Writing and Publishing News from

March 5, 2011

How to Win at Publishing

Filed under: Authorship,Publishing — Patricia @ 6:26 am

Are you serious about becoming a published author? Here’s a site that might help you determine if you have what it takes to be in it for the long-haul. http://www.upauthors.com Look at the March 4, 2011 blog post.

This author predicts that only two percent of today’s authors will be around in ten years—five percent in four years and twenty percent in two years.

Well, if only five percent of authors stay in the game after four years, the turnover is sure huge. The number of new authors coming on the scene is mind-boggling. Each of those authors who have bailed is being replaced by, seemingly, dozens more new ones. But, according to author of UPAuthors.com, Ron Knight, few of them will be still be around in 2021.

When I started writing for publication in 1973, I didn’t know a single other writer. I didn’t meet another author until around 1995, just before SPAWN was formed. And now my world is filled to the brim with authors and freelance writers. In fact, everyone, today, knows an author or two.

A teacher at your kids’ school just published a book. Your real estate agent is coming out with a book. Your second cousin is a published author. A couple of your neighbors are writers. And even your housekeeper, for heaven sakes, is penning her memoirs. Everyone is writing—retirees, career men and women, parents, doctors, pilots, scientists, the homeless or former homeless (I know two of them), animal activists, artists, seers—pretty much every walk of life is represented.

And it is fairly easy to figure out who will be left standing at the two, four and ten year marks. Read Ron Knight’s list to see where you fit in.

Are you a seriously motivated author with writing talent and marketing skill? Or are you a dreamer who is seeking the easy way to publishing success? Have you built a business around your book(s) or do you just have one book you want to share with the world without any fuss or muss?

I remember a hopeful author asking me one time how to make herself sit down and write. I said that we need a strong motivation to write. I suggested that she discover her motivation to write and see if it is valid. She looked at me with eyes glazed over.

Writing can be intense work. It takes discipline, not to mention time, concentration and a measure of skill. Writers must make writing a priority. And, I still insist that writers/authors must be motivated in order to write at all.

My motivation is my deep desire to write. I seek publication in order to justify my love of writing. If I hadn’t figured out how to earn a living through my writing, I would have ended up in some sort of career in the corporate world. Writing meant enough to me that I created a business around it, choosing to forego the BIG bucks possible in a corporate job.

I’ve seen many authors come and go over the years. I’ve witnessed that eighty percent, ninety-five percent and even ninety-eight percent failure rate that Knight speaks of. Although, I guess just because an author doesn’t remain for two, five or ten years in the publishing industry, doesn’t necessarily mean failure.

Knight’s list for authors is similar in concept to my FREE ebooklet, 50 Reasons Why You Should Write That Book. He helps you to examine your approach to publishing, your mindset, whether or not you are adequately prepared to enter into the fiercely competitive world of publishing, whether you have put the right kind of thought into your book project and so forth. As I’ve attempted to do in this booklet, he is helping hopeful authors to make the right choices.

Believe me (and millions of other authors) publishing the wrong book with the wrong approach to publishing can be a mighty costly experiment.

Authorship is an either in or out proposition. In order to be successful, you either jump in with both feet and follow some measure of protocol (study the publishing industry, write a viable book, understand what your options are and the possible consequences of your choices, know what your responsibilities as a published author are, etc.) or stay out of it altogether.

From what I’ve observed over the years, those who fail are those who attempt to sidestep the more difficult parts of the publishing process—they dip their toe in publishing keeping one foot solidly within their comfort zone. What am I talking about? Read my ebooklet, 50 Reasons Why You Should Write That Book and Knight’s list for authors and maybe it will dawn on you. In the meantime, here are some hints:

If you are writing a book to massage your ego without consideration for your audience, you pay the first publisher who expresses an interest in your project without further investigation, you let him publish it without having hired a good book editor, you sign the contract even though you don’t quite understand it and you expect the “publisher” to do all of the promotion, you will probably be one of the eighty percent who bails in two years.

