Tuesday, March 13, 2012
This Business of Writing: Ordinary and Necessary Expenses
This Business of Writing: Ordinary and Necessary Expenses by Brigitte A. Thompson, author of Bookkeeping Basics for Freelance Writers.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
C. Hope Clark's Lowcountry Bribe- Part of the Carolina Slade Mystery Series
“He winked and clicked his tongue. Panic coursed through me at the altered state. Like hearing that your church-going mother likes her bourbon straight and sex on top. He’d offered me a bribe.”
Welcome to C. Hope Clark’s other world. Lowcountry Bribe, released in February 2012, is the first book in the Carolina Slade Mystery Series which is set in South Carolina and is certain to captivate you.
C. Hope Clark was born and reared in the South, from Mississippi to South Carolina with a few stints in Alabama and Georgia. The granddaughter of a Mississippi cotton farmer, Hope holds a B.S. in Agriculture with honors from Clemson University. She has 25 years’ experience with the U. S. Department of Agriculture all of which enable her to talk the talk of Carolina Slade, the protagonist in most of her novels.
Welcome to Writers in Business! I understand there is an interesting story behind the concept for your series.
Yes, the concept of the series originated from my many experiences with USDA investigations as well as those of my husband, retired Resident-Agent-in-Charge Gary W. Clark, Sr. I spent a career in the rural arena, covering every county in South Carolina via my positions within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The main character in my series, Carolina Slade, fights crime, with the aid of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General, a little touted arm of the federal government filled with badge-toting agents just like the FBI.
Can you tell us more about Carolina?
Carolina Slade is smart, sometimes too smart. She’s cocky, sometimes too cocky. She has a white streak in her long dark hair, and what goes against the grain of many mystery writers in the industry, she has two kids. Ivy and Zack provide a three-dimensional side to Slade unseen in other mysteries with female characters. And they can be a hoot!
Slade stumbled into sleuthing by accident then fell in so deep she had to embrace it. Then she learned to love it. Then it became her job. Her love life, well, let’s say she has one, but the kids and solving cases seem to come first, turning into a rub with the man who wants to become her guy. .
In researching for our interview, I was thrilled to discover your book had already won several awards.
Yes, Lowcountry Bribe's opening chapter took first place in the Phillip Mangelsdorf Award, third place in Alabama Writer’s Conclave Competition and honorable mention in The Writing Show Chapter Competition as judged by bestselling mystery author C. J. Box. The chapter also made top three finalist status of the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense sponsored by Romance Writers of America. The novel enjoyed semi-finalist status (top 100 out of 10,000) in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest.
As an award-winning writer, you have been published in The Writer Magazine, Writer’s Digest, Chicken Soup, Next Step Magazine, College Bound Teen, Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA), TURF Magazine, Landscape Management and other trade and online publications. Can you share a marketing tip with us based on your experience?
The most successful marketing tip I can give writers promoting themselves and their work, whether novel, copywriting, plays, etc., is to write articles. That means guest blogs, magazine articles, newsletter pieces. Do you know that one article can reach more people in a weekend than your book could sell in a year? That's serious promotion.
I love guest blogs, no matter how large or small. They are today's word-of-mouth, and so quickly re-delivered via Facebook and Twitter. How hard is it to write 500-700-word pieces? And each article improves your search power on Google, and the viral potential is phenomenal. People find me more through articles on other sites than any other method.
Thank you Hope!
You have until March 15th to win a free copy of Lowcountry Bribe through GoodReads . If you don’t win, be sure to buy your copy through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bell Bridge Books.
Welcome to C. Hope Clark’s other world. Lowcountry Bribe, released in February 2012, is the first book in the Carolina Slade Mystery Series which is set in South Carolina and is certain to captivate you.
C. Hope Clark was born and reared in the South, from Mississippi to South Carolina with a few stints in Alabama and Georgia. The granddaughter of a Mississippi cotton farmer, Hope holds a B.S. in Agriculture with honors from Clemson University. She has 25 years’ experience with the U. S. Department of Agriculture all of which enable her to talk the talk of Carolina Slade, the protagonist in most of her novels.
Welcome to Writers in Business! I understand there is an interesting story behind the concept for your series.
Yes, the concept of the series originated from my many experiences with USDA investigations as well as those of my husband, retired Resident-Agent-in-Charge Gary W. Clark, Sr. I spent a career in the rural arena, covering every county in South Carolina via my positions within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The main character in my series, Carolina Slade, fights crime, with the aid of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General, a little touted arm of the federal government filled with badge-toting agents just like the FBI.
Can you tell us more about Carolina?
Carolina Slade is smart, sometimes too smart. She’s cocky, sometimes too cocky. She has a white streak in her long dark hair, and what goes against the grain of many mystery writers in the industry, she has two kids. Ivy and Zack provide a three-dimensional side to Slade unseen in other mysteries with female characters. And they can be a hoot!
Slade stumbled into sleuthing by accident then fell in so deep she had to embrace it. Then she learned to love it. Then it became her job. Her love life, well, let’s say she has one, but the kids and solving cases seem to come first, turning into a rub with the man who wants to become her guy. .
In researching for our interview, I was thrilled to discover your book had already won several awards.
