, home-based businesses, law, investments, insurance, money management, customer service, and real estate.

Entertainment ($15 for 172 Shows) - Covers art, fashion, movies, music and comedy.

Environment ($12 for 37 shows) - Covers green lifestyles, sustainable communities, conservation, cleaner energy, natural healing and medical remedies, environmental news, non-toxic living, wildlife, and activism.

Food and Travel ($12 for 64 shows) - Covers grilling and barbecuing, wines and spirits, tea, chefs and recipes and raw food, parties, special event planning; all kinds of travel: budget, frequent, upscale, good deals, cruises and medical and health tourism. 

Health ($20 for 161 Shows) - Covers healthy living and lifestyles, fitness, health as a business advantage, natural healing, alternative medicine, medical travel, issues, education and treatment, and overcoming adversities.

House and Garden ($12 for 25 shows) - Covers gardening, growing vegetables, going green, home improvement, repair, and remodeling, healthy home design trends, buying and selling homes, feng shui, organizing vegetable gardens.

Men and Women ($15 for 67 shows) - Covers chick lit books, female and Christian entrepreneurs, fun for women over 40, men's comedy, girl's math and science, women empowerment, life makeovers, interesting women, women's health, parenting, women's ministries and spirituality, women in business, medicine, politics, gay, lesbian and transgender issues.

New Age - ($20 for 200 Shows) - Covers astrology, metaphysics, Tarot, Angels, psychic development, paranormal, parapsychology, holistic health, healing, mysticism, occult, and mediums.

Parenting ($15 for 60 shows) - Covers parenting issues and pressures, education, security and safety, family life, parenting parents, health, home-school, child development, schooling, charter schools, mom entrepreneurship, home birth, adoption, marriage, military moms, single mothers, childhood cancer, and money management.

Politics ($20 for 190 Shows)- Covers current events, conservatism, Christian conservatism, liberalism, Libertarianism, government, pop culture, U.S. Constitution, Tea Party movement, democracy, the military and labor.

Relationships ($15 for 72 shows) - Covers dating, relationship strategies, weddings, marriage, sex and divorce.

Science and Technology ($12 for 49 shows) - Covers hardware, software, wireless communication, clean energy technology, nanotechnology, engineering, film and video production, biology, astronomy, geology, robotics, physics, and outer space.

Self-Help ($20 for 217 Shows) - Covers personal and professional goals, growth and empowerment, emotional freedom techniques, motivation, creativity, living one's calling, making for a better world, transforming your life and self-realization.

Sports ($15 for 101 Shows) - Covers wrestling, biking, gaming, fantasy sports, golf, fitness/health, football, baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis, thoroughbred racing, hunting, fishing, camping, birding, hiking, skiing, kayaking, and performance.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF THESE BOOKS

“Talk Radio Advocate” Francine Silverman is a multi-published author, publicist, radio host, newsletter editor and compiler of 16 e-books of talk radio shows. To view the e-books, please visit http://www.talkradioadovate.com and click “E-books."

PS: There are more tips and suggestions for making radio work for your marketing campaign in The Frugal Book Promoter and and in Fran's book Talk Radio Wants You!  just in case you plan to go at marketing with radio with a vengeance or just to become the best possible radio guest.

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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 how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The multi award-winning second edition of The Frugal Editor; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including 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. 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 .

A Quickie Post: Targeted Resources for YOUR Radio Gig

This is the tip of the week from my last SharingwithWriters newsletter. It's just what you need for finding the person who wants you to talk to their audience. In other words, it's about finding radio shows and hosts who have the kind of fans you want for your book.  If you'd like more info like this right in your e-mail box, subscribe at http:://howtodoitfrugally.com/newsletter_copies.htm.

Those of you who love radio gigs will love Fran Silverman’s series of e-books that give resources for streaming radio. The information for each entry includes title of show, name of host, theme, where aired, guest criteria, e-mail, Web site, phone (optional), and best method of contact.

The one specifically for authors covers writing, editing, publishing, marketing, literary agents, Christian authors, author spotlights; genres include thrillers, suspense, action/adventures, novels, teen/YA, romance, poetry, science, historical, baseball, screenplays, songwriting.

For descriptions and prices of all 16 e-books (some of which may feature the theme or topic of your book), please visit http://www.talkradioadvocate.com

By the way, she also has a free newsletter you may want to sign up for.