A failed dream is painful. There are a lot of heartsick authors out there. And it is all because they barged into the business of publishing without knowledge and understanding.

Don’t let this happen to you. Read books like my The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. New discounted price. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Sign up for one of my 7 online courses: http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

Contact me with your questions: PLFry620@yahoo.com

Download FREE ebooklet: 50 Reasons Why You Should Write That Book
http://www.patriciafry.com

March 4, 2011

Authors Who Resist Book Promotion

Filed under: Book Promotion,Uncategorized — Patricia @ 4:40 am

I received a note from a gentleman writer who says he is a senior (like so many of us). He read my piece, “You, too, Can Become a Published Author,” at the Suddenly Senior website.

I find it interesting that some articles seem to live forever and that seems to be one of them. Another one that attracts a lot of interest is my piece on conversation skills.

Anyway, this writer wanted to know, what so many others wonder, how to deal with the common dilemma for seniors who want to have their works seen, without having to spend their time promoting, and who are unwilling or unable to spend big bucks to have it done for them.

Here’s my response:

You and I have lived long enough to know that you get out of a project (or a relationship or membership in an organization, etc.) what you are willing to put into it. And that is pretty much the long and the short of book promotion.

If you want to open a bakery and share your wonderful baked goods with the community, you would not simply continue baking in your kitchen and hope that someone smells the aroma of the cinnamon buns wafting from your open window and show up with money in hand to purchase one. You would need a store front (which you have provided for your books via your website). You would need a way for people to purchase the buns. And you would need to spread the word about your baked goods so people would know about them. Make sense?

Of course, the wider you “advertise” the larger your sales. If you tell family members and a few neighbors, you will have one level of sales. If you run an ad, open a storefront, run ads, go out and talk to lots of folks about your business and maybe put up a few posters around town, more people will know about your cinnamon buns and more people will show up with cash to purchase them.

As you suggested, I know many seniors who are not interested in promoting their books in any big way. Those who survive in this incredibly competitive business are those who have found ways to promote their books. I’ve written articles on how to promote books and stay within your comfort zone. You might be interested in reading some of them. Here are links to a few:

http://www.matilijapress.com/articles/5-ways-to-promote-your-book.htm

http://www.matilijapress.com/articles/bookpromobasics.htm

Some promotional tactics bring more results for some people. You might enter your book in a contest, win it and get free publicity. You can spread the word about your book by commenting on other people’s blogs. Since you like writing (isn’t that why we get up in the morning?), you could submit stories to appropriate magazines as a way of making your book(s) known to your audience.

Of course, you don’t have to promote your book(s) at all. But how in the heck will you be able to justify the time you spend writing if no one is reading them?

I would like to hear from some of you who resist promoting your books. What are the results of that decision? Also, I’d like to hear from authors who have discovered interesting and effective ways to promote their books without stepping outside their comfort zones.

March 3, 2011

Newsletters For the Author

Filed under: Authorship,Book Promotion — Patricia @ 4:56 am

Do you take advantage of some of the great newsletters that are out there for writers and authors? Which ones do you subscribe to? Which ones do you read? Do you read all of those that come to you?

I subscribe to quite a few and I read almost all of them. There are a couple that I am no longer thrilled with and I just delete them when they show up in my email box.

Yes, I’m busy like you are. But I find that the information, articles, resources and perspective in some of the newsletters I receive are well worth the time it takes to peruse them. I think that when you take the time to study those you receive, you feel the same way.

This morning I found a great article by a prolific writer/friend of mine in Writing-World Newsletter. It’s called, “Kill the Adverbs,” by Kathleen Ewing. http://www.writing-world.com. Read it!

I also recommend that you read the current issue of SPAWNews. It’s FREE. If you receive this newsletter and didn’t read it, go back and read it. It’s a fully-packed issue with something for everyone. If you do not subscribe, you’ll find it here: http://www.spawn.org/blog/?p=1576. Sandra Murphy from St. Louis is the editor of SPAWNews and she just keeps making it better and better.

