C. Howard-Johnson's New Booklet!

I’m pleased to announce that my guest today on the Virtual Book Tour is Carolyn Howard-Johnson. Carolyn is a multi-published, successful author, poet and guest lecturer. She freely admits to loving words and grammar. She speaks on Utah’s culture, tolerance and book promotion and editing and has appeared on TV and hundreds of radio stations nationwide. She is an instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program and her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success won a nod from USA Book News and won Readers' Views Literary Award. Her marketing campaign for that book won the marketing award from New Generation Indie Book Awards. She also loves to travel and has studied at many prestigious universities.

Carolyn has written a new booklet, a 55 page gem, entitled Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers: The Ultimate Frugal Booklet for Avoiding Word Trippers and Crafting Gatekeeper-Perfect Copy.

Endorsement for Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips

“By creating a guide designed specifically to get writers past gatekeepers, Carolyn Howard-Johnson has created something of unmatched value: usage advice that cuts through the contentious world of grammar to offer real help. Writers polishing their manuscripts and query letters will find Howard-Johnson’s guide more useful than Strunk and White."~June Casagrande, author of Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies (Penguin).

Katie: Wow, Carolyn, that title’s a mouthful! This is a great companion to your other “Frugal” books. What led you to writing this booklet?

Carolyn: Katie, long titles with lots of keywords are important in today’s book market when so many are purchased when people search for topics online.

As to your REAL question, I wanted authors to know more about the tricky, sneaky homonyms than the ones I included in The Frugal Book Editor (www.budurl.com/TheFrugalEditor) and I wanted them to have some fun with them at the same time. A full size book or reference is way too intimidating. This is mean to pop in the purse and refer to when you’re on the run.

Katie: What kind of marketing do you plan on doing for this new booklet?

Carolyn: It has to be casual. I am on deadline for two more books. One can only do what one can do. In this case, I’ll fit promotion for it in when I can.

Katie: How do you approach marketing for this booklet--with trepidation, a grab-the-bull-by-the-horns type approach, a resigned approach, what?

Carolyn:Well, it’s a booklet, not a full book. So the selling points are going to be a low price and lots of benefits for any writer--from writers of business letters to writers of books. That shouldn’t take a whole lot selling, you know?

Katie: I have both of the “Frugal” books on my bookshelves, and they are heavily marked and dog-eared. How does this new booklet dovetail with the advice given in your other “Frugal” books?

Carolyn: Ooops. I think I sort of addressed this earlier. It is a kind of companion to the Frugal Editor. But then, I consider great editing as an authors’ most important marketing tool. I mean, things like query letters and cover letters are the first thing an agent, editor, or publisher sees. They’d better be edited well. And by editing, I don’t mean just typo free.

Katie: Do you plan on continuing to write other “Frugal” books?

Carolyn: I just can’t help it. I love to help other writers. In spite of my yearning to write more fiction and poetry.

Katie: I noticed that your books are published with “How to Do It Frugal Publishing.” Is this a publishing house you have created to self-publish your “Frugal” books? Do you use it for any of your other writing?

Carolyn: This booklet is published by me using my Web site name. But all of my books aren’t. There is right kind of publishing for each title and each author. I consult to help writers find what is right for them. Self publishing--true self publishing, not subsidy publishing--is working best for my HowToDoItFrugally books.

Katie: Is there anything else you would like to share about this newest in the “Frugal” line?

Carolyn: Well, I’m sure glad to hear your copies of 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 are dog-eared and Post-it noted! It’s the best compliment the writer of how-to books can have. (-: And thank you for having me.

Carolyn’s booklet, Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers: The Ultimate Frugal Booklet for Avoiding Word Trippers and Crafting Gatekeeper-Perfect Copy can be found at www.budurl.com/WordTripperPB. Find out more about Carolyn through her website at http://www.HowToDoItFrugally.com and email her at HoJoNews@aol.com