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Friday, January 31, 2020

Compulsive Reader Managing Editor Reviews The Frugal Book Promoter

Title: The Frugal Book Promoter
Subtitle: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher
Edition: Three
Awards for all editions: Winner USA Book News, coveted Irwin Award
Award, USA Book News winner, silver medal from Military Writers Society of America, honored by Global Ebook Awards
Publisher: Modern History Press
Publisher’s Website: www.modernhistorypress.com
ISBN: 9781615994687
ASIN: 978161594694
Available in hard cover, print and ebook onAmazon

Reviewed by Magdalena Ball, originally for CompulsiveReader.com






I first read, and reviewed Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s The Frugal Book Promoter in 2011, when the second edition came out. Since then it has been my go-to for ideas on ways to promote my books cheaply – which is, of course, what every author needs these days. It’s a noisy world, and no matter how well-written, or what kind of publisher support you may have, if you don’t promote well, it’s unlikely that your books will attract notice. Few of us have big budgets for promotion, and most of us have a budget close to zero. Creative and effective ideas for book promotion are more than just nice-to-haves, they’re critical, and Howard-Johnson is about as knowledgeable as it gets on the subject. Of course books like this go out of date quickly, so the re-releases are also vital, as they allow for technological and cultural change. 

The 3rd edition came out recently and is right up-to-the-minute, exploring new ways of branding, developing a platform, and getting your work out into the world. Howard-Johnson’s prose remains utterly clear, accessible, and warm–like having a very helpful, clued-up conversation with your best friend–and the book is as inspirational as it is practical.

The latest version of the book contains nearly 300 pages (quite a lot more than the first edition!) of high quality information on every thing from how to promote your work ethically, public relations, creating media releases and a media kit, querying for reviews (and believe me, this is a much needed skill!), making use of radio and other media, using the internet and social media (and how not to use it), including ensuring that you use online bookstores correctly, making the most of reading groups, revitalizing old titles, recycling your work, and so much more. As with the original version, the book comes with a number of handy template, scripts, codes and examples, but these have been updated so that they continue to remain relevant to a modern author. The book is beautifully structured and well indexed, so you can find what you need when you need it fast. Howard-Johnson has created a number of mnemonics to help simplify the overall promotion process:

“The Six-P maxim is the one that makes me a nag. The more organized you are, the more you know early on, the earlier you start to practice promotion and publicity magic, the more good it will do for your book. The more you learn the easier it is. And that leads me to the three most important Ps for marketing books. Platform, Publicity, Public Relations.”


“Good PR, of course, is carefully targeted. But mostly PR is connecting with people in a way that makes them feel cared for, and those connections are made—with love and expertise—over and over again. Those are the essentials and they work. Done this way, great publicity becomes great public relations and vice versa.”

I won’t give away too many of Howard-Johnson’s marvelous tips here, but suffice to say that the book is full of them—many of them inventive, and all of them focusing on credibility and multi-tasking – getting impact for your effort. As the title suggests, most of the ideas here are either inexpensive or free, though not without effort. There are a few chapters which are worth the whole cost of the book. These include, to my mind, chapters on querying and pitching–something I repeatedly see done badly—and the chapter on creating a media kit. I have not seen either of these topics covered in such detail, or with such clarity.  Even seasoned self-promoters will learn new things from these chapters. The reviews section too, is particularly thorough, with plenty of current links and samples. There are also lots of tips about what doesn’t work and where to save your money, your time, your sanity, and how to best manage your all-important networks–for the long run. Put simply, The Frugal Book Promoter is one of the best all-purpose books for developing a promotional plan for your work that won’t break the bank or destroy your relationships. This is a book keeps on providing practical, easy to apply ideas to get your work noticed, and to create a viable, sustainable, ethical platform that will continue to create valuable promotion for authors of all genres.  It’s one of those guides that should be on every author’s bookshelf.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Magdalena Ball is an award-winning novelist, poet, reviewer and interviewer, and is Managing Editor of Compulsive Reader, one of the internet’s most respected and long-running review sites.  She is the author of several novels and poetry books, the most recent of which, High Wire Step, was published in 2018 by Flying Island Books. Find out more about Magdalena at http://www.magdalenaball.com