While you’re at the site, be sure to subscribe to the newsletter. It’s FREE. And you will also receive a FREE ebooklet called, “Promote Yourself: 25 Ways to Promote Your Work, Whether You’re an Artist, Author or Small Publisher.” http://www.spawn.org

In this issue, Linda Formichelli writes “Eight Ways to Land New Writing Assignments.” Our Book Doctor responds to questions about literary virginity, capitalization in titles and possessives. A member introduces a new and easier way to take care of the bookkeeping chores for your writing business. Editor Sandy does an interview with Moe Woods of the Book-in-a-Week program. And you’ll see my article on “How to Position Yourself as an Expert.” We also review one of Dan Poynter’s new books.

Probably the most useful newsletter out there for authors and freelance writers is the SPAWN Market Update (for SPAWN members only). I’ve never seen a newsletter so fully packed with opportunities and resources for freelance writers and authors. What does it feature this month? A dozen markets for freelance writers, five publishers seeking manuscripts (three of them NEW), over a dozen book review sites, writers’ conference sites and directories, several resources for authors and there’s always news you can use.

I hope that you are reading your writing/publishing newsletters of choice and gaining precious insight, resources, guidance and information from them.

And thank you for including this blog among your reading material.

http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

March 2, 2011

Writing, Publishing and You!

Filed under: Authorship — Patricia @ 6:31 am

So what are you getting from this blog? I hope you are recognizing the value. Just in the past few days, you’ve had the opportunity to receive some resources for finding printing companies and writers’ groups. You’ve had a lesson that many writers miss—when to capitalize “mom,” “father,” “aunt,” etc. and when not to. You’ve learned about the concept of and how to test-market a book. You’ve had a lesson on public speaking for novelists and we’ve talked about the author’s platform. You’ve also received an invitation to take my new “Establish Your Author’s Platform Workshop” http://www.matilijapress.com/course_platform.htm and to participate in the gigantic Los Angeles Times Festival of Books: http://www.spawn.org/latfb2011.htm

We’ve given you the information and offered you the tools, so what is your next step? I’d like to know. Do you know?

Some of you are writing books. Your next step is hire an editor to fine tune it before you send it off to a publisher, agent or launch out to publish it yourself. Contact me: PLFry620@yahoo.com.

You should also be thinking about establishing your platform before you get too far down the road. A platform will help you to sell your book to an agent, a publisher and your potential readers. Publishing a book without having established a platform is like going out in the rain without an umbrella, boarding an airplane without a ticket. You’re not prepared for what’s ahead.

If you have a completed book and you are trying to find a way to get it published, you MUST read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book (only $14.95 now). http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

If you are contemplating hiring a pay-to-publish company, PLEASE read Mark Levine’s book, The Fine Print of Self-Publishing before signing any contract. He tells you which ones are best and worst. This step could save you a lot of money and heartache. Just because these companies exist, does not mean they are the right company for you and your project.

Join SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) and get the ebook version of this book FREE. SPAWN is also a good place to continue learning about the publishing industry and networking with other authors and publishers at all levels of success. http://www.spawn.org

If you have a published book and you are in the process of promoting it, your affiliation with SPAWN will help immensely and so will my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.

I met writers the other day who hope to become published authors, but who did NOT want to think of publishing as a business. Sure, publishers run businesses, but they didn’t want to consider the publishing of their books to be a business venture, yet they want readers and sales and money to put in the bank. I hope the panel convinced them that they can’t have it both ways. It’s like a game of poker—either you are in or you’re out.

I apologize if this seems rambling. I hoped to make some points this morning, but I am rather distracted by clients, students and SPAWN members this week—thankfully. I love my students and clients and SPAWN members. They just sometimes keep me soooo busy. I complained about a slow week last week. When am I going to learn to appreciate the lulls—use this time to replenish so I am better prepared for the crazy times? I’ll bet this is something some of you are working on, as well. If not, you aren’t completely embedded into the world of writing and publishing, yet. And you certainly aren’t opening yourself up to help or advise others.

