Upping Your Chances for Publication of Your Marketing

As some of the subscribers and visitors to this blog know, I sometimes run QandAs a la Ann Landers in my #SharingwithWriters newsletter. I do it because it addresses problems that authors have in real time. I named it that because I have been an Ann Landers fan for learning life's lessons since I was a staff writer for The Salt lake Tribune and was occasionally in charge of making editorial copy fit the layout for what we called the "Society" section; that meant that I got to edit Ann (Wow!) for space requirements. Mostly it meant that I got to partake of her wisdom most every day and get paid for it!

Upping Your Chances for Publication in My Newsletter—and Most Everywhere Else!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

QUESTION: Thank you for your offer to run an announcement of my newest “Author Success.”  Please just extract what you need from the press release I attached.

ANSWER: I would love to run your success, Annie.  But here’s the thing. Press (really media!) releases are wonderful, but unless an editor just copies and pastes them, most prefer the author send them something that fits their style. I am an example. I don’t like to extract from releases because I live in fear that I'll make a mistake or leave something out. It is also very timing consuming. Dan Poynter used to always make the point of saying submissions for his newsletter should be ready for him to "cut-and-paste."  His heart was always with us.  He wanted to help but could help more if he could get his peeps to make it easy on him, if his insistence on cut-and-paste would help train authors to make it easy on other editors and, as a consequence, get more (and better!) exposure for themselves and/or their books.  

There is another aspect to my being so picky!  I don't know if you have a copy of my The Frugal Book Promoter, but I wrote it to help authors get more free media exposure.  Like Poynter, I consider it my job to set an example for my authors and readers.  In this case--specifically--submit the way you 'd like to see your information in print while taking into consideration the editor's posted submission guidelines. Doing so gives you an edge for publication because editors are busy.  A story that is not as good may get the exposure while your media release or submission gets ignored or lost because the editor or other gatekeeper is so short on time.  The author who submits according to a gatekeepers' guidelines benefits by having more control over what is said or the details selected for the story.  

So, here are my guidelines for my SharingwithWriters newsletter and this blog:

1.    Send your information in the body of an e-mail, not an attachment. You’ll find all the reasons why this is important for almost all gatekeepers including the biggies like large media organizations and academic institutions in The Frugal Book Promoter!

2.     Put clear, concise information in the subject line: Something like, “Author Success for Sharing with Writers.” This kind of subject line lets an editor organize better and lets them know that you had them specifically in mind. 

3.     Let me know you are a subscriber to SharingwithWriters newsletter either in the subject line or the first sentence of the body of the e-mail. I only publish submissions from those who subscribe. 

4.     Some editors wear several hats. So numbers 2 and 3 (above) help them identify exactly what you need from them. Is it for a newsletter? Do you want a review of your new book release? Are you asking for your article to be used as a guest post for their blog? If so, which blog? They may have two or three.

5.     For the Author Successes column in SharingwithWriters, give me one paragraph that includes author name, title, short pitch for the book, link, and an image of your book cover in jpeg. 

6.     For other features like “Opportunities,” read a past issue or two and submit information similar to what you see there. You have probably seen literary review journals give you the same advice. There is no point in submitting poetry to them if they only publish short stories, or experimental fiction if they only publish another genre.

Hint #1: Generally speaking, I try to make each story I publish in this blog or my newsletter useful to my audience (as do most media folks!) and my audience is mostly writers like you. 

Hint #2: Be prepared for some changes. I will probably just copy-and-paste but may edit for style or space, too. Occasionally I'll even fill in forgotten details (like the name of the author!), but only if I have time. If I don't, well, you know . . . 

