How Do I Do A Great Author Reading or Event? 5 Tips for Doing Great Author Events, Readings and Presentations
How do I do a great author reading or book launch?
Begin with ‘thank you.’ Event managers have invested time and resources to host you, the author. Equally, the audience members have taken the time to attend. So ‘thank you’ is a really good place to start. And finish.
Tell a good story. Issue an audience question or poll. Recently, when I presented on my latest book at our local literary festival, I asked the audience to raise their hands by group: those whose parents/grandparents/children/great grandparents had been born in another country/and/or those who were native American. This assured the listeners that our afternoon event would be about our shared immigrant (or native) history — not just about me and my book.
Look up! In my teacher education college in 1980s Ireland, one professor drilled and then tested us on how well we scanned our classrooms, while also writing on the blackboard behind us. Yes, we no longer use blackboards, but always look up from your notes or index cards to engage your room. Look left, right and make eye contact with the folks in the last row. Repeat.
Manage the Q & A. Sans a designated panel moderator, it’s your job to ensure that each audience member gets his or her turn, and a free-for-all question and answer (Q & A) session can end badly. Some folks are more long-winded than others. Some folks pose those non-questions that are really a personal anecdote or self-promotion. If room acoustics are a problem, repeat the question from the podium for those audience members who cannot hear.
Avoid big controversy: Trust me on this one. For those complex or extra provocative issues or responses, table the answer until you are one-on-one with that person. Yes, writers are political beings. But a general-audience bookstore or church basement are not the place to get into heated arguments.
Book events and literary discussion panels are just one aspect of your book promotion plan. But in addition to (or more) than your clever words on a page, your reading audience will remember you, the person. More, a la Maya Angelou, they will remember how you made them feel.
Enjoyed these tips? You may also enjoy: How to Prepare for an Author Reading or Book Launch
See my upcoming book events, including my keynote speech at the International Women’s Writing Guild at the News page.