Carolyn Howard-Johnson Shares Newest Book with #NorthStreetBookPrize Entries for 2025

How To “Borrow” a Mantra

Badge Courtesy W. Terry Whalin, Fellow #WritersontheMove Columnist

The More Writers Know

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Writers Advocate, Educator, Writer of Fiction and Poetry and 

Author of Modern History Press’s HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers

“The more you know…the better advocate you make for your book, no matter how it’s published: 

You’re a partner for your publisher and its supporting staff if you’re a self-publisher 

you’re the 100% decider from do-it-yourself moments to knowing when it’s better to hire a worker bee.” 

“The more you know…” has become a favorite motto of mine.  I’m positive it’s been said before because I was once on a cruise with lots of sea days that allowed plenty of time for binge-watching TV which I had neglected for many decades before that including the news and the only ads this cruise ship aired were the ones that promoted their activities and their ports. Their chosen syndicated broadcasts filled ad time promoting their own efforts. That’s when I became a regular MSNBC watcher. “The more you know…” tended to lead to lots of new programming, new ideas, new anchors, and it was repeated so frequently eventually I realized it had been by own mantra for years without my realizing it. 

It also lead to the realization that it is an essential mantra one for writers, even if they are just aware of it subliminally. Everything we write we’ve learned from something we’ve experienced and none of that has never been experienced before. In other words, nothing is new. So no matter the kind of writing we do, we are always borrowers.

So, I borrowed “The more you know…” for the introductory lectures for the new classes I was teaching at UCLA, to included on the promotional material I was writing for the books I intended to use as my texts, for my clients…and for my kids. Both of my kids were diagnosed dyslexia before most of the medical community and given it a name; one turned out to be a tax attorney and the other a Ph.D. with a love of spreading my mantra to her own students.

As for my clients, I want them to know enough to avoid the pitfalls I fell into when I first started writing with the hope of publishing. Somehow I managed to make some major boo-boos because I assumed I had already done pretty well as a journalist, a marketer (yes, writers better learn a lot about that even if they hate the idea of pairing the art of writing and the lowly business of selling!) and teaching which gave me speaking skills I would need to promote my own books and to help my children through the tangle of educational opportunities.

“The more you know…” give writers to take advantage of myriad of opportunities available when we choose that joyful path as an occupation.

“The more you know…” gives writers the confidence to work with their agent as an equal and to be partners with their publishers even with things we are told we should avoid interfering with like editing and book covers. And the assurance to know when to rely more fully on them for their help.

“The more you know…” means they’ll know how to go about ascertaining that partner-publishing and/or honest-to-goodness self-publishing is right for their personality and their title. 

“The more you know…” lets you apply what you’ve learned in the past to what you want to take on in the future, get the help you need, and get it from the best places to accommodate your goals, with assurance.

The best, most frugal way to use a mantra  is to be open to new things and read a lot. As your budget allows,  choose the the best possible mentors and hang out with associates in as many aspects of the writing world as you can. When we’re new writers we can learn a lot from other newbies, but that should be carefully balanced with reliable, trusted, and vetted resources. Think accredited universities for both classes and activities like writers’ conferences. Think experience. Think, “The more they know… .”

“The more you know… the better equipped you’ll 
be to realize your biggest dreams, and the happier, too!” 

“The more you know…” the easier it will be to know when to “borrow,” when to give credit where credit is due and when to move on to something else you 
know…”

More About Today’s #WritersontheMove Columnist

Full disclosure here: This article may appear in the my new book to be introduced as one of the personal “Extras” I like to include in my nonfiction books.  Winning Writers will give the book  as a gift to all those who enter their work in their highly acclaimed #NorthStreetBookPrize for 2025 before it is released to the general public by Modern History Press in early 2026. The title is as yet undecided. I am considering, “ A Writer’s Vocabulary: Inspiring Better Writing and Empowering Writing Careers.”  Let me know if you have a better idea by leaving a comment.  And credit anyone who comes up with a title my publisher, Modern History Press, likes better. Frankly, I think that might be easy to do! (-:  Learn more about this contest with many value-added benefits at SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com and more about her series for writers at https:///www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTXQL27T.

