Carolyn Howard-Johnson - Frugal Book Promoter

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is a multi award-winning novelist and poet. She is also the author of the award-winning series of books for writers, How to do it Frugally. Carolyn has been an instructor for nearly a decade at the renowned UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. She is visiting Writers in Business to announce her newest release, the second edition of the Frugal Book Promoter.

Welcome Carolyn! Congratulations on your new book! Please tell us about it.

The new edition of The Frugal Book Promoter is bigger (nearly twice as big!) and updated. This edition even has its own subtitle to reflect the broader audience it appeals to. It is - “Ta Da! How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher.” But it still has all the award-winning qualities of the first edition, maybe even more! This book is the self-promoter’s bible.

I’ve learned a lot from reading your books! You share great ideas that are affordable and easy to put into action. Could you share one tip with my readers?

Sure, the Internet is traditionally a place where freebies abound. To assure traffic to your site, give something away. E-books are a good way to start because they cater to our need for instant gratification (and information!).

I understand you have received some influential endorsements for this book.

Yes, Dan Poynter, author of The Self-Publishing Manual said “The most expensive parts of book promotion are the mistakes. This book will save you time and money.”

It has been honored by USA Book News and Los Angeles Book Festival.

Tony Eldridge, author and blogger at Marketing Tips for Authors also endorsed my book. He wrote “I love this book...it is the answer to an author's prayer. Most authors are shocked and unprepared for the marketing that goes into having a successful book. Carolyn creates a resource that you'll go to again and again for advice and instructions on promoting. Seldom do I see a resource packed with as much practical information as I see in The Frugal Book Promoter II."

This praise is well deserved. You have authored several books on effective, frugal promotion and I understand you also offer a newsletter for writers.

My newsletter, Sharing With Writers Sharing With Writers, is published semi-monthly and offers useful tips for writers including the craft of writing, marketing, promotion, editing and social networking. It’s a place where writers can come to learn and share what they know.

You can sign up for the newsletter by sending an email to HoJoNews@aol.com. Learn more about the Frugal Book Promoter and Carolyn’s other outstanding books by visiting her online at How to do it Frugally.com.

Revised - Frugal Book Promoter: Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Carolyn Howard-Johnson has just released the revised, second edition of her award winning book, The Frugal Book Promoter.
Carolyn joins us today to tell us more about this updated title.

Your first edition of The Frugal Book Promoter changed the way authors view their role in marketing their titles. What can we expect in this revised edition?

The content has been expanded to include simple ways to promote books using newer technology--always considering promotion and marketing techniques that are easy on the pocketbook and frugal of time. It also includes a multitude of ways for authors and publishers to promote the so-called hard-to-promote genres.

You'll also learn to write media releases, query letters and a knock 'em dead media kit--all tools that help an author find a publisher and sell their book once it's in print.

Specific updates include:

~ The basics that make you into an on-your-own publicist or a great partner

~ Chapters on what I call the "game changers"

~ Information on using online bookstores to your benefit

~ Making your blog actually work for you

Wow... this sounds amazing! You mentioned offering suggestions on how to work with technology. Can you share some of that information?

Sure, this new edition covers how to use the e-book format to promote sales, provides information on how to use Google Alerts to their full advantage and how to put together Power Point presentations. All very timely promotional tips.

I understand you have received rave reviews for this new edition including one from self-publishing guru Dan Poynter.

Yes, here are a few.

"If you're going to read only one book to get other people to read your book, it should be this one."
~ Tim Bete, director Dayton University's Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop

" Unlike other books and articles on the subject, this one is detailed--and it's chock full of ideas that even seasoned book promoters will not have tried."
~ Dallas Hodder Franklin, editor of SellWritingOnline.com

"Howard-Johnson has the comforting tone of a mentor and writes with the precision of a surgeon."
~ Francine Silverman, author and editor of Book Promotion Newsletter

"The most expensive parts of book promotion are the mistakes. This book will save you time and money."
~ Dan Poynter, author of The Self-Pubishing Manual

Carolyn, thank you for joining us today to share your exciting news! How can we order a copy of the revised book?

You can order it online through my web site Frugal Book Promoter and through Amazon.com.

You can also visit Carolyn online at HowtodoitFrugally.com. She also offers a newsletter and blog filled with useful information.

Create Visibility Before Getting Published: Build Your Platform by Karen Cioffi

Today we are joined by author and freelance writer, Karen Cioffi. She is a reviewer for BookPleasures.com and Muse Book Reviews, and co-moderator of a children’s critique group. Karen provides ghostwriting, editing, proofreading and critiques along with website and blogsite creation. She is our guest blogger today and shares her wisdom on the importance of building your platform.

Create Visibility Before Getting Published: Build Your Platform
By Karen Cioffi

The road to publication can be long and winding ... and filled with rejection. So, what do you do while you’re submitting your manuscript and waiting patiently? Okay, maybe not patiently, but waiting nonetheless.

