“You are officially the Energizer Bunny of marketing.”

~Victor Volkman, publisher Modern History Press

 

“You’re worth much more than we pay you, Carolyn!”

~Jendi Reiter, co-owner of WinningWriters.com and author of Two Natures.

What Carolyn Howard-Johnson can do for you frugally…

  • Carolyn edits books and consults with writers to help them write their books, get an agent if they so desire, and promote their book, too.
  • Carolyn consults with retailers to help them brand their stores, market frugally, and even use authors’ appearances to boost their profits.
  • It is Carolyn’s warm, accepting approach to finding what marketing is best for your personality, your pocketbook, and your product or service (and yes, stores and books are usually both products and services of one kind or another!) that makes her so appreciated by her clients.

Carolyn can help BEFORE you publish frugally…

When a full-scale promotion campaign for your book or store is required (and it always is), you hire a professional to help you plot your campaign but it doesn’t have to be done all at once.  One hour with Carolyn Howard-Johnson will:

    • Help you publish nearly free or without overspending, depending on your budget, time and skills.
    • Educate you to the need for publicity (publicity is free as compared to advertising which costs money!).
    • Show you why free is even better than paid.
    • Give you resources to get you started and keep you going.
    • Give you the tools to write the great pitches, query letters, media releases, and media kits that help you get free exposure everywhere. Radio. TV. Feature articles. Blogs. And more. Really!
    • Equip you to partner with a publicist or marketing person assigned to you by your publisher or the one you hire on your own.
    • Give you necessary skills needed to partner with editors, publicists, and publishers you will be working with. Yep. You’ll be able to give them valuable input, catch their errors, and avoid scams.
    • Save you thousands of dollars whether you choose to manage your own publicity campaign or hire it done.
    • Carolyn will help you cut the time you spend on blogging, tweeting, and other online promotion in half and show you how to do it free.
    • Carolyn can coach you through any individual publishing or marketing project.

Why hire Carolyn as an editor…

  • Carolyn works to improve the voice in your proposals or other writing, not change it.
  • Carolyn explains the changes she suggests; you get a class in writing as well as an edit. That is frugal.
  • Carolyn understands publishing so you can self-publish without being embarrassed by your contents, frontmatter, backmatter, indexes, appendices, and more. Many editors are limited to hunting for typos, helping with structure, correcting grammar, creating characters or other fiction techniques. Some are limited to only one of these elements.

See Carolyn’s formal education. Click here

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Let Carolyn add pizazz to your writers’ conference…

PALA presentation with Editor Robin Quinn and the legendary Dan Poynter

UCLA Extension’s Writers Program instructor for nearly a decade

Great Salt Lake Book Fair

Sinclair Lewis Writers’ Conference, Sauk Centre, WI

Guest lecturer for UCLA’s Award-Winning Instructor Eve Caram, UCLA Career Day

Wisconsin Regional Writers’ Conference

Sisters in Crime Writers Conference

Greater Los Angeles Writers Society

Big Story Writers Conference

Southern Utah Festival of Books,

805 Writers’ Conference, Oxnard, CA

Publishers Association of Los Angeles (PALA)

Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC)

“Your talk was not only informative but also inspirational.” 

~ Libby Grandy, California Writers Club and 
author of Desert Soliloquy and other fiction.

Contact Carolyn with the handy form at bottom of page.

Why authors need to know about publishing essentials like editing and marketing frugally…

  • Because you know your product (book, store, service)  better than anyone else and a good, content-laden consult is all you need to get you going.
  • Because you are more passionate about your product than anyone else which means that your efforts will bear more fruit than someone else’s.
  • Because much of what many publicists do for you can easily be done yourself including getting radio, TV, and speaking gigs.  And, yes, features with bloggers and media editors, too.
  • Because you have a contact list on your computer that may go all the way back to the days of the Rolodex. Tailoring it for the needs of a writing career will bode well for every project you undertake from this moment forward. Carolyn will show you how to build on what you have and use it effectively.