Yes, Lowcountry Bribe's opening chapter took first place in the Phillip Mangelsdorf Award, third place in Alabama Writer’s Conclave Competition and honorable mention in The Writing Show Chapter Competition as judged by bestselling mystery author C. J. Box. The chapter also made top three finalist status of the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense sponsored by Romance Writers of America. The novel enjoyed semi-finalist status (top 100 out of 10,000) in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest.As an award-winning writer, you have been published in The Writer Magazine, Writer’s Digest, Chicken Soup, Next Step Magazine, College Bound Teen, Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA), TURF Magazine, Landscape Management and other trade and online publications. Can you share a marketing tip with us based on your experience?
The most successful marketing tip I can give writers promoting themselves and their work, whether novel, copywriting, plays, etc., is to write articles. That means guest blogs, magazine articles, newsletter pieces. Do you know that one article can reach more people in a weekend than your book could sell in a year? That's serious promotion.
I love guest blogs, no matter how large or small. They are today's word-of-mouth, and so quickly re-delivered via Facebook and Twitter. How hard is it to write 500-700-word pieces? And each article improves your search power on Google, and the viral potential is phenomenal. People find me more through articles on other sites than any other method.
Thank you Hope!
You have until March 15th to win a free copy of Lowcountry Bribe through GoodReads . If you don’t win, be sure to buy your copy through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bell Bridge Books.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
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.
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.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Laura Vanderkam - All The Money In the World
Laura Vanderkam is the author of 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think (Portfolio, 2010) and Grindhopping: Build a Rewarding Career Without Paying Your Dues (McGraw-Hill, 2007). She is here today to share the news about her newest book, All The Money In The World: What The Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending, which will be released on March 1, 2012.
She is a member of USA Today’s Board of Contributors, writes the “168 Hours” blog for CBS MoneyWatch, and her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, City Journal, Scientific American, Reader’s Digest, Prevention, Fortune.com, and other publications. She has appeared on numerous television programs, including The Today Show and Fox & Friends, hundreds of radio segments, and has spoken about time, money and productivity to audiences ranging from the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association to MTV’s employees to graduating seniors at her high school, the Indiana Academy, who brought her back as their commencement speaker in 2006.
A 2001 graduate of Princeton, Laura enjoys running, writing fiction, and serving as president of the Board of Trustees for The Young New Yorkers’ Chorus, an organization which specializes in commissioning new music from composers under age 35.She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband, two young sons and baby daughter.
Laura, welcome to Writers in Business! Please tell us about your new book.
All The Money In The World: What the Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending demonstrates that we have more money than we think—enough, in fact, to create the lives we’ve always wanted but never thought we could have. It is a practical and inspiring guide that shows how money can buy happiness, if we spend it wisely.
There’s no question that having more money may make our lives easier. But All The Money In The World shows how each of us can figure out better ways to use what we have to build the lives we want. Drawing on the latest happiness research as well as stories from real people who have reached fiscal fulfillment, this new book offers a contrarian approach that forces us to examine our own beliefs, goals, and values.
I found the following quote about your book from Kirkus Reviews insightful. "A key tenet is that our happiness is not based on the accumulation of big-ticket items—diamond engagement rings, super-sized homes and cars—but on the accumulation of everyday pleasures, especially those activities we share with friends and family." This is something many of us struggle with. I understand you are offering a free companion publication.
Yes, The Happiness Handbook is a useful companion guide to All The Money In The World. You can get a free copy on my web site.
Laura, thank you for joining us!
Readers will find a sneak peak from Laura's new book and can sign up for her newsletter by visiting her online.
She is a member of USA Today’s Board of Contributors, writes the “168 Hours” blog for CBS MoneyWatch, and her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, City Journal, Scientific American, Reader’s Digest, Prevention, Fortune.com, and other publications. She has appeared on numerous television programs, including The Today Show and Fox & Friends, hundreds of radio segments, and has spoken about time, money and productivity to audiences ranging from the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association to MTV’s employees to graduating seniors at her high school, the Indiana Academy, who brought her back as their commencement speaker in 2006. A 2001 graduate of Princeton, Laura enjoys running, writing fiction, and serving as president of the Board of Trustees for The Young New Yorkers’ Chorus, an organization which specializes in commissioning new music from composers under age 35.She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband, two young sons and baby daughter.
Laura, welcome to Writers in Business! Please tell us about your new book.
All The Money In The World: What the Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending demonstrates that we have more money than we think—enough, in fact, to create the lives we’ve always wanted but never thought we could have. It is a practical and inspiring guide that shows how money can buy happiness, if we spend it wisely.
There’s no question that having more money may make our lives easier. But All The Money In The World shows how each of us can figure out better ways to use what we have to build the lives we want. Drawing on the latest happiness research as well as stories from real people who have reached fiscal fulfillment, this new book offers a contrarian approach that forces us to examine our own beliefs, goals, and values.
I found the following quote about your book from Kirkus Reviews insightful. "A key tenet is that our happiness is not based on the accumulation of big-ticket items—diamond engagement rings, super-sized homes and cars—but on the accumulation of everyday pleasures, especially those activities we share with friends and family." This is something many of us struggle with. I understand you are offering a free companion publication.
Yes, The Happiness Handbook is a useful companion guide to All The Money In The World. You can get a free copy on my web site.
Laura, thank you for joining us!
Readers will find a sneak peak from Laura's new book and can sign up for her newsletter by visiting her online.
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