Sci-Fi Author Joy V. Smith Shares Writing Tips from The Frugal Editor

Title: The New Book Review
Subtitle: HowtoDoItFrugally Series of books for Writers
Edition: 3^rd Edition
Author: Carolyn Howard-Johhson
Publisher: Modern History Press
Buy on Amazon
Multi award-winner including Reader Views, The Irwin Award
Pages 279

Reviewed by Joy V. Smith 

 From beginning to end, I learned what I needed to know--and there was so much I didn't realize I needed to know--to help me with my writing. She covers editing helps and resources, grammar, punctuation, computer aids, agents' pet peeves and warnings about CAPs, quotation marks, and exclamation points (one of my pet peeves), And a lot more! (heh, heh)

Of course I can't remember everything so I've used a lot of little flags. In checking some out for this review, I came across the cut and paste warning. Btw, that ruined a recent ms I sent out (the paste ended up after the end of my story). And I see there's a copyright shortcut. Don't miss the dialogue warning (cut back on those italics). Ah, there's helpful advice about hyphens and prefixes, etc. And helpful background on Smashwords and Kindle, plus info re: formatting. (I had to hire formatters for them.) I also needed to focus on front and back matter recently. (A little late....)

I wish I could memorize all that essential info, but that's what my little flags are for. (I'm glad we can end a sentence with a preposition.) I'll be rereading it.... Highly recommended because it'll save you from writing and publishing mistakes. (Nah, I'll skip the exclamation point this time.)

Note: I received a review copy from the publisher in return for an unbiased and honest review. 

 

More About the Reviewer

Joy V. Smith has been writing stories since she was a kid and made her own little books. Later she wrote articles--including interviews with editors, artists, and writers--and short stories. The closest she came to writing long stories was writing sequels to her stories. Then she learned about NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. She started writing novels then and finished several over the years; there was a lot of editing to be done; Joy owes a lot to her patient editors. Her books include: Strike Three, Sugar Time, Taboo Tech, Velvet of Swords, Well Met by Water, Detour Trail, Cold New Planet, Pretty Pink Planet, Hot Yellow Planet, Hidebound, and The Doorway and Other Stories. 

 

She also collects books by her favorite authors and pop-up books, and, of course, reference books and books on writing.

"Mermaid" Author Reviews Carolyn Howard-Johnson's Flagship Book

Promotional Shot by Author Leora G. Krygier

 

Title: The Frugal Book Promoter
Subtitle: Do-It-Yourself Editing Secrets
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07X2CCTGL
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Modern History Press; 3rd edition (September 1, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Published as e-book, paperback, paper
Text to speech enabled

 

Reviewed by Lorelei Kay, author or “From Mormonism to Mermaid” originally for Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dynamite Book!

Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2023

Carolyn Howard-Johnson really knows her stuff! And more importantly, she’s willing to share! This includes nearly all things a writer needs to know to promote a new book.

As every writer learns, the writing is only the beginning; then the work of promoting it – to many of us the hardest part – begins. In The Frugal Book Promoter, Carolyn extends a helping, willing hand and offers to share her extensive repertoire of knowledge to get this job done.

Thank you, Carolyn, for this fantastic, helpful book!

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

For fifty years Lorelei lived the life of a devout Mormon woman.

As a child, her mother told her stories of her pioneer ancestors who crossed the plains to find religious freedom. She grew up in Salt Lake City, was baptized in the Tabernacle font on Temple Square, performed baptisms for the dead in the Salt Lake Temple, and also played the world-famous Tabernacle organ. She attended Brigham Young University, was sealed to her husband for time and all eternity in the Los Angeles Temple, and always said yes to the many callings her bishops extended to her.

Her life revolved around Mormonism and its clearly outlined path leading to exaltation. Then life's dilemmas thundered around her as she studied and prayed, and the doctrinal foundation she had built her life on crumbled.

She is a member of the California Writer's Club and a published poet.

She's also named after a mermaid.

More About #TheNewBookReview 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 in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews or to the guideline tab at the top of the home page of this blog. Authors and publishers who do not yet have reviews or want more may use Lois W. Stern's #AuthorsHelpingAuthors service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in the right column of this blog home page (a silver and gold badge and threee silver-gray circles beneath it. Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author and veteran educator, she also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's 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 HowToDoItFrugally http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews. Pre-format the post editor for each new post. Cancel Save Post published

Celebrating the 3rd Edition of The Frugal Editor

The Frugal Editor
Third Edition
Subtitle: Do-It-Yourself Editing Secrets
Author:  Carolyn Howard-Johnson 

Publisher:: Modern History Press
Hard Copy: 9781615996018, $41.95, 296pp

E-book: $8.95

Paperback book: $26.95

Special offer purchase of all four in the HowToDoItFrugal Series on Amazon

Review from Midwest Review may now be seen on Midwest’s Writing/Publishing Shelf  

Reviewed by Jim, Editor in Chief of Midwest Book Review

Synopsis: Whether you are a new or experienced author, this updated and expanded third edition of "The Frugal Editor: Do-It-Yourself Editing Secrets-From Your Query Letters to Final Manuscript to the Marketing of Your New Bestseller" by veteran author, editor and book marketer Carolyn Howard-Johnson will dramatically assist aspiring and experienced authors to present whistle-clean copy from a one-page cover letter to their entire manuscript in ways that will convince those with the power to say "yea" or "nay" to their book.

This third edition of "The Frugal Editor", is part of Carolyn's multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books for writers and has been awarded accolades from Reader Views Literary Award, Dan Poynter's Global Ebook Award, the coveted Irwin Award, and many others. This fully updated edition includes the new help you need from managing gender pronouns to maximizing the usefulness of front and back matter. Altogether, "The Frugal Editor" now provides 50% more information designed for the success of an author's title.

Critique: Speaking as the editor-in-chief of the Midwest Book Review, one of the most common problems that self- published authors exhibit is a lack of much needed editing with respect to the books they present for my review and for sale to libraries and the general public.

While this newly revised and expanded third edition of "The Frugal Editor: Do-It-Yourself Editing Secrets-From Your Query Letters to Final Manuscript to the Marketing of Your New Bestseller" should be considered as mandatory reading for beginners, and even the more experienced authors will benefit substantially from the experience, expertise, wit and hard earned wisdom of writing and publishing expert Carolyn Howard-Johnson.

While also available for personal reading lists in a paperback edition (9781615996001, $26.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.95), "The Frugal Editor" is a seminal and unreservedly recommended addition to professional, community, and academic library Writing/Publishing instructional reference collections and supplemental Writing/Publishing Workshop curriculum studies lists

Editorial Note: Carolyn Howard-Johnson (www.HowToDoItFrugally.com) was the youngest person ever hired as a staff writer for The Salt Lake Tribune where she wrote features for the society page and a column under the name of Debra Paige. That gave her insight into the needs of editors, the very people authors must work with to get free ink and the ones likely to spot unprofessional editing when they see it. Being familiar with the way news is handled helps her see how different books fit into different news cycles.

Later in New York, she was an editorial assistant at Good Housekeeping Magazine. In the Big Apple she also handled accounts for fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert who instituted the first Ten Best Dressed List. There she started writing media releases (then called press releases) for celebrity designers of the day including Pauline Trigere, Rudy Gernreich, and Christian Dior instead of being one of those dreaded gatekeepers of releases who get to say yay or nay.

Carolyn has worked as columnist, reviewer, and staff writer for the Pasadena Star-News, Home Decor Buyer, the Glendale News-Press (an affiliate of the LA Times), and others. She learned marketing skills both in college (University of Utah, and University of Southern California) and as founder and operator of a chain of retail stores. That molded her understanding of how authors might best collaborate with retailers to affect both of their bottom lines. Carolyn's experience in journalism and as a poet and author of fiction and nonfiction helped the multi award-winning author understand how different marketing techniques might be used for each genre.

She was an instructor for UCLA Extension's renowned Writers' Program for nearly a decade and earned an instructor's certificate from that school. She studied writing at Cambridge University, United Kingdom; Herzen University in St. Petersburg, Russia; and Charles University in Prague.

Carolyn turned her knowledge toward helping other writers with her HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Her marketing campaign for the first edition of this book won Reader Views Award, USA Book News Award, and the marketing campaign for it won the Next Generation Indie Award for marketing.

---

 

Deborah Lynn Stanley Reviews The Frugal Editor, 3rd Edition

Title: The Frugal Editor

Edition: Third Edition

Subtitle: Do-it-yourself editing secrets

Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Publisher: Modern History Press

Available on Amazon

ISBN:  9781625996001

 

Reviewed by Deborah Lynn Stanley, originally for Amazon

Today I am sharing the third edition of my favorite self-editing book. Carolyn Howard-Johnson is a consistent source of encouragement for the writer’s journey!

Carolyn’s delivery style, always down to earth and illuminating, is headache prevention. Believe it or not, though I think we have all been surprised, grammar rules change over time and may not apply to fiction. In this third edition she has labored to clear up misconceptions and annoying style choices you may run into from the publishing world.

Carolyn has taken this opportunity to reorganize and add helpful new material for self-editing that may assist us in being better partners for our editors. 

The following additions stand out to me:

* A chapter for word-lovers and poets.
* Quick review of word processors.
* Spotting Scams: A list of dos and don’ts to help avoid publisher and agent scams.
* What to know about custom dictionaries.
* A list of twenty-one of the nation’s best editors tell their pet peeves.
* A lot of grammatically correct things that annoy publishers.
* Help to increase self-editing skills to catch what formatters and editors might miss. 
* Making Word Work for You and the Appendices you’ll love.

The Goal of the book is to equip writers, both aspiring and accomplished, with the best self-editing skills for successful publishing.

I recommend this book. It’s refreshing and empowers the writers' journey.  I was not required to write a positive review, I receive no compensation, and it was my choice to write this review.

Learn More About the Author:

Carolyn Howard-Johnson has published widely—from traditionally to alternatively, from journalism to fiction. She taught for UCLA Extension’s world-renowned Writers' Program for nearly a decade, speaks, and has national TV and radio appearances and commercials to her credit. She was awarded Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment by members of the California Legislature. Her hometown's Character and Ethics Commission honored her for her work on promoting tolerance, and the Pasadena Weekly named her to their list of “San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen” for literary activism.  Learn more about her at: https://howtodoitfrugally.com/ She is a contributing Author for: WOTM  https://www.writersonthemove.com/

  

About the Reviewer            

Deborah Lyn Stanley is an author of Creative Non-Fiction. She writes articles, essays and stories. She is passionate about caring for the mentally impaired through creative arts. 
Visit her My Writer’s Life website at: https://deborahlynwriter.com/   
Visit her caregiver’s website: https://deborahlyncaregiver.com/ 

"Mom & Me: A Story of Dementia and the Power of God’s Love" is available:
https://www.amazon.com/Deborah-Lyn-Stanley/
& https://books2read.com/b/valuestories

Veteran Educator Carolyn Wilhelm Reviews Third Edition of The Frugal Editor

Title: The Frugal Editor

Edition: 3rd edition

Publisher: Modern History Press

ISBN: 9781615996001

Available on Amazon

Pages 279 including Index

Awards: Reader Views, USA Book News, Irwin Award, and more

Reviewed by Carolyn Wilhelm originally for Amazon

Technology changes and changes - a reliable book to keep up with the times. Like the addition of the chapter on making back-matter work harder for authors. Yes, please.

Why is it so difficult to find mistakes in our own writing? Why is editing so difficult? Why do writers need editors - many in fact. It is because writers and authors know what they mean to say. Our brains fill in the missing words and fix errors as we try to edit our own work. It is really difficult to notice our own mistakes. Having taught first grade, I see how children learn to read and write - with plenty of errors. And teachers could not understand children’s writing without filling in mistakes and making sense of it.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson understands the great difficulty of perfect final drafts, and even books published professionally. Using tools like Word in specific ways (but never relying only on Word) she helps writers and editors by giving strategies to catch gremlins and typos. Even library books might have 5% of errors.

I was in a writing group where members would divide and conquer by separating editing tasks. One person reads for understanding, one for punctuation, one for consistency, and so on. But there are tools and tricks to weed out problems before paying professional editors. Carolyn Howard-Johnson knows them all!

Avoid publishing scams, hire help after most of the editing is done, and adapt the included sample query letters to your own style.

Great book to keep on your writing desk ad use as a reference during your writerly life.

More About the Reviewer

Carolyn Wilhelm is a veteran educator with a pile of academic letters behind her name as well as a frequent reviewer for Midwest Book Review, Amazon.com, and others. Find her teaching aids on Pinterest at WiseOwlFactory, many of them free.

More About #TheNewBookReview 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 on her The New Book Review blog. Find guidelines for submitting to that blog and other free services in the tabs at the top of the home page of this blog or go to https://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews. It is open at no charge to 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.

Authors and publishers who do not yet have reviews or want more may use Lois W. Stern's #AuthorsHelpingAuthors service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in a tab at the top of the home page, too. 

 Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's 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

Discussion Questions for U.P. Reader Volume #5 Free PDF Download

Title: U.P. Reader -- Volume #5: Bringing Upper Michigan Literature to the World

Authors: Mikel Classen and Deborah K Frontiera

Publisher: Modern History Press

Publisher Website Address: www.ModernHistoryPress.com

Publisher Email Address: info@ModernHistoryPress.com

ISBN-10: 1615995714

ISBN-13: 978-1615995714

ASIN: B09253976L

Price: $17.95 paperback, $28.95 hardcover, $5.95 Kindle

Page Count: 308 pages

Formats (P.B., H.C., Kindle)

Discussion Questions for U.P. Reader Volume #5 Free PDF Download

Click on this link for your free instant download with the discussion questions. 

This anthology is one of the very best collections I have ever read. It is a satisfying long read including poems, stories, interviews, and writing pieces by young authors. It helps to understand the Yooper culture (Upper Peninsula area of Michigan).  Some of the stories are laugh-out-loud funny. Some stories are so sad you might need a kleenex. It is all highly captivating reading. 

You'll want to grab a pasty and eat some smelt soon after reading. Pasties were the lunch women would make for the miner's on lunch hour as they require only one hand to eat, being like a turnover but with meat and vegetables. Have you ever been smelting? The picture in the book shows a fishing boat, but when the smelt are running a bucket is all that is needed. Run it through the water, easily catch a bunch at once, put the smelt in a container, and get some more. It happens once a year. For some people, it is one of the highlights of the year. 

Lake Superior features prominently in the book which is easily understood as the UP is surrounded by the lake. The UPers refer to the lower Penninsula people as "trolls" as they live under the Mackinac Bridge. This book was written by yoopers, not trolls. Maybe you are one of the fudgies who visit the area for fudge (tourist) -- hey, not a bad idea. 

Discussion Questions

*Note: Only ten stories were selected as I try to keep discussion limited to ten questions. However, book groups will probably have no problem finding much to discuss in all the stories. people will probably want to discuss the interview about a book being made as a movie.

1.        “Your Orbit” by Barbara Bartel – the author is working through writing an obituary and manages to make it humorous. Did you like this writing piece? Could you apprentice yourself to write a similar story? What would you say?

2.       “How to Hunt Fox Squirrels” by Don Bodey -- is another humorous story. What struck you as funny? How do mother squirrels put their children to sleep at night? How does the author suggest a person should go about getting a good squirrel recipe?

3.       “A.S.S. for State Slug” by Larry Buege – is really about what topic? How does Officer Koski end the last protest?

4.       “Matter of Time” by Tricia Carr – seems to be about a senile old woman. Who is scheming against her? How does she get back at the schemers?

5.       “The Lunch Kit” by Deborah K. Frontiera – instead of being snowbirds with their friends in Arizona, a couple begins to care for a child they knew nothing about. How did this happen? How does counseling help? What do they decide to do about schooling?

6.       Pictures throughout the book – which pictures remind you of living in, visiting, or understanding the Upper Peninsula? Have you ever gone smelting? Eaten a pasty? Seen a mine? Watched deer in the woods? What other observations regarding the images would you like to share?

7.        “The Rescue of the L. C. Waldo” by Robert Grede – this story is almost an odyssey as there are so many problems faced by the seaman and those on shore. How did people help? Would telephones have been helpful? Why did some people try to help and not others?

8.       “A Night to Remember” by Charles Hand – have you ever had car trouble on a remote stretch of road? What did the students think was going to happen to them? Gitche Gumee and Big-Sea Waters refer to what? What did you think of the plowing? The resolution? The jailer’s office night policeman forgot to do what?

9.       “Right Judgment” by Tamara Lauder – what did the flowers represent?  

1       “Requiem for Ernie” by Hilton Moore – did you realize people thought polio was catchy? Do you remember anything about the time before polio vaccines? Even now people are being told they maybe had it when they were young. Compare and contrast polio and the coronavirus. 

Carolyn Wilhelm

Wise Owl Factory

More About #TheNewBookReview 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 in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews or to the guideline tab at the top of the home page of this blog. Authors and publishers who do not yet have reviews or want more may use Lois W. Stern's "Authors Helping Authors" service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in a tab at the top of the home page, too. Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author, a veteran educator and also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's 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

Aussie Dr. Bob Rich Reviews Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips

Title: Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers

Subtitle: The Ultimate Frugal reference Guide for Avoiding World Trippers 

and Crafting Gatekeeper-Perfect Copy

Series: HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers

Edition: 2nd

Genre: Nonfiction: Grammar, Writing, Reference 

Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Publisher: Modern History Press

ISBN: 9781615995240

Website: https://howtodoitfrugally.com

Available on Amazon

Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips 

by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

 

Reviewed by Dr. Bob Rich

 

Think of this little book as an amusingly annotated dictionary of samples of likely word confusions. To expand:

It is little (my apologies short; an illegitimate word substitution not in it): less than 60 pages.

It does provide amusing reading, always a benefit of any writing.

Every item involves a brief examination of the meaning of the relevant word, and that’s what a dictionary is. It is annotated, thanks to Carolyn’s amusing commentary.

She has carefully chosen examples from among the tens of thousands of possible ways we can misuse words. Studying her little sample will enable the reader to make the correct choices for a great many more.

You don’t need to pay attention to the distinctions she deals with when writing a shopping list, but I do so even in emails. Her approach is essential in writings such as job applications, project proposals, and of course anything to do with the book trade.

Thoroughly recommended.

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Dr Bob Rich is an Australian storyteller with 16 published books, and one due to join them soon. He has retired five times so far, but he’ll keep one occupation going as long as he is alive: that of professional grandfather. Any person under about 25 years of age qualifies as his grandbaby. They only need to apply.
Many do so by tracking him down and emailing him a cry for help. His words often make a difference, and some of these youngsters have been his friends for years.

He is not so much a writer as a recorder. He invents a character, who then talks to him. He faithfully writes down the story, which usually surprises him. Judged by the reviews his books receive, this process works

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 

Poet LB Sedlacek Reviews New Modern History Press Poetry Book

“Septuagenarian”
Love is What Happens When I Die
By Sherry Quan Lee
102 pages
ISBN: 978-1-61599-568-4
Modern History Press
www.modernhistorypress.com
Copyright 2021

Available on Amazon

Review by LB Sedlacek

Sherry Quan Lee has put together an unsettling yet brilliant juxtaposition of sweet and sad, love and anger that will hit you right at your emotional core.  The collection feels almost like heartfelt portraits of pain, disconnection, and strength all rolled into one.

Her poems, though, delve deeper beyond emotion presenting lines that achieve poignancy with their build-up.  Context is important with any poem and Quan Lee achieves that.  Her poems are fulfilling and real.  

Her approach is straightforward.  Poems examining her life till now offer personal and compelling details.  She invites us to participate in her struggle, her internal voyages throughout the years.  Her descriptions are vivid and they allow us to see beyond the setting into her internal strife.  

Each poem stands alone, but each poem complements the other poem before it.  Same with each section of the book.  The author doesn’t let you forget that she is human and willing to bare her soul within her verses.  

It’s a well-crafted book.  Her words will seep into your heart and then some.

More About the Reviewer

LB Sedlacek is the author of the poetry collections “Words and Bones,” “Simultaneous Submissions,” “The Adventures of Stick People on Cars,” and “The Poet Next Door.”  Her first short story collection came out last year entitled “Four Thieves of Vinegar & Other Short Stories.”  Her mystery novel “The Glass River” was nominated for the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award.  She writes poetry reviews for “The Poetry Market Ezine” www.thepoetrymarket.com  You can find out more about her at www.lbsedlacek.com.  

Her networks are:

Facebook - @lbsedlacekpoet  @poetryinla

Twitter: @lbsedlacek   @frugalpoet

Instagram:  @lbsedlacek    @poetryinla

More About #TheNewBookReview 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 in a tab at the top of this blog's home page or go directly to the submission guidelines at http://bit.ly/ThePlacetoRecycleBookReviews or to the guideline tab at the top of the home page of this blog. Authors and publishers who do not yet have reviews or want more may use Lois W. Stern's "Authors Helping Authors" service for requesting reviews. Find her guidelines in a tab at the top of the home page, too. Carolyn Wilhelm is our IT expert, an award-winning author, a veteran educator and also contributes reviews and posts on other topics related to books. Reviews, interviews, and articles on this blog are indexed by genre, reviewers' names, and review sites so #TheNewBookReview may be used as a resource for most anyone in the publishing industry. As an example, writers will find this blog's 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

Author-Blogger Jacquelyn Lynn Reviews "Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers"

• Title: Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers (Second Edition)
• Subtitle: The Ultimate Frugal Booklet for Avoiding Word Trippers 
•       and Crafting Gatekeeper Perfect Copy
• Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson
• Publisher: Modern History Press
• Pages: 42
• ISBN: 9781615995240
• Available on Amazon in Paperback, Ebook, Hardcover

Reviewed by Jacquelyn Lynn 

This skinny book is fat with great information for all writers—whether writing is your full-time job or a part of your professional responsibilities.

Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers is an addition to Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s earlier book, The Frugal Editor. The core of this little book is a list of what Howard-Johnson calls “Trip-You-Up Words”—those errors that creep into our writing either because we typed them wrong but spellchecker didn’t catch it, or we didn’t know we were making a mistake.

What makes the book a fun read is Howard-Johnson’s style. This isn’t a dry glossary of definitions; it’s a conversation with an editor who genuinely wants your work—whether it’s a novel destined for the bestseller lists or an email to your mom—to be accurate and clear. In addition to explaining what the words that tend to trip us up mean, Howard-Johnson offers practical tips for testing yourself if you’re not sure you’re using the right word.

While the target audience for Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers is writers who are pitching their manuscripts to editors (which explains the mention of gatekeeper in the subtitle), anyone (including self-publishers, staff writers, and anyone who appreciates correct word usage) can use the information in this book. Get a copy for yourself and as a gift for the other writers in your life.

MORE ABOUT Jacquelyn Lynn

Jacquelyn Lynn is an inspirational author, business writer, and ghostwriter whose credits include more than 40 books, 3,000+ magazine articles, ebooks, blogs, white papers, and more. She is also a self-publishing consultant.

Jacquelyn the author of the novel Choices (A Joyful Cup Story) as well as the nonfiction books Words to Work By: 31 devotions for the workplace based on the Book of Proverbs and Finding Joy in the Morning: You can make it through the night.She also wrote The Simple Facts for Self Publishing. With her husband, she is the co-creator of several coloring books for adults.

