WRITERS’
Tricks of the Trade Writers’ Tricks of the Trade is published Bi-monthly Helpful articles Industry news Book review Conference Listings And much, much more!
An eZine for Writers SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2014
Volume 4, Issue 5
Tips, Techniques and Tricks Chats with the Experts Industry News...and... more
Sept-Oct 2014
PAGE
JULY-AUGUST 2014
1-2
MORGAN’S CORNER
3-4
CHANGES IN NYT BEST SELLER LISTS -CAN AN AUTHOR BUY THEIR WAY ONTO THE LISTS?
5-6
LIFE STORIES: FOOLING THE FEDS GINA MARION FROM THE UPCOMING BOOK, “IZZY AND ME”
7 8-9
WRITER’S CONFERENCES
10-11
ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO, THREE POTATO, …? CAROLYN HAYES UBER – REPRINT FROM HER BLOG WRITING TITLEZ THE WRITING/PUBLISHING COMMUNITY MOURNS HER PASSING
12
FIRST CHAPTER PLUS
13-15
DO FREE GIVEAWAYS WORK? MORGAN ST. JAMES
16-18
3 TIPS TO WOW AGENTS AND PUBLISHERS AT CONFERENCES WENDY LIPTON-DIBNER REPRINTED FROM RICK FRISHMAN’S AUTHOR UNIVERSITY 101 NEWSLETTER
19-20
REVIEWS BY MARTHA “THE DEEPEST DARK” BY JOAN HALL HOVEY
21
JUST FOR GIGGLES AND GRINS
22-23
READERS’ FAVORITE REVIEW AND EXCERPT A CORPSE IN THE SOUP
24-25
FORMER MOBSTER AND ENTERTAINER/TOUR OPERATOR TEAM UP TO PRODUCE MOB-CON MEET FORMER MOBSTERS AND THE LAWMEN WHO CHASED THEM UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
26
WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE – THE BOOK
BLOG, BLOG, BLOG FRED RAYWORTH
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ABOUT WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE Publishing industry professionals—authors, publishers, editors and others in the business—have helped Writers’ Tricks of the Trade grow and thanks to them the readership keeps increasing. Monthly issues contain helpful articles, industry news, writers’ conference listings, book reviews and reader brags or announcements and much more. These are all open to submissions.
Life Stories, is always open for submission and it’s a good opportunity to share something funny, devastating or inspirational that happened in your life. To suggest a topic or submit an article for consideration, please send your submission to WTTmagazine@gmail.com. The eZine publishes on the 15th of every month. Deadlines are the 5th of the publication month. If an issue is full, approved articles will appear in a future issue.
FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE JUST HOLD DOWN CONTROL AND CLICK BUY NOW TO GO TO THE AMAZON PAGE FOR EACH FEATURED REFERENCE BOOK, NYT BEST SELLER AND BOOKS WRITTEN BY THE ARTICLE CONTRIBUTORS THROUGHOUT THIS EZINE, OR ORDER FROM YOUR FAVORITE ONLINE BOOKSELLER OR LOCAL BOOKSTORE.
HELPFUL FEATURES TO GET THE MOST OUT OF EACH ISSUE: UNLIKE A REGULAR PDF: Zoom or reduce by clicking anywhere in the document. To adjust it further, use the zoom indicator that appears. Click the NOTES icon to post sticky notes to yourself Turn pages by clicking the lower corner FROM THE OPTIONS DROPDOWN MENU: Download offline copy Choose your preferred view—single page or double page Hold left mouse to move the whole newsletter from side to side or up and down easily. Move to right for 2 page spread FROM THE CONTENTS DROPDOWN MENU: View thumbnails for each page like a PDF View your notes or highlights BE SURE TO EXPLORE THE OTHER ICONS
September-October 2014
Quotable Quotes – Humor Humor should be a part of your life. If you learn to look at situations that could be disastrous and find the humor, you have taken a step in the right direction. Take these quotes, for instance~
“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” ― Groucho Marx, The Essential Groucho: Writings For By And About Groucho Marx
“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” ― Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt
“Reality continues to ruin my life.” ― Bill Watterson, The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
“Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.” ― Mark Twain
92)
Morgan’s Corner Morgan’s Corner
MORGAN ST. JAMES, EDITOR
WHERE HAS THE YEAR GONE? So many things have happened this year, it has just flown by. One minute it was Spring, and all of a sudden the advertising pundits are talking about the countdown days till Christmas. For all we know, next year they will begin the countdown right after the 4th of July. Well, it’s all about sales, and of course, as authors so many of us are also concerned with sales. We try everything to discover the next latest, greatest thing and often are disappointed.
BUY NOW Buy N W
Some things work for some books—certain genres—and some things don’t. It’s like a roll of the dice, but you have to try to know. I thought the Kindle Countdown would be good and tried it on one book a few months back. I combined it with a Goodreads Giveaway of some paperback copies of the same book. The results were extremely disappointing. Almost no after-sales, and no reviews. Whoops, there was one review and not what I would have wanted to read, but then I realized the book simply was not a genre that person liked. A Kindle Free promotion from July 30-August 1 for the same book, with constant monitoring and posting, yielded over 5,800 downloads, residual sales and the book has maintained a far better ranking both overall and in its genre in paid sales for a month-and-a-half so far. Go figure.
BUY NOW
BUY NOW
LISTEN TO AN AUDIO SAMPLE AT AMAZON/AUDIBLE BUY NOW
NOW ON A VERY SERIOUS NOTE RIP CAROLYN HAYES UBER
On September 14 the publishing world lost one of its shining stars. Carolyn Hayes Uber. The former CEO of Stephens Press finally lost her battle with cancer although she put up an extremely valiant fight. Her courage was inspirational. BUY NOW
Cont’d…
WRITERS ’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE Cont’d next page…
PAGE 1
Buy Now
SEPT-OCT 2014
PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK “BUY NOW” TO PURCHASE ANY BOOK
Silver Sisters Mysteries Denise van Venr GET YOUR FREE KINDLE COPY ON SEPT 24 AND 25
Morgan’s Corner (Cont’d) In the last issue of Writers’ Tricks of the Trade, the Life Story feature was written by Carolyn as she celebrated her 4th “Rebirthday” after receiving two stem cell transplants and she shared what it was like to go through that. While at Stephens Press, she also wrote the Working Titlez blog and continued until mid-2013. It was filled with her musings and solid advice for writers. Her last post on July 6, 2013, One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, More … ? is reprinted on Page 10 and 11, I was proud to number her among my friends and she will be sorely missed.
