My guest today is Carolyn Howard Johnson! She is an award-winning author and the master of frugal book promotions. Her book, The Frugal Book Promoter, is a must for anyone preparing to market a book and most certainly resides on my book shelf. (Well-worn, of course.) I asked if she could contribute something in the area of writing for my blog and online writer’s club. This is a little excerpt (an exclusive at that!) from The Frugal Book Promoter:
Mindshift: Getting Over Wrong-Headed Beliefs About Promotion
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
We all know what negative thoughts can do to our writing. But we often fail to recognize that all the wailing we hear about promotion-- on the Net and in our critique groups--is destructive, too. It keeps us from doing what we must to build our platforms which in turn helps us get a good agent or publisher and sell our books.
We writers need to stop believing what we hear other writers saying about the horrors of promotion. Or what our little brains keep whispering to us. There is a way to promote that fits every writer's pocketbook, book title, and even every writer's personality.
As an example, writers love to write. . But there are many ways writer can use their writing to promote. Here is a list of ways to promote that require you to write. It comes straight from chapter headings in my multi award-winning Frugal Book Promoter:
Write and Recycle Articles.
Write a Column.
Syndicate Your Column.
Self -Syndicate Your Column.
Publish Your Own Newsletter.
Write Reviews.
Write for Anthologies.
Write Introductions.
Write Tip Sheets.
For those who moan most about the time promotion takes, well, you have a point. But see the first entry? That word "recycle" is important. Anything you write to promote can be recycled. It can be recycled from your blog to your newsletter to your Web site to your handouts when you speak or teach. And back again. In the Obama era, we're all getting into a green mode and green can include efficient time use, too. That means even the issue of time become less of an argument for avoiding promotion.
So, though your promotional writing must be balanced with your creative efforts, it's a lot easier to do than most think. Unfortunately, that balancing act is a topic all its own, but my favorite tip for that is to get up in the morning, put fingers to keys and write for one, two hours. Whatever you find you need. Don't turn on your e-mail program until after that time is up. Then it's promo-writing time. Go for it!
------Carolyn Howard-Johnson's first novel, This Is the Place, won eight awards. Her second book, Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered, creative nonfiction, won three. Her chapbook of poetry Tracings, was named to the Compulsive Reader's Ten Best Reads list and was given the Military Writers' Society of America's Silver Award of Excellence. She just released She Wore Emerald Then, A Reflection on Motherhood, coauthored with Magdalena Ball and self-published in the time-honored tradition of poets everywhere. Those efforts on behalf of so-called hard-to-promote books lead her to write The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't which was named USA Book News' "Best Professional Book 2004." It is also an Irwin Award winner. Her Web site is www.HowToDoItFrugally.com and she blogs at Writer's Digest 101 Best Website www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Sunday, March 01, 2009
And now for some completely different Sunday news...
Another wild and busy week here on the home front - and it's supposed to snow tonight in North Carolina. Now that IS different!
Other interesting news from around the web:
From author Mayra Calvani – her dog, Amigo, will be interviewing other author’s pets on a brand new blog:
http://petsandauthors.blogspot.com/
Article in Publisher’s Weekly on how a runaway hit can nearly kill a small publisher:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6417178.html?text=soapbox
Great list of potential book reviewers:
http://www.bookconnector.com/
Back-up quarterback for the Patriots, Matt Cassel, went to the Chiefs:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/don_banks/02/28/cassel.traded.chiefs/index.html?bcnn=yes
Topless coffee shop in Maine:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/27/topless.coffee.shop/index.html
All I gotta say about that last one is I hope they keep the coffee shop warm!
Other interesting news from around the web:
From author Mayra Calvani – her dog, Amigo, will be interviewing other author’s pets on a brand new blog:
http://petsandauthors.blogspot.com/
Article in Publisher’s Weekly on how a runaway hit can nearly kill a small publisher:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6417178.html?text=soapbox
Great list of potential book reviewers:
http://www.bookconnector.com/
Back-up quarterback for the Patriots, Matt Cassel, went to the Chiefs:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/don_banks/02/28/cassel.traded.chiefs/index.html?bcnn=yes
Topless coffee shop in Maine:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/27/topless.coffee.shop/index.html
All I gotta say about that last one is I hope they keep the coffee shop warm!
Friday, February 27, 2009
And now for something completely... Prill!
For a special treat today, I am welcoming author and Boomer extraordinare, Prill Boyle!
Prill is the author of "Defying Gravity: A Celebration of Late-Blooming Women" Her book has won international aclaim and she has traveled to some incredible places!
Her website is http://www.prillboyle.com/ and her blog can be found at http://defyinggravitynow.blogspot.com/
So without further babble from me, please welcome the delightful Prill Boyle!
