Great First Impression Book Proposals

Great Book Proposal

Find Carolyn's Individual Books and Audios Here:

You will find at least one promotion, writing or tech tip on every page on this site. Sometimes you'll find, two or three! Happy browsing and collecting!

Endorsements

The Frugal Editor: Don't let the title fool you. This book is for ANY writer. If you want to submit a professional, Polished piece, Carolyn's book is a must-have! I learned more in Frugal Editor than in four years fo advanced college English..."~ B.J. Bramblett, author of two horsey whodunits, Sliding Stop and Flying Change.

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". . . all that you do for writers, . . . all that you do in the way of sharing information. Priceless!" ~Barbara Marshak, author Hidden Heritage
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"How can I thank you and let me count the ways"...I know it's nothing 'til it's something but I'm so glad you told me to go the BEA. I made contact with 3 senior editors who asked me to send out a book proposal to their publishing company this week. I'm nervous and excited. It took me 12 hours to write the 1st page. It's so much harder for me to do the proposal than it was to write the book. It might take more than this week to do the proposal but I guess that would be ok...Thanks again. I will forever be grateful to you regardless of the outcome. xox.~Diane Ward, soon-to-be published author

All Amazon Shorts Are Available for Kindle Reading. Order Your Kindle with the Widget Below:

Tip

The publishing industry needs you. It has become difficult for even the largest publishers to risk the expense of a new and untried author. When readers make it a point to read a book (better still, buy a book!) by an author they are unfamiliar with and then shout it to the universe when they find a new love, it helps everyone who is invested in hearing new and different voices and opinions.

Find at least one tip on writing, promotion or tech on every page of this website.

Please click on my Google Calendar button to learn more about my upcoming UCLA Extension Writers' Program classes, my Muse Online Writers' Conference and other conference and book fair appearances and more.

Listen to Award-Winning Podcast:

Visit with the creative force behind the HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books for writers. Carolyn shared her best tips and strategies for low-cost/zero-cost marketing campaigns and also talked about what NOT to do to market your books. She also talks about the value of editing and how it directly controls how your proposals, books, and marketing are peceived in the marketplace. Listen to the interview on Authors Access (visit link and click on the PODCAST button). Tune in each week as Irene and Victor interview industry luminaries on marketing, writing, editing, and publishing by subscribing to the RSS feed.

Podcast Endorsement

"... I have no doubt this episode [of AuthorSuccess.com podcasts] will go on to be
forever in our Top 10 list. Congratulations on a great show! ~Victor R. Volkman, www.AuthorsAccess.com

The Great First Impression Book Proposal

Everything You Need to Sell Your Book in Twenty Minutes or Less

From Amazon Shorts: Because you have little time or patience for learning what you hate to do, but what you must do.

"...you can't go wrong in faithfully following Carolyn Howard-Johnson's advice in her INVALUABLE eighteen page book proposal." ~ Frances Lynn, author of Crushed

So, this is it. My new Amazon Short. Didn't they do a great job of the cover? The reason I did this as a short is that there are lots of other books on writing proposals out there. The thing is, writers generally hate to write proposals. They don't even much want to learn about writing them. So, why a whole book when you can do it in 20 minutes or less? The introduction to the short will give you the whole story behind the writing of it and in the body of this mini book you'll have the makings of a Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need to Sell Your Book in Twenty Minutes or Less. for only 49 cents. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000YG6O5U/

Find reviews on the Great First Impression Book Proposal page on Amazon, of course, but also at:

Frances Lynn's Writerholice Blog.

Here are links to each of Carolyn Howard-Johnson's major published works for writers.

The Frugal Book Promoter, my way to share the pitfalls of publishing with other authors in hope they won't fall into the same potholes I did.
The Frugal Editor, second in the HowToDoItFrugally series, sharing my system for keep editing gremlins at bay.
Audios I coproduced to share the ins 'n' outs of writing, book promotion and marketing on the net.

Carolyn and Rey Ybarra will be producing videos on subjects for writers, too.