Compulsive Reader Managing Editor Reviews The Frugal Book Promoter


MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. 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 and love. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page and in a tab at the top of this blog's home page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites so it may be used a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. 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. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Get Free Reviews from Major Reviewers

Most of my visitors on this blog come to get new reading from new perspectives or to research resources for sharing—or getting—honest and credible reviews for their books and I love it when I can give them new ideas apart from my very credible and complete How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically.  

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DEADLINE January 24, 2020
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Open for upcoming releases or new books since October 1
 

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Solve the mystery of getting a book in front of legitimate reviewers. SPAWN has the answers to these questions:

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Praise for New Releases from...SPAWN

"I never expected to receive such an amazing and heartfelt review, and I appreciate it so much." ~ Chuck Redman, author of A Cottonwood Stand

"In January  2019, at age  79, I published my first  novel, a memoir called I Slept In Hitler's Bed. I had no idea if it was marketable. I signed up for SPAWNS New Releases, and received 3 remarkable reviews, the last from Midwest Book Reviews, a 30-year-old organization that reviews for Educational Institutions and Libraries. SPAWN has placed my book out into the universe, and the feedback just as important to me, since it has confirmed that I am a writer." - Jay Balter

"As much as I am a do-it-yourself kind of marketer, one author can only do so much! SPAWN's outreach to reviewers got results--one of the best pay-for-help services I ever used!" ~ Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically 

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DO YOU HAVE A BOOK PLANNED FOR SPRING RELEASE?

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Launched in 2017, the newsletter goes out every quarter to over 2,400 book reviewers, Amazon reviewers, and book bloggers. The reviewer list is pulled from Cision, the premiere online media database company that updates its media lists daily and includes top publications, online and broadcast resources like NPR, daily and weekly newspapers that publish book reviews, and a host of freelancers and bloggers who review books.

Each participating author submits up to 75-word description of the book that starts with a catchy log line such as appears in the New York Times Book Review or online at Kirkus Reviews. Log lines are the concise one-sentence description of the book usually at the top of the review. We want these descriptions to sound professional and grab reviewers.

Quick sentance and a grabber to get them to request the book.

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MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Authors, readers, publishers, and reviewers may republish their favorite reviews of books they want to share with others. 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 and love. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page and in a tab at the top of this blog's home page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites so it may be used a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. 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. #TheFrugalbookPromoter, #CarolynHowardJohnson, #TheNewBookReview, #TheFrugalEditor, #SharingwithWriters, #reading #BookReviews #GreatBkReviews #BookMarketing

Friday, January 17, 2020

Magic Bullets to Getting Book Reviews (Plus Review Hint #Ten For Getting Them)


ANOTHER AUTHORS HELPING AUTHORS MARKETING TIP
Plus HINT #TEN

by TheNewBookReview Acquisition Coordinator, Lois W. Stern

"Reviews are directly linked to book sales on Amazon because that’s what drives their algorithms. The more reviews you have, the more people will see your book. The more people that see your book, the greater the chances are that someone will buy it, and therefore review it. You see where this is going, right? Due to Amazon’s algorithms, if you have less than 10 good reviews, your book will likely never be seen."
Jeniffer Thompson, Personal Branding Expert & Digital Marketing Strategist, San Diego, Ca.

Two things I know for sure: How important it is to get Amazon posted reviews and how hard it is to get them! So here are a couple of ideas I have tried to make it easier for potential reviewers:
http://www.tales2inspire.com


1.  On a time crunch? Aren’t we all! Suggest that potential reviewers read a specific portion of your book to get its flavor. (Maybe 35-50 pages). Honest, you don’t have to read the entire book to get a good feel for it. 