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER



Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter (where she talks more about choosing and the advantages of winning contests and how to use those honors)  and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is  How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers is one of her booklets--perfect for inexpensive gift giving--and, another booklet, The Great First Impression Book Proposal helps writers who want to be traditionally published. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it will help them 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. In addition to this blog, she helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs at all things editing--grammar, formatting and more--at The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor (http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com )

Winning Writers Contest: Template for Longer Media Release

I am a North Street Book Prize sponsor and believe it for lots of reasons, but especially the trust I have in Winning Writers, the sponsor. This prize also offers entrants benefits for entering and for winning and is--yes--something my frugal little self can wholeheartedly support. I wanted you to meet the winners of this prize for your reading pleasure; WinningWriters judges did not disappoint. They picked talented, readable books! 

As an aside, I also think my SharingwithWriters blog visitors and subscribers will benefit by seeing this release. It's an example of how rules (in this case the rule for a length of one page) and be broken when there is a good reason to do so! 

Winning Writers Awards Inaugural North Street Book Prizes to Jenna Leigh Evans, Elizabeth Kirschner, and Gloria Taylor Weinberg for Excellence in Self-Publishing

Winning Writers awards $1,500 each to Jenna Leigh Evans, Elizabeth Kirschner, and Gloria Taylor Weinberg, winners of the first North Street Book Prize competition for self-published books.

Winners of the 2015 North Street Book Prize
(top: Gloria Taylor Weinberg; bottom: Jenna Leigh Evans,
Elizabeth Kirschner)

Northampton, MA (PRWEB) February 15, 2016


Winning Writers is pleased to announce the results from its first annual North Street Book Prize competition for self-published books. Jenna Leigh Evans of Brooklyn, NY won first prize in Genre Fiction for her novel Prosperity. Gloria Taylor Weinberg of Fort Pierce, FL won first prize in Mainstream/Literary Fiction for her novel A Homicide in Hooker's Point. Elizabeth Kirschner of Kittery Point, ME won first prize in Creative Nonfiction/Memoir for her memoir Waking the Bones. We received 400 entries from around the world.

The top winners each received $1,500, a marketing analysis and one-hour phone consultation with Carolyn Howard-Johnson (author of The Frugal Book Promoter), a $300 credit at BookBaby, and three free ads in the Winning Writers newsletter (a $450 value). Two honorable mention winners in each genre received $250. View excerpts from all nine winning entries with critiques by the judges.

The 2015 contest was judged by Jendi Reiter, author of the novel Two Natures (Saddle Road Press, forthcoming 2016) and the poetry collection Bullies in Love (Little Red Tree, 2015), and Ellen LaFleche, an accomplished writer and editor whose publications include the prizewinning poetry chapbooks Beatrice (Tiger's Eye Press, 2012), Ovarian (Dallas Poets Community, 2011), and Workers' Rites (Philbrick Poetry Award Series, Providence Athenaeum, 2011).

Evans' Prosperity is a dystopian vision of contemporary Americans herded into a corporate-run debtors' prison. Prosperity occupies the same literary territory as the surreal short stories of George Saunders, where banality shades into horror, yet small acts of human connection create moments of grace inside a soulless bureaucracy. Honorable Mentions in Genre Fiction went to Glimmer by Tricia Cerrone, a military thriller about genetically enhanced teenagers, reminiscent of Robert Ludlum's spy classic The Bourne Identity; and Jem, A Girl of London by Delaney Green, a vivid and well-researched paranormal historical about an orphaned girl in 18th-century London who cross-dresses in order to practice medicine.

Weinberg's A Homicide in Hooker's Point is a gritty historical novel about the aftermath of domestic violence in a 1950s Florida sugar mill town. Through the eyes of Vicki, a sensitive, precocious child, one sees youthful idealism struggle to comprehend the gulf between law and justice. Honorable Mentions in Mainstream/Literary Fiction were awarded to Vacationland by Nat Goodale, a bittersweet story of a Maine lobsterman fighting gentrification, and Otter St. Onge and the Bootleggers by Alec Hastings, a rollicking adventure about a French-Canadian youth and his colorful family in the 1920s.