Rey Ybarra and I chat at the Irwin Award ceremony. Rey is host at BSATV. He is also blogs at www.bestsellingauthortv.blogspot.com. The photo is by his director and camera person, Randy.

What People Are Saying About Carolyn's Published Works

The Great First Impression Book Proposal

Getting past the Gatekeepers, November 10, 2007

By Kathe Gogolewski "Author of fiction for child... (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

Like it or not, writing a book proposal is as important to a writer as writing the next book...because the next book will likely be long in coming if the first one never gets off the ground! In this concise yet informative instruction manual on how to write a book proposal, author Carolyn Howard-Johnson offers a long list of golden-nugget-TO-DOs and smart ideas which can help guide writers past the GateKeepers in this business. These guards are constantly on the look-out for entertaining, professional and out-of-the-box book proposals, and Howard-Johnson, a life-long writer and promtional expert, offers information that even the veterans would do well to digest.

"That is an absolutely great cover, and once I catch up on the many stories that my students turned in, I'll write a review of your Short. Now that I've bought a few Shorts, I find it's very easy to do. Useful essays like yours will pull others into how cheap and easy the Shorts are."~ Chris Meeks, author UCLA Extension Writers' Program instructor and author of the Middle-Aged Man and the Sea

The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't

I’ve long recommended John Kremer’s 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, but until now, I didn’t have many other “staples” to recommend to new authors looking for publicity. ~ Jenna Glatzer, author of Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer editor of AbsoluteWriter.com

The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success

"Nothing demonstrates professionalism like a well-edited submission. Follow Carolyn Howard-Johnson's clear, step-by-step self-editing approach in The Frugal Editor and you'll submit like a pro." ~ Gregory A. Kompes, conference coordinator, Las Vegas Writer's Conference

Head to Head Audio series

Your audio class awoke a spark in me that had simmered down to a mere sizzle. Your audio, listening to your voices, made me feel a part of your own promotional gang and for this it is I who would like to thank you." ~ Lea Schizas, reviewer for The Muse Book Reviews and editor of Apollos Lyre.com

Hooray! Books to explore (including anthologies) by Carolyn Howard-Johnson !

Tip

Book proposals do more than sell your books. They help you map out your book-attack. They help you plan your marketing campaign. They are mini organizers that no serious author can do without. You can learn these skills with only 49 cents on Amazon.

Find at least one tip on writing, promotion or tech on every page of this website.

Purchase THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER as a thick, full-size e-book priced to accommodate the budgets of starving students and authors at Star Publish.

Purchase THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER and THE FRUGAL EDITOR in trade paperback at Amazon.

Purchase THIS IS THE PLACE, HARKENING and TRACINGS at Amazon.

Purchase CHERISHED PULSE at the Compulsive Reader.

Purchase and find all the audios for writers at Double Dragon Publishing.

"Careers that are not fed die as readily as any living organism given no sustenance." ~ Carolyn Howard-Johnson

This author is founder and a proud member of Authors' Coalition.

(Directors: Joyce Faulkner and Pat Avery)

This site is powered by Dianna Faulkner, carmelfaulkner@aol.com

Studio photography by Uriah Carr

Logo by Lloyd King

Future Plans for How To Do It Frugally Series:

The Frugal Writer Promotes on Amazon
The Frugal Retailer Promotes,
The Frugal Author Builds an Agent-Friendly Package

Books and Audios on Writing Carolyn has Written, Edited or Contributed to:

Writing Book Proposals That Sell!

The Frugal Way (only 49 Cents!)

Use Carolyn Howard-Johnson's Agent-Easy, Editor-Friendly Book Proposal Approach

The Great First Impression Book Proposal:

Everything You Need To Know About Selling Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less

By award-winning author and editing instructor Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Nonfiction
ISBN: B000YG6O5U, an e-essay, delivered to your mailbox by Amazon

Amazon's Short Price: Only 49 Cents

PUBLISHER: Amazon.com's Short program

Here's what people are saying:

"Carolyn Howard-Johnson makes it easy, gives you the switches that can turn you and even the most cold-blooded editor on.

