The Authors Den

Winning Authors, 1st, 2nd & 3rd Places

Tonight at 7PM December 31st, 2010 my daughter of 6 years old reached into a hat with her eye's closed and picked three winners, 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. However, before I get to the names of the winners I want to thank each and every author / writer who entered the drawing.

For those of you who didn't win, we will be having additional drawings in 2011 and as long as you are a blog author or follower here at The Authors Page, you are automatically entered.

Congratulations, Happy New Year and come Monday January 3rd, 2011 we will start on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners book marketing.

Now for the winners ...

1st place - Lorilyn Roberts (llroberts)
2nd place - Jennie Marsland
3rd place - Sharon

Blessings and once again Happy New Year ...
Smitty
Christian Book Marketing

Are you giving New Years gifts this year? Why not give the gift of success this year? Frugal and Focused Tweeting is for anyone in business, especially anyone who has been ignoring Twitter.

Here is a review from reviewing guru Mayra Calvani, author of the Slippery Art of Book Reviewing.

Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers isn’t only for retailers. I requested a review copy because, as an author, I’m always on the lookout for new ways to promote and market my books. I have to say, I was not disappointed with Howard-Johnson’s book.

In an engaging style and simple, straightforward language, the author explains what Twitter is all about, and how to use it effectively in a marketing campaign. There are hundreds of Twitter applications out there, and the whole thing can get pretty confusing, especially for a beginner, so what is most helpful about this book is that the author separates the essential ones from the ones that should be avoided.

From the basics of how to set up an account, to how to integrate Twitter into your other social media, to building your list of followers, to attracting new followers, to much, much more, Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers will take your Twitter marketing efforts to the next stage.

The book also includes sample Tweets and critiques, a list of applications (those that work and those that should be avoided), as well as a glossary of important technical Twitter terms.

I would recommend this book to authors who are new to Twitter, and also to those authors who, like myself, are familiar with the basics but would like to take their tweeting to a higher, more focused and effective level. If you don’t quite ‘get’ what Twitter is all about, your doubts will be clarified after reading this little crash course on the art of tweeting.

Dear Christian Authors,

Would free marketing on 25 separate sites help you to promote your book? Would that free marketing help you to increases your online presence, possibly page ranking and placement on the major search engines? What if the marketing was for one full year, shared your book cover, a description of your book and a link back to your authors site, blog or authors page?

Join The Authors Page Now To Enter

1st Place: One Year Of Free Marketing On 25 Christian blogs.
2nd Place: One Year Of Marketing On 15 Christian blogs.
3rd Place: One Year Of Free Marketing On 10 Christian blogs.

How do I enter? Simple, become a active member of The Authors Page or sign in and follow us. Your membership automatically qualifies you in the drawing.

What is a active member? Become a blog author, place a post and share your book with our readers. It's free.

How do I become a follower? Simple, visit the blog, find the follow us section and sign in.

When will the drawing take place? Drawing and winners to be announced December 31st, 2010.

How will the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners be determined? That's simple, each member will receive a number assigned to them, all numbers will be placed in a hat and 3 numbers will be drawn for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

Rules: Let's keep it simple. Your book must be a Christian book, you must have a authors site, authors blog or authors page.

The Authors Page
Email: kingdomexpansion1@gmail.com

GENESIS TODAY SHAKING UP THE JUICE MARKET

“Orange Juice Had A Good Run,” but now there is something better for you. Genesis Today, one of the country’s fastest growing juice brands and emerging leader in the superfood consumer category, is changing the perception of your morning glass of orange juice with a new line of superfruit juices. Now that these incredible Superfruit juices are available at Walmart, maybe it’s time you try them for yourself.

“There is a shift in tide currently under way in the beverage market. This new beverage trend is all about the ‘halo of health’ around beverages with purpose – juices created with more antioxidants and vitamins than ever before and made with unique fruits and natural compounds like Acai, Goji berry and Resveratrol,” according to Dr. Lindsey Duncan, Founder & CEO of Genesis Today.

Dr. Lindsey Duncan is a Naturopathic Doctor and Certified Nutritionist, who has been a trusted leader in the natural health products industry since 1983. After leading a successful nutrition practice in Santa Monica and logging over 40,000 hours of clinical experience, Dr. Lindsey wanted to do more. Dr. Lindsey has brought the superior, customized nutrition he had given his celebrity clients to everyone in America because he believes that no matter what your financial situation or your exercise routine, you deserve to be healthier, now.

ANTI-OXIDANTS. PRO-NUTRIENTS.
Every Genesis Today product is packed with so many nutrients, minerals and antioxidants that just one serving a day is all you need to start meeting your health goals. Genesis Today’s Superfruit juices are available in three flavors: Acai Berry, Cranberry Goji, and Pomegranate & Berries with Resveratrol. Genesis Today wants you to switch out your morning glass of orange juice for a healthier option. Try it now and feel the difference.

