Straight From Hel: Book Royalties

For an interesting read on royalties, check out Straight From Hel: Book Royalties and see if you are enlightened a bit - See you in the postings - E :)

Staying Alive with Stacy tour - Review of "Life is Tough"

Today is my day to have Stacy Gooch Anderson on my blog. I am doing a review of "Life is Tough," her newest release.

This book is very humorous and came about from family reunions and watching old family movies and all. What Stacy remembers and what her family remembers seem to have some discrepancies but then again, I guess if we all saw growing up experiences the same way, there wouldn't be a reason for "life lessons." Stacy approaches her life with a bit of tongue-in-cheek attitude and what comes from that is some enjoyable "recounters" of what life was like in the Gooch household.

From ski trips to first dates to bearing children to loss of loved ones, Stacy takes us through a truly laugh out loud peek into her. For anyone looking for some laughter in their life and a few tears, I really suggest that you pick up Stacy's book and remember, "Life is tough, but someone else may have had a tougher life" and enjoy yourself if even for a few minutes a day.

I don't remember which "life saver saying" would be my favorite, but I definitely could relate to quite a few of them. So hang in there, pick up a copy of "Life is Tough" and hang on for an enjoyable ride.

(You'll have to check out the previous posting and follow Stacy's blog for more on her "life saver moments" - see you all in the postings - E :)

PROMO day - coming May 9

Here are some comments from previous PROMO days and how this 1-day, workshop has helped many.

I'm looking forward to presenting at this year's PROMO day and look forwad to meeting many people. I'll be doing a workshop on virtual book tours, so check out the PROMO day website and come learn something about the writing path.

Comments about past events:

Debra L. Butterfield
Debra Butterfield's website
Comments: Really enjoyed Promo Day. It was great chatting with other authors and meeting new people. I look forward to your next Promo Day. Thanks!

Lea Schizas
Lea's website
Comments: I had a blast today, Jo, and met some wonderful people. It's fun to learn about everyone's writing process and what their upcoming projects are. Thank you for hosting this and looking forward to the next one. Lea Schizas
Award-winning Author/Editor

Grace Bridges
Grace Bridges' website
Comments: Great fun! I look forward to the next one

James R. Tate
James Tate's website
Comments: Thanks for another resource for an aspiring author

Hal Manogue
Hal Manogue's blog
Comments: Hi Jo, I enjoyed Promo day. Thanks for the opportunity to meet new friends. Hal

TANNIA E. ORTIZ-LOPES
Tannia Ortiz-Lopes's website
Comments: Today I had an awesome time during Promo Day. I got to meet other writers, read about their work, check out their website, and shared our areas of expertise. The conversation were very cordial and professional. Definetely a must do again! I look forward to the next one. Jo, you did an extraordinary job. I pray God bless you with health and keep you doing what you enjoy doing... May the peace of Christ be always with you, from far away in Germany, TANNIA author of The window to my soul; My walk with Jesus Voted 2006 Best Poetry Book by Christian Storyteller

Diane the other
Comments: Wonderful idea, Jo. More nerve than I've got to host a promo, but I mainly write reviews. LOL

Tammy Powley
Tammy Powley's website
Comments: Thanks for running Promo Day, Jo!

Elaine Cantrell
Elaine Cantrell's website
Comments: I had a thoroughly enjoyable hour with you. Thanks for the opportunity.

Paul McDermott
Paul McDermott's website
Comments: Great PROMO event, lots of new points of contact .... hope to be back frequently!

Susan Watkin:
Susan's website or Susan's LULU bookstore
Comments: Jo A great idea! I hope the promo day produced some new customers for us all. Thank you Susan

Master Blackwhip:
Master Blackwhip's website
Comments: Thanks to Jo for having given to me the chance to speak abount my book :) Jo, you have done a very good job. Great!

PROMO day schedule and FAQs

Workshops taking place during PROMO DAY 2009:

Times are shown in Central European Time.

