Award-Winning Author Advocate Gets Five Stars from Vine Reviewer

How to Get Great Book Review Frugally and Ethically
Subtitle: The ins and outs of using free reviews to build and sustain a writing career
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Author's Web site: http://HowToDoItFrugally.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/carolynhowardjohnson
Series: The multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers
Genre: Nonfiction: How-To/Writing/Marketing
Pages: 340
ISBN? 978-1-5369-4837
Available as paper and e-book on Amazon
Five-Star Review

Reviewed by Joy V. Smith, a Vine reviewer for Amazon

It's hard to do justice to this book because it covers so much territory. I've been reviewing, promoting, and marketing for a long time, but I learned a lot more in this book; and even as I was reading it, I used the Tweet, etc. icons function on my Amazon buy page, per her suggestion. Thank you, Carolyn!

She tells you how to use endorsements and blurbs--and blurb excerpts--in promotion--and how long an excerpt should be (fair use) and how to use ellipses in these excerpts. (I knew that about ellipses, but not everyone does.) I appreciated the Amazon info about the excerpt length she shared.

Re: Networking: I've written blurbs for books and acknowledgments and received acknowledgments; she gives tips about that and more; and she addresses the importance of exposure and frequency. "This is a process, not a project."

I also learned more about Amazon Prime and may use it. Oh, and that "As seen in ..." tip is another one I can use right now. I'll be rereading it again. And I learned more about reusing your Amazon review.

So much into, including the Ten-Best Lists tip. (One of my books was listed on MyShelf.com; I'd forgotten that!) Oh, oh. I haven't kept track of my book reviews. I could have had a notebook for that!

The Questions and Answers section is very helpful; and then there are the Appendices:

"... Each publishing occasion that calls for a query...is different. Ditto for each circumstance that requires a media release. Thus, the samples (templates?) in my appendices are merely suggestions. ..."

I've only scratched the surface! This is a must-read book for writers; I know I have to read it again. I wish I had a print copy 'cause it'd be full of flags! Highly recommended.

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Joy V. Smith has been writing stories since she was a kid. Her stories and articles have been published in print magazines, webzines, anthologies, and two audiobooks. Her books include Detour Trail, Strike Three, Sugar Time, and The Doorway and Other Stories. She is also an Amazon Vine reviewer.

You can find out more at her Web site: http://www.joyvsmith.com/ and her writing blog: http://pagadan.wordpress.com/

MORE ABOUT THE NEW BOOK REVIEW

The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carolyn Howard-Johnson brings her experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer, and retailer to the advice she gives in her HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers and the many classes she taught for nearly a decade as instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program. The books in her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers have won multiple awards. That series includes both the first and second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor won awards from USA Book News, Readers’ Views Literary Award, the marketing award from Next Generation Indie Books and others including the coveted Irwin award. Her next book in the HowToDoItFrugally series for writers will be How To Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically.

Howard-Johnson is the recipient of the California Legislature’s Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment Award, and her community’s Character and Ethics award for her work promoting tolerance with her writing. She was also named to Pasadena Weekly’s list of “Fourteen San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen” and was given her community’s Diamond Award for Achievement in the Arts. 

                 

The author loves to travel. She has visited eighty-nine countries and has studied writing at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom; Herzen University in St. Petersburg, Russia; and Charles University, Prague. She admits to carrying a pen and journal wherever she goes. Her Web site is www.howtodoitfrugally.com. She tweets under @FrugalBookPromo and tries to like or retweet everytime an author includes her moniker in the author-related tweets.