PLEASE POST A
WHAT’S NEW ON MY UPCOMING BOOKS?
REVIEW ON
The latest book I’ve co-authored with Dennis N. Griffin, Izzy and Me, is Gina Marion’s story of her life with her father, Izzy Marion, who was a wellknown character in Las Vegas. He was celebrity “Hair Stylist to the Stars,” an entertainer, restaurateur, casino host with connections to several Mob bosses, and more. Gina’s story includes what it was like to be the daughter of a man like that, but it also reveals what went on behind closed doors, and it wasn’t pretty. She bears the scars of many years of abuse. The book is due out late this year. The Life Story in this issue is one of the funny times in Gina’s life, “I Can’t Believe You Saved That Mustache.”
AMAZON
Goldie
Godiva The twins and their zany mother and uncle, 80 year-old former vaudeville magicians Flossie and Sterling Silver TRACK A KILLER
Please, if you are an abuse victim, know an abused child or adult, or sadly, are an abuser yourself, October is Domestic Abuse Awareness Month, but it is imperative that this is not just a month, but a year-long awareness. Don’t hesitate to seek help. The media has been filled with stories of abuse victims who have not survived, and there is help available. As we’ve learned, the challenge is courage to reach out for it.
MOB-CON 2014 September 28 and 29 former mobsters, the lawmen who chased them and true crime authors gather at the Palace Station Hotel in Las Vegas for Mob-Con. Crime writers and true crime lovers should check this out. Space is still available to meet these people and hear their stories first hand, and add signed copies of their books to your collection. See the story on Pages 24-25.
SEPT-OCT 2014
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WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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CHANGES IN NYT BEST SELLER LISTS CAN AN AUTHOR BUY THEIR WAY ONTO THE LISTS On September 11, the New York Times unveiled its new monthly lists. They will include Humor, Family and Travel among others. Changes will apply both online and in print. The New York Times Best Sellers franchise will introduce twelve new monthly lists. The Times will introduce 9 new lists and intends to add to the Lists in 2015. The new lists are: Travel, Humor, Family, Relationships, Animals, Religion, Spirituality and Faith and Celebrities. On a rotating basis, the Book Review will also publish several popular lists that were previously online exclusives in their print edition. They include Politics, Manga, Graphic Novels, Food, and Fitness. In addition, on a weekly rotating basis, the newly designed page for the print edition will highlight four niche lists selected from the following categories: Humor, Travel, Relationships, Business, Family, Celebrities, Science, Animals, Sports, Religion, Spirituality and Faith. The new print edition layout creates an additional page for print editorial content including reviews, essays and features. The first redesigned issue features an essay by Henry Alford on book etiquette.
Did you know you can literally “buy your way” onto the NYT Best Sellers List, but it costs big bucks. A company called ResultSource has emerged as the company that claims they can make it happen, and apparently they do. So if you have a spare $70,000 - $200,000 lying around, check it out. If you don’t, which is more likely, you can dream, can’t you? But the question that comes to mind is whether this casts a shadow on the veracity of the list? And it’s not only NYT. ResultsSource also claims they can get top spots for their clients on USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and others. It was reported that Seattle’s Mars Hill Church paid out $210,000 to in 2011 and 2012 to ensure a book by their pastor would make the list. It is clear this type of maneuvering does create a disadvantage for the little guy who has visions of having a NYT bestseller. Draw your own conclusion. Read an article about ResultSource here: http://bit.ly.com/BSTSLRL
WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE
PAGE 3
HOW RESULTSOURCE PULLED IT OFF FOR
SOME CLIENTS FOR $$$$ Clients are requireed to provide lists of people who would buy the book, then the publisher or author has to provide books to ResultSource at the publisher’s own cost. The number of books required is around 10,000+ which adds up to a pretty penny! ResultSource apparently then uses gift cards to buy the books and send them to the people on the list. The receipt lists the recipient as the buyer because a gift card in their name was used. Many of the people claim they didn’t even want the book. Hanky-Panky?
SEPT-OCT 2014
PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK “BUY NOW” TO PURCHASE ANY BOOK CURRENT NYT
NEW YORK TIMES AND RESULTSOURCE (CONT’D)
BEST SELLERS
In checking further, it’s clear that several Best Seller lists can be affected by manipulation although the publications try to block such maneuvers. Amazon has actually drawn the line in the sand, so to speak, with clients of ResultSource. Here is an interesting chart:
9/14/14
COMBINED PRINT & E-BOOK FICTION 1.
PERSONAL, by
Lee Child 2.
SOMEWHERE
SAFE WITH SOMEBODY GOOD, by Jan Karon 3.
THE EYE OF
HEAVEN, by Clive Cussler and Russell Blake 4.
GONE GIRL, by
Gillian Flynn 5.
THE SECRET
PLACE, by Tana French Complete List »
COMBINED PRINT & E-BOOK NONFICTION 1.
WHAT IF?, by
Randall Munroe 2.
UNBROKEN, by
Laura Hillenbrand 3.
THE BOYS IN
THE BOAT, by Daniel James Brown 4.
UNPHILTERED,
by Phil Robertson with Mark Schlabach 5.
DIARY OF A
MAD DIVA, by Joan Rivers
SEPT-OCT 2014
PAGE 4
WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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Life Stories FOOLING THE FEDS EXCERPT FROM UPCOMING MEMOIR BY GINA MARION AS TOLD TO MORGAN ST. JAMES AND DENNIS N. GRIFFIN “IZZY AND ME – LIVING WITH FEAR” I’d been plowing through boxes for hours and needed a short break. My head was filled with traumatic memories, and I needed to decompress.