ENTER TODAY FOR A HEALTHIER TOMORROW!
Genesis Today will choose one lucky Grand Prize winner to receive the “Ask Dr. Lindsey – Prize Pack.” This will include a personal health consultation from Dr. Lindsey Duncan himself suited to your specific health and nutritional needs and will include a three (3) month supply of Genesis Today products – a $600 value. Second Place will receive a three (3) month supply of Genesis Today Superfruit juices, and 25 Runners up will receive a free bottle of Genesis Today Superfruit juices.

Enter now at: http://genesistoday.emgpromotions.com/

For more info on Genesis Today and Dr. Lindsey visit genesistoday.com
Available now at your local Walmart or Sam’s Club

Dr. Lindsey Duncan - Genesis Today on Bloomberg Television
Dr. Lindsey Duncan - Genesis Today - Discusses Health Juice line

Learn How to Use Your Blog as a Powerful Marketing Tool to Grow Sales, Profits and Store Traffic

Blogging can be a great, cost-free marketing tool for you to build a larger, more loyal customer base, offer your expertise, increase search engine optimization, and keep customers and potential customers coming back to your store again and again to buy more products. In this webinar I am giving in conjunction with Gift Shop magazine and Retailers E-Profit newsletter, you will learn how to create your blog, how to attract and keep readers, and how to turn readers into customers. You will also get practical ideas for using your blog and integrating it with your other social networks. But my favorite thing to tell you about is how make the whole process a whole lot easier and less-time consuming than you expect it to be from the stories you’ve heard about blogging!

Enroll Now! http://www.retailconferenceseries.com/how-to-use-your-blog-as-a-marketing-tool/

This Webinar is produced by Melissa Kellogg, editor of Retailers eProfits, my favorite newsletter for retailers. Join us for this practical, webinar designed with you--the independent retailer-in mind. You will have immediate and actionable take-aways from this webinar that, ones that you can implement immediately to increase exposure and sales.

This webinar will teach you:

1. Five essential and easy steps for building a blog

2. Time management tips for blogging

3. Surefire blog topics to increase your exposure, better market your business, and to help you earn more profits

4. Proven techniques for turning blog readers into blog buyers

5. Insider secrets for increasing readership and building sales

With your registration you’ll get FREE bonus gifts so the webinar more than pays for itself! With your paid registration you will receive a paperback copy of Your Blog, Your Business: The Frugal Retailer's Guide to Getting Customer Loyalty and Sales, Both In-Store and Online, and a free gift from our webinar sponsor Victorian Heart.
The total value of this bonus gift pack is over $75! Plus, one lucky winner will receive an additional gift set from Victorian Heart valued at $150!

We are heading into the most lucrative time of the year, the Christmas season. This is the perfect time for you and your store to begin making the most of your blog as a marketing tool. It’s not too late to use your blog to drive more sales and profits this season! Sign up today!

Reserve Your Spot Now http://www.retailconferenceseries.com/how-to-use-your-blog-as-a-marketing-tool/

About This Webinar

Date
Wednesday, October 20

Time
Eastern time: 12PM
Central time: 11PM
Mountain time: 10AM
Pacific time: 9AM

Sponsored by:
Victorian Heart
Especially for Retailers

We also offer you a risk-free no-hassle money back guarantee. Gift Shop magazine and Retailers e-Profits newsletter stand behind our Web conferences with a 100% no-hassle money back guarantee of complete satisfaction. You must agree that this program was worthwhile for you, or we'll refund your registration fee in full. Guaranteed!

If you’re wondering if this Web Conference is for you, this is what others have said about me and about the Gift Shop webinars.:

"In 35 years in the industry, there are only a handful of retailers I have observed reach the success level of Carolyn Howard-Johnson. There is only one thing you need to learn from her to succeed... everything she says!"
"Thank you for showing me a fantastic plan for how to use social media to increase my store sales."

"I loved how interactive and educational the session was. The Q & A at the end was great."

Sponsored by:

GIFT SHOP Magazine (http://www.giftshopmag.com/), Specialty Retail Report (http://www.specialtyretail.com/),

& Retailer eProfit (http://www.retailereprofits.com/).

In this economy one must be wise with their money to include moms. Actually the frugal mom goes back generations and isn't really some new creation. I remember my mother buying groceries wisely and getting the most for her money. As a child I disliked waiting and waiting at the check out stand as the cashier spent time going through endless coupons and all the time the people waiting in line behind us became impatient. Then came the fact that when my mother did her grocery shopping, there were always two shopping carts and it took forever to get out of the grocery store, however, that was how my mother did her shopping. If it was on sale, she bought it for even weeks later.

I recall her buying lots of meat at the butcher shop and then taking it home and cutting it into portions and freezing it for the meals, days, weeks and even months to come. You see my mother was a frugal shopper when it came to the grocery stores and even would visit 2 or 3 stores to catch all the sales.

You would be surprised just how much you can get for your hard earned dollars by working the grocery stores to your advantage. Just a few weeks back I went to one grocery store for some sale items, spent $39.00 and saved over $40.00. That's almost $80.00 worth of groceries for under $40.00.

Happy shopping ....