March 1, 2011

Your Writers’ Group

Filed under: Writing — Patricia @ 5:19 am

Another question that came up at the writers’ group meeting I attended Sunday was, “How do I find a writers group?”

Members of the panel I was on explained to writers how important it is to belong to a writers’ critique group so you can get feedback for your project as you’re working on it. This is not right for all writers, but I often suggest this to beginning writers who are desperately in need of guidance and those who are struggling a little (or a lot) with their story or nonfiction book. Some writers need to do a lot of work before they hire an editor. It is this writer who could benefit from a critique group who can help him or her learn some of the basics.

Writers’ groups can also be valuable to those who are interested in publishing for the first time. It’s a good environment in which to learn about publishing, agents, publishers and the like. Not only are some of the members knowledgeable, but many writers’ groups invite experienced authors, publishers, agents, publicists, etc. to speak on occasion.

So how do you find a writers’ group? Here are my suggestions:

• Attend a lecture, writers’ conference or book fair in your area and ask questions. Surely, if there is a writers’ group in the region, someone there will know about it.

• Ask at your local librarian. Often, writers’ groups meet at libraries or their leaders will post notices on the library bulletin board.

• Ask at your local bookstores. Here’s another place where writers’ groups might meet and where their flyers might be distributed.

• Check with your local arts counsel.

• Study the calendar section of your local newspaper.

• Visit senior centers. Sometimes they have small writers’ groups.

• Locate local writers’ groups by doing an Internet search.

• Locate local authors through an Internet search and ask them about a writers’ group.
You could start a writers’ group.

• Call the writers that you know and schedule a meeting date.

• Post notices at bookstores, libraries, colleges and in the calendar section of your local newspaper.

• Once you have your core group, decide if you want this to be a reading and critique group or if you want to invite speakers to the main meetings and establish critique offshoot groups for fiction, nonfiction, memoir, etc.

I’ve belonged to several different groups over the years. I formed one or two of them. And I’ve visited numerous writing group meetings throughout the U.S. Each of them is as individual as the people who belong. But they all seem to have a welcoming warmth that I always appreciate when I visit. Some groups meet in private homes. I remember once having to deal with five needy, barking dogs during a reading. Others are fortunate enough to have use of wonderful facilities for free or a small fee. We once met in one of the Karpeles Manuscript Libraries in Santa Barbara, CA. Some groups meet in crowded quarters in small bookstores or next to the coffee bar at Borders which can get rather noisy when they’re making one of those fancy coffee drinks. We used to meet at a community center adjacent to a gym. It was quite distracting when they had a basketball game going on during our meetings. I remember one chilly evening when we set the alarm off at the bookstore where we were meeting and had to wait in the night air for the police to arrive.

I’d like to hear about your writers’ group and the results of your search for another writers’ group. I know people who belong to more than one group for different purposes and in order to network with different types and levels of writers. What are your writers’ group experiences?

Leave your comment here.

February 28, 2011

Book Printing Resources, Capitalizing Mom and MORE

Filed under: Authorship — Patricia @ 7:20 am

Yesterday I sat on a panel with three esteemed authors and we talked about publishing. It’s always interesting—and possibly a bit confusing for the audience—when each panelist comes from a different publishing experience. On the other hand, audience members certainly get a wide range of possible scenarios—they are privy to, perhaps, a larger picture than they would be with just one author speaking from one perspective.

While chatting with members of this audience after the program, I discovered that many of them were narrowly focused. They had no desire to go into the business of publishing. They wanted only to print a few copies of their memoir for family members or produce a booklet to hand out to friends and others interested in their topic. One woman was working with a museum to produce a book on local history. If there were any hardcore writers interested in writing as a career, I didn’t meet them. But this is the author the panelists were addressing as we responded to the commentator’s questions. Audience questions went a completely different direction. They wanted to know about printing companies—who would we recommend?