GINA MARION
As I poured a cup of coffee, I noticed my hands were shaking. I hadn’t realized how enormous the emotional drain would be. If I did write this book about my life with Izzy, I realized the key to forgiveness would be the memories I had suppressed all these years—the good and the bad. And the contents of those boxes would help unlock them. After I returned to the room, I was drawn to one particular small box. Unlike the others, this one was filled with memorabilia, not documents or photos. Just “stuff.” I spilled its contents onto the floor. The first thing I saw was a fur-like fake mustache. I picked it up and while the history behind it flashed through my mind, I pasted it on my upper lip. When I looked in the mirror over the double dresser, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
GINA AS A CHILD WITH FUTURE STEP-MOTHER SINGER CONNIE FRANCIS
I can’t believe he saved the mustache! The last time I’d worn it was the day Izzy made me a decoy. After I’d been sent back to Las Vegas from my mother’s house, Izzy was being followed by the FBI. One day he called and asked me to meet him at Helen J. Stewart, a special education school serving students with disabilities. “I have to make a phone call to set up a meeting,” he said, “and I need to use a phone booth. Park near my car in the parking lot, but not right next to it.” “Why do you need me to come there? Why not just use a phone booth like you always do? “If I leave, they’ll follow me, so I have to throw them off my trail. Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to dress you in a disguise and those fools will think you’re me. You’ll lead them on a wild goose chase while I make my call and have my meeting.” …Cont’d
GINA’S FATHER IZZY MARIONCELEBRITY HAIRSTYLIST, ENTERTAINER, RESTAURATEUR WITH
MOB TIES.
WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE
PAGE 5
SEPT-OCT 2014
PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK “BUY NOW” TO PURCHASE ANY BOOK FOOLING THE FEDS (CONT’D)
That actually sounded like fun. “Go inside the school where Cousin Tommy and I will be waiting.” I did as he instructed, and when I met them inside the school he handed me some clothes. GINA AS A CHILD, KISSING ELVIS PRESLEY
“Take these into the bathroom and change into them. Once you’re dressed like me, we’ll comb your hair like mine, and—” he’d held out the fake mustache “here, put this on, too.” A mischievous smile lit his face. “Listen, Gina. When you’re almost to the hotel, take off the mustache and change into your own clothes. They won’t be able to see what you’re doing. At the hotel, get out of the car as Gina and they’ll go crazy wondering how they messed up.” After I changed into his clothes, I peeked out the door. There was enough distance from our car to where the FBI agents were parked so they wouldn't be able to see it was me.
GINA AS A CHILD WITH TOM JONES
I got into the backseat of Izzy’s car wearing the mustache and Izzy’s clothes with my hair combed like his. My cousin Tommy put the bag with my own clothes on the front seat and I slouched down so that I was just high enough for them to see enough of me to think it was Izzy. We pulled out of the parking lot and they followed. Then, according to plan, Izzy got into my car and took off. They followed us all the way to the Aladdin Hotel.
* * * Thinking about all I’d experienced in my life and how many more forgotten memories were stored in these boxes, I felt I’d have more than enough for a book. My next job was to get everything organized so I could search for co-authors and an agent.
* * * Izzy Marion was a well-known figure in Las Vegas. Outwardly he was an engaging fellow who had earned fame as “Hairstylist to the Stars.” His clients included everyone from Tom Jones to Shirley MacLaine and scores of other household names. Sinatra even flew him into California to provide hairstyles and makeup for Nancy Sinatra’s wedding party. He had his fingers in many pies including restaurants, a TV show, and stints as a singer at casinos like the Frontier in Las Vegas, interest in an advertising agency and more. His close friends included some of the top men in various branches of the Mafia. There was the good, and then there was the bad—very bad. Gina tells the whole story in “Izzy and Me.”
SEPT-OCT 2014
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WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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WRITERS CONFERENCES LISTINGS ARE FOR INFORMATION ONLY. PLEASE CHECK THEM OUT YOURSELF
2014
ADD THESE BOOKS TO
Sept 19-20 Central Coast Writers Conference, San Luis Obispo CA For more information http://www.communityprograms.net/wc/wcindex.htm
YOUR LIBRARY
Sept 19-21 Southern California Writers Conference, Los Angeles CA For more information http://writersconference.com/la Sept 25-27 Florida Heritage Book Festival and Writers Conference, St. Augustine FL For more information http://www.fhbookfest.com/writers-conference Oct
3-5
Write
on
the
Sound,
Edmonds
WA
For
more
information
http://www.writeonthesound.com/conference
Oct 9-11 Ozark Creative Writers Conference, Eureka Springs AR For more information http://ozarkcreativewriters.com
BUY NOWV
Oct 10-12 Moonlight and Magnolias 2014, Norcross GA For more information http://www.georgiaromancewriters.org/mm-conference
October 16-18 Vegas Valley Book Festival, Las Vegas NV For more information http://vegasvalleybookfestival.org Oct 24-26 Chicago Writers Conference, Chicago IL For more information http://www.chicagowritersconference.org
Oct 24-27 The Colrain Classic Poetry Conference, Wilmington VT For more information http://www.colrainpoetry.com/wp/?page_id=929 Oct 24-26 South Carolina Writers Workshop, Myrtle Beach SC information http://myscww.org/conference
For more
BUY NOW
Nov 7-9 New York Writers Fiction Pitch Workshop, New York NY For more information http://www.newyorkwritersworkshop.com/fiction-pitch-conference Nov 6-9 Ninth Annual Sanibel Island Writers Conference, Sanibel Island FL more information http://www.fgcu.edu/siwc
For
Nov 13o-16 Windsor International Writers Conference, Windsor CANADA For more information http://windsorwc.org/2014-schedule Nov 15 The 2014 Self-Publishing Book Expo, New York City NY For more information http://selfpubbookexpo.com Nov 17-20 Writing Retreat Betheny Beach DE For more information http://writingworkshopregister.wordpress.com
WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE
PAGE 7
BUY NOW
SEPT-OCT 2014
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BLOG, BLOG, BLOG FRED RAYWORTH HTTP://WWW.FREDRAYWORTH.COM
I belong to Henderson Writer’s Group and the title is a direct quote from vice el-presidente Andres, who also runs our web site. He’s always encouraging members to submit articles and blog posts to keep the web site active, and with good reason. The web site is there for everyone. It’s a great place to keep up with the happenings within the group and also to glean info on the craft of writing.
TWO SIDES
FRED RAYWORTH A MAN OF MANY TALENTS
VISIT FRED’S OWN BLOG HTTP://FREDRAYWORT H.COM
I’ve heard it all. At every writer’s conference, there are those that preach blogging and social media as the be-all end-all of getting your name out to the world. It’s the cheapest and easiest way to let the world know you exist. It’s the most convenient marketing tool. On the other hand, especially recently, there is the emerging crowd that believes social media and blogging is as useless as tits on a hog. They feel it’s a colossal waste of time and nobody pays attention to any of it. They never buy books based on either the social media sites or anything you write, let alone read what you say.