Kirschner's Waking the Bones is a gorgeous, searing memoir of recovery from child abuse. Her innovative style, cross-cutting between the past and the present, the literal and the mystical, captures the experience of a fractured mind reconstituting itself as a beautiful mosaic. Honorable Mentions in Creative Nonfiction went to Managing Bubbie by Russel Lazega, a gripping re-creation of his grandmother's escape from Nazi-occupied Europe, leavened with humorous present-day anecdotes of her life in America; and Deb McCarroll's The Long Hot Walk, a thoughtful account of her itinerant childhood in New Mexico with a schizophrenic mother.

ABOUT THE NORTH STREET BOOK PRIZE
The second annual North Street Book Prize accepts self-published books of literary fiction, genre fiction, and creative nonfiction (including memoir). Young Adult literature is eligible, but not books for children. Any year of publication is acceptable. The contest is open now through June 30, with three top prizes of $1,500 plus marketing support. The fee is $50. For guidelines, please visit https://winningwriters.com/north

ABOUT THE CONTEST SPONSOR
Winning Writers was founded in 2001 to provide expert literary contest information and resources to the public. In addition to the North Street Book Prize, it sponsors the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest, the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest, and the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (no fee). Winning Writers is one of the "101 Best Websites for Writers" (Writer's Digest, 2015) and one of the "100 Best Websites for Writers" (The Write Life, 2016). Learn more at WinningWriters.com and join our 60,000+ Twitter followers at @winningwriters.

-----
 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 .

Authors Forget How Useful Media Announcements Are!

Refresher on Media Announcements

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:
Here is a mini excerpt from the second edition of The Frugal Book Promoter—just in case you’ve forgotten how handy using a media announcement can be! If it’s been a while since you reviewed a good format for the usual size media (press) release, maybe it’s time you cracked up your old copy of The Frugal Book Promoter (-:.  It gives you everything you need--even step-by-step formatting!

Media announcements or a different version of your release might be faxed or e-mailed a few days after your first release about an event goes out.

So what's a media announcement?  

Media announcements are shorter and sometimes, to the eyes of an editor, sweeter than media releases. They are especially useful as follow-ups, as introductions to a planned media blitz of well-spaced releases (each touting a different angle), or to notify editors of an upcoming event.

Media announcements read like bare bones invitations. They include:

• The term “Media Announcement” as a header.
• Contact information.
• A captivating headline.
• A pithy lead.
• Follow up with the place, time, date, and a resource for gleaning more information.

Media announcements are quickies. Don’t put much more than what’s on this list into yours.

-----
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 .

You, Media (or Press) Releases and Your Subject Lines

I recently peeked in at Joan Stewart's blog when she mentioned a "difference" between "media release," "press release," and "news release." I talk a lot about media releases in The Frugal Book Promoter (http://budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo) and it worries me a bit that so many people are using these terms incorrectly. 

 

And, lo! Joan and I pretty much agree.

 

At the root of them, these terms mean about the same thing. Still, I consider it sort of my business to lead people (especially authors and retailers) in the right direction in terms of marketing, so I suggest they use the term "media release" if only because "press release" feels as if it isn't given the other media (like Web site editors, bloggers, TV producers) their full due.

 

Using the right term is especially important when we're sending a release to media that cover the gamut and most times that's exactly what we do. Because newbies may not be familiar with the term"media release," we may be communicating better when we say "press release," so there is a place for the term. I just worry that people might stick "press release" into the subject line of their e-mail releases and come off...well...a little exclusionary?

 

And maybe not quite as professional as they'd like to look.

 

-----
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 . 

