Elaine Ambrose

Bestselling Author, Ventriloquist, & Humorist

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Create Your QR Code for a Conference

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I’m traveling to two important events in April: the prestigious Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop in Dayton, Ohio, and the Wayfinding Women excursion to Ireland. My latest bestselling books are too heavy and cumbersome to carry and many people don’t want to haul them home, so I have the next-best marketing tool: a QR Code. QR stands for “Quick Response” and allows any URL to be scanned for instant access. To make a free QR Code from any website, go to several options including QR Code Generator. I have codes for my books and for my website.

To use the QR Code, download and open a QR reader on your smartphone, take a photo of the QR Code, and open the website. Most smartphones will automatically connect to the website after “seeing” the black and white squares embedded in the QR Code.

This QR Code allows potential clients and friends to instantly access my website without storing business cards or scribbling website addresses. Other marketing materials include the code to each book so it can be found and ordered on Amazon. I strongly advocate selling through local bookstores over Amazon, but the choices are different at a conference. Here are two examples of how I use the codes on my book marketing materials.

Midlife Happy Hour remains in the top 100 bestselling books for Midlife Management on Amazon.

Midlife Cabernet earned hundreds of positive reviews on Amazon.

  • Silver medal for humor, Independent Publisher Book Awards
  • “Laugh-out-loud funny!” – Publishers Weekly
  • “Erma Bombeck” – Foreword Reviews
  • #1 Bestseller in Humor on Amazon
  • Available in Paperback and eBook

I printed the QR Code on postcards to distribute at conferences. It’s more convenient that hauling books. There is one downside: Authors can’t autograph or personalize the books ordered through a QR Code. Maybe there’s an app for that!

Speaking at the 2016 Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop

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featured on erma bombeck

I am thrilled to be included with the distinguished faculty for the 2016 Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop scheduled for March 31-April 2, 2016 in Dayton, Ohio.

Other speakers include Jenny Lawson, New York Times bestselling author and author of “The Bloggess,” NPR humorist Roy Blount Jr, bestsellling novelist Amy Ephron, feminist scholar and humor writer Gina Barreca, bestselling humor writer Judy Carter, and stand-up comedian Leighann Lord.

Erma Bombeck’s syndicated column, “At Wit’s End,” appeared in more than 900 newspapers. She wrote 12 books, nine of which made The New York Times’ Bestsellers List. Bombeck also appeared regularly ABC-TV’s Good Morning America for 11 years. She was still writing her column for Universal Press Syndicate and developing a new book for HarperCollins Publishers when she died from complications of a kidney transplant on April 22, 1996.

Bombeck attended the University of Dayton and credits the university for launching her writing career. The University Alumni Association co-sponsors the biennual Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, drawing hundreds of aspiring and professional humor and human interest writers from across the country.

Registration for the 2016 workshop opens at noon on December 1. Spaces are limited, and the last conference sold out within 12 hours.

erma bombeck banner

2016 Bombeck workshop faculty
Elaine Ambrose

Elaine Ambrose

Elaine Ambrose is an author, syndicated blogger and humorist from Eagle, Idaho, who writes for The Huffington Post, BlogHer, HumorOutcasts and Midlife Boulevard. Her 2014 book, Midlife Cabernet: Life, Love and Laughter After 50, won two national humor awards. Publishers Weekly called the book “laugh-out-loud funny.” In all, she has authored or co-authored 10 books, including Menopause Sucks, a national bestseller that helps middle-aged women learn and laugh instead of break something. In 2003, she founded Mill Park Publishing, which self-publishes books and offers women’s writing retreats.

Workshops

Write Funny, Now! (one time only)
Elaine Ambrose

Experience the serious work of humor writing. In this interactive session geared to beginning writers, participants will learn how to use various types of humor to deliver humorous lines and grab readers. Participants will read a sampling of Erma Bombeck’s columns, discuss why certain lines are hilarious, share their own on-the-spot work and interact with others to improve their writing.

Turn Your Blog Into a Book (one time only)
Elaine Ambrose

This session focuses on the nuts and bolts of creating a self-published book from your best blogs. You will learn how to compile and format chapters, hire professional designers to create the cover and layout, hire editors to read your manuscript, obtain reviews for the cover, purchase an ISBN number and bar code, and submit to print sources such as CreateSpace to produce a paperback and e-book for mass distribution. Targeted to experienced writers who have written at least 100 blogs or 10,000 words of a manuscript.

 

Speaking at the BAM Conference in Nashville

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BAM

BAM is happy to welcome Elaine Ambrose to our slate of speakers.

Elaine Ambrose is an author, syndicated blogger, and humorist from Eagle, Idaho. Her writing is featured on several sites including The Huffington Post, BlogHer, and Midlife Boulevard. Her latest book, Midlife Cabernet, won two national humor awards and Publishers Weekly wrote that the book is “laugh-out-loud funny.” Elaine wrote Menopause Sucks under contract with Adams Media and six other books under her own company, Mill Park Publishing. Elaine’s most dubious claim to fame is that her Huffington Post essay “Don’t Fart During an MRI” received more than 678,000 hits from around the world. Preview her books and blogs atwww.test.elaineambrose.com.

WHAT: The first blogging conference focused specifically on women bloggers in midlife.

WHEN: Beginning the afternoon of Friday, March 6, 2015 and continuing until the night of Saturday, March 7, 2015. Consider extending your stay through Sunday. We may have an additional Sunday opportunity for attendees!

WHERE: Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, 2800 Opryland Drive, Nashville,Tennessee. A special room rate has been arranged. Accommodations can be booked through a link received after ticket purchase. 

Register at http://bloggersatmidlife.com.

BAM is happy to welcome Elaine Ambrose to our slate of speakers.</p><br /> <p>Elaine Ambrose is an author, syndicated blogger, and humorist from Eagle, Idaho. Her writing is featured on several sites including The Huffington Post, BlogHer, and Midlife Boulevard. Her latest book, Midlife Cabernet, won two national humor awards and Publishers Weekly wrote that the book is “laugh-out-loud funny.” Elaine wrote Menopause Sucks under contract with Adams Media and six other books under her own company, Mill Park Publishing. Elaine’s most dubious claim to fame is that her Huffington Post essay “Don’t Fart During an MRI” received more than 678,000 hits from around the world. Preview her books and blogs at www.test.elaineambrose.com.