 

Look what Adam Cohen of WinningWriters ran today;  it’s a day I really needed a boost (I brought my husband home from the hospital today so it was a an upper at just the right time! Those of you who subscribe (see the right column to subscribe if you haven’t alrady!) know that I have used WinningWriters’ newsletter to find reliable, vetted contests for years and that I highly recommend their own #NorthStreetBookPrize for the added value they offer to those who enter.  His warmth and high standards come through in all his ads and projects.  Thank you, Adam! 

THE GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION BOOK PROPOSAL From the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series This short book, now in its second edition, is the result of Carolyn Howard-Johnson's extensive work with clients who hate writing book proposals and hate learning how to write them even more. She found herself coaching them through the process rather than doing it for them, for who could possibly recreate the passion an author feels for his or her own book better than the author? In doing so, she found she had written a booklet—not a tome—that took her clients only about thirty minutes to absorb. Voila! The Great First Impression Book Proposal was born, and you can get it for as little as $2.99 at Amazon.   CONTENTS 1.  Getting Past Our Own Arguments—and Past Gatekeepers' Resistance 2.  Getting Started: The Short Way to the Gate 3.  Your Overview: How To Make Jaded Gatekeepers Want More 4.  The Details: How To Make a Gatekeeper Open the Door for You 5.  Making It Easy: Quick Formatting and Editing Do's and Don'ts 6.  The Clincher: Keeping the Gate Wide Open 7.  Checklist: Is Your Great First Impression Proposal Ready for Its Closeup? Available in hardcover, paperback, Kindle, and audio formats BUY ON AMAZON UNSOLICITED ENDORSEMENTS "When I first reviewed Carolyn Howard-Johnson's small book, little did I realize how dog-eared my paperback copy would get over time. I've been through it and bookmarked it so many times that it's tattered beyond belief, but I cannot get rid of it. It appears that Ms. Howard-Johnson has also released it in an updated edition, and that's why my review predates this one. And please note that now The Great First Impression Book Proposal is available as a Kindle edition...If you're an aspiring writer in any genre, it's well worth it." —John Williamson, Top 1000 Amazon Vine Reviewer "'This is a really smart proposal,' was one comment from an agent who went on to sell my nonfiction book to a publisher. The 'smartest' thing about it? I used Carolyn's guide to write it!" —Treacy Colbert, medical writer and author of End Your Menopause Misery "I just finished reading The Great First Impression Book Proposal. I like your style and encouragement. I was a bit intimidated about finishing my book proposal. I was thinking it had to be stiff and boring. I even have dialogue in it. I thought I'd have to cut it out. Now, I'll probably leave it in." —Wanza Leftwich, author, blogger "I love [The Great First Impression Book Proposal]! My husband was amazed at all the info crammed into this short book. You could have charged a lot more. I just re-vamped my proposal to follow the guidelines in it for my latest book." —Myrna Lou, palmist, psychic, author "Marketing is never easy...Well, it might be if you follow the easy steps Carolyn Howard-Johnson offers up in The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need to Know About Selling Your Book in Thirty Minutes or Less. Howard-Johnson's bulleted lists are superior. They're easy to understand, easy to implement, and even easier to read. (She means it when she says thirty minutes or less). She gives us even more: A list of other resources on book proposals. I will recommend this book to all of our authors and potential authors at Ladybug Press." —Georgia Jones, Editor in Chief, Ladybug Press and NewVoices, Inc. BUY ON AMAZON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Carolyn Howard-Johnson has been an instructor for UCLA's world-renowned Writers' Program for nearly a decade, a columnist and staff writer for the Salt Lake Tribune and the Pasadena Star News, and has appeared on hundreds of TV and radio stations nationally and locally. As a publicist for the Eleanor Lambert Agency in New York, she took part in the creation of the first "10 Best Dressed List" with Christian Dior.   Carolyn was honored as the California Legislature's Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment, received her community's Character and Ethics award for promoting tolerance with her writing, and was named to Pasadena Weekly's list of "San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen". She presents at writers' conferences nationwide. Her own writing as a novelist and poet has informed the advice she gives to authors regarding sales and genre. Carolyn has worked with Winning Writers for years as a co-sponsor of the North Street Book Prize, helping winners promote their books. View her many offerings for writers on her website.