14:00 Lael Johnson - Blogging and Journaling
15:00 John Evans - The Age of Networking: Tips and Tricks to Survive in Today's information Age
16:00 Karina Fabian - Marketing for Beginners
17:00 John Desjarlais - Finding an Agent
18:00 Carolyn Howard Johnson - Query Letters as Promotion: Let's Make Them Picture Perfect!
19:00 Elysabeth Eldering- Hosting Authors on Virtual Book Tours
20:00 Joyce Anthony - Promoting with Twitter
21:00 Ron Berry - Character websites
22:00 Devon Ellington - Creating and maintaining a successful writer's blog.
23:00 Carol Denbow - Technical Aspects
TBC Lea Schizas - What editors look for and how writers can spruce their writing

*TBC - Time to be confirmed



FAQ’s

What is PROMO DAY?
PROMO DAY is a FREE online international event for people in the writing industry. A whole day dedicated to promoting, networking and learning.

When is PROMO DAY?
This year's event takes place on Saturday, May 9, 2009.

Where does PROMO DAY take place?
PROMO day website

Who can take part in PROMO DAY?
Everyone! Avid readers, writers, authors, publishers, editors, graphic designers, virtual assistants etc… Anyone with an interest in books and writing, from anywhere in the world.

What features are available on site?
The site is packed full of opportunities for authors to promote their books. They can post a video trailer and writing sample and promote in the on site PROMO chatroom.

The sample page is also great for writers to show off their skills and maybe get a book deal or a paid writing assignment.

The useful links page is full great sites with information and resources for people in the writing industry.

The downloads page will be packed full of files containing useful information, tips and advice on a variety of subjects. These will be available for FREE download during the event.

A new feature for this year is the Radio and Podcasts page which features some great shows for writers.

Another fantastic new feature is the FREE on site workshops taking place during the event. They are presented by guest hosts who are experts from the industry and cover a variety of topics. This is a great way to learn more about the industry.

There is also an on site bookstore where people can purchase books written by the events, sponsor, workshops hosts and moderators.

The event takes place in CET time. How can I check the workshop times listed with other international times?
Simple, just go to the time difference page of the website and insert your time zone into the converter.


More coming, stay tuned!

Life is Tough and Life Saver book tour (The Stayin' Alive with Stacy tour)

I hosted Stacy Anderson on her The Santa Letters blog tour and am happy to present her with her new book: Life is Tough: I Doubt I'll Make It Out Alive.

Follow the schedule below and see what other folks are saying about this new book. I will post a review on my day (the 29th of April). If you want to follow on Facebook, Stacy has set up an accoun there for the "life savers" challenge as well.

Purchase info can be gained by visiting Stacy's blog and contacting her directly. The book is available at all online sources and any bookstore.

Enjoy :)

Wednesday, April 1 – (There was a change here)

LIFESAVERS - WE ALL NEED SOME IN OUR LIVES.


Thursday, April 2 – Tristi Pinkston at LDS Author Blog Tristi's “Life Saver” is "Fat people are harder to kidnap."

Friday, April 3 – Stacy will have information on the Pleasant Grove fundraiser on her blog as Teri already posted her review on the Forever Friends Book Nook. Teri's "Life Saver“ is "A friend is someone who thinks you’re a good egg even though you’re slightly cracked."

Saturday, April 4 – Liz Adair at Sez Liz. Liz's “Life Saver” is "Space is a dangerous place – especially if it’s between your ears!"

Sunday, April 5 – --------------------- (no postings on Sundays)

Monday, April 6 – Michele Bell at Michelle A Bell – Author. Michelle's “Life Saver” is "Never argue with a stupid person because when you do, they’ll drag you down to their level."

Tuesday, April 7 – Kersten Campbell at Inspirational Quotes on Motherhood. Kersten's “Life Saver” is "It’s hard to understand how a cemetery can raise it’s burial charges and blame it on the cost of living."

Wednesday, April 8 – Kathi Oram Peterson at Kathi’s Writing Nook. Kathi's “Life Saver” is "Democracy is 3 wolves and one sheep voting on what to have for dinner."

Thursday, April 9 - Karlene Browning at Ink Splasher and Provident Book. Karlene's “Life Saver” is "All power corrupts but we need the electricity."

