The Perfect Gift for Authors is Free!

By Carolyn Howard Johnson     The Perfect (Very Frugal!) Gift for Authors Books. Or course you knew I’d say that. We all owe a debt to the publishing industry and its sidekick, the indies. And probably most of us single out at least a couple of people on our holiday lists to give a book to. But how many of us have an author on our holiday list? Isn’t there something you could give an author—even one you don’t know personally? Even if you have a serious holiday budget you must stick to. The holidays are a time to let your spirit of giving overcome any reticence you may have about contacting a favorite author. I promise you, there is no gift greater for authors than hearing from a reader. Well, OK. There is one. That is when a reader writes a review for a book without being prompted to do so. So drop a note to an author, or write a review of that author’s book and post it on a blog or on one of the online bookstores. It’s free and it’s a full-of-love gift. And here are the easy to do steps to make sure your author gets full benefit of your generous (yes, it is!) gift! Write your review. Write your review. Google your author’s name and go to his or her Web site. You should find a contact feature, perhaps on the About the Author page. Copy your review and then paste it into an e-mail with a quick personal message to the author. Alternatively, you could post your review on your blog. If you do, let your author know with a thank you note and then use that same link to promote your post on Twitter, Facebook, and any other social networks you belong to. Once you have done this, it becomes easy. If you can, do it one more time with another author, preferably one who writes in a different genre. You have plenty of time before the big December rush! If giving a review doesn’t get you into the holiday spirit, maybe this will: You are contributing to an industry that provides you with something you love—books! ------ Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Now in its second edition,  Bookbaby calls her The Frugal Book Promoter a classic.  She is also the author of a novel and several books of poetry including her most recent, Imperfect Echoes. Her agent is shopping her memoir and second novel.  She admits to carrying a pen and notebook wherever she goes and to preferring reading a good newspaper to watching the news.

Writing Themed Gift Books

It’s that time of year again when people struggle to find just the right gift. This is especially so in tough economic times when people can't afford big lavish presents. Beautiful holiday themed gift books are always welcome gifts, especially when you match the gift to the recipient. So as authors, this is a ready market and one that you can fill with your own personal talents.

You could, for example, write a children’s book, a novel, or a nonfiction book of essays built around a holiday theme. Or, as Carolyn Howard-Johnson and I have done, you could create an attractive poetry book. What Carolyn and I have done is to keep our books to greeting card size and greeting card price, so that people are encouraged to purchase the book to tuck into a stocking or give with a box of Godiva chocolates or a bouquet of flowers. This way the books fit all budgets and provide a beautiful gift that can be customised for any recipient. We even offer Blooming Red (our Christmas themed book) in quantities of 25 or more, just like cards, at a 40% discount. The cover by Vicki Thomas is certainly pretty enough for a card--or a basket.  

You can find more information on the many holiday themed booklets that we've created on Amazon or on at Carolyn’s Web site at http://howtodoitfrugally.com/poetry_books.htm. Many of the books have won or been shortlisted for awards and have not only been fun to create, but have proved to be very popular promotional tools for us, some even hitting #1 on Amazon.  Although writing a book is never easy, building a book around a holiday theme is a great way to create work that is easy to promote and will meet a market niche. Why not drop by Carolyn's site, which is full of samples, videos, ideas and freebies. Have a look at the many themed gift books we created, and of course, steal the idea and customise it to suit your own particular area of expertise.  You have my permission.  Of course if you’ve got hard-to-buy people on your list, you might even like to grab a copy or even a set to giveaway as cards.  Happy holidays! 

