April 2023 MBR The Writing/Publishing Shelf

The Writing/Publishing Shelf

The Frugal Editor, third edition
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Modern History Press
www.ModernHistoryPress.com
9781615996018, $41.95, HC, 296pp

https://www.amazon.com/Frugal-Editor-Do-Yourself-Secrets/dp/161599601X

Synopsis: Whether you are a new or experienced author, this updated and expanded third edition of "The Frugal Editor: Do-It-Yourself Editing Secrets-From Your Query Letters to Final Manuscript to the Marketing of Your New Bestseller" by veteran author, editor and book marketer Carolyn Howard-Johnson will dramatically assist aspiring and experienced authors to present whistle-clean copy from a one-page cover letter to their entire manuscript in ways that will convince those with the power to say "yea" or "nay" to their book.

This third edition of "The Frugal Editor", is part of Carolyn's multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books for writers and has been awarded accolades from Reader Views Literary Award, Dan Poynter's Global Ebook Award, the coveted Irwin Award, and many others. This fully updated edition includes the new help you need from managing gender pronouns to maximizing the usefulness of front and back matter. Altogether, "The Frugal Editor" now provides 50% more information designed for the success of an author's title.

Critique: Speaking as the editor-in-chief of the Midwest Book Review, one of the most common problems that self- published authors exhibit is a lack of much needed editing with respect to the books they present for me review and for sale to libraries and the general public.

While this newly revised and expanded third edition of "The Frugal Editor: Do-It-Yourself Editing Secrets-From Your Query Letters to Final Manuscript to the Marketing of Your New Bestseller" should be considered as mandatory reading for beginners, and even the more experienced authors will benefit substantially from the experience, expertise, wit and hard earned wisdom of writing and publishing expert Carolyn Howard-Johnson.

While also available for personal reading lists in a paperback edition (9781615996001, $26.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.95), "The Frugal Editor" is a seminal and unreservedly recommended addition to professional, community, and academic library Writing/Publishing instructional reference collections and supplemental Writing/Publishing Workshop curriculum studies lists

Editorial Note: Carolyn Howard-Johnson (www.HowToDoItFrugally.com) was the youngest person ever hired as a staff writer for The Salt Lake Tribune where she wrote features for the society page and a column under the name of Debra Paige. That gave her insight into the needs of editors, the very people authors must work with to get free ink and the ones likely to spot unprofessional editing when they see it. Being familiar with the way news is handled helps her see how different books fit into different news cycles.

Later in New York, she was an editorial assistant at Good Housekeeping Magazine. In the Big Apple she also handled accounts for fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert who instituted the first Ten Best Dressed List. There she started writing media releases (then called press releases) for celebrity designers of the day including Pauline Trigere, Rudy Gernreich, and Christian Dior instead of being one of those dreaded gatekeepers of releases who get to say yay or nay.

Carolyn has worked as columnist, reviewer, and staff writer for the Pasadena Star-News, Home Decor Buyer, the Glendale News-Press (an affiliate of the LA Times), and others. She learned marketing skills both in college (University of Utah, and University of Southern California) and as founder and operator of a chain of retail stores. That molded her understanding of how authors might best collaborate with retailers to affect both of their bottom lines. Carolyn's experience in journalism and as a poet and author of fiction and nonfiction helped the multi award-winning author understand how different marketing techniques might be used for each genre.

She was an instructor for UCLA Extension's renowned Writers' Program for nearly a decade and earned an instructor's certificate from that school. She studied writing at Cambridge University, United Kingdom; Herzen University in St. Petersburg, Russia; and Charles University in Prague.

Carolyn turned her knowledge toward helping other writers with her HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. Her marketing campaign for the first edition of this book won Reader Views Award, USA Book News Award, and the marketing campaign for it won the Next Generation Indie Award for marketing.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review