TIME CONSUMING As with any marketing, blogging takes time. First, you DO have to pay to maintain a web site. What, $30 a year for a decent one, though there are the down-and-dirty cheap ones that you can get for free that have little functionality, or modest ones for $20 or maybe even less. Or, you can go much more if you hire someone to do it for you. I see those, and red lights flash in my mind. I have very little HTML background and I almost forked out $200 to have someone do a web site for me, but I hedged on that, paid $29 and did it on my own. I may not have a super-duper totally spiffy site, but I don’t think I’ve done that bad. Sure, it could probably use some more functionality, but considering where I’m at, I’m not ready to fork out big bucks for something I don’t need. Neither do you. Building the basic site, then writing something on it takes time. Maintaining it does also. And, if you start getting traffic, keeping up with it does also. …Cont’d
SEPT-OCT 2014
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WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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WHAT’S THE POINT? When your book comes out, your name is already out there. People know who you are. They know a bit about you. Your book isn’t dropping from a vacuum. You have a platform from which to yell, scream and tell everyone I have a book!
NOT FOR EVERYONE Plenty of authors will tell you they don’t use any of this, and do just fine. Some popular authors have their media relations people do their web sites. The authors themselves barely visit their sites, if at all. I’ve noticed some author’s web spaces haven’t been updated in years. They’re static, yet they keep selling books. The site is like a place mat on the web. Other authors are current, have active blogs and chat with their fans. They have contests, current events, tour dates. They post articles on the social media sites and their web page as well. I have a feeling their fans are more dedicated. What kind of author are you going to be? To re-quote: Blog—Blog—Blog. Happy writing!
“A real writer doesn’t just want to write… A real writer has to write!” ~Anonymous
FRED HAS A BRAG! “I signed on with Inkwell Management for Meleena’s Adventures – Treasure Of The Umbrunna and am going through the content editing process right now. That’s book one of my fantasy series. I guess that’s a pretty significant brag after 681 rejections as of last week.
Congratulations Fred!
WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE
PAGE 9
SEPT-OCT 2014
PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK “BUY NOW” TO PURCHASE ANY BOOK ABOUT CAROLYN HAYES UBER A native Californian,
ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO, THREE POTATO, MORE…? THE LATE CAROLYN HAYES UBER ~ WORKING TITLEZ
Carolyn Hayes Uber grew up in Southern California, attending
YEA, NAY, OR MAYBE FOR SERIES BOOKS?
local schools, meeting a husband in college, the usual suburban
I recently went looking for some new audio fiction to add to my library. I have a good supply of unread print and ebooks, but my
story. Hers took a twist in the early 1970s when she had an opportunity to live in Turkey for two years. Seeing the world up close and personal was life-changing and profoundly inspiring. A thirty-plus years career as founder and president of a successful marketing firm developed a good grasp on “what sells and how to sell it”. Clients included legendary management guru Peter F. Drucker, Los Angeles County Fair, Los Angeles World Airports, Department of Commerce’s Center for International Trade Development, California Egg Commission and many other institutions, agencies and
audio book inventory was getting down. Since I’ve not been able to catch up with my “to be read” books, I’ve also not gone book shopping for a good while. What surprised and somewhat irritated me was how many of the fiction offerings, regardless of from a mainstream publisher or a self-publisher, are series titles. I get it. I get the idea that the author/publisher needs to build a fan base with books #1 and #2 so that books #3-7 will be an easier sell. But will they be equal in quality? An author has to have a really BIG idea to sustain a storyline through six or seven books. Yes, you can introduce some new characters but some of ‘em need to carry forward. In my observation, most series books start out with a terrific book #1. The sophomore title is either better or worse. Better, if the author has found his/her footing and learned from the first title. Worse, if the story wasn’t up to continuation or the writer just isn’t in love with the characters and plots any longer. Subsequent book usually just don’t live up to the promise of the first book for any variety of reasons Sure, there are exceptions. I’m a fan of Gabaldon’s Outlander series and I think her stories have held up through multiple long books, in part because she’s got different parts of the world and different periods of time to work with along with personalities and plots. J. K. Rowling clearly mastered the concept, but again, she had characters that grew up over the course of the books, so they changed from adventure to adventure. I’m no SciFi fan and don’t read Romance, so I can’t comment on those. Mystery thrillers do seem to run out of steam. Authors that want to pursue the series model need to make sure up front that their concept really is a BIG idea that can expand, grow, and keep the attention of …Cont’d
corporations.
SEPT-OCT 2014
PAGE 10
WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE
PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK “BUY NOW” TO PURCHASE ANY BOOK In the early 1980s,
ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO, THREE POTATO…MORE? (CONT’D)
Carolyn turned to books, establishing her second
the readers through literally thousands of pages over time. Also, make sure the publisher (that’s YOU if you self-pub) makes it clear on the cover and descriptive copy that this is Book X of Y in the series. That bugged me even more that it wasn’t obvious up front. You might even find a way to indicate if the books really need to be read in order, or will each book still make sense if read as a standalone. The potatoes? I’m currently reading book one of THE POTATO FACTORY. I’ve heard from other readers that book one is great, book two is okay, and book three is not so good. Since I consider reading any book to be an investment of my time, I’m already questioning my decision to read this book when there are so many terrific books available. What about you? Do you prefer or dislike series books?
company, Dragonflyer Press. In the ensuing years, the company published a variety of award-winning books. Around the same time, she began traveling to Asia, eventually setting up an office and production manager in Hong Kong. A veteran of some 35plus trips to Asia, she
Many thanks to Carolyn for everything she contributed to the industry throughout her long career
was a columnist for the Pacific Rim
Printing trade journal and lectured to the international Printing Industry Association at the Taipei World Trade Center. In 2003, Carolyn began a new adventure. As president of Stephens Press, LLC, she partnered with Stephens Media, LLC in a book publishing venture. Stephens Media publishes several dozen newspapers and associated magazines and
RIP SWEET LADY
other publications around the U.S. including the flagship
Las Vegas ReviewJournal.
.
WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE
PAGE 11
SEPT-OCT 2014
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AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS VISIT FIRST CHAPTER PLUS ADD IT TO YOUR MARKETING CAMPAIGN
SEPT-OCT 2014
PAGE 12
WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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SELF PUBLISHING? HAVING TROUBLE
DO FREE GIVEAWAYS WORK?
