A Holiday Gift from Favorite Publishing Smarties

I love it when my favorite smarties give me permission to reprint the wonderful tips they send to my e-mail box! Valerie Allen (see more about them by scrolling down!), Marshall Frank, and Holly Fox Vellekoop direct several Florida book fairs and I have used their fairs free (so frugal!) and very inexpensive opportunities to display my books--something I rarely do.  In fact, in my multi award-winning The Frugal Book Promoter, I warn authors against displaying a book at a fair without an agent, pr person, or the author herself on the premises to tout it. This article will show you one big reason Valerie and her team have kept me and my author husband coming back year after year!  It is a list of tips they sends to their book fair participants with tips and reminders after the fair and even the promotions they do with their local communities will give you ideas for your own promotions: 

TO: Authors and Book Sellers

RE: Meet the Authors' Book Fair – Nov. 19 & 20, 2016

FROM: Authors for Authors

Valerie Allen ~ Marshall Frank ~ Holly Fox Vellekoop

 Thank you, thank you. Great job at the book fair.
 Lots of good ideas, networking, and marketing goin’ on!

Networking opportunities are one of the best forms of marketing for all authors.
Here are some suggestions to extend your marketing after the book fair:

• Keep in touch with each other via the handout in your folder
• Send follow up email to those with whom you connected
• Join the Space Coast Writers group on FB
• Attend monthly meetings of the Space Coast Writers' Guild SCWG.org
• “Friend” each other on FB, Twitter, GooglePlus, and Linkedin
• “Like” each other's books on Amazon.com
• Go to each other's web page and make a comment
• Offer to read and review each other's books and post it online
• Find out if anyone wants to do a book trade and give it as a holiday gift
• Join a writers' group
• Attend a writers' workshop, conference, book signing, book launch etc.
• Read books by local authors, post a review online, recommend their books to others
• Request a book by a local author from the library – they will buy a copy if they don't have one
• Attend local author's presentations by the Brevard Authors' Society
• Watch for Local Author Displays in our libraries and join in

Books in the Display Only Option have been processed. Those who wanted their book returned should have them soon, as the books are being mailed within the week. Books donated by the author will be used as door prizes, gift baskets, or in the Kids Who Read Succeed projects.

There are many writers’ groups available to keep you energized, so be sure to join one.

We want to thank the Space Coast Writer’s Guild, the League of American PEN Women, Cape Canaveral Branch, and Florida Book News for representation at the book fair. We hope you took advantage of meeting these folks. A special Thank You! To Robbie Cox for helping us get up and out there on FB.

FloridaBookNews.com is hosted by Lou@LouBelcher.com. Lou Belcher is an artist and author, and a long time supporter of Florida writers. She will post your news and events. You can also take advantage of advertising your web page with a click button on her site. Contact Lou for more details.

SharingWithWriters.BlogSpot.com is an award winning site for authors written by Carolyn Howard-Johnson. She also has a site to post your book reviews. Contact Carolyn at

HoJoNews@aol.com

Authors for Authors has been working with the Brevard County Libraries to set up FREE Local Author Book Displays each month. Watch for these notices and join in to further promote your book(s).

Authors for Authors will sponsor the Brevard Authors' Book Fair in 2017.

I hear you - yes, yes, yes—we will send you an email reminder and registration form.

Keep checking online at AuthorsForAuthors.com for updates.

Authors for Authors is asking for your ideas and suggestions to make these events more beneficial to writers, readers, and visitors. Your promotion of these events is always appreciated. We thank you for all the emails and feedback we have received. We love all the pics and posts online at Twitter, FB, and Google+. What else can we do to meet your needs to better market and sell your books? We want to hear from each of you about your experience at the book fair. Let’s work together to make things better.

Looking forward to seeing each of you again at the Brevard Authors Book Fair in 2017

Thank you from Authors for Authors

AuthorsForAuthors.com

~ Valerie Allen VAllenWriter@cs.com

~ Marshall Frank MLF283@aol.com

Holly Fox Vellekoop

--

MORE ABOUT THE BLOGGER


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.