We see then all the time. They come in the mail, are left on our doors and sometimes even the windshield of our cars. Coupons! Savings Coupons! Buy this, buy that and save money.

Truth is it works IF you have the will power to stick to a game plan. Now that IF is a Biggy. In fact, it's HUGE!

Try making a list for one grocery store buying ONLY the items that are on sale. Go shopping and stick to that list. Then make a second list for a second grocery store and buy ONLY those items that are on sale and stick to that list.

Yes your eye's will see hundreds and hundreds of other items, goodies and so on. But stick to your list and watch how much you save. You'd be surprised at just how many groceries you can get and just how much money you can save.

Last week I decided to hit a few grocery stores and purchase only the items that were on sale. Now when I say on sale, I don't mean saving a dime to fifty cents. I mean on sale !!! Those items that are used and offered at bonanza prices to get you to come to the store only to purchase those items and spend another $50.00 plus dollars on other items.

As I walked the store, I kept my eye's on prices, looking for sale prices while overlooking the many other items. I can't say that it was easy considering all the items on the shelves, plus the strategic marketing applied and yes they know how to market those items to get you to buy them.

The end result was that I spend just a tad over $29.00 and saved just a tad over $30.00. Not bad as I walked out of the store with over $50.00 worth of groceries for $29.00.

I then hit another grocery store and did the same thing. The end result at that store was that I spend $49.00 and some change and only saved $19.00.

So why the major saving with less money spent and less savings with more money spent. That's easy, my wife went with me to the second store.

Regardless, you can save some major dollars the frugal way.

Review of Frugal and Focused Tweeting: How-To Tweak Your Tweets and Integrate Your Online Presence
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
ISBN: 9781451546149
Available on Amazon: http://budurl.com/Tweeting4Retailers

Reviewed by Michelle Dunn

With Social Media dominating every aspect of business especially marketing, Carolyn Howard Johnson is sharing practical marketing practices using social media that anyone can use. While businesses everywhere cut their marketing budget due to the economy, the handful that keep marketing and using Carolyn's books to help them be successful will be the last ones standing.

It is obvious Carolyn loves what she does and is good at it, lucky for us she is willing to share her tips and techniques in her book subtitled How to Tweak your Tweets and Integrate your Online Presence so that we can share in that success.

If you know nothing about Twitter but want to learn how you to can use it as a successful marketing tool pick up this book. It is the only book on Twitter marketing that you will need.

-----

Reviewer Michelle Dunn is an internationally known credit & debt collection expert. Michelle she is the award winning author of 13 books, a columnist ,and marketing expert. She has been featured on CNN, Forbes, Smart Money magazine and is often quoted in the Wall Street Journal. Learn more at www.MichelleDunn.com.

The Fisherman’s Wife

Author, Dianne G. Sagan

Synopsis: Johanna marries the man she has loved since they were both children, but it doesn’t turn out quit like she’d dreamed. Her husband Simon works hard at his fishing business on the Sea of Galilee. Johanna established her home, but struggles at giving Simon the children they both want. Her society shames her. They live in a world ruled by Rome and filled with rumors, rebellion, and messiahs. When a new rabbi arrives and calls Simon to follow him, she is left alone and must choose what to believe.

For more information visit Dianne Sagan's authors site.

authors

Casey Alden's Conspiracy

One thing is certain–nothing is what it seems.
For more information about the book Conspiracy visit Fehrman Books

Patricia Norins, editor of Gift Shop magazine, and I will be doing a Webinar on how to reach more people by integrating your online marketing and how to save time by doing that very thing. It’s at 10 am Pacific Time on Thursday, August 12. The fee for the Webinar includes a copy of my book Your Blog, Your Business: A Retailer’s Guide to Garnering Customer Loyalty and Sales Online and In Store (www.budurl.com/Blogging4Retailers ). The Webinar is priced $79. But my blog friends—can pay only $49 for it by entering the code “twitter.” Don't use caps or quotation marks.

Go to http://www.retailconferenceseries.com/ . This is the second in a series of Webinars. Did I say that attendees get a free book? (-: Did I tell you I love Webinars. You get the visual and the auditory benefits. Not quite like being there in person, but close.

Did I mention that I love working with Patricia. She believes--as I do--that personal contact is important. Webinars, in their way, help us do that.

-----
Posted by Carolyn Howard-Johnson. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques launched at the National Stationery Show at Javits Center. Because she is the author of the multi award-winning how-to books for writers,The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success, retailers will also find essentials of writing for blogs, Web sites, and newsletters on this blog. She is the author of an award-winning novel, This Is the Place; and other fiction and poetry. She blogs on better writing at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog. Find her tweeting for retailers at @frugalretailing . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use this little green widget to let them know about it:

MBR Bookwatch: June 2010
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575

Vogel's Bookshelf

Frugal And Focused Tweeting For Retailers
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
HowToDoItFrugally Publishing
HoJoNews@aol.com
www.howtodoitfrugally.com
9781451546149, $17.95, www.amazon.com