Being unprepared for that question, I jotted down email addresses, did a little research and responded to these folks this morning. Maybe you would be interested in the directories of printers that I sent them. Here are two:

http://www.printingnews.com/content/documents/2010OnDemand.pdf

http://printing.directoryusa.biz

I use 360 Digital Books
http://www.360digitalbooks.com

Here’s a question that comes up once in a while and it came up yesterday. When do you capitalize mom, father, dad, mother, etc? When I responded to the gentleman who asked, he attempted to argue with me. He said, “That’s not right.” I think he misunderstood me.

This morning I sent him this from the Chicago Manual of Style 16th edition, which is the style manual authors should be using.

On page 400 (item 8:35), “Kinship names are lowercased unless they immediately precede a personal name or are used alone, in place of a personal name. Their examples are as follows:

my father and mother
the Bronte sisters
Let’s write to Aunt Maud.
I believe Grandmother’s middle name was Marie.
Please, Dad, let’s go
She adores her aunt Maud.

So, you would write, “I adore my mom.” but “I adore Mom.” See the difference?

Do you have questions such as these that I might be able to help with? Situations like these come up daily when you are writing. At least these are things that, if you don’t know the answers to, you should be inquiring and/or researching.

Here are a couple of other things that came up yesterday. I found them interesting. Maybe you will, too. Someone said she heard that if you were to read everything that was posted to uTube just yesterday, you would be reading for 100 years. Zowie!

Someone also stated that, while there are thousands of books being produced each year, there are still hundreds of authors who only talk about writing or publishing a book and never actually follow through.

Are you one of those authors? Or are you on a path to living your publishing dream? If you are stalled—you need help moving forward—contact me and let’s see if I can help you experience the success you desire. PLFry620@yahoo.com

http://www.patriciafry.com
http://www.matilijapress.com

February 27, 2011

Test Market Your Book

Filed under: Authorship — Patricia @ 7:13 am

It’s sometimes overwhelming and intimidating to think of finally producing that book you’ve been dreaming about and/or working on for months or years. You’re afraid of what the response will be. You’re concerned that you won’t find a publisher. That’s why some authors come out with a test copy first.

For some, the term, “test product” is just psychological—the author isn’t ready to commit to being an author. He doesn’t want to put himself out there and become vulnerable, so he produces a book and calls it a test product. Others don’t want to spend the money to do it up right, so they have a few copies of their books printed and bound at a business store. Still others self-publish or hire a pay-to-publish company to publish their book in order to test it.

If their book is well-received, they go forward with their projects. Some authors move ahead even when the test isn’t all that successful. If they do decide not to publish, they aren’t out much. Sure, their ego will be a bit bruised, but not as severely as if they had done a bona fide printing of the book.

Some authors who do a test product, will actually listen keenly to their audiences—find out what they like/don’t like about the book—and make appropriate adjustments on the second printing. Others, after test-marketing their books, do more editing (or not) and begin the process of finding a traditional publisher, even if the results weren’t very good. Some authors actually like the idea of self-publishing and, based on feedback from their audience, they establish a serious company around their books and develop a hard-hitting marketing plan.

Testing the market with your book isn’t a bad idea. But it is important that you enter into this sort of experiment with your eyes and your mind wide open. Leave your expectations behind. Listen keenly to the comments from and the actions of your readers. Make your ultimate business decision based on what you learned during the test period. Did folks love your book? How do you know? What were their words/actions? Did they buy more than one copy? Did their friends buy a copy? Did they offer any suggestions? Were their words full of encouragement or were they reluctant to comment? Did they go out of their way to comment on your book or did you have to drag the words out of them? Is everyone saying pretty much the same thing? Are you paying attention?

Through the process of test-marketing your book, you may discover the following:

• Your audience is not who you thought they would be.

• You have a strong secondary audience you hadn’t expected.