Romantic Science Fiction from Christine Talley

The Girl in the Bird:
Subtitle: Romance and Alien Power in the Current Middle AgesAuthor: Christine TalleyAuthor's website: http://talleychristine.wix.com/christinemtalley Genre: Fiction: romance/science fictionCopyright: 2015ISBN: 1523496673
Available on Amazon

Extracted from Sandra Woodruff's 5-star review on Amazon

"Great Read! 
"I really enjoyed the whole story line with the weaving of romance, science fiction, the SCA [Society for Creative Anachronism], and Pennsic war. . . .  I am very much looking forward to her next book! . . .  I really hated to have it end."

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.

The Liberty Zone Reviews "A Novel of the Near Future"

Title: Who
Subtitle: A Novel of the Near Future. 

ASIN: B01N9ETD3H

ISBNL 978-0-9980604-0-8ISBN: 978-0990564195

Purchase with global link for Amazon's Kindle editions: http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B01N9ETD3H. Author's Web site: http://www.karenawyle.com

Five stars at Amazon

Reviewed by Nicki Kenyon" originally for her blog The Liberty Zone

I always get nervous when I get a request to review a novel. My usual MO is to read a book, and review it if I like it, so that others can get the same pleasure out of the novel as I did.

When it’s in reverse, and someone asks me to read a specific book and review it, my neuroses kick in. What if I hate it? What if the author is someone I like? What if it’s a friend or a family member, and I have to do a negative review, because the work sucks? What if it’s boring? What if it’s badly written? What if…

When Karen A. Wyle sent me a blurb about her new book “Who,” and asked if I would review it, I was intrigued by the description.

Death is no longer the end. Those who prepare, and can afford it, may have their memories and personalities digitally preserved. The digitally stored population can interact with the world of the living, remaining part of their loved ones’ lives. They can even vote.

But digital information has its vulnerabilities.

After the young and vital Thea dies and is stored, her devoted husband Max starts to wonder about changes in her preoccupations and politics. Are they simply the result of the new company she keeps? Or has she been altered without her knowledge and against her will?

But I was nervous at the same time, for the very reasons I described above. What if I hated it?

I needn’t have worried. I couldn’t put the book down. It was intelligently written, engrossing, and not at all what I expected.

I’m a fan of novels that explore what happens after we die. I’ve written at least one short story on the subject – something way too dark and depressing to share with readers right now.

One of my favorite episodes of the series “Black Mirror” involves a woman who loses her husband, who is subsequently “resurrected” by a service through the use of his extensive social media presence.  He is not real, and he is not meant to be. He’s merely an echo digitally created for her to communicate with – an echo she uses to keep the memory of her husband alive in the virtual world. Eventually, the service provides a body using synthetic flesh that is almost identical to her deceased husband. The robot isn’t real. It cannot be. He’s a digital echo comprised of all the information he stored about himself online.

In “Westworld” – one of my current favorite television series – the idea of androids gaining consciousness of the world around them is explored.

In the movie “AI: Artificial Intelligence” the story of Pinocchio is retold through robots who are capable of experiencing emotions and learning to be human.

The ideas in “Who” are not new, but Karen delves deeper into those ideas and explores what can happen when power-hungry humans get a hold of technology that can store human consciousness in digital form. At the same time she explores the digitized “humans” themselves and probes the idea of the human being – his essence, his conscience, and what makes the human being… well… human.

The bright side: Loved ones can continue to interact and be together in every form but the physical after the corporeal body has died.

The bad news: Like any technology, it can and will be abused for those seeking power and profit.

The “stored” dead people live in a digital world. Their consciousnesses downloaded – recorded and digitally preserved. They can interact with their loved ones and with one another. They can continue to create, work, and enjoy hobbies in their digital existence. They can get politically involved and eventually gain the right to vote.

Just imagine how this technology can be abused by power-hungry entities – both corporate and political!

Information stored is information that can be altered.

Personalities stored can be altered – changed to hold political views convenient to those in control – without the knowledge or consent of those to whom these personality traits ostensibly belong.

