BOOK PUBLICITY BY MARLAN
Marlan approaches each book with consideration for the passion that created it and the audience that will best appreciate it. Authors are as different as snowflakes. Each campaign is crafted with that in mind.
Monday, September 28, 2020
Thursday, September 24, 2020
Does it seem like the whole word is in VIEWING mode? Make an Audiobook!
I'm excited to announce that I've started creating an audiobook of my "fictionalized memoir" (aka "novel") Roadmaps for the Sexually Challenged [All's Not Fair in Love or War].
The e-book has enjoyed success on Amazon Kindle, and it will be coming out soon in paperback.
In L.A. we are still fairly locked down. For everyone that's hard, and it impacts publicists also. Sure you can Zoom, Zoom, Zoom your events and readings...but it ain't the same. It's a stop gap measure. And everyone knows it.
The other day, I decided to check out audiobooks on YouTube -- and wow! What a game changer! A service known as "Great Audiobooks" asks for volunteers to read well known books on the "air." I could listen while making breakfast to The Art of War if I wanted to. And it was so pleasurable that I realized...
The time has come to go Audio! With my book. It wouldn't have to even be every page. Excerpts would do, after the main gist of the setup was absorbed by readers.
A few years back, I reprinted "How To Make An Audiobook" from another blog (with permission) and I must say that at the time, it was rather daunting. You'd need some good equipment and at the very least, a very quiet closet to record in. AND a great speaking voice that suits the content.
But when I heard recently that a tech-phobic friend has been making How To videos on her iPhone, that stirred my own initiative. I haven't yet succumbed to iPhone or adequate video editing equipment (due to financial constraints; I'm not a snob!). And I thought:
"Why not try to make this audiobook with what I have one hand?
So I recorded on my Android phone, which produces an MP4 file, and edited on the low-tech "Movie Maker" app on my PC, along with some jpg photos for a slide show.
And...(drum roll)...it worked great!
Next, I uploaded the nearly 3 min. video to my MarlanWarren YouTube channel. And voila!
My closet is pretty noisy. You can heard the plumbing going and people walking in the hall. But I found that recording after most folks are in bed or before they wake up makes for excellent sound studio conditions.
I had no problem reading. Thanks to my first grade teacher Mrs. Stryker (her real name) who made me stay after school and read until she could hear "expression" in my voice.
Social Media Video Time Limits
YouTube: 7-15 min. for unverified user. Verified users? Up to 12 hours!
Instagram: 1 min.
Facebook: It used to be 2 minutes. But today on my Book Publicity By Marlan site, FB suggested my video post be "at least" 3 minutes! Hallelujah!
Vimeo: Allows a total of 500MB per week with the basic free membership, with a total of 5GB storage.
Twitter: 2 min. 20 sec. Max.
Okay. Yes, it can be a pain cutting the various lengths of your video, but if you want it to have a long "reach," you will joyfully spread it around your social media sites, and don't forget Linked In and Goodreads!
About My Book and the First Audiobook Recording
Posted above is the beginning of Chapter 1 (“Signs”); Page 1.
Roadmaps for the Sexually Challenged is a post-divorce tale set against the backdrop of the O.J. Simpson trial with a consciousness raising journey through the wilds of Los Angeles.
What saves the story from being straight up Chick Lit are the divorcing woman's close encounters with the generational scars of the Japanese American Internment, interracial dating questions, and the story’s ultimate warning that no matter how great the sex is, how deeply you feel about someone:
“Don’t go unconscious for love.”
How to find this e-book, reviews, etc. on Amazon: Click Here
#amazonbooks #audiobook #divorce #relationshipbook
#feministliterature #californiawriter #losangeles #psychic
#filmthisbook #interracialdating
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Tuesday, August 4, 2020
We're presenting the "How to Write a Memoir Panel" at L.A. Writers Conference (8/12 7:30 PDT)!
GREATER LOS ANGELES WRITERS CONFERENCE PIVOTS TO ZOOM! AUG. 7-15
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Event: Annual Greater Los Angeles Writers Conference
When: Friday, Aug. 7 - Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020
Where: ZOOM
Registration/Info: L.A. Writers Conference Website
Program: http://www.wcwriters.com/aglawc/program.html
"When it comes to virtual writers conferences, one major plus is that writers are able to interact with agents, writing experts, and publishing professionals who might otherwise not be able to attend in person," says Todaro. "Nobody is limited by geographical location anymore."
"The schedule is daily and linear, so writers won't have to choose between two workshops or panels happening simultaneously," Todaro says. "We'll have more than 40 literary agents, professional editors, and publishers on hand to give guidance on the craft and business of writing fiction and nonfiction."
He quotes from his favorite t-shirt:
This press release will be published and distributed by PR.com Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020.
Friday, January 31, 2020
Phone: 323-347-6762
E-Mail: marlanwarren at outlook.com
Twitter: @marlanwarren
Linked In: Marlan Warren on Linked In
Facebook: Book Publicity by Marlan & Marlan Warren - PR
Faculty Member: Greater Los Angeles Writers Society (GLAWS)
Member: Nonfiction Writers Association
Midwest Book Review: Contributor ("Marlan's Bookshelf")
Blogs:

L.A. Now and Then
Marlan Warren Author Blog
PR services include, but are not limited to:
- Building Author Platforms
- Creating Exciting Book Campaigns
- Book Marketing & Publicity
- Coaching: Writing, Book PR
- Book Editing
- Writing Reviews
- Conducting Interviews
- Writing Press Releases
- Creating and Maintaining Press Kits
- Creating and Maintaining Websites, Blogs, Social media Outreach
Marlan is a featured speaker/panelist at the WC2 Writers Conferences in Los Angeles, California. Video interviews with her on topics ranging from Book Publicity and Marketing to Getting Great Reviews to Memoir Writing can be viewed at the Author Learning Center and YouTube.