Reviewed by Paul T. Vogel for Midwest Book Review

No 'brick and mortar' business can survive in today's marketplace without including the advances in communications technology represented by the computer, the internet, web sites, the Blackberry, Facebook, blogging, and now -- twittering. That's why Carolyn Howard-Johnson's "Frugal And Focused Tweeting For Retailers" should be considered mandatory reading for all business managers over the age of 30. And that's because younger generations than that, the phenomena of twittering is already well established and near universally entrenched. Using 'social media' communications technology is vital for successfully competing in the marketplace regardless of the services or products being offered to a consuming public. "Frugal And Focused Tweeting For Retailers" is a 130-page compendium of invaluable, practical, instruction, tips, and techniques for integrating this new technology into marketing and management, maximizing results for publicity, promotion, advertisements, and sales; customer relations; internal communications, and more, making "Frugal And Focused Tweeting For Retailers" an invaluable and highly recommended addition for personal, professional, academic, and community library instructional reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Gems For The Frugal Author

For the frugal author free marketing, building a online presence and creating a network is very important. Here are some sites that will help you to accomplish this.

They call it the social craze. Twitter! I have registered and become a member at many social sites over the years to include Twitter.

~ Author Book Promo
~ Christ Blogger

~ I'd also like to invite you to check out Entre Card which is a great way to promote and market your authors site / blog.

~ Another great site as many of you know is the AuthorsDen, so if you haven't checked it out, be sure to.

Book Checking Sites. While these sites don't offer free marketing, you might see if your book is listed on them already.

~ Here's a site that is worth looking into. The Book Buttler. It will search up to 100 sites by authors name, title, or ISBN. You just might enjoy doing a search of your book. Don't forget to print out the pages for your scrap book.

~ Here's another fun search engine for authors and books. Book Finder.

Blessings,
Christian Book Marketing

Does a book trailer have to cost a arm and a leg? We can create those too, however and for the frual author looking to promote and market their book using the power of a book trailer, we can help put you on the map less all the hype and high cost.

Book Trailers are a great way to promote and market books. They can be displayed on author web sites, blogs, in networks, communities, social communities and wherever video’s can be hosted at or displayed at. You Tube is a perfect example of the video craze with millions of videos and daily users.

For years the motion picture industry has used movie trailers to advertise movies to movie lovers. Today, authors and publishers have found the power of marketing authors and books through book trailers.

Our graphic arts department can create a custom book trailer that showcases your book and you as author. We have various packages from the simple, yet affective book trailers, to the extravagant and expensive book trailers.

Book Trailer Productions

For The Frugal Author, Writer

I admire those authors and writers that are on a budget trying to ring out all the free advertising and marketing out there. I know some authors who have built major online presences, link expansions and that have created quite a following. Of course they have lots of time on their hands and can dedicate a not less than full time stab at it in the beginning and then also in maintaining all that they have accomplished. For the frugal author, here are some tips.

1) Remember, your authors site or authors page is #1 as a priority. Put all your energy into creating and building a working site and then start marketing that site.

2) Advertise and market both your book and your authors site at other sites, in communities, in networks, in groups and where ever they allow you to add content and links.

3) Do not focus all your efforts building links at other author related sites. Authors write books and make up for a very small percentage of book sales.

4) Google your name as author, the title of your book and your authors web site, blog or page address as you are doing the above (weekly) to see how your online presence is growing.

Here are some sites of interest:

author promotions

Specializing in Christian Book Marketing, Book Trailers and other author related services.

The above book trailer was created for the book Splinters On The Carpenter's Floor written by Author Randolph Nicholas Alvis. For more information about quality affordable book trailers contact Smitty at kingdomexpansion1@gmail.com

Amazon and Google put their giant heads together to help you blog more professionally and make some money for you, too.

I reported on this Blogger benefit in my Sharing with Writers newsletter before, but this message came directly from Blogger and I wanted you to see it. So, in effect, Blogger is my guest blogger today:

Do you link to Amazon.com in your blog posts? If so, a recent Blogger integration (http://buzz.blogger.com/2009/12/blogger-integrates-with-amazon.html) may be just the thing for you. Blogger now integrates directly with Amazon Associates (https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/gp/associates/join/landing/main.html), giving you the ability to search the entire Amazon.com product catalog without ever leaving the Blogger post editor. Writing a review of Avatar and want to point your readers to the DVD that just came out? Not only can you link to the DVD, you can also include the cover art and buy it now info from Amazon so your readers know how much it costs without ever leaving your site.

You might even make some money in the process! Amazon pays an advertising fee to a Blogger user who is a participant in Amazon's Associates Program* and whose visitors buy products linked from their blog. Sign up is simple - just click on the "Monetize" tab in Blogger, then click on "Amazon Associates" to get started. Once enabled, you will see a new Amazon gadget next to the familiar Blogger post editor:

Whether you want to make some extra money, or you just want to add some pizzazz to your blog posts, the Amazon Associates integration is a great way to add color to any blog post about books, movies, electronics, music or any other product sold at Amazon.com.