Can you imagine what an unscrupulous corporation – or politician – can do with that kind of power?

Could they create an army of voters who would form a solid voting block to push legislation through? Would the “stored” – altered to vote in a particular manner – eventually outnumber living voters and usher in a new era of government control and power, as designed by those who seek it?

And what about individual rights? Do the “stored” still have them, even though they’re digital entities “living” inside someone’s servers?

Are they human? What makes them human? What kind of protections do they enjoy under the Constitution?

These are all complex themes.

Karen is an attorney, and she obviously understands the law so well, that she is able to apply it to the characters she created and weave a tense courtroom drama that explores these issues – humanity, civil rights, digital technology, consciousness, conscience, and individuality.

She makes the legal dilemmas entwined in these very real issues readable and interesting without spewing lawyerese or preaching to the reader about right and wrong.

She simply tells a story, and she tells it well.

I’ve read plenty of authors who do nothing more than produce a thinly-veiled vehicle for their political views, with cardboard characters and a crappy plot. They lecture the reader endlessly about political ideals, and produce so much badly written dreck that does little more than allow them to vent in written form.

Karen A. Wyle does none of that. She seamlessly creates a complex world in the near future that is fraught with intricate and elaborate moral dilemmas and uses her knowledge of the law to weave an intelligent, suspenseful, and engrossing story!

It’s the holiday season, so grab and enjoy! This one’s a keeper!

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen A. Wyle

http://www.karenawyle.com/ 

http://www.facebook.com/KarenAWyle 

https://twitter.com/KarenAWyle 

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. 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.

Holiday Gift: Imperfect Echoes Supports Amnesty International

Imperfect Echoes
Subtitle: Writing Truth and Justice with Capital Letters, lie and oppression with Small
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Cover and Internal Art by Richard Conway Jackson
Genre: Poetry 
ISBN: 9781515232490
Available on Amazon as e-book or paper
Finalist USA Book News
All Proceeds Support Amnesty International

Holiday Gift for the Thoughtful Person on Your List

REVIEWED BY MARLAN WARREN, originally for Midwest Book Review

Narcissus knows her reflection

well. She forgets to peer

under burkas, in our jails,

in the beds of the abused,

deeper, deeper into the pond...

From Narcissus Revisited a poem

in Imperfect Echoes.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s “Imperfect Echoes: Writing Truth and Justice with Capital Letters, lie and oppression with Small” is just perfect. This Los Angeles award-winning poet lays out the landscape of her contemplative thoughts, feelings and reactions with such honesty and deceptive simplicity that they have the effect of offering a peek into her private journals. What puts this poetry on par with leaping tall buildings is the fact that each poem manages the feat of conveying personal and universal relevance at once.

 Do not be scared off by the prospect of political rhetoric masquerading as literature; this is not one of those books. Although the book's subtitle may strike some as rather lofty, it is a quote from Czeslaw Milosz's poem, “Incantation,” in his anthology, “The Captive Mind,” which reflects Howard-Johnson's poetic themes. She has divided her prolific poems into a Prologue plus four sections: “Remembering What We Must”; “Nations: Tranquil Self-Destruction”; “Acceptance: Waiting for the Gift”; and “Future Stones of Distrust.”

 Howard-Johnson deftly blends the "Truth and Justice" observations with the "Small" moments of "lie(s)" and "oppression" as they intersperse through her poet's journey. The poems in “Remembering What We Must” address the stark realities of war and global misery, which Howard-Johnson treats with her practiced light touch that floats like the proverbial butterfly and stings like an outraged bee. 

In “Belgium's War Fields,” she compares the reasons for bygone wars to our present day confusion: “And now a war that takes from the mouths /and hearts of the stranded, the homeless. / How different from those who / marched with snares or flew flags / in a war when we knew / why we were there.”