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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 how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including 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. 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 .

Radio Interview Tips: Beginners' Advice

Thanks to my guest blogger and long time online friend, Aaron Paul Lazar. You will find more in depth information on getting radio gigs and how to prepare for both TV and radio in the new edition of The Frugal Book Promoter (www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo), but this is a great start. And it gives you information on a radio host to query!

Being a Guest on a Radio Show – How Hard is it?

By Aaron Paul Lazar

Last night I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Magdalena Ball from Australia on her Compulsive Reader Talks 2 radio show.

Maggie is a talented writer, incredible literary figure with exceptional presence in the industry, owner of CompulsiveReader.com, and a super lady with whom to chat. This was my second visit to her program, and probably my 12th show since I started back in 2007.

How hard is it? Should you be nervous? Should you avoid the whole thing?

Face it, everyone's scared at first, unless they've had a ton of experience speaking in front of an audience. But getting live on a show (especially if it has a podcast you can link to later!) is wonderful for book promotion, or any kind of promotion for any product you'd like to share.

I have to admit, last night I didn't do my usual OCD preparation. I was at work all day, got home about an hour before the show, ate dinner, and headed upstairs about twenty minutes beforehand. This casual approach was probably because I know Maggie and realize she's not going to embarrass a guest with off-the-wall questions, and... I've done radio shows quite a bit now. All the prep that came beforehand, stays with you. And there's a point in time when you can truly just accept the call and start chatting.

But in the beginning, here are some tips to help make you comfortable.

1) Practice reading selections from your book in advance. I mean REALLY practice. It might take ten or twenty times until you don't stumble over the words, until you "feel" the emotions of your characters coming through your lips, or until you can paint the scene EXACTLY as you heard it in your head when you first wrote it.

2) Time your readings, and tell your host up front what you have available. ("I'd be happy to read from the book if you want. Chapter 1 is 4 minutes; Chapters 1&2 are seven minutes." etc. Give them the option of including your reading into their program.

3) Ask the interviewer for sample questions. Odds are, they might ask you for a list of questions and your answers in advance to help them get percolating with new ideas or topics.

4) Prepare answers for each of the questions fully. Write them down. Memorize the gist of what you wrote. And PRACTICE saying it out loud, in the car, in your home office, wherever you happen to be. Do this until the words automatically come out of your mouth. Then - work on it so it doesn't sound stilted or unnatural. After all, you still want to be YOU. You just need to be a PREPARED you!

5) Have everything you need handy. Last night I thought I was ready.

• I had my copy of FireSong ready to go for the reading, opened to chapter six.
• My reading glasses were handy and cleaned in advance.
• The light was good. I checked it and practiced reading a few times
• I turned on the fan and moved it to the far side of the room so I wouldn't cook with all the windows closed (to keep out traffic or dog barking sounds) but not close enough to make a whirring noise in the background.
• I had my laptop opened with its sound muted to a synopsis of FireSong and all of my other books in case she asked me, "What's that one about?"
• I had a bottle of water nearby, but not close enough to spill on my laptop. ;o)
• Tissues. Just in case I sobbed like a baby when I read the sad part. (just kidding!)
• Cell phone for back up, in case the phone lines didn't work, with the sound muted.

Well, I had a few moments of panic. For some reason, when Maggie called, the phone rang, but I couldn't hear her! I almost panicked, and tried dialing the line with my cell, and got a message that "this line isn't available," or some such nonsense. Of course, it worked fine all day.

I send her an email, telling her I was there. She responded, "Can't get through!" And so on.

So, after a little bit of frustration, we lost our slot on blogtalk radio, but Maggie figured out how to record our conversation using Skype, and loaded it up to a new podcast site later in the evening. Brilliant woman. But anyway, I digress...

I also almost panicked when she asked about all the new books coming out. Of course I should have opened up the schedule with all six books, their dates, and their brief synopses. But in the moment, I couldn't find it, of course. So I just went off memory and tried to describe the books as well as I could off the cuff.

Phew. So you see, even with the most experienced speaker, stuff can go wrong.

The key is not to let it throw you, try to go with the flow, and just be yourself.