WITH
MORGAN ST. JAMES
FORMATTING THE
The answer is ‘yes’ and ‘no’. I’ve been a hybrid author for a few years now, meaning that I am both traditionally and self-published. The world of self publishing has evolved to the point where much of the original onus it fostered in the beginning is now gone. There are some truly wonderful selfpublished books and even many A-List authors have opted to self publish their work. YOU MUST PROMOTE With the surge in self publishing comes the increased competition for the buyer’s dollar. In the beginning if you did a free Kindle giveaway the results could be incredible. A few years ago I did one for my mother’s fun-filled memoir, Can We Come in and Laugh, Too? Here was a book written by an ordinary 80 year old woman who had the extraordinary ability to make people believe in themselves and view the world with humor. No one knew who she was, nor should they have. But with minor promotion over 6,000 copies were downloaded worldwide. People posted their thanks on Facebook and other social media and it generated some very good reviews. In the aftermath of the promotion, over 200 copies were sold within a few weeks plus several paperback copies. That was how it was a few years ago.
KINDLE AND EPUB EDITIONS? LET A PROFESSIONAL DO IT
I’VE USED TED RISK AT DELLASTER DESIGNS AND FIND HIM TO BE REASONABLE, QUICK AND BEST OF ALL IT LOOKS SO MUCH MORE PROFESSIONAL THAN LOADING A PDF OR
MORE FREE BOOKS AVAILABLE EVERY DAY! I tried a free Kindle promotion for a different book at the beginning of 2014 with the same amount of promotion I’d put into my mother’s book. The results were disappointing to say the least. About 600 copies were downloaded with no residual purchases and one review. Readers had become somewhat immune to the lure of a free book because so many were available. I realized stronger pre-promotion and ongoing presence during the free days was imperative, and I decided to try a Goodreads giveaway contest of five paperback copies of Ripoff, a funny crime caper, as the first venture into giving away paperbacks instead of ebooks although there was cost attached to it. There were several hundred requests and, as agreed, I mailed the paperback copies to the five winners. I got one review and never heard a word from the other winners. Essentially it cost about $50 for very little return. I won’t do that again. If I do a Goodreads giveaway for another book there will only be one winner.
WORD DOC TO THE KINDLE OR SMASHWORDS SOFTWARE. HTTP://DELLASTERDESIGN.COM/
Morgan St. James
…Cont’d WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK “BUY NOW” TO PURCHASE ANY BOOK DO FREE GIVEAWAYS WORK? (CONT’D)
In August 2014 I decided to try a Kindle free promotion for Ripoff, but with a much more aggressive program. I used the links in the Authors’ Marketing Club site to submit the promotion to twenty different free and bargain
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book newsletters and blogs well in advance of the date. Free Booksy selected the book as one of their featured free books and just about every other newsletter I’d submitted to did run it. The day before the promotion I began my social media blast. I was all over Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for three days, posting every hour or hour and a half, listed it on my personal website, on the blog for my funny mystery novels, http://funnycrimecapers.blogspot.com, ran an excerpt in the Writers’ Tricks of the Trade eZine and on the related blog and the only thing I didn’t do and could have was to do a blog tour. It was a lot of work, but it did pay off. Over 5,600 free copies of the book were downloaded, there were residual paid sales and another 700 copies were downloaded under the new Kindle Unlimited program after the promotion was over. It ranked in overall Top 100 Free Kindle books and went as far as #1 in its category. Since the 3 day promotion ended, it has remained in top rankings in its category in paid sales and the overall Kindle ranking is much higher than it was before the promotion. Of course, this might not last as time goes one and I’ll have to do lots more to promote the book, but it certainly proved that the FREE PROMOTION does nothing much without doing everything to gain visibility. You can be the best, but if no one knows it doesn’t mean anything. THINGS I LEARNED
BUY NOW I also learned that next time I do a Kindle free book I’ll only run it for two days, not three. The majority of the downloads were on the first and second day. Also, if you keep giving away the same book people get used to seeing it and I think the downloads get fewer and fewer unless you allow for a big time gap between the promotions. Therefore, I’ve just published a little book called Getting Even. It is
only 46 pages and offered for 99 cents, but is basically a promotional vehicle for Ripoff, and I can offer it free any time I decide to. You see, there are two elements in Ripoff—the protagonist’s betrayal by her less-than-honest hunky boytoy and her stint as an amateur undercover sleuth when she goes to work for the Federal prison system.
Getting Even goes into much more depth relative to how she and a bunch of
BUY NOW
other cougars this young man had conned devise a diabolical plan to get even with him. It does give the setup in the first few chapters to let the reader know why she went from a cushy job at a technology corporation to working for the Federal prison system, and that might stimulate the reader’s curiosity about the story contained in …Cont’d
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DO FREE GIVEAWAYS WORK? (CONT’D)
the book Ripoff. However, by going into much more detail than that contained in Ripoff about how she and her fellow Sisterhood of Conned Cougars get back at this sleazy guy, it gives the reader a real feeling for who Kimberly Martin is and how When the exclusive time period for Kindle Select expires for Ripoff, it will be taken out of the program and offered in all other formats via Smashwords. That will open up a whole new market and a new free promotion will be staged. In a nutshell, if you are going to do a free promotion in this day and age, my feeling is you have to have a carefully plotted plan in place first to bring attention to the book. You can’t just list it. You have to be prepared to put the time and energy into what an awareness campaign requires.
AUGUST RESULTS ARE IN FROM THE FREE KINDLE UNLIMITED DOWNLOADS FOR RIPOFF OF THE 684 COPIES DOWNLOADED FREE UNDER THE PROGRAM, MANY WERE OPENED WITH 10% OR BETTER READ.
THAT IS THE CRITERIA FOR
Morgan St. James is the award-winning author of 11 books, multiple short stories, over 600 articles about the business and craft of writing.
THE AUTHOR BEING PAID ROYALTIES, BUT YOUR EARNINGS FROM KINDLE
EXAMPLES OF BOOK BANNERS TO POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA
UNLIMITED ARE NOT AVAILABLE UNTIL EACH MONTH’S STATEMENT IS GENERATED SO THEY ARE NOT REFLECTED IN THE
“MONTH TO DATE” REPORTS.