Poetry for Christmas (again)

Is it too early to start thinking of Christmas?  Not really if you want to send personalised greeting to family, friends and colleagues - now is the perfect time to begin planning your greetings.  Are poetry and Christmas at odds?  Of course not, especially if you avoid the syrupy cutesy cards you pay huge $ for and choose a beautiful book full of real, award winning poetry. Instead of a card that will end up as landfill, you'll give a gift and card in one that people will keep.  My co-author Carolyn Howard-Johnson and I have pulled together just such a book, and you can order them, with their beautiful full-color cover by prize wining water-colourist Vicki Thomas, for only $3 each.  That's less than the cost of a card (only $75 for 25 of the most memorable holiday greetings you've ever sent to your family, friends, and colleagues), and will make a significantly more powerful impression, especially if you write a personal note inside.  The book was a USA Book News finliast and a Military Writers Society of America Silver Award Winner.  To order, just send an email to HoJoNews@aol.com with HOLIDAY ORDER in the subject line, and Carolyn will make direct payment arrangements with you. Or you can drop by Amazon (click on book cover above) and buy the books individually for $6.95.  Here's a sample:

Silent Symphony

Though it’s calm in the dark room

where you sit on Christmas eve

reaching for familiarity

I’ll take you down

to that imperfect place

of tone and sound

beyond culture’s skin, language

hard wired clickity clack

auditory parasite

multiples of frequencies

simple-ratio harmonies or complex

carols of memory

down there

in the consonance of memory

walking the cobblestones of imagination

your black heart finds light

melodic intervals

of sensation more pervasive than chance

open your ears into the silence

 a symphony

vibrating  the universe of your illusory body.

Magdalena Ball runs The Compulsive Reader. She is the author of the poetry books Repulsion Thrust and Quark Soup, the novels Black Cow and Sleep Before Evening, a nonfiction book The Art of Assessment, and, in collaboration with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Deeper Into the Pond, Blooming Red, Cherished Pulse, She Wore Emerald Then, and Imagining the Future. She also runs a radio show, The Compulsive Reader Talks. Find out more about Magdalena at http://www.magdalenaball.com

 

Christmas Gifts for Writers

Writing about Christmas gifts for writers on Christmas Eve may seem the ultimate in last minute advice for late, late. late presents. But there are always those which fail to turn up on time and need urgent replacements. There are always the gifts you bought in advance and now find your writer friends have bought for themselves. And what about treating yourself to a well-deserved Christmas extra to reinvigorate your own routine after the festivities are over?

Fortunately, the Internet is the ideal source for insta-presents, any of which can earn bonus points for the savvy giver.

Writing and Marketing Workshops

For budget gifts, you can't beat the Writers on the Move Workshop Packages   Priced from 99 cents to under 3 dollars, they are packed full of useful information and tips on how to go about creating books for e-publishing, using paypal, podcasting, and marketing techniques. Brilliant stocking fillers or replacements while you're waiting for a delayed delivery.

More expensive options are the innumerable courses always on offer at Savvy Authors. Look through the lengthy list of January workshops or for an extra-special gift for a friend who has completed at least a first draft, invest in a subscription to the 20i2 Editpalooza . It's a truly hands-on course where writers work on their revision with the help of am accredited editor or publisher for a month.

Or just buy a gift certificate and let friends choose for themselves .

Books, Books, Books

E-books are now freely available for download for reading on computers and e-readers. If you are actually buying a book rather than sending a gift certificate, check what format your friend uses for reading. I prefer e-pub versions as they are more or less universal and work with the magnifying feature on my iRiver reader where a pdf does not.

That Special Free Christmas Present

Design your own gift certificate and choose any one of the ideas supplied  by Beth Daniels in her Gifts for Writers list. I can see more than a few  ideas there that would truly appeal to me--managing my Facebook page once a month would be a brilliant way to keep updated yet free up time for more writing.

And I'm a committed Vistaprint fan, though beware--those few extras like adding the cover of your book pic to your visiting card can really add up.

What I'd like from Santa? An uncluttered head, an organized manuscript and a free month with nothing to do but write.

How about you?

Anne Duguid is a senior content editor with MuseItUp Publishing and   her New Year's Resolution is to blog with helpful editing and publishing tips at Slow and Steady Writers far more regularly than she managed in 2011.