Friday, April 10 – Kevan Jensen on FaceBook. Kevan's “Life Saver” is "Invariably, if someone calls the bladder control hotline, someone will answer “Can you hold please?”"

Saturday, April 11 – Cindy Bezas at The Message from the Grove. Cindy's “Life Saver” is "A man who lives in a glass house should change in the basement."

Sunday, April 12 - ------------------ (no posting on Sunday)

Monday, April 13 – Kari Pike at As a Beacon Light. Kari's “Life Saver” is "If you want to be a leader with a large following, go slow on a two-way street."

Tuesday, April 14 –Sandra Sorenson at The Dance. Sandra's “Life Saver” is "Even in a pile of manure, a flower will grow."

Wednesday, April 15 – Vicki Firth at Vicki's facebook page. Vicki's “Life Saver” is "In spite of the cost of living going up, it’s still quite popular."

Thursday, April 16 - Alison Palmer at Tangled Words and Dreams. Alison's “Life Saver” is "Anyone who thinks you are too small to make a difference has never been alone in a tent with a hungry mosquito."

Friday, April 17 – Cecily Markland. Cecily's “Life Saver” is "Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they will never cease to be amused."

Saturday, April 18 – Lisa Bennett on Facebook. Lisa's “Life Saver” is "A wise man amongst the ignorant is as Brittney Spears in the company of blind men."

Sunday, April 19 - --------------------(no posting on Sunday)

Monday, April 20 – Anne Bradshaw at Not Entirely British. Anne's “Life Saver” is "How long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom door you are on."


Tuesday, April 21 – Jen Lords at Lords of the Manor. Jen's “Life Saver” is "A dog who attends a flea circus will most likely steal the whole show."

Wednesday, April 22 – Megan Gooch at The ‘H’ Four. Megan's “Life Saver” is "A kid’s idea of a balance meal is a hamburger in each hand."

Thursday, April 23 – Wendy Cohen at Motherhood Matters. Wendy's “Life Saver” is "If most accidents happen at home, shouldn’t you move?"

Friday, April 24 – Danyelle Ferguson at Queen of the Clan. Danyelle's “Life Saver” is "He who dies with the most toys is still nonetheless dead."

Saturday, April 25 – Holly Barnes at 2 Kids and Tired Books. Holly's
"Life Saver” is "If the grass on the other side of the fence is greener, then it must be all the fertilizer they are using."

Sunday, April 26 – ------------------ (no posting on Sunday)

Monday, April 27 – Wendy Elliot at Wendword. Wendy's “Life Saver” is "Unless you’re the lead dog, the view is always the same."

Tuesday, April 28 - Candace Salima at Dream a Little Dream Blog. Candace's “Life Saver” is "It’s important to be cool – just don’t get your nose nipped off by Jack Frost when your coolness factor enters the sub-zero region."

Wednesday, April 29 – Elysabeth Eldering at Elysabeth’s Emerald City. Elysabeth's “Life Saver” is "I have faith in fools, my friends call it self confidence!"

Thursday, April 30 – Shirley Bahlmann at Shirley Bahlmann Biz. Shirley's “Life Saver” is "Even a mosquito doesn’t get a slap on the back until he starts to work."


Cheryl Malandrinos - sometime in May at The Book Connection


Hope you all enjoy a few "life savers" from Stacy's book. See you all in the postings - E :)

Local writer's conference is a hit!

I attended the Foothills Writer's Guild 2009 conference the last weekend of March. I found out about it a bit late but was lucky enough to get registered and even a bit luckier that one of the members had something come up so I actually could get the conference at their cost. I think someone was looking out for me. This is local and held at Anderson University every year (this was the 20th annual conference). It is a 2-day conference with about 70 or so attendees. What, you may ask, was offered for such a small group?

Keynote Dick Cote started the dinner off discussing censorship (I was hoping he so would incorporate issues with CPSIA in his speech when I saw that he had changed his address as listed). He also offered several workshops Friday night and Saturday of interest to writers of many different types of writing.