More details at Blogger Buzz (http://buzz.blogger.com/2009/12/blogger-integrates-with-amazon.html ), or just click Monetize in your blog's dashboard to get started.

Thanks for using Blogger!
Regards,
The Blogger Team
2010 Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View CA 94043

*Some Blogger users may be ineligible to participate in Amazon's Associates Program. See the Associates Program Operating Agreement for more information.

I use this feature in all of my blogs including www.TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com (always available for you to use for your own book promotion—guidelines are in the left column), www.TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com, this one , and even my www.WarPeaceTolerance.blogspot.com. You can get more information on great, focused blogging with my book Your Blog, Your Business: A Retailer’s Guide to Garnering Customer Loyalty and Sales Online and In Store (www.budurl.com/Blogging4Retailers).

The widgets in this blog post for one of the books in my new book in the HowToDoItFrugally series are examples of things you can do with this new, nifty tool. The Corel program is one I once reviewed for Amazon. It is here to show you that anything that is being sold on Amazon can be displayed on your blog. Anything! Including books for Kindle.

Simple, Affective, Powerful & Affordable Book Trailers.

The following book trailer is a simple, yet powerful and affective way to promote and market books. Using a black background with white font provides clarity and easy reading while sharing a message with the viewing public.

Custom Book Trailer Creations & Productions Made Simple. Powerful, Affective & Affordable. For further information contact Smitty at kingdomexpansion1@gmail.com

The Frugal Book Promoter: How to do What Your Publisher Won’t
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Star Publish
ISBN: 193299310X
Pages 283
Genre: Nonfiction: Writers/Marketing/

Reviewed by Robert J. Medak

In today’s publishing environment, the author is often responsible for promoting their book. There are ways to do this, this book lists many of them, and you may come up with some of your own after reading The Frugal Book Promoter.

It would be nice if your publisher did the promoting for you, but most authors do not have names like King, Bradbury, or Rice to name a few that might have their publishers doing more for them than the average writer. The Frugal Promoter to the rescue, in this book you will find out about press kits, and more. There is also information about how to do media releases, and ways to get publicity for you, and your book.

This reviewer believes that this book can be good for promoting anything, just replace the word “book”, with a service, product, or anything you are trying to let the public know about.

It is up to the author to have the willingness to get out and do the work. Anyone can do it, if he or she is of the mindset to get out and promote your book. Many publishers are not going to do it for you, and may ask you for a promotion plan. Without one, you may not get far in the publishing game unless you decide to self-publish. If you choose a nontraditional way to publish your book, you will have to do the promotion for it to sell. Either way, it is up to the author to promote these days. If you are lucky, you may get some help from a publisher, but do not rely on getting it.

The authors best bet is to have this book handy for ways to promote your book. This reviewer found the information in this book to be valuable to anyone wishing to promote his or her book.

The Frugal Book Promoter receives a five star rating from this reviewer.

Reviewer Information:
Reviewer Robert J. Medak is a freelance writer and editor. Learn more at http://www.stormywriter.com/
"The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is that you really want to say."
- Mark Twain's Notebook, 1902-1903

Endorsement Disclaimer:
All reviews written by this Robert J. Medak are personal opinions of the book. The reviews are NOT paid endorsements of the book or the author. They are not advertisements. All reviews are honest, forthright and the opinion of this individual reviewer. This reviewer’s opinions are not for sale. (There is however, a small fee for some reviews, and sometimes this reviewer receives complementary copies from the author.) Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR Part 255 (http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

I tutor accent reduction and American culture on Wednesday mornings and last week I explained the concept of marketing to my Korean student who has a beauty salon. It occurred to me that it isn’t only immigrants who might benefit from a refresher course on marketing. It’s been a while since we got down to marketing basics for authors in this blog. Sort of a Marketing 101 plan. One that will inspire you to market. Inspire you to be proud of the marketing you do.

It’s always amazing to me that in a country of capitalists (many of them pretty rabid capitalists) that so many of us feel uncomfortable with words like “marketing,” “promotion,” “publicity,” and even “advertising.” If you don’t believe me, look at the furor over Twitter’s plans to earn some money by accepting advertising.

So here is some reassurance for you. The best marketing is not selfish. It never has been. It’s caring. It’s understanding your customer or audience and giving them what they want.

The best marketing is careful and detailed.

The best marketing is personal.

Let’s look at one of the best marketing machines in the world. Apple. They don’t even do focus groups. They know their customer so well they can tell the customer what she wants before the customer knows she wants it. The new iPad is an example of that.

Detail? Look at their products. That’s detail. Inside and out. Efficient. Gorgeous to look at. Look at Steve Jobs. He even dresses to the image of his company. Casual--501 jeans, a black turtleneck and a sort of stubbly computer-hacker kind of half-bearded face. Smart, too. His little squarish glasses. Warm--those eyes full of delight for what he does.

Personal? There is no hesitation at Apple or from Jobs to exploit his charisma. But we’re also aware that this is a company of other people. Similar--we assume--to Jobs. We sometimes get to peer into the campus where they work. We are aware that they are treated well. Our feelings about the company (even if we don’t own an Apple or Mac or any of the other gadgets) is warm and appreciative because it feels familiar.