Thursday, January 30, 2020
WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR AN EFFECTIVE AUTHOR WEBSITE? (Video)
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
HOW TO HIRE THE RIGHT EDITOR FOR YOUR MANUSCRIPT
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
EDITING TIPS & TRICKS! BOOK COVER DO'S & DON'TS!
I provide editing services at all levels of pre-publication.
- Manuscripts in early to final drafts
- Book Covers (Design and Text)
- Amazon Pages (Book Description, Etc.)
- One Sheets
- Book Summaries
- Author Bios
- Book Club Discussion Guides
- Query E-Mails
BEFORE
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In color, the "Before" image looked like a big brown toe. In fact, it was a picture of a rock in the New Mexico area where she lives and writes and rock climbs. I asked the author to show me some more colorful shots from her photo archive, and after we agreed on another image, she came up with a more fitting image that reflects the environment that she was depicting in her story. She decided to make it more visually abstract, evoking the beautiful mystery inherent in this imagery.
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Wednesday, October 30, 2019
AUTHORS! GET OUT THERE AND GET KNOWN!
Monday, October 21, 2019
HOW NONFICTION MEMORIES EVOLVE INTO FICTION (Video Interview)
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Marlan Warren, Author Learning Center Interview Still |
Here's a video clip on this controversial topic from my Spring interview with the Author Learning Center, which you may view on their website at The Author Learning Center
HOW TO GET BOOK REVIEWS (Video Interview)
Keith Ogorek of the Author Learning Center interviews Marlan Warren, reviewer/contributor to the Midwest Book Review about how to get great book reviews:
#BookReviews #AuthorLearningCenter #MarlanWarren #BookPublicityByMarlan #MidwestBookReview #WriterTips
- Personally, Warren resonates with books that contain a human interest focus. That means she’s written about books containing a wide variety of content, from baby teeth advice to immigrant stories.
- If an author is looking for reviewers, Warren recommends that they utilize Goodreads. Within Goodreads groups, there are often readers who want to read and review books.
- Warren explains how to go about finding and pitching a story for a review. If a writer has a compelling pitch, they should be able to find a number of readers to provide reviews.
Monday, August 26, 2019
My Midwest Book Review: Fasten Your Seatbelts: Travel Journalist Judith Fein Explores The Final Frontier (Death)
Book Reviews, Book Lover
Resources, Advice for Writers and Publishers
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Reviewer's Bookwatch
Volume 19, Number 9
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September 2019
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Author: Judith Fein
Publisher: Global Adventure
Website: http://www.globaladventure.us
ISBN: 9780988401990
"Communicating with the dead has been a secret part of my life for many years." - Judith Fein
Judith Fein's fourth deep travel memoir, HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE DEAD AND HOW CULTURES DO IT AROUND THE WORLD, invites us along on her decades of investigations and explorations of the final frontier: Death.
For most of her life, Judith Fein has seen and heard dead people. Not all the time, thank goodness, or it would not leave much time for this prolific journalist to write about her soul-searching globetrotting with her ever-skeptical photojournalist husband, Paul Ross. "Judie and Paul" are the "Nick and Nora" of the travel adventure-supernatural set. She can see a ghostly figure in the middle of nowhere and believe it to be a specter. He can be right next to her, eyes huge, and afterward admit "maybe" it was real. Their yin-yang bonding and love adds to the delightful humor of this Odyssey.
Friday, August 23, 2019
Friday, July 26, 2019
PRESS KITS R US!

Paperback: $17.99 Pages: 277 Words: 80,610
In Stock: Barnes & Noble (Rancho Cucamonga & Glendora, CA)
Available on Amazon and Kindle
ISBN: 978-1632134288 ASIN: B075JQVNXF
Facebook: @ApocalypseTVBOOK
EPK: Click Here
Author Website: tallbaugh@apu.edu
and lively discussions about religion and spirituality in the 21st Century.
for his failure to live by his own convictions.—Apocalypse TV
I was caught up from the opening pages to the end of this entertaining novel. Allbaugh has created a story to savor, and one that readers will not soon forget.
Allbaugh challenges readers to consider conflicting perspectives related to social issues and faith . . .
By God’s grace, I regained my appetite for the wisdom I received from my grandmother and my mother who taught me about life and introduced me to Christianity while serving up savory dishes of fried corn, okra, green tomatoes, and collard greens smothered in Deep South Chow Chow Relish, along with bone-chewing fried chicken.—Artemis Craig
Summary
Inspirational Verse for Those Who Hunger and Thirst takes us on Artemis Craig’s firewalk from spiritual bankruptcy to redemption via compelling, heartfelt poetry and prose. Through the power of Faith, Poetry, and Love, she finds the strength to cope with Hollywood “failure”; devastating family losses; homelessness; single parenthood; attempted suicide and breakdowns. Her poems honor and reflect “the strong women of God” who wanted her to be saved, and serve as a testament to her “Never Surrender” determination.
Her poems are like devotions. Artemis Craig takes us on a journey through her darkest moments, becoming very transparent about her suicide attempts, depression and hopelessness . . . and Hope. ̶ ̶ Ellen Sudderth, ESP Literary Podcast