Why Every Author Needs To Update Their Editing Skills

 

 

Why Every Author Needs to Know Editing

 

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Author of The Frugal Editor: Do-It-Yourself Editing
Now In Its Third Edition

 

Last month I contributed an article “Ten Easy Ways to Keep Dialogue Sharp
to this #WritersontheMove blog with a promise to give authors reasons why
they need to know all the editing skills they can work into their busy writing 
schedule including those for writing dialogue that I covered last week. I hoped to entice
even nonfiction writers who don’t often use dialogue to start using
it. Even newspapers that once

demanded strict "who, how, were, and why leads”
 now include anecdotes in their front-page stories!

 

It surprises people when they learn that grammar rules change over time. Or that what they learned in high school or advanced grammar classes in college is either passé or may not apply to fiction. It also surprises them to learn that a perfectly edited book is never perfect because there are always so many disagreements among experts. And even experts are often misinformed. The worlds of grammar and style choices are filled with myths and misinformation like, “Never use contractions in your writing,” “Never use fragments,” and “Never end a sentence with a preposition.” Further, as my client base grew, I kept running into common misconceptions and outright annoying style choices that would never fly in the publishing world. Thus, a new edition of The Frugal Editor was a must! And, thus, I keep battling decades old misinformation about editing—especially among newer authors. 

 

But what about authors who can proudly point to decades of publishing? Well, sometimes they suffer a little hubris. They think they have done well without worrying about spending time on what they know from high school grammar classes. and therefore already know. So we’ll start off with a smattering of what is new in my The Frugal Editor in its third edition—new in that last few years, in fact! And—if you scroll a bit—you’ll find another list of editing myths you—still believe—yes! You personally—that just happen to still be lying in wait for an occasion to embarrass (humiliate!?) you:

·       The Third Edition of The Frugal Editor has been reorganized, and my publisher Victor Volkman at Modern History Press tells me I outdid myself with about 50% new (helpful!) material including new “Editor’s Extras” based on my own school of hard knocks!

·       Authors will love the all-new sections including:

o    Beta readers and peer reviewers

o    What you probably don’t know about custom dictionaries

o    Up-to-date rules for accommodating gender-specific and other cultural needs

o    A chapter for word-lovers and poets

o    Quickie reviews of word processors for you

o    What even traditionally accepted front and back matter can do for your book sales, your career, and your readers

o    Political Correctness considerations change and grow with each passing day. So, yes! Lots of updating here!

·       The Third Edition of The Frugal Editor still includes the basics that make you into an on-your-own editor when you must be. Few writers other than Stephen King can afford to hire an editor for every query letter, every media release, every media kit, every blog post. So until your career is so star-studded you can afford a publicist and editor on a retainer basis, writers need to know both the basics of editing and the little-known secrets.

·       The third edition is still loaded with reader favorites like what authors need to know about book covers—another aspect of publishing that even experienced authors might leave entirely up to others—but it’s updated!

·       New information will dispel myths like these:

o    Agents are a cantankerous lot. (Nope! In The Frugal Editor, twenty-one of the nation's best tell you their pet peeves and they do it in the best of spirits.)

o    If your English teacher told you something is OK, it is. (No! Language rules have changed since you were a sophomore. Anyway, your English teachers likely have no background in publishing, so apart from basic grammar, how much help can they be?

o    If a manuscript or query is grammar-perfect, you'll be fine. (No! Lots of things that are grammatically correct annoy publishers.)

o    Always use your Spell and Grammar Checker. (No! Some suggest you don't use it at all, but The Frugal Editorwill help you make it your partner instead of your enemy.)

o    It's easy to avoid agent and editor scams by asking other writers. Even other professionals! (The Frugal Editorgives you a to-do and not-to-do lists to help you avoid being taken even when you are doing just that. )

o    Your publisher will assign a top-flight editor. Even big five publishers are having budget problems and many cut expenses by using less experienced/qualified editors. (Maybe, but don't count on it. The more you know, the better partner you’ll be for an editor!)