When it's all done, when you're sure you were a blathering idiot (I always think that, and Maggie says it's pretty common to feel that way), you can relax and breathe again. Drink some water, take some deep breaths, but before you do anything else, send a thank you email to your host. It's just common courtesy.

Now comes the promotion part!

You want to take advantage of your appearance on the show by spreading the word around about it, so your friends can hear you and maybe pass it on to their family and friends.

Here's what you do:

1) After the show is loaded and available as a podcast (where you can simply give someone a link and they press a play button to hear you), listen to it yourself. Make sure you WEREN'T a blathering idiot! IF you feel okay about your answers, then bookmark the page and save the web address.

2) Decide where you want to share it. Here's what I'm doing.

• Writing a Gather.com article and then hitting the facebook and twitter buttons.
• Posting it on my personal blog (www.aaronlazar.blogspot.com) and my collaborative blog (www.murderby4.blogspot.com)
• Sending the link to my publisher. (she already included it in a newsletter to all our authors at Twilight Times Books)
• Inserting a link to it in my Lazar Newsletter that will come out in a few days (if you want to subscribe, just let me know.)
• Adding links to the show to my website(s), right up top where they'll be noticed.
• Sending emails to friends and family with the link, and asking them if they'll pass it around.
• Scheduling a tweet per day for the next week using Twuffer.com.
• Whatever else comes into my head in the meantime.

So, there you have it.

Have you considered doing an interview on the radio? Do you have that book finished, published, and are ready to promote it? Give it a shot! And if you have any questions, feel free to ask them below.


Good luck!

Remember, if you love to write, write like the wind!

Aaron Paul Lazar

~ Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. An award-winning, bestselling Kindle author of three addictive mystery series, Aaron enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his website at http://www.lazarbooks.com and watch for his upcoming Twilight Times Books releases, ESSENTIALLY YOURS (MAR 2012), FOR KEEPS (MAY 2012), DON’T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU (APRIL 2012), and the author’s preferred edition of UPSTAGED (JUNE 2012)

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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 how to books for writers including the award-winning second ediction of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including 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. 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 . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about this blog:

Free Promotion and Artistic Opportunity for Southwest Writers

Connie Gotsch, author and host of "Write On" for KSJE that broadcasts to the Four Corners area of the US, tells me she she needs you if you or your book fit into the parameters she needs for her radio program. Over the years I've appeared on the show several times; her program is a great opportunity to  have listeners hear your written word and your voice. Connie sent me this by way of explnation:

ATTENTION WRITERS :

IF YOU ARE WORKING IN UTAH, ARIZONA, COLORADO, NEW MEXICO, TEXAS, OKLAHOMA, CALIFORNIA, OR NEVADA, OR LIVE ELSEWHERE AND ARE WRITING ABOUT THE SOUTHWEST, KSJE FM FARMINGTON WILL CONSIDER YOUR BOOK FOR ITS AUTHORS PROGRAM, "WRITE ON FOUR CORNERS."

KSJE IS A FULL SERVICE PUBLIC RADIO STATION IN FARMINGTON , NEW MEXICO. WRITE ON FOUR CORNERS IS A HALF HOUR INTERVIEW PROGRAM WHICH AIRS AT 10:30 WED. MORNING AND 2:30 FRIDAY AFTERNOON.   AUTHORS READ FROM THEIR BOOKS AND WE CHAT ABOUT HOW THOSE BOOKS CAME TO BE AND THE WRITING PROCESS.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WRITE ON FOUR CORNERS, GO TO WWW.KSJE.COM CLICK ON PODCASTS AND THEN ON WRITE ON FOUR CORNERS TO HEAR PAST RECORDINGS, OR CLICK LISTEN LIVE AT 10:30 AM ON FRIDAY AT 2:30 PM MOUNTAIN TIME TO HEAR LIV E BROADCASTS.

IF YOU COME ON THE SHOW, YOU WILL BE ALLOWED TO DOWNLOAD A COPY OF YOUR SEGMENT AND USE IT ON YOUR WEB SITE. WE WILL ALSO GIVE AWAY A COPY OF YOUR BOOK IF YOU WOULD LIKE.