That’s easy. And, it’s very important, create visibility. I don’t mean standing on the street corner singing at the top of your lungs, I mean creating an online presence that depicts who and what you are. In other words, you need to create your platform.

There are a number of writers who are reluctant to begin promoting themselves because they haven’t landed a publisher yet. Or, they’re still learning the craft. This mentality won’t cut it today. You need to begin that visibility.

First step in your platform journey is to create a blog using a blog site such as Blogger, or a website; either one is relatively simple to create, and can be free. Obviously, you will want to create your platform right from the beginning by posting to your blog with content that is in the genre you are writing.

Important Tip: Make the name of your site something that will grow with you, and your name should be part of the site name.

But wait a minute, let me backtrack. For those who aren’t sure what a platform is, it is a means to let readers know what your area of expertise is. Yes, I know, you might be shaking your head and thinking that you don’t have an area of expertise, but this is how you create it.

The next step in your journey is to create your platform and online visibility. Learn your craft and as you’re learning, write about what you learn. In other words, if your book is about cooking, blog about cooking—you will be creating your area of expertise.

Once you feel comfortable adding content to your blog, start writing articles and submitting them to article directories. Again, keep them focused on the area of expertise you are trying to create. You may not get paid for them, but they will establish an online presence. And, if your articles are beneficial or interesting to others, it will bring traffic to your site.

The publishing and marketing industry has changed. In today’s writing market publishing houses, big and small, expect you to:

1. Have and online presence (website or blog)
2. Have a platform
3. Have a following
4. Have the potential to increase that following
5. Have a marketing strategy
6. Be able to sell your book

Selling books is now a joint effort between the publishing house and the author. And, if you’re venturing into the self-publishing arena, promoting yourself is even more important. Don’t procrastinate. Start creating your online presence and platform today.

Karen Cioffi is an author and freelance writer. Stop by her site, Karen Cioffi (KarenCioffi.com), and sign up for the FREE monthly newsletter, A Writer’s World. It offers writing and marketing articles, tips and links, book reviews, resources and much more. While there, you can also pick up a free e-book about writing and/or marketing.

Author Marketing Experts - Comprehensive PR for your book!

Today we welcome Penny Sansevieri to Writers in Business. Penny is the CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. (AME), a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns.

Author Marketing Experts, Inc. is described as a full-service marketing and PR firm specializing in customized campaigns and Internet Marketing. Can you tell us some of the tools you utilize to create a book campaign?
Interestingly enough the biggest and most important tool is creativity. In a world where there are 1,000 books published each day in the US, you must be creative to stand apart from the crowd. The other piece is that you must know how your book benefits your readers. Readers don’t buy books they buy benefits.

AME’s clients have been featured on The View, CBS The Early Show, The Today Show, Entertainment Tonight, CNN, National Public Radio, Reader’s Digest, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Essence Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, MSNBC and many others.

Your company has some fantastic connections! I understand this exposure is not guaranteed, but what are the chances of a fiction or non-fiction book realizing this form of promotion through AME? What percent of your clients achieve this level of exposure?

You know it really depends, we tend to focus much more on Internet than we do traditional PR anymore – the reason? The Return on Investment (ROI) tends to be better with Internet marketing and in the end, authors want to sell books. The odds though of getting on a show tend to increase with a significant platform, what this means is that the author can’t pop out with a book and say “please feature me on your show” there has so be some “legs” to the book and the campaign before any of these shows will even consider it. As to the percentage – that’s a very tough question. If we have a solid book, meaning a book that’s got a good foothold in its market, and an author who has a great platform then the chances are very good that they’ll get major exposure, sometimes as high as 90%.

Traveling to promote our books can get expensive. Can you tell us about Virtual Author Buzz Tour?

Yes, and thanks for asking. When it comes to marketing there are two types of promotion: push and pull. Push-marketing is where you “push” your message out to the media, so you push it to radio, TV, print, etc. That’s good, but not always effective. Pull-marketing is where you “pull” readers into your site via incoming links to your website. That’s where we shine. Our Virtual Author Buzz Tour is a combination of aggressive online blog pitching, social networking, Twitter – all of the latest and hottest online venues to pull readers to your book and to your website.

AME offers extensive online resources visitors can access through the Internet at A Marketing Expert. These resources include a bi-weekly online newsletter. What topics covered in your newsletter? How can we sign up to receive it?

You can go to the site to get the newsletter and thank you for mentioning it, I love it – we get tons of compliments on it. We also have a ton of free teleclasses that we offer through our AME-University. I believe in free resources. I think authors are looking for help and guidance and frankly, an educated author makes better choices for themselves and their book and in the long run, the more you know the more money you’ll save in promoting your book!

Penny’s career in the publicity, book marketing, and literary field spans over 15 years. During that time she has been an author, freelance writer, publicist, and instructor. Her diverse background enables her to bring a multitude of talents to the table. I encourage you to visit AME A Marketing Expert to learn more about how they can create the buzz you want to get your book flying off from bookstore shelves.