o    Formatters and editors will take care of the hyphens, ellipses, and all the other grungy little punctuation marks that English teachers avoided teaching because they didn't know how to use them either. (Chances are, you'll catch even great formatters and editors—the ones you pay for their services—in an error or two if you know your stuff!

o    When you do know your stuff, you’ll feel more comfortable defying all kinds of rules that are still extant. You’ll even feel comfortable explaining to your editor why this choice is an improvement for this particular title, voice, time, or era.

 

NOTE: The parts of this article bulleted are reprints (edited and updated) from one of my sell sheets. They are widely used in publishers’ and authors’ review-getting process using query letters, ARCs, and accompanying marketing materials. Find a sample of sell sheets—front, back, and footer—in the Appendix of The Frugal Editor, third edition.

You’ll find the first part of this plea of mine for writers right here on Karen Cioffi’s Writers on the Move
blog in my column on basic dialogue tips posted  in May, 2025.

It will give you ten reasons why knowing more 
editing than your do already might make

you a better (and happier) writer . 

Go to:  
 https://www.writersonthemove.com/2025/05/dialogues-ten-basic-cant-go-wrong-rules.html

 

MORE ABOUT TODAY’S WRITERS ON THE MOVE CONTRIBUTOR

Carolyn Howard-Johnson was an instructor for the UCLA Extension Writer's Program for nearly a decade. The first book in her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books, The Frugal Book Promoter, won USA Book News' Best Professional Book Award and Book Publicists of Southern California's Irwin Award. The second, The Frugal Editor, is the winningest book in her HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers (The first edition was named best of 2004 by USA Book News.) TFEIII includes many more editing tips on dialogue—even punctuation for dialogue. Learn more about building a career in the publishing world at www.howtodoitfrugally.com. 

 

“Careers that are not fed die as readily as any living
 organism given no sustenance.”

·       

Fiction Isn’t Fiction After All, Memories Are the Stuff of Writing

 

Is this where memories sometimes reside? Could be. They’re Sneaky.

 

  

 

A Little Story On the Joys of Writing

 

Memories, Personal Growth, and How Fiction Isn't Fiction After All

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

 

 

This is a story that goes way back, the story of a critique group, how it developed into much more, and how it lives as a study in the way life changes. I spent several hours breaking bread with my very longtime critique group. The bread was a focaccia strewn with bits of rosemary, onions, garlic and oregano and, probably, drenched with olive oil—to which I add more olive oil and balsamic vinegar as a dip just to be sure it is really as fattening as possible. I eat the crust; Leora Krygier (www.leorakrygier.com) eats the insides. Just like Jack Sprat and his wife. It has become a tradition.

 

It is not a large critique group. It started with four of us. We were among about 20 enrolled in a four-day writers' conference (they now call it a Studio) at UCLA Extension Writers' Program (https://www.uclaextension.edu ). Our teacher, Phyllis Gebauer, suggested we would be perfect critique partners. We worked together for a year and then one of our number, Iris, dwindled away to Washington D.C. I kept in touch with her, but not as avidly as I should, though last year I sent her an assortment of my huge, chartreuse gladiola bulbs via USPS.

 

It was an unusual group not only because of its longevity. After watching us grow and publish, Phyllis—our instructor—asked if she might join us. We—her former students— were floating on air. This was a kind of personal affirmation, as exquisite in its way as getting an agent or a publisher. Our former teacher thinking we had something to offer her in terms of critique.

 

We were four, then five, then—eventually—back to three. Three little piggies who relished our favorite restaurants—the ones with the best focaccias, almost as much as we did writing. Only three left of the five of us. I took notes of the day we discussed     websites, a new program I found on the Science channel moderated by the tech columnist at the New York Times that still reruns occasionally on Prime, I think. I read a poem (did you know that flowers are all about sex?), Leora (author of When She Sleeps) read the beginning of a proposal for a book of nonfiction (something quite new for her) and Phyllis read from her work-in-progress, Hot Widow and told us that it had been accepted for publication. JayCe Crawford, our Cup of Comfort contributor, was attending to a sick friend and we missed her. She is the fastidious one who keeps our t's crossed. You can see, we've all published. 