TO BE CONSIDERED FOR WRITE ON FOUR CORNERS, SEND OR HAVE YOUR PUBLICIST SEND YOUR BOOK AND CONTACT INFORMATION TO ME:

Connie GotschKSJE 4601 College BlvdFarmington NM, 87402

To find out about me, click on conniegotsch.com or http://apbooks.net  http://casadesnapdragon.com  or http://KSJE.com

To contact me via email gotschc@sanjuancollege.edu
Phone 505 566 3377

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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 how to books for writers including, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including 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. 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 . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about this blog:

Journaling, Memoir, Fiction, History and Promotion for YOUR Book

Those of you who drop by regularly or subscribe to this blog know that one of the reasons I'm a shamesless promoter is that I know my resources can be your resources, too.

So, this blog is dedicated to Paul Bruno, The History Czar. He recently interviewed me for his show. We talked about my family history and how it inspired my multi award-winning novel, This Is the Place.

Listen to the interview at http://www.careerczar.com/mp3/career030510.mp3 .

And here's the benefit to you (other than the brilliant interview, of course!). Contact Paul if you can find a history slant in your own book! He's at PaulBruno@cs.com and he and his producer are tons of fun to work with. You'll see what I mean when you listen to the podcast. (-:
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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 .

If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about it:

An Offer for Fiction Writers to Build Their Platforms and Radio Skills

Lillian Cauldwell and Carolyn Howard-Johnson invite authors for a frugal and fabulous reading and cross-promotion adventure starting March, 2010.

Passionate Internet Voices Talk Radio will feature authors of published books of fiction to join in the first-ever serial weekly literary festival where authors read brief excerpts from their books over PIVTR’s radio network.
(Nonfiction and Poetry Weeks will come later in 2010.)

Book an exciting and wild read of your professional writing life with this awesome and first of its kind event:

$10 for 10 minutes payable via Paypal lillian.cauldwell@gmail.com
Entries are due no later than January 15, 2010.
Readings are recorded in advance.

Air dates: March 21 thru March 28, 10 to 11 p.m. (New York time) EXCEPT Wednesday evening when the show starts 10:30 and ends at 11:30 p.m.
First come first served
Name:
E-mail:
Date & time for recording session:
Text Lillian at 734-277-2733 Or E-mail: LSaraCauldwell@gmail.com for details!

Note: To benefit all, participants are asked to promote the series (and their own appearance) on their Web sites, in their blogs, social networks and wherever else they can. Promotion templates will be provided.

Extra benefits:

 Your favorite book review will be posted on Carolyn's The New Book Review blog: http://thenewbookreview.blogspot.com.
 A special Authors' Page will be created on Passionate Internet Voices Talk Radio Where recordings of all the audio segments will appear in html script.
Lillian will make all MP3 streams (html codes) of participating authors' presentations available for $3 each plus shipping. Proceeds from the MP3 streams will go to Mission Socorro and Capuchin Soup Kitchen to help the homeless, migrant workers and recently released prisoners get back on their feet.
 The week will be promoted online, by Lillian and Carolyn and by participants.

Another Offer:

Internet Voices Talk Radio is running a host-your-own 30 minute program special for $49. for Carolyn's Sharing with Writers subscribers. Book now and avoid the rush. Price goes up after January 1, 2010.

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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.

An Opportunity for Authors AND an Invitation to Listen

I found a lovely radio show that features authors' readings. It's Authors Read hosted by Lillian Brummet. There is nothing like hearing a story told the way the author intended it to be read… straight from the author’s lips is even better! Ditto for poems, which is what I'll be doing.

The Authors Read radio program is 15-minutes in duration and offers authors a chance to read from their published work for up to 12 minutes.www.blogtalkradio.com/authorsread

Frequently Asked Questions & Guest information available at www.brummet.ca/authors.html

Available dates are listed at the end of this letter. Lillian will send participating authors a copy of her monthly newsletter Brummet's Monthly. This will give authors an idea as to what we've have going on for that month. Or you can (probably should!) subscribe before you send Lillian a query letter so you'll know how you might contruct your query to best entice Lillian to have you as a guest.


Lillian promotes each segment of her radio programs on her blog, book tour site, MySpace site, in Brummet's Monthly and through social networking sites and writer's forums. For details, links to everything they do including the blog and newsletter, Frequently Asked Questions, and guest application process, visit: http://www.brummet.ca

Lillian also welcomes her featured guests to prearrange a prize for an on air contest. In the past we've offered prizes to the first person who e-mails us, or something similar.