2. Try offering some discussion questions to help target several key points in your book. I have made it super easy for my readers by posting BOOK REVIEW DISCUSSION QUESTIONS at the end of each Tales2Inspire book. (Click here to view the Book Club Discussion Questions I added to the end of my Opal Collection book.)

3. And be sure to offer folks a FREE book in exchange for an honest review. (Ask that they post it within 30 days or they are likely to forget.)

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Appellate Attorney Pens Western Romance, Earns Five Stars


Title: What Heals the Heart
Author: Karen A. Wyle
Author website: http://www.KarenAWyle.com
Genre: historical romance [whether it's Western historical romance depends on people's definition, given the absence of ranches, cattle drives, gunfights, and outlaws, and only a passing reference to cowboys]
ISBN:  978-0998060453 (10-digit version  0998060453) 
ASIN B07VH1Q6C6
Reviewer's rating: five stars

Purchase at Amazon 



Reviewed by Kathryn Blade originally for Amazon


I received a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

What Heals the Heart by Karen A. Wyle is a romance in the years following the Civil War in America. Joshua Gibbs moved to the town of Cowbird Creek after the war. He serves as physician to the residents in the area. He meets Clara Brook. Their attraction is immediate.

Ms. Wyle’s understanding of the time period described in the book is impressive. The world of Cowbird Creek is interesting and well developed. Characters are interesting and develop over time. There are plot twists that keep the reader interested. The love story that develops is endearing and timeless. Another strong point is Ms. Wyle’s style of writing. Reading What Heals the Heart is easy as the writing flows in a relaxed, almost conversational style. My world felt right while reading this book, as if I’d found an old friend and sat for a while to drink coffee and chat about life or love.

I give What Heals the Heart five out of five stars. It is one of the best modern historical romances I have read in recent years. Fans of historical romances will enjoy this book.

Ms. Wyle, if you’re out there reading this, just know I’m a huge fan now.

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER


Kathryn Blade is an indie author and book reviewer. She writes book reviews, poetry, and light romance.  She says, "Check out the recent cool things I've been up to: 
Tons of book reviews posted on Amazon, Goodreads, and Bookbub. 
My interview on the NF Reads website. 
My guest blog post on author Matt Brown's blog. 
Ebooks of my first works are available on Amazon

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen A. Wyle was born a Connecticut Yankee, but eventually settled in Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University. She now considers herself a Hoosier. Wyle's childhood ambition was to be the youngest ever published novelist. While writing her first novel at age 10, she was mortified to learn that some British upstart had beaten her to the goal at age 9.

Wyle is an appellate attorney, photographer, political junkie, and mother of two daughters. Her voice is the product of almost five decades of reading both literary and genre fiction. It is no doubt also influenced, although she hopes not fatally tainted, by her years of law practice. Her personal history has led her to focus on often-intertwined themes of family, communication, the impossibility of controlling events, and the persistence of unfinished business.

what-heals-the-heart-book-review-Karen-Wiley


MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER, THIS BLOG, AND ITS BENEFITS FOR WRITERS

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Of particular interest to readers of this blog is her most recent How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically (http://bit.ly/GreatBkReviews ) that covers 325 jam-packed pages covering everything from Amazon Vine to writing reviews for profit and promotion. Reviewers will have a special interest in the chapter on how to make reviewing pay, either as way to market their own books or as a career path--ethically!

This blog 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.



Note: Participating authors and their publishers may request the social sharing image by Carolyn Wilhelm at no charge.  Please contact the designer at:  cwilhelm (at) thewiseowlfactory (dot) com. Provide the name of the book being reviewed and--if an image or headshot of the author --isn't already part of the badge, include it as an attachment. Wilhelm will send you the badge to use in your own Internet marketing. Give Wilhelm the link to this post, too.