 

Later I then I became one of Phyllis's fellow UCLA instructors. It was quite a ride that eventually afforded me UCLA Extension’s Instructors Development Program. They offered all the classes in it to their instructors as one of the benefits. I took every single one and framed the tiny little “sheepskin” for a wall in office. It was the kind of benefit that keeps giving.

 

And then our instructor cum fellow critique announced she would not be finishing her latest book but bowing to cancer instead. She left behind her several UCLA teaching awards and her library of books to UCLA’s library—most of them first editions of great prize-winners over the extent of her life including many hand-signed by the authors who had once been students and other associates.

 

So, aside from this ramble from a writer who loves to write, what's this all about? 

 

Memories and how they affect our writing, nonfiction or fiction.

 

Memories are what writing and life (or life and writing) are made of. In fact, I don't think there is such a thing as true fiction. Everything, however made up by playing the "What if?" game, is rooted in experience. An author describes a room or garden? She's been there before, or she's reassembling parts of several gardens she's seen. She builds a character? No character is wholly original. No matter how carefully a fictional character has been drawn, the author has seen those traits in some individual, some novel, or some movie before. Or maybe a dream. If that weren't true, that character wouldn't come off as real.

 

Readers, too, bring their real memories to a story, visualize it similarly to what they've experienced. So, what we do every day—as writers or readers—is important to writing, to what we bring to a book when we read it. 

 

Oh! That reminds me. It's also about 

 

Personal Growth and how our friends help us move ahead.

 

About one year later. Phyllis's book, the one we critiqued a year go, is a reality. Before she died she read an excerpt from Hot Widow (which I happen to know was based on many of her personal memories! Wowser!) at Pasadena's famous independent bookstore, Vroman's still going after well over 100 years. Leora and Joey and I were—of course!—here. We had dinner first and then be in the audience, proud little piggies that we are. Cheering.

 

And one day that feeling we had for a fellow writer or those book-laden shelves, or that Indian dinner? One of them is sure to show up in something we write. I guess all three already have.

 

 

Tips and Tidbits and Another Memory This is an example of a piece I once included in each of well more than 200 “Back to Literature” columns I wrote for the now closed MyShelf.com where I met many reviewers, mostly authors of books generous enough to share and promote other authors as well. You’ll sometimes see them crop up in articles I write in other places, too. Here it is: (Each month in this box, Carolyn lists a Tidbit that will help authors write or promote better. She will also include a Tip to help readers find a treasure among long-neglected books or a sapphire among the newly-published.) Writers' Tidbit: :Writers will find lots of inspiration, promotion tips and guidance on craft at my blog, www.SharingwithWriters.blogspot.com They can even subscribe to have posts delivered to their mailboxes. They'll also find a long list of other writing-related blogs in one of what bloggers call "segments." Scroll to the end of the page for that list and segments that include other valuable resources for writers.   Readers' Tip: Book Expo America is a tradeshow for publishing professionals. When I was there  Cushing-Malloy, Inc, a manufacturer of books, was celebrating their 60 year anniversary. They gave out a nifty little reading light that works as a bookmark, too. I love it and highly recommend it for readers. It's not something I would have purchased for myself, but now I've seen how handy it is, I would! I'm sure you can buy one at most good bookstores.

 

 

MORE ABOUT THE WRITERS ON THE MOVE CONTRIBUTOR

 

This column may one day appear in a memoir my publisher tells me I must write, but no apologies if that never happens. Memories and sharing are indeed the joys that keep most of us writing. Whether it makes it to a memoir or not. But if you’re curious if that ever happens, follow me on the Authors’ Profile that Amazon provides to its writers and follow me to receive a notice of each new book. They don’t come out super often; somehow the writing of the moment seems to fill the time necessary required to be a prolific writer of books. And learn more the books I have managed to publish in these years of intense writing on my website.