IT MAY BE A GOOD THING, BUT LIKE ALL BOOK MARKETING, REQUIRES PROMOTION!
WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE
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3 TIPS TO WOW AGENTS AND PUBLISHERS AT CONFERENCES WENDY LIPTON-DIBNER REPRINTED FROM RICK FRISHMAN’S AUTHOR UNIVERSITY 101 NEWSLETTER
WENDY LIPTONDIBNER INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED SPEAKING EXPERT AND BEST SELLING AUTHOR
Wendy is the author of the bestselling books, Shatter Your Speed Limits, and M.A.D. Leadership for Healthcare. President of Professional Impact, Inc. and founder of the Move People To Action System for Experts and EntrepreneursTM, she serves as a trusted advisor, trainer, consultant and coach for doctors, executive leaders and top influencers worldwide. Crowned the "female Zig Ziglar" and the "new direction in the selling industry,"
Wendy Lipton-Dibner will be one of the presenters at the upcoming Author University 101, October 23-26 in Los Angeles. There is still time to register. Visit www.author101.com for more details.
HOW CAN YOU CAPITALIZE ON YOUR TIME WITH THE LITERARY AGENTS AND PUBLISHERS?
HERE ARE 3 TIPS FOR YOU: Tip # 1: HELP THEM HELP YOU The agents and publishers you’re about to meet are as excited to meet you as you are to meet them. So, to make the most of your time together, the first thing you need to do is understand their position. Agents and literary agents have 1 goal: to identify great books that lots of people will buy. To achieve their goal, there are 3 things they need to know from you: (1) What’s your great idea? What’s your topic? Do you have a title for your book? What’s the promise of the book (what readers will get as a result of reading it)? What books are similar to yours and what makes yours different? Who is your target audience (even if your book can help EVERYONE, define them clearly with demographics – age, gender, education, occupation, etc.). (2) What makes you the best person to be writing this book? Use the 4 E’s: Experience, Education, Expertise and Enthusiasm and answer these questions: What do you bring to this topic that no one else could bring? What makes you an author they’d be proud to represent? …Cont’d
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PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK “BUY NOW” TO PURCHASE ANY BOOK WOW AGENTS AND PUBLISHERS (CONT’D)
What’s in it for THEM to publish you? What do you do when you’re not writing? Describe your business – Do you coach? Get paid to speak? Consult and train in organizations? Do you have online videos and products for sale? Are you full-time employed? If so, what to do you do? Are you a teacher? Counselor? Physician? Attorney? Keep it brief but help them know you. (3) How many books can you get sold? Specifically, how many people would buy your book if they received an email, tweet, post or phone call from you? If you are out speaking, how many speeches do you give in a year (and to how many people)? Do you have a marketing budget? Do you have a website? Do you have a following in social media?
WHICH ROAD WILL YOU TAKE? WRITING THE BOOK IS THE EASY PART BE PREPARED TO PITCH IT, MARKET IT AND PROMOTE IT
Answer these questions quickly and succinctly and you will have their full attention. They will give you advice to help you in your journey and maybe even offer you a chance to work with them!
Tip # 2: DON’T “WING IT” The chance you’re going to get at Author 101 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet one-to-one with people who can literally make your career. This is too important to make it up as you go along and too much fun to get stressed out over. Remember: there is freedom in structure. So let’s take some time now to structure your presentation and then when you get there you’ll be able to relax and just have FUN with it! As you're packing your suitcase and traveling to Los Angeles, start thinking through what you’ll say to the agents and publishers. Below is a proven template you can use to get you going. I call this the, “30Second WOW ‘Em Introduction for Agents and Publishers!” Simply plug in your information and read it over a few times before you get to your conference. Don’t memorize anything. Just use this to get your thinking straight about what you want to say. DO NOT MEMORIZE THE FOLLOWING TEMPLATE! Use it as a powerful template – bring it with you to the Meet and Greet and refer to it to keep you on point and looking powerfully prepared.
…Cont’d
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PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK “BUY NOW” TO PURCHASE ANY BOOK AUTHOR 101
WOW AGENTS AND PUBLISHERS (CONT’D) WENDY’S 30-SECOND WOW ‘EM INTRODUCTION FOR AGENTS AND PUBLISHERS!
Come to the next Author101 University event in Los Angeles March October 23-26, 2014. Get all the details here: www.author101.c om
HOTEL INFORMATION Author 101 University is being held at the beautIful WESTIN LAX, right next to the airport at 5400 West Century Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90045. Book your sleeping room using this link and get your discounted rate of only $119. per night:
My name is ____________. I’m (title, company, founder) of ______________________ and the author of (title/subtitle)____________________________________________, a (adjective)____________(fiction/non-fiction)__________________ (genre) _______________________book for (demographics) _________________________________. My expertise is in _________________________________ I host websites at (urls)__________________________. I have access to (approximate #) ______________ potential readers through my work as a (speaker, coach, consultant, blogger, media guest, clinician, etc.) ______________________________________. I am prepared to offer a budget of ($) _________for marketing and promotion. I am excited about this book because it is (how your book is different than others of the same genre) ____________________________. I would like to work with you because (what you like about the agent/publisher)_________________________________________.
Tip # 3: MOVE PEOPLE TO ACTION! There is nothing an agent or publisher likes more than finding a great new author! The secret is to present yourself and your message in a way that lets them know you’re the right fit for them.
https://www.star woodmeeting.com /Book/author101o ctober
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REVIEWS BY MARTHA RESIDENT REVIEWER – MARTHA CHEVES
THE DEEPEST DARK
RE-LA Menu
By: Joan Hall Hovey
ISBN-13: 978-1771452212 Publisher: Books We Love Publication Date: July 17, 2014 Pages: 262 Paperback and Kindle
MARTHA CHEVES AUTHOR/REVIEWER
She had started for the kitchen when she stopped in the doorway between the living room and kitchen, thinking she'd heard a noise outside. She listened. Heard it again. A squeaking of the porch swing chain? Hearing nothing further, but still wearing the same uneasy frown on her face, she continued on to the kitchen. She was reaching into the drawer for a knife to cut the pie with when she heard the noise again. She looked in the direction of the sound and that's when she saw the grinning face in the window. Her heart lurched painfully but before she could cry out, something crashed against the back door. It burst open and three men strode into her kitchen, big as life. Three men she had never seen before.