As authors or publishers, we can do all of that. In fact, it may be easier. We are starting with a warm, fuzzy product that everyone loves, books. It’s a lot easier to think in terms of an audience for cozy mysteries or poetry than it is for a hunk of wires and metal. It’s a lot easier to think in terms of some books than it is others! Still, there is an audience for every book. If you haven’t figured out what yours is, you’d better read it again donning your maketing-magic beanie first. There are some things to look for as you read in the “Know Your Angles” section of Chapter 15 of The Frugal Book Promoter (www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo).

So go for it! I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. If you can’t be proud to promote (market) your book, how can you expect anyone else to pass on the good word for you?

----- Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about it:

A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions
by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Reviewed by Robert Medak for Stormy Writer and Amazon.com

A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions lists a series of frugal ways of promoting your business, in good economic times as well as bad; and not break the bank in the process. Anyone in the retail business should read this 120-page book. There is a good deal of information in a small book that is of use to retailers, and their business no matter the present circumstances.

Many of the ideas are common sense, but also things that retailers may not have thought of. There are many inexpensive concepts that are easy to implement in your store, whether it is large or small. The size does not matter, the ideas in this book are what can help retailers grow their customer base with a few simple adjustments to present stock and how to deal with it. Simple promotion ideas that may cost only a few dollars, to free can increase your business over time. Fortunately, the few ideas listed in this book may trigger some things retailers can come up with on their own.

Do you need more business in your store? A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions can help you with simple ideas form how to move and arrange your stock and more. There are also some simple and effective ways to garner publicity in your local newspaper and have customers send you business with ideas that may cost you nothing expect some time and training of your employees.

A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions is an easy to read book that can help all retailers do more promotion for your business without spending a lot of money.

I recommend this book for any retailer and award it a four star rating.

Endorsement Disclaimer: All reviews posted on this site and written by this reviewer are personal opinions of the book by this reviewer. The reviews are NOT paid endorsements of the book or the author. They are not advertisements. All reviews are honest, forthright and the opinion of this individual reviewer. This reviewer’s opinions are not for sale. (There is however, a small fee for some reviews, and sometimes this reviewer receives complementary copies from the author.) Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR Part 255 (http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

The reviewer is a freelance editor and writer.

Title: Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers
Author: Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Publisher: HowToDoItFrugally.com
ISBN: 1450507654

What’s more important to a writer than words? Not much . . . maybe how to put words together properly, using correct grammar, weaving them together to create descriptive or informative content . . . but, we still go back to the foundation of every writer’s manuscript or article . . . words.

Carolyn Howard Johnson’s latest book, Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers, is a little 55 page book (or e-book) that a writer can refer back to over and over and over to find help with some of the most common word trippers.

In the Before You Get Started section of this book, Howard-Johnson explains, “Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers is full of words that are trouble causers. They either sound alike or are spelled similarly. They are not arcane words that you will seldom have an occasion to use. They are not words the writer knows but still mistypes.”

Words such as climactic and climatic used improperly or misspelled can mean a rejection when submitting to the “gatekeepers.” The addition or deletion of that little second “c” makes a huge difference in the meaning of the word.

Or, how about the words: all together / altogether; demur / demure; one in the same / one and the same; and peeked / peaked / piqued. These are just a few of the word trippers added in the Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers.

Listed in an A – Z format, the words chosen for this book are thoroughly explained with the aid of examples. This all makes for an easy to understand and easy to read guide. The author also provides two resource sections at the end of the book: Reading: One Editing Book at a Time, and Other Writers’ Aids.

I happen to be a fan of Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s Frugal series and have the Frugal Editor as well as the Frugal Book Promoter. They are a part of my writing and marketing toolkit. The author has done it again with the Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers. She has compiled this much needed booklet as an addendum to a list in the appendix of her book, The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success.

I learned a great deal from Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers and will be referring to it often; I highly recommend it.

Reviewed by Karen Cioffi, author, writer-for-hire, freelance writer. She blogs at
http://karenandrobyn.blogspot.com and is co-author of Day's End Lullaby. She is the author of The Self-Publisher's Guide, Writing, Publishing, and Marketing - You Can Do It!, and Walking Through Walls - In contract with 4RV Publishing. She also reviews for BookPleasures.com and Muse Book Reviews
Follow her at http://twitter.com/KarenCV

Yeah, I know. You want to know who Harriot is. You don't know because he was a smart man but not much of a marketer. So here's what
National Geographic says on Publicity:

“Everyone knows Galileo was the first astronomer to point a telescope at the night sky. But like many facts that everyone knows, this one isn’t true. Precedence should probably to Thomas Harriot. What Harriot didn’t do was publish his observations. Bing first is important, but so is publicity.”

How to you do what Galileo did in today's world. Do your research or put forth your creative effort. Then promote using The Frugal Book Promoter (www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo).