Alert for Those Editing Their Own Blogs, Newsletters, and Web Sites

Just in case you are one of those bloggers or newsletter editors who publishes media releases in exactly the same form as they are sent to you, this from my SharingwithWriters newsletter:

Too many don't understand that news releases (media releases) are not really meant to be reprinted exactly as they are received. Media releases are intended to pique the interest of a feature or business editor, producer, or others in the media. Then those media people can proceed to use them as they see fit. If they use a direct quote they attribute it, of course, but they may just choose to use the release as an idea for a story, and mention the person who issued the release. There is tons more information on releases--right down to templates and step-by-step instructions on how to write a release—in The Frugal Book Promoter (http://budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo).

 

Having said that, there is really no one right way to write a release as long as it maintains a professional format and gives the media what they need.

 

Those who would like to subscribe to the SharingwithWriters newsletter need only send me an e-mail with "SUBSCRIBE" in the subject line. I'm happy to do it for you. Yay!

-----
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 . 

Sample Media Release for Cross Promotion, Free KDP Promotion

I thought my SharingwithWriters readers would like a free e-copy of my Great First Impression Book Proposal to ring in the new year and maybe they'd download a copy of my husband’s new book, too. We’re both passionate about his new reference/how-to book because we think that it could help with many misunderstandings in the world, particularly for foreigners who must work with Americans.

His book is What Foreigners Need To Know About Americans A to Z by Lance Johnson (http://amzn.to/12JoVsa). It will be f r ~ ~ on Amazon from January 13^th to 17^th. It is serious stuff, but it reads light and easy sparing none of his dry humor about his own beloved US and the quirks of the English language.

 

My Great First Impression Book Proposal (http://bit.ly/BkPropKind) has been around a while. Even if you already have it, you will want to get the updated version.

They’re both available for almost any reader you prefer to read your e-books on—PC, iPhone, Android, Mac. You can download an app to make it work on your PC at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000426311

 I also thought this promotion might work for you as a sample of the kind you might use even if you write in a hard-to-promote genre. Here is the basic media release for you. It also serves as an example of how cross-promotion (the sharing of effort and files) can help you with your own book campaign. (Scroll down for the release!)

Won’t you please download and help us give my little booklet and my husband's truly amazing reference a chance at greater exposure and a shot at making Kindle’s bestseller list?

 

Sample Media Release for Cross Promotion, KDP Promo

Multi award-winning poet, novelist, and author of the famed HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers Carolyn Howard-Johnson and award-winning playwright and actor Lance Johnson have been married for far longer than the average couple worldwide and are still doing things together—in this case joining with Amazon’s Kindle Select program to give away e-copies of their books.

 

Ta Da! Two books for your Kindle (or your computer if you don’t have a Kindle—see the link for doing that below) with only a couple clicks. All you do is go to http://amzn.to/12JoVsa on Jan 13, 14, 15, 16 or 17^th, and click. Then go to http://amzn.to/UabAn7 and click. Both e-books will come directly to your computer or your Kindle.

 

Feel free to share this link with anyone you'd like to have a thoughtful—and fast—gift. Send Lance’s to a foreign student you know, an emigrant, or anyone who cut more high school civics (or English!) classes than they should have. Send the link to Carolyn’s book to any author you know. Every nonfiction author and even most fiction writers can use it, as it is becoming common for publishers to ask for proposals from writers of genre fiction.

 

Lance Johnson is an actor with national commercials, plays, and movies to his credit. He has also visited more than 90 countries and taught English and American culture abroad. His book has been endorsed by ambassadors to the US and ambassadors from the US to other countries.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson's HowToDoItFrugally series for writers has won multiple awards. She has studied writing at universities in the Czech Republic, Russia and UK, UCLA, and USC. And she has been an instructor for the world renowned UCLA Extension Writers' Program for nearly a decade.

For more information on these books or the authors visit:

http://AmericaZtoZ.com for Lance’s work and
http://HowToDoItFrugally.com for Carolyn’s.

PS: Free Kindle books are available for almost any format or reader you prefer. PC, iPhone, Android, Mac, etc. Just download the appropriate free app at
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000426311

###

Support material available electronically or by post on request.

----- 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 .