Ethel and Hartley have raised their daughter and still lived in their country home where neighbors were not a walk away but a drive away. In their 80's they had grown use to their solitude so when their uninvited visitors bust through their door they are at a total loss. Abby used the facilities, washed her hands and splashed warm water on her face, patting it dry with rough brown paper. When she came back out of the washroom, the woman was behind the counter. "Help yourself to the coffee, dear," she said. "Freshly made."... "Thanks. I needed that." "You're welcome. Don't know about you, but this rain is getting me down. Awful about those three escapees, isn't it?"
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:
Abby is on her way to the lake cabin her husband had bought for their secret get-away. After the disasters she had faced just a few months earlier she wasn't sure of her real reason for going there. She needed time away from everyone but with the bottle of pills in her purse, along with her depression, she just might make this her final resting place. This book is one for the movies. As the author brings the Ethel and Hartley,
JOAN HALL HOVEY
…Cont’d
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Joan Hall Hovey's articles and short stories have appeared in such diverse publications as The Toronto Star, Atlantic Advocate, Seek, Home Life Magazine, Mystery Scene, The New Brunswick Reader, Fredericton Gleaner, New Freeman and Kings County Record.
BOOKS BY MARTHA
Abby, and the three men together it becomes a book that I had hard time putting down. I actually read it in just three nights. I hurt for Abby and her previous problems. I felt for Ethel and Hartley as they are subdued by the three men. I feared the three men as they prompted fear on everyone that came into contact with them. But I learn something from reading this book. There have been times that I go to the mountains alone just for the quiet. As with Abby's lake cabin, my favorite place had no telephones and no TV... just peace and quiet. Never again will I visit my favorite cabin without a phone! So, if you want a real page turning, grip the edge of the chair and leave the lights burning read, you will surely have it with The Deepest Dark.
Martha is our resident reviewer. Visit her websites for more reviews and recipes. http://marthaskitchenkorner.blogspot.com (A Book and a Dish) http://stirlaughrepeat.blogspot.com (Main Site) http://marthaatkitchenkorner.blogspot.com (Martha's Kitchen Korner) http://marthasrecipecabinet.blogspot.com (Martha's Recipe Cabinet) http://stirlaughrepeatcookbook.blogspot.com (Cookbook Site)
SIGN OF THE TIMES? BUY NOW
It seems like there are always the people who come to a signing, then only want to talk about their book or their wonderful idea that the author is sure to want to co-author with them.
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JUST FOR GIGGLES AND GRINS
FOOD FOR THOUGHT “MAKING PEOPLE BELIEVE THE UNBELIEVABLE IS NO TRICK; IT’S WORK. …
BELIEF AND READER ABSORPTION COME IN THE DETAILS: AN OVERTURNED TRICYCLE IN THE GUTTER OF AN ABANDONED NEIGHBORHOOD CAN STAND FOR EVERYTHING.”
—STEPHEN KING, WD (THIS QUOTE IS FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH KING IN OUR MAY/JUNE 2009 ISSUE)FOR WRITERS DIGEST
If this was your story, what would the tricycle represent? How would your story unfold?
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A CORPSE IN THE SOUP (NAMED BEST MYSTERY AUDIO BOOK BY USA BOOK NEWS)
Imagine the
GET YOUR FREE KINDLE COPY AT AMAZON
SEPTEMBER 24 AND 25
Reviewed By Trudi LoPreto for Readers’ Favorite
KINDLE PAPERBACK AUDIO BOOK
MORE DIGITAL PLATFORMS COMING SOON
A Corpse in the Soup: A Silver Sisters Mystery (Silver Sisters Mysteries) (Volume 1) written by Morgan St. James and Phyllice Bradner is a very different mystery story. Twins Goldie Silver and Godiva Olivia Dubois are the sleuths who get lots of help from their mother Flossie and their Uncle Sterling in solving crimes. Godiva is poisoned while attending Chef Romano’s cooking show. Chef believes that someone is trying to damage his image and is sabotaging his food; he believes that because the Gourmet Gladiator Tournament is coming up, Chef Biff Willington will do whatever it takes to be the winner. When Willington is found dead with a knife in his back and his face in a bowl of soup, Romano is the main suspect. The Silver Sisters are determined to prove his innocence, no matter what it takes. Flossie and Sterling attempt to find the killer and almost get themselves in big trouble while the twins face some scary moments before the case is closed. A Corpse in the Soup has characters that are funny, real and likeable. The plot has many twists, turns and surprises. St. James and Bradner have written a fun, quirky, unpredictable and original mystery. A Corpse in the Soup had me laughing out loud, holding my breath in fear, rooting for Chef Romano’s name to be cleared and thinking several different people were the real killers throughout the book. The Silver Sisters moved to the top of my favorite sleuth list and I am anxiously awaiting their next mystery. SEPT-OCT 2014
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EXCERPT FROM A CORPSE IN THE SOUP “Well, I’ll be darned.” Nurse Brady shook her head from side-to-side as she released Goldie’s arm. She stared from one twin to the other for a moment, then backed out of the room muttering an apology. Godiva grinned, “God! Am I happy to see you!”
From Midwest Book $14.95 Review
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Goldie approached the bed and enveloped her sister in a fierce hug. “Hey, what about the other people on the show? Were they as sick as you?” “Well, I was making such a pig of myself I probably got the worst of it. There we were, tasting what should have been shrimp from heaven and instead we almost wound up at the Pearly Gates!” “Bummer! They might not have let you in.” Godiva made a face. “Seriously, we were all in pretty bad shape. The other lady was writhing around on the floor like a beached whale while this guy in an African shirt hopped up and down like a frog on fire. But worse than that, my beautiful new Armani dress is a total loss. That sauce will never come out.” “You and those other people almost died and all you can think about is your dress?” Godiva gave an elegant shrug of her shoulders. “It was an Armani.” “Well, gee, I see you’ve got your priorities straight.” Godiva ignored her. “Anyway, the last thing I remember was Chef Romano shouting that corny line, ‘Is there a doctor in the house?’ over and over again. Then this horrible clammy feeling washed over me and the next thing I knew I was here at Cedars, they pumped my stomach and I had to watch yellowish, greenish gunk come out of me.” “Yuck! How horrible! Was it the shrimp?” “No. Poisonous mushrooms. That’s what the toxicology reports showed. Imagine that. The great Caesar Romano serving deadly mushrooms. I could kill him in print if I was that sort of person, you know. I have the power of the press behind me. After all, I am syndicated!”