• The outlets you planned to sell books through did not pan out.

• Book promotion is much harder than you thought.

• You need to go back to the drawing board with your book.

• You are right on target with your book and should move forward and seek out a publisher.

Even experienced traditional publishers sometimes get it wrong and they rarely put any emotion into their projects like you and I tend to do. So I’m a fan of test-marketing your book. It can be an eye-opener for the hopeful author. But it is only useful if you approach the test project from a solid business standpoint and truly look, listen and learn from the process.

Check out Patricia Fry’s array of books—some of them are discounted!!!
http://www.matilijapress.com

Sign up for your FREE ebooklet: “50 Reasons Why I Should Write That Book.”
http://www.patriciafry.com

February 26, 2011

Book Promotion Opportunities and Help

Filed under: Book Promotion — Patricia @ 7:04 am

I have a lull between jobs (in case anyone needs an editor right away) and I’m writing a series of promotional booklets for authors. They will each include a different book promotion activity such as article-writing, getting book reviews, promoting through public speaking, etc. They will be ebooks and I will charge something like $3.00 for each booklet and $12 or $15 for the series (depending on how many booklets I include).

What do you think? Good idea? Do you have any thoughts on subjects for these booklets? Which book promotion activities would you like to know more about?

The thing is, we each come into publishing with our own set of skills, interests and experiences. For some, it is a stretch to even consider some of the traditional book promotion activities such as arranging for speaking gigs and standing before an audience or locating and selling books at book festivals or submitting articles or stories to publications. How many authors come into publishing knowing how to work with booksellers or with the resources necessary to get involved in appropriate conferences, for example?

Most authors need help with book promotion. And that’s why they purchase hard-hitting book promotion books. But sometimes they are interested in just one facet of book promotion and that’s where these non-intimidating booklets will come in handy. And they’ll be green—no paper involved unless you print them out.

Send me your Book Promotion Collection topic ideas. PLFry620@yahoo.com

Major Book Festival
Are any of you planning to take your books to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books (LATFB) in late April? Did you know that the booths cost $950 this year? You can promote and sell your book from the SPAWN booth for $200 per day. Join SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) at $65/year ($55 if you belong to one of our affiliate organizations such as IBPA or SPAN). Place your book in our catalog (to be handed out to around 400 people at the LATFB) for $35 and sign up to either display your book in the booth ($20) or reserve space for yourself and your book(s) in the SPAWN booth at $200/day. Learn more about your options here:
http://www.spawn.org/latfb2011.htm.

Join SPAWN here: http://www.spawn.org.org. Click on “Join.” Questions? PLFry620@yahoo.com or Patricia@spawn.org.

February 25, 2011

Sell More Books Through Benefits Than With Features

Filed under: Authorship,Book Promotion — Patricia @ 8:54 am

I heard it said again this week that we don’t buy a product, we buy what it can do for us. I’ve been pondering the concept and I notice that it is fairly accurate. I did a little mall shopping yesterday and bought myself a new pair of walking shoes (at 70, I’m still a dedicated power walker). I chose a pair that looked good to me (so I will look good wearing them), that have a familiar brand name (so I’m assured that they will hold up) and that were on sale (now saving money is always a benefit).

But what about benefits in books? Are you writing a book with benefits or are you writing it primarily for yourself? When you plan a book, do you do so with your audience in mind or because it’s something you want to do—you have something to say or share?

Before you finish your book—even better, before you start it—consider first, your audience. Who is your target audience? Then think about the benefits they will be looking for in a book like yours.

Do you know the difference between features and benefits?

A feature is what a book or another product has—four-color cover, spiral binding, resource list, thirty recipes, tips and techniques, etc.

A benefit is what the book does—puts the reader with a fear of flying at ease, teaches readers how to make crème brulee, causes readers to relax and smile, saves readers time in the kitchen, and so forth.

