Live and In Concert
Appearing at an author's event is a lot like
teaching high school, which trains you to take any crisis in stride.
Sometimes, the DVD player dies five minutes into your movie. Other
days, the fire drill interrupts your test. If you want to survive in
the classroom, you learn to roll with it.
It's the same with author events. Sinclair Lewis
once said that when people show up to see an author, it's because
they hope he'll be funnier to look at than he is to read. Maybe he
was right. I've only done three so far, but my limited experience
already tells me that the people probably want to buy your book.
They're more likely to do that if they LIKE YOU.
How do you make them like you? Well, for one
thing, don't hog the show. They want to participate with you, so
give them a turn. I like to explain my background in no more than
five minutes, give a fifty-word synopsis of the book, then read for
no more than another five or six minutes. After that, it's the
audience's turn. Let them ask questions, make suggestions, or
comment on what you've just read. During this part, I like to get
out from behind the lectern and walk among them. Get rid of the
barriers.
You're going to get a few weird questions that
you've never thought of before. Think about them now and answer them
as well as you can. If someone compares you to a writer you hate,
thank him or her and move on. So far, my audience has been about 90
% female and substantially older than sixty. If you write mysteries,
that's your demographic, so be ready for it. What shocked me the
first time was how many of them really WANT you to read the sex
scenes. Mine are fairly graphic and I managed to avoid the issue by
taking other questions.
I like to have three scenes ready, or maybe
scenes from two different stories, but I don't offer to read the
last one. If nobody asks for it, I don't force it.
Bring a good roller ball or felt tip to sign
books with. Ball point pens leave a groove on the next pages, and
the roller ball writes more smoothly anyway. Prepare a brief generic
message to include with your signature so you don't have to be
creative every single time someone asks you to sign. So far, I've
signed every book I've sold, and it was a lot easier to have "Thank
you for your support" at the ready.
Especially since it's true.
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