99¢
This fun mystery romp will keep the reader guessing while enjoying the antics of Goldie and Godiva, along with their quirky family. The characters are amusing and endearing, and even the dog Waldo has his humorous moments. The plot moves along crisply, offering plenty of red herrings, and is twisty enough to provide a good whodunit. A Corpse in the Soup, first of the Silver Sisters Mystery series written by sisters St. James and Bradner, is a refreshing addition to the mystery world.
“Godiva, you wouldn’t! The important thing is that you’re okay. Seeing you behave like a spoiled bitch is such a relief. I can see you’re almost back to normal. Where’s Chili?” “Down in the coffee shop. Poor kid’s a nervous wreck.”
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KINDLE
SEPT-OCT 2014
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FORMER MOBSTER AND ENTERTAINER/TOUR OPERATOR TEAM UP TO PRODUCE MOB-CON 2014 ROBERT GEORGE ALLEN AND FRANK CULLOTTA PRODUCERS OF MOB-CON
Mob-Con 2014 is a presentation of Las Vegas entertainer and businessman Robert George Allen and former mobster Frank Cullotta of the Chicago Outfit and infamous Hole in the Wall Gang of Las Vegas. Cullotta and Allen also produce Frank Cullotta’s “Casino” Tour—The Real Story Behind the Movie.
True crime is a fascinating subject. So thought long-time Las Vegas entertainer and tour operator, Robert George Allen and former member of the Chicago Outfit, Frank Cullotta.
Many mobsters have written books or been the subject of TV shows or movies, but how often does the general public have the opportunity to meet the real deals and the lawmen who chased them face-to-face or be entertained by their stories that might not have been documented? Las Vegas is famous for its glitz, entertainment and gambling, but also just as famous for its past ties to the Mob, as depicted in books, movies and on TV. Sin City, renowned to be like no other, has added its own Mob Convention, Mob-Con, to the unique attractions. Mob-Con launched in 2013 and was filled to capacity with fans of true crime and Mob history. Robert George Allen is a 30-year show business veteran. He’s been featured on the famous Vegas Strip as a guitarist/vocalist, comedian and hypnotist and appeared as an actor in numerous theater productions, films and on television. For several years he has owned a tour company conducting the very popular Mob tours and Haunted Vegas tours. So how does one decide to stage a convention of mobsters? When asked, Allen said, “People are fascinated with the Mob and, it’s no secret that without the Mob Las Vegas would not be what it is today. I’ve been a part of this city for many years and Las Vegas is the ideal city to host something like Mob-Con.” Featured speakers include former mobsters, lawmen, true crime writers and historians as well as and people from the entertainment industry. Many of the speakers have written at least one book, and they will all be together in the same place at the same time to talk about "the day." Where else can attendees have the opportunity to hear what these speakers have to say and meet the very people in person they used to read about in the papers or see portrayed on the big screen? Book signings will follow the sessions and it is an excellent opportunity to acquire signed books and add a piece of Mob history to your personal library. SEPT-OCT 2014
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PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK “BUY NOW” TO PURCHASE ANY BOOK MOB-CON (CONT’D)
Mob-Con 2014 sets up shop at Palace Station Hotel & Casino on September 27 and 28. “Anyone who has an interest in the Mob will not want to miss this event,” Allen added “Mob-Con gives the general public unprecedented access to the individuals who were a part of this history.” Frank Cullotta, has two books to his name as well credits as consultant and actor for the iconic film “Casino.” When he teamed up with Allen the idea of hosting a Mob conference became a reality. The lineup of speakers includes: Frank Cullotta (Chicago Outfit associate & author), Tony Montana (Chicago Outfit associate & author), Dennis Arnoldy (retired FBI), Denny Griffin (Mob historian & Author), Gary Jenkins (Law Enforcement), Ronald Fino (former FBI & CIA), Jon D’Amore (author & screenwriter), Stan Hunterton (attorney and former DOJ Organized Crime Strike Force lawyer), Larry Leavitt (retired federal judge and former DOJ Organized Crime Strike Force attorney), John L. Smith (columnist & author) and a special Mob Women panel comprised of Susan Ferritto (Mafia widow and author), Lisa Caserta (fiancé of the late Henry Hill), Denyce Franzese (former wife of John Franzese, Jr.) and Georgia Durante (former Mafia wife, stunt driver and author). * * * There is still space available, so if you’re fascinated with the Mob visit http://mob-con.net for more information about meeting mobsters, lawmen, authors and entertainers who were part of Las Vegas’ glory days and exciting Mob history. This is the second year the general public has the opportunity for unprecedented access to these individuals through meet and greets, Q&A sessions, lectures and special events. For those of you who write crime fiction and true crime, this is a golden opportunity to ask questions and make contacts with the people who lived the life, not the movie version, but the real deal.
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The Writers’ Tricks of the Trade book was inspired by Morgan St. James’ more than 600 published articles about the craft and business of writing It is not a dry, techie type of a book, but rather a ready reference on many things the fiction writer must deal with on a day-to-day basis. Told in a light prose, with experiences, backfires and successes thrown in, every chapter has actionable information. For more in-depth information on a particular topic, the bibliography in the back is a list of books the author used and continues to refer to as needed. AMAZON BARNES & NOBLE “Writers’ Tricks of the Trade is a treasure trove of practical advice. Morgan St James covers all aspects of fiction writing from original concept through to publication, networking and publicity. Her voice is experienced, encouraging and sincere. I would recommend this book to anyone engaged in the difficult, often mysterious business of writing.” ~Gayle Sutherland, Convenor, Partners in Crime, Sydney, Australia As an author myself, I have found her book useful for filling in gaps in my knowledge. ~Maralys Wills. Author, "Damn the Rejections, Full Speed ahead." “Morgan St. James has written a terrific book that every writer should own. This is a modern, street-smart, working handbook from an author after my own heart. Get smart. Get inspired. Get this book.” ~Tony N. Todaro, Author, President and Co-founder of the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society.
AVAILABLE IN KINDLE, EBOOK OR PAPERBACK
ALSO AT AMAZON.UK AND AMAZON.CA AND MOST ONLINE BOOKSELLERS, OR ORDER AT YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL BOOKSTORE
PAPERBACK ISBN #978-0983779001 970-0-9837790-0-1
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