Try it. I'm taking this little booklet and having it tattooed on my inner arm. It's going to be useful to you, I promise. And if you aren't a writer, and you know one, send it on. They'll love it. "~ May Lattanzio

My Favorite Review of The Great First Impression Book Proposal

(Find it at http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A3ISPVKHJEALVV/ref=cm_aya_bb_rev . And be sure to leave a comment. (-: )

The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need to Know About Selling Your Book in Twenty Minutes or Less
Price: $0.49

Availability: Available for download now

The Queen of Tips Turns to Book Proposals, February 2, 2008

Carolyn Howard-Johnson has made a career of taking complex topics, boiling them down to their essence, and providing the core information to recalcitrant writers like me. In this short, she tackles the topic of book proposals.

Yawn!

Book proposals?

Okay. Carolyn's smart. Carolyn's experienced. Carolyn's well-known in the industry. Carolyn knows stuff.

Like a teenaged boy charged with carrying out the garbage, I read Carolyn's short because I knew I should.

Half way through, I just had to whine a bit.

I still hate writing book proposals, I groaned. Let's face it. They aren't sexy. They don't move me. They are necessary long after I've gotten my emotional charge out of the book or novel in question. They are like those foul-tasting fish oil capsules -- it's good for what ails you, but sometimes you just have to close your eyes and choke them down -- and deal with the fishy aftertaste.

Oh, Carolyn's merry style is perfect for this piece. She condenses the bitter medicine into a series of easily digested bites. In fact, it's an easy read -- enjoyable in the way that diet books, especially the ones you know you'll never actually use, are enjoyable.

Then, toward the end, she tackles the topic of "author dread" for this most onerous of chores with a simple question. What about the poor gatekeeper who has to read all those boring book proposals?

What an awful job that must be, I thought.

Then lights flashed and a red exclamation point appeared in a eureka balloon over my head. Aha! Perhaps the challenge is to make the project I am framing interesting? Entertaining? Compelling? Funny? Worth publishing?

Hmm.

Imagine that.

Thanks, Carolyn. Got any more hard lessons for me?

Joyce Faulkner
www.JoyceFaulkner.com

Buy this Amazon Short, THE GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION BOOK PROPOSAL here.

Purchase THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER as a thick, full-size e-book priced to accommodate the budgets of starving students and authors at Star Publish.

Purchase THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER and THE FRUGAL EDITOR in trade paperback at Amazon. The Amazon Short, THE GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION BOOK PROPOSAL, too!

Purchase THIS IS THE PLACE, HARKENING and TRACINGS at Amazon.

Purchase CHERISHED PULSE at the Compulsive Reader.

Purchase and find all the audios for writers at Double Dragon Publishing.

"Careers that are not fed die as readily as any living organism given no sustenance." ~ Carolyn Howard-Johnson

This author is founder and a proud member of Authors' Coalition.

(Directors: Joyce Faulkner and Pat Avery)

This site is powered by Dianna Faulkner, carmelfaulkner@aol.com

Studio photography by Uriah Carr

Logo by Lloyd King

Future Plans for How To Do It Frugally Series:

The Frugal Amazon Promoter
The Frugal Retailer Promotes
The Frugal Author Builds an Agent-Friendly Package

Important Resources

Book Proposal Help

Former book acquisitions editor Terry Whalin says, "editors and publishers don't read manuscripts. They read book proposals. In Book Proposals That Sell: 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success, you learn the inside scoop to achieve your dreams." I highly recommend it.

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Promotion Services

You'll find direction in the Frugal Book Promoter for building your own media kit; if you choose not to build your own, the information there will make you a better partner for a publicist you might hire to help you. I recommend PressKit 24/7, the brainchild of publicists with over forty years' experience. We know the speed at which you need to work, and we know what it takes to get the media's attention. It was critical for us to be able to create professional online press kits for our own clients. So we understand what you need for yours.

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