Triple Win: Longridge Writers Group, Twitter, and My Newsletter! (-:

Short and Sweet:

Twitter. It's here with a vengeance. Many love, love, love it. Some just don't get it. The Longridge Writers Group asked me to bring some of the Twitter tips in my newsletter together for writers. And here it is.

Actually this is a triple win. You'll want to know more about Long Ridge Writers Group
for classes, forums and more.

And you'll want to subscribe to my Sharing with Writers newsletter where you'll get everything from Twitter tips to writing and promoting opportunities to a little poetry corner. Send an e-mail with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line to HoJoNews@aol.com.

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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:

The Tale of a Ten Year Critique Group

February was our tenth anniversary. I didn't know it. Leora Krygier showed up with three little gifts in those delicate mesh tie-bags. Each contained candles, votives in zen-like frosted cups. It was our critique group's tenth anniversary. Phyllis Gebauer, one of UCLA's renowned writers' program instructors, had put us together ten years ago. We lost Iris Fabrikant to the land of cherry trees and monuments but the test of us, Leora, JayCe Crawford and I stayed intact.

Phyllis came to our first meeting -- to get us started with correct critique procedure. No, she didn't charge us. It was value-added teaching, the UCLA Writers' Program way. (-: Then, about a year ago, Phyllis asked to be part of us. Naturally we were flattered to be considered suitable critique partners for our mentor! She had always been with us, of course.

Our mode of meeting has changed over the years but our approach to our craft has been nearly the same. Tough. Loving. Accepting. Appreciative. No punches pulled. Everyone loving it. It has only gotten better with age.

Ten years. Oh, the changes we've seen. In our careers. In our writing. In our personal lives. Such friendships are one of the many blessings that writing carries with it. Writing, as you see, can be pure magic.

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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.