Recently I’ve had several different opportunities to get out and meet readers to talk about writing and publishing. Doing this was a good reminder of something I learned quite a while back: that the best way to sell books is by not selling.
What the heck does that mean? Let me explain.
Years ago, I was at a huge book festival. My table abutted the table of a man who’d written a non-fiction book about creating and maintaining quality relationships. A worthy topic, to be sure. However, this poor man was almost rabid in his sales efforts. If anyone got within five feet of his table or, god forbid, made eye contact, he was out from behind his table, book in hand, shoving it in their faces, talking a blue streak about the book and the ways it could benefit them. You could see the expressions in the readers’ faces change from mild curiosity to abject fear. As soon as the man broke his spiel to take a breath, they were pulling away, stammering excuses, almost running from the area. Then the man would sulk back behind his table, impatiently waiting for his next victim. Continue reading “Writers Engaging Readers: Shall We Dance?”
Greek-born philosopher Plutarch is credited with writing the timeless analogy: Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. I have always found that quote (in its many versions) to be inspiring, evocative, and true. Education in whatever form is not meant to be merely carried around like a donkey carries a load of books; it’s meant to be used, to create, to expand, and evolve into that which was not there before. At least that’s the hope.
Recently I was contacted by a book club in a city halfway across the state, wondering if there was any possibility I might be able to visit as they were planning to read one of my books for their upcoming monthly meeting. They sweetened the pot by offering to pay for one night at a nice hotel, plus their meeting was going to be aboard a patio boat cruising a beautiful lake. Who could refuse? 
I was at a