Tag: public speaking

So, You Want to do Author Events? Tips to Get You Started

speaker prairie-dog-1470659_1280 pixabayMany authors make public appearances, or outings, in an effort to connect with more people. For those who have never done it and are interested, I thought I’d put together some pro tips for authors who would like to do a public event.

The first thing I want to say is that participating in an event, as a speaker or as an author vendor, normally won’t propel you to endless fame or thousands of book sales. Generally, the people whose appearances drive attendance and sales already have a large platform. People come to events involving relative unknowns generally because of the event itself or the information gained at the event.

Keeping this in mind, let’s talk about the kinds of events new authors can participate in, and how to do it. There are generally a few types of events authors appear at: festivals, conferences, and special programs. Continue reading “So, You Want to do Author Events? Tips to Get You Started”

Building Your Public Presentation Skills

The cloistered life of a writer can take a toll on your social skills. As an author, we all spend a lot of time in our own heads as opposed to interacting with other people. Social media doesn’t count. I mean the kind of people you actually might have to go outside your house to encounter. Real people—like the ones you see on television. The ones on television don’t count either.

Sooner or later, you will need those social skills because at some point, you will be asked to do a presentation of some sort. Perhaps you will be asked to speak before a book club, or at a library function, or (as in my case) to ask people in the grocery store if they’d like to try a sample of today’s cheese.  Continue reading “Building Your Public Presentation Skills”

Presentation Skills for the Terminally Introverted Author

I don’t know if isolation is a requirement or a side effect of the indie lifestyle. I do know that I spend a lot of time alone. This tweaks up a whole crazy busload of quirks. I talk to myself. I answer my own rhetorical questions. At times, in my black, coffee-stained hoodie, I could be mistaken for a shorter version of the Unabomber.

And then I write a book and get it published. Sure, I could hunker down with my moldy coffee mugs, fingernails reaching Howard Hughes lengths, husband threatening to hog-tie me and drive me to the hair salon, where I’ll be forcibly pruned and sheared. But I’ve been told by professionals who know these things that a good way to sell books is to actually GO OUTSIDE and TALK TO PEOPLE IN GROUPS. Continue reading “Presentation Skills for the Terminally Introverted Author”