 In the “Nations: Tranquil Self-Destruction” section, “The Story of My Missed Connection in Minneola” brings to life a brief rest stop during a road trip, which seems rather amusing at first as the wife relieves her bladder and the husband declines the coffee with “Let's skip it. Coffee's / probably been stewing for days...” but hits an unexpected bump of overt bigotry when the roadside store owner confides in them (in between the screeches of his pet parrot) that he left Los Angeles to get away from the “ragheads.”

 In the “Acceptance: Waiting for the Gift” section, “Relatives” takes on the ways in which "Small" minds can make a family dinner feel like a stint in Purgatory: “Perhaps you won't invite me back / if I mention that infamous / uncle. You know, the one who killed / three of his wives / but is candid / about who he is, / how many he's killed, / the methods he used / and never gets invited to dinner.

In the “Future Stones of Distrust” section, “Rosa Parks Memorialized” opens with “On the day our September losses / reached 2,000, a tribute / to Rosa...” and asks “If she were alive now.../ would her solo / be enough or do we need now a choir singing, / thousands screaming...?”

 Imperfect Echoes allows readers to witness a poet's lifetime revisited in memory and with fresh wisdom. If the topics of oppression, prejudice and war seem to some "overdone," Howard-Johnson responds in her Prologue poem, “Apologies from a Magpie”:

 Magpies are born to sing others' songs

stained notes, imperfect echoes—

until the world begins to know

them by heart.

 Note: Proceeds from the sales will be donated to the non-profit human rights watchdog, Amnesty International. 

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Marlan Warren is an L.A. journalist, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, blogger, and publicist with Roadmap Communications[http://tinyurl.com/RoadmapCommunications] and Book Publicity by Marlan [http://BookPublicitybyMarlan.blogspot.com]. She reviews for the Midwest Book Review [http://www.midwestbookreview.com/rbw/nov_15.htm], and her blogs include “Roadmap Girl’s Book Buzz” [http://roadmapgirlsbookbuzz.blogspot.com] and “L.A. Now & Then [http://losangelesnowthen.blogspot.com].” Her press releases are published in Broadway World Book News and the BBC Record. She is the author of the novel, “Roadmaps for the Sexually Challenged: All’s Not Fair in Love or War” [http://tinyurl.com/qj92dhr] and the producer/writer of the acclaimed documentary, “Reunion” [http://www.directing.com]. Marlan is currently producing/directing her documentary “What Did You Do in the War, Mama?: Kochiyama’s Crusaders ” based on her play “Bits of Paradise” [http://sites.google.com/site/bitsofparadisethemovie/home].

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.

Debra Eckerling Shares Blog and Goal Setting Expertise

TITLE: Write On Blogging
SUBTITLE: 51 Tips to Create, Write & Promote Your Blog 

AUTHOR: Debra Eckerling

AISN: B01MSP9HTN 

LINK: http://bitly.com/WriteOnBlogging

GENRE: Non-Fiction: 

CATEGORY: Blogging & Blogs and Writing Skills

All an author has to say to me is “tips” and I’m sold. They make easy reading and I nearly always find something among them that is new to me.

Debra Eckerling’s new book, Write On Blogging,does that for me, but it does a whole lot more. It’s a short book, but it’s complete—a whole lot more than tips. 

I like that Eckerling doesn’t assume an author knows anything about blogging. She takes her tutorial from the needs of fresh (and scared!) beginnings like opening a blog to developing blogging skills that even a veteran will appreciated. 

She also keeps a blogger on track with practical advice like “You want to develop a long and lasting relationship with your blog, and also open the lines of communication with your readers” found in Chapter Eight titled “Stay on Track.” 

She also brings the same goal-making skills she offers her clients to this slender book—things like scheduling, priorities, commitment.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who blogs. It will either put bloggers on track or help keep them there. 

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

You will find Debra Eckerling:

On LinkedIn
On Facebook
On Twitter
On Pinterest
On  Instagram
On YouTube.com
Via Email
On WriteOnOnline.com

Listen, watch, or read show notes from Write On Online’s Guided Goals Podcast. Sign up for her Write On Online Newsletter

MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER

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. How To Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically is the newest book in her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers.

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. 

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. 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.

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.