Little Jewels: Seven Gifts for Writers

Little Jewels: Seven Gifts for Writers That Writers Are Unlikely to Have in Their Libraries (So They Don't Have to Return Your Gift!)

Books are gifts that keep on giving. Gift books give back to the publishing industry which keeps writers in work and readers happy! So here are some books you can give to writers this holiday season, books that they may not already have on their shelves.

You will note that all these books are not on writing per se. We all know a writer must know lots about a whole lot of things, so these books can help your writer better her craft, her promotion skills, her grammar or publishing skills or just plain give her information that can make a difference in her writing career.

• Mortal Syntax 101 Language Choices That Will Get You Clobbered by the Grammar Snobs--Even If You're Right by June Casagrande (ISBN 9780243113324)

• Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies by June Casagrande (ISBN 0143036831)

• Speak with Passion Speak with Power! Transform Inexperience and the Fear of Public Speaking into Energy, Know-How and Results! by Pamela Gilbreath Kelly, M.A. (ISBN 9780979100109)

• The Solution is at Hand: The Dottie Walters Story, by Dottie Walters and Terri Marie, Foreword by Jack Canfield (ISBN 094347714x)

• The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write by Mark David Gerson (ISBN: 9780979547553)

• The Complete Writer's Journal (ISBN 9780974375892)

• The Well-Fed Self Publisher by Peter Bowerman (ISBN: 0967059860)

• Righting the Mother Tongue: From Olde English to Email, the Tangled Story of English Spelling by David Wolman (ISBN: 978-0061369254)

• A Book Is Born: 24 Authors Tell All, Edited by Nancy Cleary (ISBN: 9781932279504)

• The New Oxford Book of Literary Anecdotes, Edited by John Gross (ISBN 0192804685)

Of course, I hope when you go to your favorite online bookstore to order for the holidays that you'll add one of my books to (frugally!) fill out your order to get free shipping.

They are:

*The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't (ISBN: 193299310X) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193299310X/

*The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success (ISBN 9780978525874) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870/

*"The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need To Know To Sell Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less," An Amazon Short for only 49 cents (ISBN: B000YG6O5U)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YG6O5U/

And please make suggestions of your own in the comments! That's part of the fun!

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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 and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at www.TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com.

A Little Nudge on Branding for the Recession

It seems the term "branding" is moving from marketing jargon into the nation's general vocabulary. An article in Time (April 14th issue, 2008) looks at the Pope's "long fascination with America and how it is shaping his vision for the world." It refers to "the democratic, pluralistic values that constitute (on our good days) the American brand."

An article on Pope Benedict seems a rather odd place to be seeing this marketing term, don't you think? The thing is, minds everywhere are turning to branding as we move into recession (whether it is an actual economic guru-sanctioned recession or one that many of us are feeling in the gut and pocketbook is really immaterial).

Speaking of branding and recessions, I might mention that in bad times it is often a product's or business's successful branding that helps carry them across the dangerous economic times to even greater loyalty when better days return. YOU, the author, are what you brand. Your book is only a sub-brand for you may write many books in many different genres -- if not now, then eventually. So, now is not the time to let down your branding efforts. Luckily, we have the Internet now so we can continue to brand ourselves very inexpensively.

This is your nudge to go for it! Don't just read The Frugal Book Promoter. Read lots of book. Add John Kremer's 1001 Ways to Market Your Book to your library. Add one of Peter Bowerman's Well-Fed Writer books to your purchase. The Frugal Editor is also about marketing for editing -- especially the editing of your query letter, is an author's first marketing offense, their introduction to gatekeepers who can make or break their writing careers. and when you're buying these books, do it frugally. Buy second hand or group your purchases on Amazon to avoid shipping costs and taxes. (-:
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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.