Describe your book “Defying Gravity” and what all went into it?
Defying Gravity recounts true stories of 12 everyday women who accomplished extraordinary things after 40. One woman became a medical doctor at 50; another became a flight attendant at 71. At the time I got the idea, I was teaching community college and wanted to provide role models to help my students stay focused on their dreams.
When you ask, “What all went into it?” I have to laugh. My heart and soul—that’s what! Before I began, I had no idea how to find people to interview, how to write a story, how to get published. Sometimes people say to me, “I can’t imagine writing a book.” I tell them that I used to think that, too. I’m not one of those people who always dreamed of becoming an author. In my wildest imagination, I never would have envisioned this future for myself. But I’ve come to believe that each of us has more potential than we realize. I always say, “If you’re still breathing, there’s hope!
Was this the book you always wanted to write?
As I said, I never imagined myself as a writer period, so I can’t say that this was the book I’d always wanted to write. I was an English teacher—that’s how I thought of myself. But if you take the word “always” out of the question, I’d say that, yes, this is the exact book I wanted to write. The day the idea came to me, I saw the finished product in my mind’s eye. I had almost no clue how to get from A to Z—from my vision to the reality— but the book I hoped to write is the book I eventually wrote. Pretty amazing now that I think about it.
I’m currently working on a novel about a late bloomer. I’m not sure I’ll be able to say the same thing about this new book when I’m done. The story is still so much richer in my head than it is on the page. We’ll see how it turns out. It helps me, though, to realize that I felt the same way about Defying Gravity when I was in the middle of writing it.
Tell us a little about your blog, Defying Gravity!
On the blog you’ll find common-sense tips, great resources, personal reflections, and true stories for aspiring "bloomers" of any age. I began posting in the fall of 2006. To date, I’ve featured fifty-five late bloomers (men and women). Depending on what’s going on in my life at the moment, I post between one and three times a week. I welcome all comments.
Tell us about speaking at the United Nations!!!
The National Council of Women of USA, an organization founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in the 1800’s and taken over by the United Nations when it came into existence in 1945, asked me to be the keynote speaker at one of their events. I titled my talk “Women of Vision: From Finding a Voice to Making a Difference.” Just being in the building was a thrill!
What are some of the bonuses that you didn’t predict in the beginning of your author journey?
Meeting and making friends with so many incredible people has got to be one of the biggest. Two years ago I spent a month in Africa at the invitation of a woman who read the book and contacted me—a 70-year old Peace Corps volunteer named Bonnie Orton. The novel I’m now writing is set in some of the places I visited with her. I also never imagined becoming an international speaker. I tell people that I used to be shy, and they look at me like I’m crazy. But it’s true. Even now, I have to admit that I sometimes get butterflies speaking in front of groups if I’ve gone a while without doing so.
What do you consider as a “late bloomer?”
A person who discovers their gifts and accomplishes their goals later in life than one would expect.
BTW – you do NOT look like a “boomer!”
I’m 54 and am going to be a grandmother for the first time this summer.
You reside in Connecticut – has that always been home?
I grew up here but have lived all over the country—Boston; Denver, Atlanta; Washington, DC; and Upstate New York.
Your website lists a lot of resources, which I really like! What did it take to pull this all together?
The list has evolved over time. I didn’t sit down and write it in a day. Since 2000 I’ve been collecting articles about late bloomers and second careers. I’ve also been compiling statistics and doing research on aging. I keep updating the list as new material comes along.
What’s next for Prill?
I’m collaborating with a wonderful guy named Larry Portzline on a male version of Defying Gravity. I’m also hoping to finish my novel this year. After that, we’ll see.
And the last word, Prill…?
Defying Gravity recounts true stories of 12 everyday women who accomplished extraordinary things after 40. One woman became a medical doctor at 50; another became a flight attendant at 71. At the time I got the idea, I was teaching community college and wanted to provide role models to help my students stay focused on their dreams.
When you ask, “What all went into it?” I have to laugh. My heart and soul—that’s what! Before I began, I had no idea how to find people to interview, how to write a story, how to get published. Sometimes people say to me, “I can’t imagine writing a book.” I tell them that I used to think that, too. I’m not one of those people who always dreamed of becoming an author. In my wildest imagination, I never would have envisioned this future for myself. But I’ve come to believe that each of us has more potential than we realize. I always say, “If you’re still breathing, there’s hope!
Was this the book you always wanted to write?