Ladies, here's a great blog just for you. You will love this site. It's filled with great reading, ideas, tips, info and loads of fun. The Frugal Housewife is a must see site.

Being frugal as a author doesn't mean "everything is free" nor should a author attempt to become a online marketing expert when it comes to frugal author promotions. Being frugal as a author simply means "applying wisdom" and "getting the most for your dollar".

It seems these days that authors believe or have somehow come to believe that the best author promotions and book marketing is free. Consider the following:

How many million seller books became million sellers books around free online marketing?
How many of the top ten selling books became what they are around free online marketing?

Just recently I was contacted by a marketing agency to market a particular author. The author has sold millions of copies of books, has a mass following in the millions and also the funding to pay for television programming and commercials. Yet here I found myself with a marketing project before me for this very author.

My point being is this. If as a author you believe that you going to market your book through free marketing by joining this site and that site coupled with networking with other authors in authors groups, clubs and forums. You are and have been misled.

You must find ways to professionally promote and market your books and this will require setting aside a marketing budget to work with. Besides I thought authors, authored books. I mean after all, you didn't start out to become a online promoter or marketer did you?

Let the marketing experts handle your marketing needs and as a author focus on writing, doing local book signings, attending book conferences and being a author.

Celebration Series of Poems iPad Bound

Technology is ever changing. It’s almost impossible to keep up with the latest news, gadgets, and trends, especially when it comes to e-books and reading habits.

Yet the least likely of tech-geeks, authors Carolyn Howard-Johnson and Magdalena Ball, are always keen and to meet their readers’ needs, and when Smashwords.com announced its new deal with Apple to produce formats suitable for the iPad and Apple’s new iBookstore, the authors immediately agreed, and jumped into action, pulling together the appropriate formatting for all of their celebration series books and putting them forward for conversion.

The celebration series has been designed specifically to replace the trite, cliché sentiments of greeting cards, at prices that are little more than the cost of a high end card. Many of the books are beautifully illustrated with paintings or photographs, with poetry designed along themes that focus on mothers (She Wore Emerald Thenwww.budurlcom/MotherChapbook for the paperback and http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/8846 for the e-book versions ), fathers and other men (Imagining the Future , www.budurl.com/Imagining for the paperback and http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/11189 for the e-book versions), and love (Cherished Pulse, www.budurl.com/CherishedPulse for the paperback and http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/8086 for the e-book versions).

More books are in the works, including a Christmas chapbook. Hard copies of all the books are available at Amazon as giftable, low-priced paperbacks, or you can pick them up in whatever format suits, including the iPad, Kindle, Epub (Stanza reader),.pdf, LTF (for Sony reader), and more at Smashwords.com, http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/maggieball. Note: As this date Smashwords doesn’t accept coauthor listings. That these formats are evolving is evident!

So, though two authors are involved, this page lists only Ball who set the page up.

As far as Howard-Johnson and Ball are concerned, whatever format suits their reader suits them. It’s all good.

Magdalena Ball runs the highly respected compulsivereader.com review site. She is the author of the poetry book Repulsion Thrust, which was published in December 2009 to unanimous 5-star reviews. Her novel Sleep Before Evening, published in 2007, was a Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson's poetry appears frequently in review journals. She is listed in Poets & Writers and her chapbook of poetry, Tracings (www.budurl.com/CarolynsTracings ), was given the Award of Excellence by the Military Writers Society of America. She is also an award-winning novelist and short story writer and instructor for UCLA Extension Writers' Program.

For more information on any of the chapbooks in this poetry series, contact either of the authors or visit media rooms at www.howtodoitfrugally.com or www.magdalenaball.com .
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Support material available electronically or by post on request.

Other headshots and book cover art is available.

With the economy hard hit and many people out of work many are looking for frugal marketing. The truth and reality is that less people are spending money. However, while some products are seeing a decrease in sales, others are seeing a increase in sales. Now the question is, where do your products fall into that mix.

Personally, I feel that there is a fear or maybe we could down grade that word to a deep concern with regards to the economy and sales. After all if one watches the news one can get caught up in all the propaganda so to speak. You see there is a whole lot of speculation, gossip, what if and fuel on the news that seems to always paint a picture and many times that picture is distorted.

Remember, the swine flu epidemic and break out that hit the news. It was the main topic on every news station with fears of millions upon millions dying. But as quickly as it took root, it just as quickly disappeared.

You might ask, what does the swine flu have to you with frugal marketing. Nothing other than to share that while many are walking in fear and the unknown, others are pressing forward and finding success. The people that are finding success are the one's that are pursuing it rather than feeding off all the fears, worries and concerns.

I encourage you to press forward in your bid of success. Don't fall into those places, rooms and feelings of hopelessness and defeat. Press forward and find creative ways to bring change that is positive. Become a pioneer that is seeking new lands and ways to effectively market your products and also take advantage of all the great opportunities that are before you.

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By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

(Excerpted from The Frugal Book Promoter)

When I wrote my first book one of my first hard lessons was that book signings are nothing like I imagined. I shouldn't have believed everything I'd heard and I shouldn't have judged bookstore book signings by the ones I attended. I should have been especially cautious about information I found on the Web. Many authors and PR “experts” repeat gossip rather than what they know from a reliable source or from firsthand experience. Here are some fallacious “truths” about book signings that have run rampant among authors:

Fallacy #1: You can’t have an effective promotional campaign without a book tour.

Most authors today choose to do scattered signings, not tours,

because most pay travel expenses themselves. It is less costly to sign in cities you plan to visit anyway. You don’t have to do any signings at all if you prefer to vigorously attack another approach for your marketing campaign.

Fallacy #2: If you sign books before you leave the bookstore,
management can’t return them.

I have a big box full of books—some signed, some not—that were returned to my publicist (eventually) after a whirlwind of book signing gigs. They are
physical proof that bookstores both can and will return signed books. And,
yes, my publicist did have an agreement with the stores that signed books
could not be returned.

If you are unlucky enough (or unprepared enough) to have a dismal signing,
be aware that the store manager will not be thrilled about keeping a half
dozen books, signed or unsigned, in her inventory. Even if your book sales
went well, follow-up sales may not match that success. A bookstore is in the business of selling books, not stocking them.

Fallacy #3: If you take extra books and need to use them, the bookstore will pay you upon delivery or within 30 days.

I still have a list of unpaid invoices from the signings I did in 2001 for This Is the Place. Rarely do bookstores pay in less than 60 or 90 days. Rarely willthey pay without reminders. Never will they pay unless you provide an invoice. I always ask if a bookstore can pay before I leave the premises and had only one, R&K Bookstore in St. George, UT, who did so. And they offered before I asked.

Fallacy #4: You can ensure success of a signing by running an ad in a local paper or by buying a list of names in that locale.

One hard-earned lesson I learned was how important your mailing list is—not just a list but a targeted mailing list. For my first book signing I used a list left over from my retail stores, assuming that people who knew me would be interested. Not true. Many who know you may not be readers or may not read the genre in which you write.

Caveat: This does not mean you should not promote your event. Send
announcements to calendar listings in local papers, pitch feature editors, use all your the skills you find in my The Frugal Book Promoter (www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo) and, of course, cull any names from your own mailing list that happen to live within, say, a 20 mile radius of where you’ll be appearing.

Fallacy #5: Bookstores are the only venues for book signings.

There are all kinds of places for you to sign books, places that you have
personally supported in the past and that will, now, return the favor. Some
nontraditional venues make signing an adventure and possibly more
profitable. You will think of your own, but here are some suggestions:

~A critique group of romance and mystery writers signs at supermarkets that carry their books.

~A signing sponsored by The Romance Writers of America(http://www.rwanational.org/) benefits the Laubach Literacy Programs. A romance writer could join one of their efforts; authors in
other genres could model this idea to suit their own needs.

~Use a charity event as an impetus to group signings. You, your fellow
participants and your readers will recognize the extra value.

~Museums are possible venues. My first launch benefited the Gene Autry
Museum of Western Heritage. They donated a well-equipped theater,
promoted the event and allowed me to serve a buffet. The Museum kept
40 percent of the book sales as a donation. By the way, some commercial
bookstores do the same. One of the differences is that booksellers are a
profitable venture rather than nonprofit, and readers feel good supporting charities.

~Match non traditional venues to the genre of your book. Mysteries at the police department as an example. Coffee houses and universities work well for a variety of books.

~My grandson’s private school offered to sponsor a signing, as least in
part because This Is the Place is a coming of age story, but also
because of our past support, I’m sure.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON’T (www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo ). For a little over 2 cents a day THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER assures your book the best possible start in life. Full of nitty gritty how-tos for getting nearly free publicity, Carolyn Howard-Johnson shares her professional experience as well as practical tips gleaned from the successes of her own book campaigns. She is a former publicist for a New York PR firm and a marketing instructor for UCLA's Writers' Program.. Learn more about the author at http://carolynhoward-johnson.com or http://HowToDoItFrugally.com

author alexander vassilieff

ODYSSEYA
An Epic Journey from Russia to Australia

"A fascinating and moving Australian immigrant saga set against the backdrop of ancient and modern Russian history."

This is a must read book that you will enjoy. Visit author Alexander Vassilieff at his site where you will find more information about this great book, the author, the story, reviews and even some sneak previews into the pages of the book.

Save, save, save. It's just a matter of education. Just imagine all the great ways that you can save money by learning what others have learned. After all your mother, grandmother and great grandmother didn't spend a fortune every week and here you are.

Have you ever thought about that fact. Mom kept a clean house. She took care of her children, cooked wonderful meals and watched over the family. Did she spend what you do today? I highly doubt it.

Here's a great site filled with some great money saving tips for your household. Fittingly, it's called Household Tips

Here's a great site for moms. Mommy Savers. It's filled with great information, tips, ideas, stories and simply a great site to spend some time at. No doubt in these hard times that families are trying to make ends meet and save money. Why not do things the frugal way and use the wisdom and knowledge that others have gained.