The Frugal Editor Do-it-yourself editing secrets for authors From your query letter to final manuscript to the marketing of your bestse

Carolyn Howard-Johnson's several careers prepared her for writing and promoting her own books and those of others and for editing many genres from nonfiction to poetry. She was the youngest person ever hired as a staff writer for The Salt Lake Tribune-"A Great Pulitzer Prize Winning Newspaper." 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. Later in New York, she was an editorial assistant at Good Housekeeping Magazine and handled accounts for fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert who instituted the first Ten Best Dressed List. She wrote media releases (then called press releases) for celebrity designers of the day including Pauline Trigere, Rudy Gernreich, and Christian Dior and directed photo shoots for Lambert's clients. She also worked as columnist, reviewer, and staff writer for the Pasadena Star-News, Home Dcor Buyer, the Glendale News-Press (an affiliate of the LA Times), Myshelf.com, 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 genres can be marketed more effectively. 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 was honored as Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment and received her community's Character and Ethics award for promoting tolerance with her writing and the Diamond Award in Arts and Culture. She was named to Pasadena Weekly's list of fourteen women of "San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen" and Delta Gamma, a national fraternity of women, honored her with their Oxford Award. Carolyn is an actor who has appeared in ads including Apple, Lenscrafters, Time-Life CDs, Disney Cruises (Japan), and Blue Shield and has presented at writers' conferences and tradeshows across the US.