Military Writers Society for Authors of Every Ilk

I belong to Military Writers Society of America.

So why would subscribers and readers of this blog who have nothing to do with the military care?

Because it supports writers of every ilk. You, too, might find that the awards they give and their support system can help your career.

Here's what MWSA does for writers. They offer:

~An opportunity to have your book posted on www.militarywriters.com
Opportunity for a review.
~ All books that are reviewed are also scored and considered for annual awards.
~A newsletter that promotes good reading about military-related topics. And it's entertaining!
~An opportunity to earn MWSA Bucks that can be used at the annual MWSA Buckaroo Auction
~An annual Conference and Awards Banquet
~Online writers' workshops
~Introductions to bloggers and radio hosts. Read that lots of networking opportunities!
~Scenes from award-winning books may be selected to be converted to a script that is performed at a theater for the public as kick off for Annual Conference.
~Regional events
~Discounts with third parties who support the military and writers.
~An opportunity to get to know and network with other authors--especially those with military background, veterans, and historians.
~An opportunity to participate in the growth and operation of the organization.
~Awards that are real, tangible medals, which also offer authors and their publicist opportunities to promote their work.
~An opportunity to perform at Open Mic at the annual Conference.
~And most of all, a great bookstore where readers can browse great reading!

There's more, too. The President is Joyce Faulkner who writes short stories and fiction, including lots that is and lots that is not military related.

My chapbook of poetry Tracings won their award of excellence and though there are some poems in it that touch on war, it is really a book that Traces the life of women (and writers) through one particular woman--the poet.

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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 .

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Recommending a Service-Oriented Writers' Organization Here!

I am a proud member of Military Writers Society of America. I recommend it because of the opportunties it offers writers, especially through its bookstore, its review program, and its award program.

MWSA is under new leadership and it continues to evolve along with its revamped Web site. They’re in the process of integrating their bookstore and their MWSA reviews. From now on, all our reviews will be part of the bookstore.

Eventually, they will be implementing an automated online database of all their members' books and reviews. Once this ambitious project is complete, visitors to the MWSA bookstore will be able to search and find exactly what they’re looking for. They’ll be able to see search results by about any essential book detail. Title, genre, etc.

One does not have to be military or write about military subjects to belong to this organization, but any writer who fits in either of those categories certainly should be a member.


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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.

Brag Time: Carolyn's Frugal Editor Named Best by USA Book News

Simon & Schuster, Penguin-Putnam, HarperCollins, Random House, Houghton Mifflin Co., John Wiley & Sons Red Engine Press & Hundreds of Independent Titles Score Top Honors in the 4th Annual National “Best Books” Awards

LOS ANGELES – Thursday (Nov. 1, 2007), USA Book News, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced Carolyn Howard-Johnson's The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success the National Best Book Awards (BBA) in the category of business and publishing. on November 1, 2007.

Jeffrey Keen, President and CEO of USABookNews.com, said this year’s contest yielded an unprecedented number of entries, which were then narrowed down to winners and finalists.

Howard-Johnson is no stranger to awards. Her novel, This Is the Place, won eight awards. Her book of creative nonfiction, Harkening, won three and the companion book to The Frugal Editor, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't is an Irwin award winner. Howard-Johnson's chapbook of poetry, Tracings (Finishing Line Press) won the award of excellence from the Military Writers Society of America.

The author is an extension division instructor for UCLA’s reknowned Writers’ Program and speaks at writers' conferences nationwide. She was named Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment by the California Legislature and American Business Women's Association (ABWA) named her Outstanding Woman.

Winners and finalists traversed the publishing landscape: Simon & Schuster, Penguin-Putnam, HarperCollins, Random House, McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin Co., John Wiley & Sons & hundreds of independent titles contributed to this year’s outstanding BBA competition. Keen adds, “BBA’s success begins with the enthusiastic participation of authors and publishers and continues with our distinguished panel of industry judges who bring to the table their extensive editorial, PR, marketing, and design expertise.”

USABookNews.com is an online publication providing coverage for books from mainstream and independent publishers to the world online community. USABN Magazine Online is the monthly electronic magazine e-mailed free to a large cross-section of the book buying public. JPX Media, in Los Angeles, California, is the parent company of USABookNews.com.

Learn more about Howard-Johnson at http://carolynhoward-johnson.com or http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com

Full results listing is available online at www.USABookNews.com.

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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.