As I said, I never imagined myself as a writer period, so I can’t say that this was the book I’d always wanted to write. I was an English teacher—that’s how I thought of myself. But if you take the word “always” out of the question, I’d say that, yes, this is the exact book I wanted to write. The day the idea came to me, I saw the finished product in my mind’s eye. I had almost no clue how to get from A to Z—from my vision to the reality— but the book I hoped to write is the book I eventually wrote. Pretty amazing now that I think about it.
I’m currently working on a novel about a late bloomer. I’m not sure I’ll be able to say the same thing about this new book when I’m done. The story is still so much richer in my head than it is on the page. We’ll see how it turns out. It helps me, though, to realize that I felt the same way about Defying Gravity when I was in the middle of writing it.
Tell us a little about your blog, Defying Gravity!
On the blog you’ll find common-sense tips, great resources, personal reflections, and true stories for aspiring "bloomers" of any age. I began posting in the fall of 2006. To date, I’ve featured fifty-five late bloomers (men and women). Depending on what’s going on in my life at the moment, I post between one and three times a week. I welcome all comments.
Tell us about speaking at the United Nations!!!
The National Council of Women of USA, an organization founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in the 1800’s and taken over by the United Nations when it came into existence in 1945, asked me to be the keynote speaker at one of their events. I titled my talk “Women of Vision: From Finding a Voice to Making a Difference.” Just being in the building was a thrill!
What are some of the bonuses that you didn’t predict in the beginning of your author journey?
Meeting and making friends with so many incredible people has got to be one of the biggest. Two years ago I spent a month in Africa at the invitation of a woman who read the book and contacted me—a 70-year old Peace Corps volunteer named Bonnie Orton. The novel I’m now writing is set in some of the places I visited with her. I also never imagined becoming an international speaker. I tell people that I used to be shy, and they look at me like I’m crazy. But it’s true. Even now, I have to admit that I sometimes get butterflies speaking in front of groups if I’ve gone a while without doing so.
What do you consider as a “late bloomer?”
A person who discovers their gifts and accomplishes their goals later in life than one would expect.
BTW – you do NOT look like a “boomer!”
I’m 54 and am going to be a grandmother for the first time this summer.
You reside in Connecticut – has that always been home?
I grew up here but have lived all over the country—Boston; Denver, Atlanta; Washington, DC; and Upstate New York.
Your website lists a lot of resources, which I really like! What did it take to pull this all together?
The list has evolved over time. I didn’t sit down and write it in a day. Since 2000 I’ve been collecting articles about late bloomers and second careers. I’ve also been compiling statistics and doing research on aging. I keep updating the list as new material comes along.
What’s next for Prill?
I’m collaborating with a wonderful guy named Larry Portzline on a male version of Defying Gravity. I’m also hoping to finish my novel this year. After that, we’ll see.
And the last word, Prill…?
Gratitude.
Thank you, Prill!!!
Again, please look for Prill at her website http://www.prillboyle.com/ and blog http://defyinggravitynow.blogspot.com/
Again, please look for Prill at her website http://www.prillboyle.com/ and blog http://defyinggravitynow.blogspot.com/
Thursday, February 26, 2009
What Rejuvenates You?
We all have little things that give us a daily boost, but what really rejuvenates your spirit? Where do you go, what do you do, that has a major, lasting effect that will sustain you for weeks? What sparks (or shocks) your system into feeling completely alive once more?
I am a roller coaster junkie, and nothing makes me feel more alive than a ride on a large steel coaster. The adrenaline rush, the sensation of flying, the complete inhibition all charge my spirit. And it is one of the few places where screaming at the top of your lungs is perfectly acceptable - that's an incredible release as well!
I also possess no sense of balance - I can walk down a hallway ten feet wide and still manage to run into the wall at some point. Riding a roller coaster somehow realigns my equilibrium, so when I get off the ride, I feel incredibly balanced. If I could afford it, I'd have one built in my backyard so I could experience that every single day!
You might not like roller coasters, but what jolts you back to life?
Diane and friends on a favorite coaster - Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Nothing like a 200-foot coaster at 10am in the morning!
I am a roller coaster junkie, and nothing makes me feel more alive than a ride on a large steel coaster. The adrenaline rush, the sensation of flying, the complete inhibition all charge my spirit. And it is one of the few places where screaming at the top of your lungs is perfectly acceptable - that's an incredible release as well!
I also possess no sense of balance - I can walk down a hallway ten feet wide and still manage to run into the wall at some point. Riding a roller coaster somehow realigns my equilibrium, so when I get off the ride, I feel incredibly balanced. If I could afford it, I'd have one built in my backyard so I could experience that every single day!
You might not like roller coasters, but what jolts you back to life?
Diane and friends on a favorite coaster - Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Nothing like a 200-foot coaster at 10am in the morning!
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