Coming Authors include:

- July 6: Rick Glaze shares an excerpt from The Middle Fork
- July 11: Lily Stephan reads an excerpt from The Tenth Muse
- July 13: Susan Hoekstra reads an excerpt from her non-fiction business book: The Service Journey
- July 27: Lily Stephan reads from the second installment in her trilogy: The El-Eventh Hour - July 18: Dean Balderston reads live from his children's book: The Real Life Adventures of Anna & Saddie - Aug 3: B.M. Song reads an excerpt from her book of poetry: Liquid Reflections; A Stream of Fluid Prose
- Aug 7: Don Peavy shares an excerpt from his book: The One Becoming
- Aug 10: Mila Bernadkin reads from: The Attitude Girl
- Aug 17: Lian Gouw reads from her novel: Only A Girl
- Aug 21: Jane Stanfield shares an excerpt from Mapping Your Volunteer Vacation

All Authors Read shows are archived on www.blogtalkradio.com/authorsaccess.

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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.

Ever Heard of Frugal Inspiration? Here It Is!

In my last newsletter, I promised my subscribers something a little more inspirational because I was so tired from the last book fair I participated in that I just gave them some resources -- always an easy thing for me to do.

Ot occurs to me today that I think being frugal with one's promotion budget is very inspirational. That's because I didn't know that I could promote inexpensively when I started promoting This Is the Place. I knew I had to but I thought my publisher would do it for me (big mistake!) and that if they didn't, I'd need someone with PR experience in the publishing industry. When I learned both of these assumptions were not on target, I was inspired to write my HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. That inspiration worked very well for me and for -- I like to think -- hundreds, if not thousands of authors.

So, I'm going to talk a little about being Frugal even if you think it's about as inpsiration a big mud puddle. Being Frugal means -- for me -- not spending money when you get the same results (or better) by doing it yourself. Example: Publicity is free. Advertising costs. For most readers, publicity is more credible than paid advertising so why not try to get publicity and eschew advertising?

Frugal means not to pay for something you shouldn't pay for. Reviews as an example. You can not only get your book reviewed without paying for it but, traditionally, you shouldn't pay for it. Agents for instance. You pay a percentage of what you earn for a book. If you find an agent who wants an upfront reading fee, you may be dealing with a shyster.

There are some things you need to pay for. Perhaps because your time is limited. Perhaps because in this life or the next you will never be good at a certain skill yourself (though I urge you not to sell yourself short -- you may be surprised at what you can do! I, for instance, am building my own website with a lot of help from my friends (Joyce Faulkner , a lot of courage and two near-nervous breakdowns!).

And here are a couple of other ways that I think you get your money's worth by spending a little, or even a lot. The reason you do is you get more than just the basic service when you pay for them. In other words, these people do a professional job for you but include value-added benefits.

Videos: You've heard me talk about Rey Ybarra. He does all my videos. But he does so much more techy stuff with them that I can't do or don't know to do. Find him at http://www.veoh.com/channels/BSATV or e-mail him at rybarra106@aol.com.

Radio Interviews: Normally I'd say paying for these is a no-no. You can get radio interviews without paying a cent. But what if your interview is from Lisa Osborne at www.lisa.fm? Not only does she have a huge audience but she adds value with print articles that she places in the media like the Ventura Star and DivineCaroline.com that will increase your footprint on Google and be seen in areas you might not otherwise have access to. To hear Lisa's interview of me in 10 minutes or less, go http://www.lisa.fm/podcasts/index.html

Or Cynthia Brian? She ties her work to literacy charities for starters and besides that, her radio program is syndicated so you're getting much more than what her program first appears to be. Contact her at Cynthia@bethestaryouare.org.

Now, mind you, I'm not guaranteeing you'll sell lots of books with any one marketing effort, however well it gunshots itself around the web. You've read this letter long enough (or my how-to books for writers), you'll know that's not the way it works. It works cumulatively. Over time. With frequency. And persistence. And when it's carefully targeted.

But, if a service is within your budget, frugal doesn’t mean to never spend any money. Here's where I think money -- even big money is well-spent.

1.On a great book cover if you're self-publishing.
2.On a great editor, regardless of how you publish. See The Frugal Editor.
3. On a service that you've thoroughly researched that does a lot for you and that you can't do for yourself well, either because of time or money.
4. On things that put good Zen into the universe. Buying the books of other authors occasionally, as an example. How can we in good faith ask others to buy our book if we don't ever buy anyone else's.

