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ERMA BOMBECK WRITERS' WORKSHOP NEWSLETTER
University of Dayton
November 2004
mailto:erma@udayton.edu
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My first book will be published in April 2005. The publishing process is so long, it seems like decades ago that I wrote it. Now I'm writing less and spending most of my free time getting ready to promote my book. I've spent the past few months lining up more than 100 book reviewers and putting together an e-media kit. My publisher has been great to work with but, like most publishers, they don't have a large promotion budget or staff.
So, about 12 months ago, I began to read about do-it-yourself book publicity. One of the best books I came across was "The Frugal Book Promoter: How to do what your publisher won't" by Carolyn Howard-Johnson. If you're looking for "nitty-gritty how-tos for getting nearly free publicity," this is the book for you. See http://tinyurl.com/4vqyc
I'll keep you posted as my book goes to press. In the meantime, you can see my book's cover and some "advance praise" at www.TimBete.com.
There are some other good book publicity articles below.
Keep writing!
Tim Bete
Humor columnist (http://www.TimBete.com) and director, Erma
Bombeck Writers' Workshop (http://www.HumorWriters.org)
P.S. Feel free to forward this newsletter to all your writer friends.
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FREE BOOKS, FREE MUSIC
An unknown band uses humor and determination to promote itself. Their techniques could work for your book, too.
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WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?
Richard Hunt, UD graduate and president of Emmis Books, shares news about his firm's new humor series.
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HOW I BECAME A SYNDICATED COLUMNIST
Sarah Smiley says the road to syndication is taken one step at a time.
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WHO SAYS YOU'RE NOT A WRITER?
Lynn Colwell tells how to "armor your heart against the cold reality that faces every aspiring writer."
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AN INTERVIEW WITH DEBBIE FARMER
Syndicated humor columnist Debbie Farmer says she spends half of her time writing and the other half marketing.
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HOW MGM CHOOSES A SCRIPT
As Director of Creative Affairs for MGM Pictures, Stephanie Palmer receives more than 4,000 scripts each year. In an interview at Scriptologist.com, Palmer describes the inside workings of the film industry.
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FINDING EXPERTS, SOURCES AND CONTACTS
Need to find an expert to interview on a tight deadline? Pamela White tells you how.
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DAVE BARRY TO TAKE LEAVE
Dave Barry, The Miami Herald's Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist, plans to take an indefinite leave of absence from the newspaper starting in January.
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TWO ARRESTED FOR HURLING PIES AT COLUMNIST
Two men ran onstage and threw custard pies at conservative columnist Ann Coulter as she was giving a speech at the University of Arizona, hitting her in the shoulder.
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ROW AT HARPERCOLLINS AFTER BOOKS FAIL TO SELL
British publishing is dominated by a few gatekeepers who decide which titles will make it. But there's dissension in the ranks at HarperCollins.
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TRACK BOOK SALES BY PHONE
The Ingram Book Group distributes more than a million titles to more than 30,000 stores. You can track the sales of a title through Ingram by calling 800-937-8000. Press 4 then enter the extension 36803. You will be asked for the book's ISBN or UPC number. When prompted, enter it and you'll be given recent and year-to-date sales. It will also tell you how many copies of a book are in the Ingram warehouses. Some estimates claim that half of all books move through an Ingram warehouse.
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THINK YOU PROCRASTINATE?
Marsha Marks shares how she spends her day to avoid writing.
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WHO'S PUBLISHING WHAT?
PAST WORKSHOP FACULTY
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PAST WORKSHOP ATTENDEES
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LIEBER BEST IN TARRANT COUNTY: Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Dave Lieber was picked as the best columnist in the Fort Worth Weekly's 2004 Best of Tarrant County contest. See http://www.YankeeCowboy.com
GUY WINS CONTEST: Deborah Guy won the Toastmasters District 40, Area 23 Humorous Speech Contest with her essay "Queen of My Castle."
KELLY GETS FIRST ACCEPTANCE: Diane O'Brien Kelly had her first magazine article published in Northwest Family News.
ANDERSON PUBLISHES THIRD: Dickie Anderson, columnist, essayist and speaker has released her third book, "Porch Plenitude: Enjoy Everyday." The third book follows her first two and is a collection of essays taken from her popular weekly columns in the Fernandina Beach News-Leader. See http://www.dickieanderson.com
DLUGOS WINS COMEDY AWARD: Jenn Dlugos won a stand-up comedy competition at the MGM Grand and was named Most Promising Comic. See http://www.dejennerate.com
OTHER PUBLISHING NEWS
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DYER PUBLISHES GRACE FOR THE RACE: Dena Dyer has published "Grace for the Race: Meditations for Busy Moms" through Barbour Publishing. See http://www.denadyer.com
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HUMOR WRITER OF THE MONTH: SARAH SMILEY
Sarah Smiley's syndicated "Shore Duty" column appears in three national magazines and seven newspapers. Her column has made her one of the nation's leading advocates for military families. Sarah's first book, "Confessions of a Military Housewife," will be published by New American Library (a division of The Penguin Group) in 2005.
If you'd like to be considered as our featured writer, send an e-mail with a link to one of your columns to: mailto:bete@udayton.edu
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WRITER'S DIGEST BOOK GIVEAWAY
Each month we give away a book on writing to a few subscribers to this newsletter. If you're subscribed, you're entered to win! This issue's winners are:
* Arlene Robinson from Winder, Ga.
* David Kovsky from Boulder, Co.
Each has won a copy of “Writing Life Stories" by Bill Roorbach.
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MARKETS, CONTESTS AND MORE
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AMY WRITING AWARDS: Recognizes creative, skillful writing that presents in a sensitive, thought-provoking manner the biblical position on issues affecting the world today. See http://www.amyfound.org/awa.html
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FUNDSforWRITERS CONTEST: Theme --My Hurdle, My Success. See http://tinyurl.com/4shru
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BOOKFLASH: Announce your book or publishing-related event through BookFlash by sending out press releases to thousands of media outlets. See http://www.bookflash.com
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LITERARY LEAPS: Draw traffic to your book's Web site by adding your link to Literary Leaps, one of the most comprehensive collections of book-related sites. Free site submission. See http://www.literaryleaps.com
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LITERARY AGENTS: The online home of The Association of Authors' Representatives, a not-for-profit organization of independent literary and dramatic agents. See http://www.aar-online.org
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LOOKING FOR RARE, AUTOGRAPHED BOOKS? Abebooks is the world's largest online marketplace for books. They make it simple and safe to find and buy -- or list and sell -- new, used, rare, and out-of-print books online. See http://www.abebooks.com
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CENTER FOR COMMUNITY JOURNALISM: Foster effective community journalism by training working journalists and forging a link between academia and the community journalists. See http://www.oswego.edu/ccj
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NETWORK WITH OTHER HUMOR WRITERS: Network with other humor writers. Join the e-mail discussion group for past attendees of the Erma Bombeck Writers'
Workshop and those who would like to attend in the future.
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SUGGEST A RESOURCE: If you have a favorite book or Web site, let us know at bete@udayton.edu.
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Copyright 2004, University of Dayton