Why let Carolyn consult or coach you through your writing and publishing adventure rather than going the full-service route? Here’s why…

  • Because YOU are the one who knows the most about your book or your retail vision. Right now. Right this very minute. See the list above if you don’t believe it.
  • Because full service is extremely expensive. Your book may not be ready and you may not yet be ready for that experience which takes more time and costs more because you are unprepared.
  • Because Carolyn consults to save you money, she doesn’t try to sell you more than you need or lead you to resources that cost more than necessary.
  • Because you can learn new skills faster and more frugally if you aren’t spread too thinly.
  • Carolyn Howard-Johnson customizes her consulting time with you. Reach her to talk about a plan by  e-mail.
  • References available on request at HoJoNews@aol.com.
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LET CAROLYN HELP WITH CONFERENCES,
WORKSHOPS, RADIO and TV APPEARANCES… 

Carolyn’s mother helped her memorize poems and dramatic sketches for beauty contests back in decades when the TV program Miss America was a viable route to a variety of careers for young women. She didn’t think much about those skills learned at her mother’s knee until she realized a skill for the dramatic might help with her book marketing and speaking. More recently she has been a finalist for Norwegian Cruise Lines Star Search and has appeared in TV commercials for the likes of Time-Life CDs, Marlboro, Blue Shield, Apple, Lenscrafters, and Disney Cruise Lines (Japan).

Carolyn Howard-Johnson customizes her consulting time with you. Reach her by e-mail

Carolyn’s credentials at a glance…

University Study

  • University of Utah, journalism
  • Arizona State University, Postgraduate English literature
  • University of Southern California (USC), BA in English Literature
  • Glendale Community College, overseas study and basic computer classes
  • Cambridge University, Trinity College (UK), postgraduate study in short story and writing
  • Herzen University (St. Petersburg RU), poetry and other fiction genres
  • Charles University (Prague, Czech Republic), writing
  • Certificate in Education from UCLA’s Instructor Development Program, 2006

Conferences

  • Speaker and learner at many writers’ conferences throughout the US
  • Cofounder of the free Muse Online Writers’ Conference
  • Cosponsor of the Roman Retreat. Watch for new ones!
  • Founder of a writers’ critique group for the Glendale Public Library System

 

 Teaching

  • Instructor for UCLA Extension Writers’ Program for nearly a decade.
  • Presenter at conferences and tradeshows. (See the page on Speaking on this website.)
  • Workshop leader at bookstores, expos, tradeshows, etc.
  • Certificate in Education Instruction from UCLA

If you would like to receive Carolyn’s media releases for ideas and information on Carolyn’s presentations and book releases please sign up here.

Note: Find more about Carolyn’s credentials and experience on the Media Room page.

Get In Touch

If you need help with your writing career, let me share with you my experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer, retailer, and as an instructor at UCLA. Of course, the most frugal way to get the information you need is with my multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers. If I can help you with this or any of the other services I offer, please fill out and submit the brief form on the right. 

Send A Message

A Guide and Links to all of Carolyn’s Books

Great Fiction
Purchase THIS IS THE PLACE 
and HARKENING at Amazon in their new and used feature.
Both of these books are out of print. They are available only on Amazon's New and Used feature for about $1.

Great Poetry
Purchase TRACINGS (Finishing Line Press) at Amazon.
IMPERFECT ECHOES: Writing Truth and Justice with Capital Letters,  lie and oppression with Small

Give the gift of poetry with
a chapbook from
Magdalena Ball's
and My Celebration Series
CHERISHED PULSE: Unconventional Love Poetry
IMAGINING THE FUTURE: Ruminations on Fathers and Other Masculine Apparitions
SHE WORE EMERALD THEN: Reflections on Motherhood
BLOOMING RED: Christmas Poetry for the Rational
DEEPER INTO THE POND: Celebration of Femininity
SUBLIME PLANET: Celebrating Earth and the Universe

HowToDoItFrugally Series for Writers
Purchase THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER, Third Edition,
published by Modern History Press
THE FRUGAL EDITOR Second Edition
GREAT LITTLE LAST MINUTE EDITING TIPS FOR WRITERS
an addendum to The Frugal Editor with more word trippers
GREAT FIRST-IMPRESSION BOOK PROPOSALS. Second Edition, published by Modern History Press
HOW TO GET GREAT BOOK REVIEWS FRUGALLY AND ETHICALLY

Survive and Thrive Series of HowToDoItFrugally Books for Retailers
A RETAILER'S GUIDE TO FRUGAL IN-STORE PROMOTION 
Authors who understand what retailers need and want are more successful when they
pitch events (workshops, readings, seminars) to bookstores and other businesses.
FRUGAL AND FOCUSED TWEETING FOR RETAILERS 
YOUR BLOG, YOUR BUSINESS

Note: Most of Carolyn's books are also available for the Kindle reader.
Did you know that with the Free app, Kindle can be adapted to any reader--even your PC

Note: Carolyn encourages authors to download her Multi-Use Media Kits at the top the Media Press Room Page, to use as a guide for writing their own Media Kit
in conjunction with the directions in the Third Edition of the Frugal Book Promoter, published by Modern History Press.