So, recession or not, "frugal" is not "skimp." Frugal is doing your homework. Knowing your own strengths and goals. And working around them. Frugal is sometimes pinching a penny, sometimes bartering and sometimes, it's spending what you need to achieve the results you're after. "Frugal" is never, never the same as "gullible" though. (-:

Here's the final salvo. Join a Yahoogroup or Googlegroup that attracts professionals -- meaning authors and publishers who have been around the block a few times. Ask questions before, rather than after. Then take the answers you get and evaluate them against your own goals and needs and pocketbook.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author 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.
Her other blogs include TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler.

Your Book Promotion: Figuring the Angles

People seem to hate the word "angles" even more than they hate the word "sell." It seems to me that the Western world would go to ruin if it weren't for the latter word and the latter world could not exist without the former. So, put your prejudices about the crass sound of the word "angles" for a minute and let's talk.

"Angles" are about finding whatever you can in the news that relates to your book (or your business) to help you promote it.

I am always amazed when authors (and other people in business) have trouble figuring this out. After all, who knows one's own novel or book or short story or memoir or nonfiction how-to better than the author?

Not only do I year the word "Yuck," when I use the word "angles," I hear over and over again how there is never anything in the news that can make a difference for their books. I suspect that's because authors think of their books only as genres. Thus, Valentine's Day is the only day they can think of that will help their romance novels.

No! You have to dig deeper.

What is the theme? What is the profession of the protagonist? Is there a dog in your book? What breed is he? Is there a gay character in it? A . . . ahem, weight challenged person? Someone with Alzheimer's?

If your book is nonfiction, think of the keywords you'd use for it on Amazon. Look at the contents and dissect each chapter and read trade magazines or other periodicals related to your subject matter.

The last few weeks have been big ones for my novel This is the Place. Everyone seems to be talking about the news of the trial of the YFZ polygamist cult in Texas these days. That news can be worked to get my This Is the Place noticed. But here's the thing. I would have missed something if I'd just said, "Aha! Polygamy! Time to get rolling on promoting my book again." No, there are so many other issues. The repression of women (This is the Place is a novel women in the 50s, and yes, women were repressed then). Tolerance (This Is the Place is about acceptance of others and it seems that now is a good time to look with compassion on these women and men who -- even though they may have broken laws -- may be doing so out of ignorance). What about the misunderstandings involved in how this group relates to mainstream Mormonism? What about the issue of how radical religions often suppress freedom of thought and speech?

Each one of those questions might result in the distribution of articles on the subject. Or serve as a talking point for a radio or TV interview, like the one I just did on Power Talk.

Each book out there is different. If you can't examine the fine points of what's in your book in relation to the news, who then? You are the one who can come up with a perspective and act on it (Now! Please! While the news is still fresh!).

Or, if you have a publicist, it is up to you to contact him or her and let him know about the opportunity that has arisen.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to read the newspaper every day with your book in mind. I know you can find at least one glorious tie-in to your book in any given week.

Happy promoting! And yes, writing and editing, too!

Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Websites: http://carolynhoward-Johnson.com (literary)
http://HowToDoItFrugally.com (all things about writing)
Authors' Coalition: http://www.AuthorsCoalitionandRedEnginepress.com
For the Frugal Editor, Amazon-direct: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870/
Blogs: http://AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog focused on book fairs
http://www.SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com, a blog on all things publishing
http://www.TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog focused on YOUR reviews
http://www.TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com, a blog focused on editing, formatting and craft
And now blogging on War. Peace. Tolerance. And Our Soldiers at http://www.warpeacetolerance.blogspot.com.
And now! Squidooing at
http://www.squidoo.com/HowToDoItFrugallyforAuthors
and http://www.squidoo.com/carolynhoward-johnson

PS: This is Book Expo America! season. If you don't know about it, learn as much as you can about how it works. In future issues of my newsletter, Sharing with Writers, I'll be covering some ways you can make tradeshows like this work for you and how they won't work for you as well. In the meantime, if you can possibly visit the one coming up at the Los Angeles Convention Center, do it! This is publishing and learning at its finest.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author 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.
Her other blogs include TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler.