Jim Cox Features "Great First Impression Book Proposal" on his Library Bookwatch

The Great First Impression Book Proposal

Subtitle: Everything You Need to Know About Selling Your Book to an Agent or Publisher in Thirty Minutes or Less

Second Edition

Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Publisher: Modern History Press

Author website: https://www.howtodoitfrugally.com/index.htm

ISBN: 9781615994816

$8.95, PB, 54pp,

Purchase on Amazon

Reviewed by Jim Cox for Library Bookwatch

This review  will also appear in the Cengage Learning, Gale interactive CD-ROM series "Book Review Index" which is published four times yearly for academic, corporate, and public library systems.

Synopsis: Carolyn Howard-Johnson, has been a UCLA Extension Writers' Program instructor for nearly a decade. In "The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need to Know About Selling Your Book to an Agent or Publisher in Thirty Minutes or Less" she draws upon her decades of experience and expertise to helps authors successfully execute the task they most love to hate -- writing a book proposal. In this 54 page booklet Carolyn has taken the guessing out of the book proposal process with a thoroughly 'user friendly' and effective step-by-step instructional guide and manual.

Critique: The creation of an effective book proposal cannot be overemphasized as a basic skill set for all aspiring authors seeking publication of their work -- and Carolyn Howard-Johnson is a time-tested expert on the subject. Every aspiring (and even seasoned) author needs to obtain and carefully read "The Great First Impression Book Proposal" -- and every Creative Writing class should list "The Great First Impression Book Proposal" on their supplemental studies reading lists. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Great First Impression Book Proposal" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $2.99) and a hard copy.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

James A. Cox is  Editor-in-Chief of Midwest Book Review and Library Bookwatch. Learn more about the resources he provides for writers at www.midwestbookreview.com.  Read more reviews like this one on his Writing/Publishing Shelf on that website. 

#bookpromotion #writing #writingcareers #traditionalpublishing #gettingagents

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

Midwest Book Review Gives Nod to “Iconoclastic” Book

Title: Damn the Novel

Author: Amr Muneer Dahab
Publisher: AuthorHouse
1663 Liberty Drive, Suite 200, Bloomington, IN 47403-5161
www.authorhouse.com
ISBN: 9781546271307 

$23.99, Hard Cover, 160pp

Available on Amazon

Reviewed by Jim Cox originally for Midwest Book Review

In "Damn the Novel: when a Privileged Genre Prevails Over All Forms of Creative Writing" Dahab proposes that it is time to extend our reading arena outside the novel and narrative fiction.

As Dahab notes, life is profound and gorgeous; it deserves to be experienced beyond fantasy! So in "Damn the Novel" he asserts an overt condemnation of all forms of privilege granted to a literary genre over other writing genres.

Though "Damn the Novel" could be perceived as a vociferous cry against the novel per se, it is actually an objective view against the process of perpetuating the delusion that the novel specifically, and narrative fiction in general, should inevitably be the most dominating and influential literary trend.

GAmrcDahab,

"Damn the Novel" offers an exciting and challenging reading experience, through which the reader will be able to realize that it is time for literature to embrace a fresh literary atmosphere in which all genres are granted equality to get the same chance to flourish in total freedom without any literary sponsorship.

Critique: An iconoclastic, thoughtful and thought-provoking read from first page to last, "Damn the Novel: when a Privileged Genre Prevails Over All Forms of Creative Writing" is an extraordinary and inherently fascinating literary argument and one that will be of particular interest to writers and readers in general, as well as everyone and anyone who has ever wanted to write 'The Great American Novel' in particular. While very highly recommended for community, college, and university library Contemporary Literary Studies, as well as Writing/Publishing collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Damn the Novel" is also available in a paperback edition (9781546271321, $13.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $3.99).

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.

Mindy Lawrence Reviews How-To for Self-Guided Journaling

Title: Journal Your Way to Creativity: A Self-Guided Journal

Author: Jen Nipps

Paperback: 106 pages

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (March 25, 2018)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1986126889

ISBN-13: 978-1986126885

Reviewed by Mindy Phillips Lawrence

Author Jenn Nipps sent me a copy of her new e-book, Journal Your Way to Creativity: A Self-Guided Journal. I’d chatted with her and asked permission to review it since its title resonated with me, the subject matter close to my heart.

At first, this book seems simple, that is until you begin working with the prompts. Nipps’ introduction discusses how important creativity is and what it is and isn’t. Then ninety prompts pull you in and draw out your thoughts and insecurities. They lead you on a 90-day excursion into the blocks you have and direct you to discover ways to unblock them. Instead of telling you what to do in order to accept your creative life, this book leads you to discover the answers for yourself. 

The first prompt says, “Give your inner critic free reign for five minutes. Write everything it says. Then put it in jail. Put its words in an envelope and seal it. Don’t open it for at least a month or, preferably, after the end of this journal. Then see how you feel about what it said.” You reveal the weaknesses holding you back then you incarcerate them. Nipps asks you to be honest with yourself. Open the mental drawers and closets that hold the junk that keeps you from being free. 

Nipps includes a helpful list of books by other authors in the resource section that will give you more help in opening your creative life. She also lists her other works.

This book is as helpful as you allow it to be. You can add to the area in the printed version and say more. You can make your own file for the electronic version. Either way, if you allow the prompts to direct you and are honest with your answers, this book can greatly expand your creative life. 

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Mindy Phillips Lawrence is a writer and artist from Springfield, Missouri. She is the author of two chapbooks of poetry, co-author of The Complete Writer, and has been published in Writers’ Digest Magazine. Her reviews also sometimes appear on Amazon.com and Midwest Book Review. She is also a columnist for #CarolynHowardJohnson 's SharingwithWriters newsletter, http://HowToDoItFrugally.com and will soon publish a compendium of those columns.  

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG AND GETTING REVIEWS

 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 everithing 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.

Goodreads Author Lauds Book about Law and Lawyers

Ms. Marin gave the book 5 of 5 stars on Goodreads.

Title: Closest to the Fire

Subtitle: A Writer's Guide to Law and Lawyers

Author: Karen A. Wyle

ISBN for paperback: 978-0-9905641-4-0

ISBN for non-Amazon ebooks: 978-0-9905641-5-7

Published by Oblique Angles Press

Available on Amazon (US)  as an e-book 

Available as paperback on Amazon US

The books' Web site: http://www.cttf.karenawyle.net

Cover designer: Elizabeth DiPalma Design Plus 

The cover won The Book Designer's, aka Joel Friedlander's,  nonfiction ebook cover award for October 2015

Reviewed by Ms. Marin originally for Goodreads.

Five of five stars

As a writer, I thought this book would be useful in the event I delve into the legal sphere for a screenplay. As an individual who’s had some experience with the legal system, I thought it could provide some insight on the legal process in general. I have to say Karen Wyle did not disappoint on either count.

Any writer wishing to take on the legal system first needs to understand the who, what, where, why and how of the subject. Ms. Wyle has successfully provided that information in her book “Closest to the Fire” which is a massive undertaking. Just check out the table of contents.

While this book is a guide and the author encourages readers not to just go from A to Z, I decided to read the first four chapters straight through to get the feel for her style. Thereafter, I poked around at different chapters that caught my attention.

The author clearly explains numerous aspects of the law, civil and criminal, and the people associated with it and in so doing, offers up possible scenarios a writer may choose to incorporate into a story. In fact, just about everything in the book, if you look closely enough, will provide clues for a novel or film script. But the author specifically points out possibilities with her use of asterisks for plot points. The author also peppers her work with references to films with legal plots.

You’ll read historical references and explanations of how some laws changed and why. You’ll learn the distinctions of criminal acts surrounding rape, robbery and theft, perjury, various threats and so forth. All written in an easy to understand fashion.

The one thing made abundantly clear at the outset and at the end is that this book is to be used as a writers’ guide and readers should not rely upon it for legal advice. That being said, I found the book very useful in understanding aspects of the law and, if writing a scene or screenplay involving the legal system, this would definitely be a resource I would use. Well done, Ms. Wyle.

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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.

Frugal Editor Updates to Include Little-Known Ampersand Guidelines

The Frugal Editor
Subtitle: Do it yourself editing secrets for authors: From your query letter to final manuscript to the marketing of your new bestseller

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Genre: Nonfiction: Writers/Editing/Writing

Available as e-book at http://bit.ly/FrugalEditorKind  

Second Edition Gets Spit and Polish

 

Digital Books Make New Edits of Even a Book on Editing Possible

 

Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s newest book is a second edition of the multi award-winning The Frugal Editor: Do-it-yourself editing secrets for authors: From your query letter to final manuscript to the marketing of your new bestseller. And now it’s sporting new formatting and even a few additions all because of the magic of e-books.

 

The author of the HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers was inspired a poem one of her clients sent her for editing. The author had used the lovely-to-look at ampersand everywhere she need to use an and. That, of course, could be a style choice, but not all style choices are good choices. Poetry should be trimmed of excess words, but this choice only shortened conjunctions that could have just been red-penciled out. The poet said she had made the choice because ampersands are so pretty. Yes, they are. So pretty and so rarely used that the reader could become distracted from the poem’s intent and the imagery. Carolyn’s editing instinct has always demanded that trickery with font, formatting, strained metaphors and the like should be avoided. She can only hope her client took her advice.

 

But the incident made the author realize that most writers don’t understand when ampersands can and should be used. So, it was back to the recent edition to make additions—thanks to the ease of fixing books published digitally these days.

 

The first edition of The Frugal Editor published in 2007 was winner of USA Book News’ pick for Best Professional Book, a Reader Views winner, and received nods from the Next Generation awards and the Military Writers Society of America, but the new version is Expanded (more than 100 pages)! Updated! And Reformatted. It also has a a new subtitle, a new cover by Chaz DeSimone with a new three-dimensional look by Gene Cartwright. And this e-book version was honored again by Dan Poynter’s Global Ebook Awards and the Next Generation Indie Awards.

The second edition covers new editing tricks the author has come to appreciate since the first was published, including how to spot the overuse of helping verbs when simple past tense would work just as well; a reminder that politically correct usage isn’t always what a writer should strive for (consider some of the language used in the award-winning movie Twelve Years A Slave); and more on style choices vs. grammar rules and how to make those choices. She says, “I'd be embarrassed if I had to say I hadn't learned anything more I could share with my readers in seven years since the first edition was published.”

 The Frugal Editor received plaudits from industry shakers like Marilyn Ross, founder of Small Publishers or North America; Tim Bete, director of Dayton University’s Erma Bombeck Writers’ Conference, and respected industry editors like Barbara McNichol.  

 

Howard-Johnson, an instructor for nearly a decade at UCLA Extension’s Writers’ Program, chose to release this new edition for e-books with Amazon’s Kindle because their free app allows readers to access it for many platforms and the lower price of digital publishing gives her struggling students and clients an affordable choice. It will soon be available for print, too.

 

Whichever format a reader chooses, The Frugal Editor battles the gremlins out there who are determined to keep an author’s work from being published or promoted. Resolved to embarrass authors before the gatekeepers who can turn the key of success for them—these gremlins lurk in a writer’s subconscious and the depths of computer programs. Whether a new or experienced author, The Frugal Editor helps writers present whistle-clean copy (from a one-page cover letter to your entire manuscript) to those who have the power to say “yea” or “nay.”

The author is the recipient of the California Legislature’s Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment Award, her community’s Character and Ethics award for her work promoting tolerance with her writing, and its Diamond Award for her work with arts and culture. She was also named to Pasadena Weekly’s list of 14 women of “San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen.” She has worked for Good Housekeeping Magazine and as a journalist for several newspapers and has been a popular presenter at writers’ conferences nationwide like the one at San Diego State University and the Sinclair Lewis Writers’ Conference. She is also a novelist and poet, which informs the advice she gives to authors of those genres.

 

Learn more about Howard-Johnson and her HowToDoItFrugally series of books at http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com.

 

The e-book is available at http://bit.ly/FrugalEditorKind.

 

# # # #

Cover image and media kit available on request at HoJoNews@aol.com.

 

“Absolutely essential for beginning writers and a necessary reminder for the more advanced.  The mentor you've been looking for.  This book won't collect dust!”~Christina Francine, review for Fjords Review


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 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.