If you are promoting a book, keep these descriptions in mind. As you represent your book in press releases, ads and verbally, be sure that you promote the benefits to readers instead of always spouting the features.

http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

I believe we will be starting a “Build Your Platform” course next month. Check out the description and course outline at the link below and sign up. There’s still room. You can join the course that will begin probably during the first week of March or you can set your own starting date.

What does one of Patricia Fry’s online, on-demand courses involve? A weekly lecture and assignment and valuable one-on-one assistance throughout the course.

Platform Course:
http://www.matilijapress.com/course_platform.htm

For the complete list of 7 courses:
http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

February 24, 2011

Public Speaking for Novelists

Filed under: Fiction,Public Speaking — Patricia @ 6:42 am

It is common for nonfiction authors to go out and speak about the subject of their books. Children’s book writers promote their books by doing readings where children congregate. But what about novelists? How can you promote your mystery or your historical, fantasy, period, adventure, etc. novel by doing speaking gigs?

Use some of that imagination that you poured into your story. Yes, book promotion is serious business. But the activities you choose in order to get your book known do not have to be rigid and boring. And your venue doesn’t have to be ordinary.

You can do readings, but only if you can pull this off really, really expertly. If you cannot read well out loud or you do not have a nice voice, do not attempt this in front of your potential audience. It will not be effective. Either have an actor do the reading for you or take steps to improve your speaking voice and your reading skills.

For example, hire a voice coach to help you with the quality and projection of your voice. (Look in the Yellow Pages under singing teacher.) Join a storytelling group. This will help you to learn how to push the limits of your voice so it is more effective for your purposes. Practice reading out loud to children. Use a lot of vocal variety in the process.

Where can you do readings? At writers’ conferences, writers’ group meetings, book clubs, bookstores, specialty shops, public or private/specialty libraries, home parties featuring local authors or just you, coffee and tea houses and just about any place where people gather. I heard authors reading from their books while I was eating pizza on n outdoor patio at a local gourmet Italian restaurant last summer.

Fiction authors can present programs just like their nonfiction counterparts do. You can talk about the story in your book or your personal story of becoming an author. But there are many other ways to present your book to audiences.

Let’s say that your novel features a lifelong love story between two professors beginning in the late 1890s and covering a sixty year period, and it is set in the south. You could dress in vintage clothes while telling parts of the story. You could talk about what went into writing the story.

You don’t have to stay locked into your story. You could create an interesting talk wherein you analyze the mindset of various lovers in classic stories over time. Compare life in the south during that time period to life elsewhere on this planet. Describe how your characters tried to hide their love affair from students and colleagues at the university where they worked. Talk about how some well-known fictional characters (or one of your characters) would be handling the technology age. Or, as I sometimes suggest, let audience members help you act out a section of the book. Bring props and costume accessories such as boas, hats, a pipe, a crown, an extreme example of a period shirt or tie, for example.

Use seasonal prompts for your speech themes. If we are nearing an election, discuss how your character and/or other well-known characters would handle being president—what would they bring to the position? If you are promoting a Christian novel in March or April, you might use Easter as a theme in your presentation. Maybe your story features a strong father figure, you should be able to focus on that aspect of your book when speaking to a group around Father’s day, for example.

What are some other themes you could use when planning presentations around your novel? World events, disasters, legends from the past (how does your modern day adventurer or rebel compare with the activities or the character of Billy the Kid or Butch Cassidy…), technology—space travel, computers, the era of the cell phone, etc.

You don’t have to stick solely to the story you tell in your book. You can dissect your story and create a larger picture, get into your characters’ heads, discuss your characters’ life choices and the what ifs that could have occurred instead. As you can see, you could get creative with your presentations related to your novel no matter the genre or theme.

I’d love to hear from those of you who have additional ideas for promoting a novel or a children’s book through live presentations and/or if you’ve used any of these.

Find articles on public speaking for authors at my website:
http://www.matilijapress.com

Sign up for a FREE booklet, “50 Reasons Why I Should Write That Book,” at this site:
http://www.patriciafry.com

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