Children's author Kate Salley Palmar offered sevveral workshops pertaining to a writer's and illustrator's life with things on writing memories (in children's books, of course), writing nonfiction and several others.

There were a couple of poetry workshops offered (I didn't attend any of these since I'm not a poet and read very little poetry).

And then there was Lisa Earle McLeod of the Forget Perfect newsletter. Talk about hilarious. This woman was so good, I attended almost every one of her workshops, even though the topics didn't necessarily apply to me. I did bring home some information that I found useful for another of my writer friends this week and so I'm glad I did attend the getting published in magazines, et cetera - workshop. Lisa has grassroots in the area as her father is a member of the Foothills Writer's Guild and he was right there with her, supporting her all the way. She was the Saturday luncheon speaker and I think she garnered a few laughs. I really enjoyed her workshops and would probably attend more if she were to come back next year.

We also had a general session about getting yourself out there and using the technology available to promote yourself with Jane Friedman of the Writer's Digest publicity. She was interesting, but I don't think she had enough time to really get all the information in that she wanted to do. I believe she's already been asked to come back next year.

Some local authors got to pitch their books and I was one of them (yay me!) but it is really hard to pitch to other writer's and especially children's books when the average of those attending was about 55 or older (not that that's a bad thing, but not knowing if they have kids in my target range is difficulty to gage).

I will be attending the meetings (even though they conflict with the SCWW meetings once a month) and see what they are all about. I think the group is small enough that I should benefit from it. Next meeting is in a couple of weeks - so any of my friends in the local area who may be interested, check out their website for more information.


Hope you all enjoy - see you in the postings soon - E :)

PROMO day creator - Jo Linsdell

Born in Gillingham, Kent (UK) in September 1980. Married name Joanne Denise Feliciani. She uses her maiden name, Linsdell, as her pen name. Having passed 10 GCSE’s, she went on to study Business Studies, History and Art A-Levels at Yateley 6th Form. She left England and moved to Rome, Italy in June 2001, where she now lives with her Italian husband. She gave birth to their first son in December 2007.

She has had various jobs including working in hostels, being a tour guide and teaching English as a foreign language. She now works full-time as a freelance writer. She writes regularly for various websites, newspapers and magazines.

Her books, Italian for tourists and A guide to weddings in Italy, along with her various ebooks; Il dolce Natale: Christmastime in Italy, Some risks are worth taking, INSIDE.OUT, La Befana, The Patron Saint of Lovers and Free Promotional Techniques: Ways to market your books are all available to buy at www.lulu.com/jolinsdell.

She is also the creator and manager of the multi award winning site http://writersandauthors.blogspot.com



Visit her at http://jolinsdell.tripod.com or http://www.myspace.com/jolinsdell

PROMO Day - coming to a computer near you soon

MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release

Contact info:
Jo Linsdell - Founder and Organiser
Email: promoday@ymail.com
website
Blog


THE PROMOTIONAL EVENT FOR THE WRITING INDUSTRY IS BACK!

PROMO DAY makes its return in 2009 and promises to be the best yet. Mark your calendars for Saturday 9th May 2009!

An all day, online, international event for people in the writing industry packed full of tips and advice along with a variety of opportunities for writers, publishers, editors etc to promote their work and services. Readers are also welcome to drop in and get to know the authors better in the online chatroom, view the video trailers or read the sample chapters on site.

Founder and Organiser of the event, Jo Linsdell, had this to say “PROMO DAY came about because I was looking for opportunities to promote my books using the internet at little or no cost. After attending the Muse Online Writers Conference back in 2006, I searched the internet for similar events aimed at what to do after you’ve written the book and found none. I decided to fill the void and so PROMO DAY was born. PROMO DAY is a great opportunity to network with other members of the industry, take part in online workshops and promote and best of all it’s FREE”.

New features for this year is the Official Blog for the event, PROMO day blog, where everyone can keep up to date with new announcements and information regarding the event and the official PROMO DAY book, packed full of information and resources, which will be available to buy during and after the event.
Visit the website PROMO day webesite for more details of how you can be involved.

BE PART OF THE ACTION, BE PART OF PROMO DAY!


More coming, stay tuned.