Writer-Artist Deborah Lyn Stanley Reviews New Little Editing Reference

Title: Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers

Edition: 2nd Edition

Subtitle: The Ultimate Frugal Reference Guide for Avoiding Word Trippers and Crafting Gatekeeper-Perfect Copy

Series: Multi Award-Winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers

Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson

ISBN: 9781615995240

Reference: Nonfiction/Writers, Editing Reference 

Available as paperback, hard copy, and ebook on Amazon, https://amzn.to/2RInuea 

Reviewed by Deborah Lyn Stanley originally for Goodreads

My favorite self-editing book just got better, with its second edition addendum of Great Little Last-Minute Tips. Carolyn Howard-Johnson, a friend and co-contributor to Writer’s On The Move, is a constant source of encouragement for every writer’s journey!

I enjoy Carolyn’s down-to-earth and humorous writing style. It enlightens, is a kick and prevents headaches too.

 

This little book is powerful with pointers from the depth of her knowledge, writing and editing expertise. This is NOT a boring grammar/editing book. Carolyn’s Word Trippers are full of surprises and fun to make us better writers, better communicators, and better at doing the job we set out to do.

 

I highly recommend this book. It’s enlivening, instructive and strengthens our writers' journey.

 

Thank you, Carolyn Howard-Johnson for providing me a review book copy of “Great Little Last-Minute Editing tips for Writers."  I was not required to write a positive review, I receive no compensation, and it was my choice to write this review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.

 

Thank you, Carolyn Howard-Johnson!

Carolyn Howard-Johnson has been promoting her own books and helping clients promote theirs for more than a decade. Her marketing plan for the second book in the HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers, The Frugal Editor, won the Next Generation Millennium Award for Marketing. See my review of The Frugal Editor  here: https://deborahlynwriter.com/2020/05/11/book-review-the-frugal-editor/. Carolyn's just-released third edition of The Frugal Book Promoter published by Modern History Press, is also new, expanded, and updated. Learn more at www.howtodoitfrugally.com. Learn still more at 

 

https://howtodoitfrugally.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Great-Little-Last-Minute-Editing-Writers

http://www.writersonthemove.com/

 

 

More About the Reviewer

Deborah Lyn Stanley is an author and artist. Learn more about her at: 

My Writer’s Life: https://deborahlynwriter.com/

Writing for Caregivers: https://deborahlyncaregiver.com/   

Artist’s Website: https://lynstanleyart.com

 

Midwest Book Review Chief Reviews Second Edition of Editing Tips Book

Title: Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers

Series: HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers
Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Publisher: Modern History Press

Genre: Nonfiction: Business/Writers/Editing/Self-Help
ISBN: 9781615995257, $24.95, HC, 56pp

Available on Amazon

Reviewed by Jim Cox, Editor-in-Chief of Midwest Review

Synopsis: In "Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers: The Ultimate Frugal Reference Guide for Avoiding Word Trippers and Crafting Gatekeeper-Perfect Copy", book publicist, journalist, marketer, editor, and retailer, Carolyn Howard-Johnson picks the trip-you-up words that her clients struggle with and puts them in a quick reference guide light enough and small e
nough to be used as an quickie gift that the recipient can tuck into a glove compartment or purse to keep their homonym skills fresh and explains why following grammar rules assiduously isn't always the best choice for writers.

Critique: An absolute 'must' for aspiring authors seeking publication for their work, and having substantial value for even the more experienced writer, "Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers: The Ultimate Frugal Reference Guide for Avoiding Word Trippers and Crafting Gatekeeper-Perfect Copy" is the ideal DIY instructional guide and 'how to' reference directly addressing the most common failing that authors (especially self-published authors) have -- an insufficient editing of their work.

Thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers: The Ultimate Frugal Reference Guide for Avoiding Word Trippers and Crafting Gatekeeper-Perfect Copy" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Writing/Publishing collections. It should be noted that it is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781450507653, $6.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $2.99).

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Jim Cox is editor-in-chief of Midwest Book Review archives all of the previous issues of his "Jim Cox Report" the Midwest Book Review website at www.midwestbookreview.com/bookbiz/jimcox.htm. If you'd like to receive the "Jim Cox Report" directly (and for free), just send him an email asking to be signed up for it at http://www.midwestbookreview.com. And watch for more reprints of some his author-and-publishing related reviews here on this blog.