Reading Your Story to an Audience

My brother and future sister-in-law asked me to read Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s "How Do I Love Thee" for their wedding ceremony.  Afterwards, people complimented me and asked about my acting career.  None.  I’m an English teacher, former college poet, and professional writer who reads at science fiction conventions.  So, lots of practice reading in public with a teacher voice which don’t need no stinkin' microphone.  

For the wedding performance, I used a huge font and printed the poem on heavy-weight paper so I didn't need support for the paper since I didn’t have a podium, and the paper didn't make noise.  Since it wasn't my work or my natural rhythm, I also listened to professional actors perform it online, then read it to myself enough to figure out where I needed to drop a word or change the rhythm slightly to fit my voice.  

For my own work, I figure out how each character's voice sounds and remove all the dialogue tags like "said" which clunk when reading a story aloud. (If you want to see how a genius voice actor works, listen to Jim Dale's performance of the Harry Potter series.  Incredible!)    

I also pick one of my short stories of the right length rather than a book chapter or two because I'm performing, not slogging my books directly.  Funny with a small cast is better than dark and violent for most groups, plus kids may be present.  My favorite is "The Werewolf Whisperer" about a werewolf trapped in his wolf form in an animal shelter where he will be gassed or neutered.  Neither is a good outcome. 

Also, just relax.  People come to these events to learn about you and your work, and most are friendly.  The jerks can end up as a victim in your next work.  

If you have extra time at the end, let the audience ask questions.  

Book Readings 101

 QUESTION:  I’ve been invited to do a book reading.  How should I handle it?  Should I sell books?

I've done a number of book reading and attended even more times at various colleges and science fiction conventions.

If your reading is sponsored by a group of people or a bookstore, ask whoever is running it how long they'd like you to read.   If you have no limit, around thirty minutes or a bit less is a good number to aim at unless you are the only reader.  In that case, around 45 minutes to an hour is better.

If you run short, you can always answer questions or read a bit more if the crowd wants you to.

If you're there to promote a book, by all means read from it.  Pick a chapter or scene that is interesting and dramatic.  Give a brief introduction about what the book is about and set the scene within the book for what you are reading if it isn't the first chapter.

When I'm reading but not promoting a particular book, I'll read a light and mildly funny short story.   

I do a special voice for each character so I make certain I remember how they sound.  If there's lots of dialogue without tags like "Jack said," I will add it as I read to make certain people know who is saying what.  

Practice the reading a number of times and use a watch to see if it lasts long enough.

Most writers get really nervous so they read really fast. Make yourself slow down and focus on the words and story, not on your nerves.  Find a friendly face in the audience to read to.  

Look up occasionally and smile at people or just acknowledge your audience.  

I always print out a copy in a large font so I'm less likely to stumble over words, and, if I intend to hold the manuscript in my hand because there isn't a podium, I will back the manuscript with a piece of light cardboard so it doesn't wobble around, and I lay each page down as I read so the audience won't become mesmerized by flopping pages.  

If you have an e-reader or a tablet, save your reading in a larger font.

If there are spots you want to emphasize, underline them or leave a note to yourself on the side.

As to what to bring, if you will be sitting at a table, a means to display your book or a large copy of your cover is good.  I use plate display stands.  Others use picture frame stands.  Some authors have a standup sign with their name on it in a font large enough to see from the audience.

A bottle of water or soda is good to have because it can be closed.  

Selling your book depends on the venue.  If it's a bookstore, they will handle the sales, but you may want to have extra books in your trunk in case they run out of stock. Mention you have them before the reading so someone can get the books if the audience is big.  Before you leave, make sure you are paid for those extra books. Some bookstores love to have you autograph their copies of the book, others do not.  Ask before signing them.

If it isn't at a bookstore and the sponsor is agreeable to you selling books, bring someone with you to sell the books so you are free to chat with people and autograph your books.

Round off the price of the book in dollars so you won't have to worry about lots of coins. It's best to lower the price than bring it up.   Make sure your seller has plenty of petty cash to give change.  Your first buyer will always have a fifty dollar bill, and everyone else will have twenties so you'll need the petty cash.  You can also turn your iPhone into a card reader so you can accept credit cards.  

Mostly, though, have a good time.  People are there to support you, not to heckle you, so you are among friends.

Here's an link to an article I wrote on how Mark Twain promoted his books which should also prove of use.  

http://mbyerly.blogspot.com/2008/02/booksigning-advice-from-mark-twain.html 

Ways to Find and Promote Free eBooks

 NOTE: This is an updated list from an earlier post. Feel free to pass it along to friends and family who are having trouble getting enough to read digitally right now.   

These days, with so many books available as ebooks, it’s hard to get your books to readers and hard for readers to find the kind of books they like to read.

One answer for both is services which offer free or cheap/on-sale ebooks via their site, newsletters, or emails.  These services give an author a chance to showcase a series or a group of similar novels by offering a book on sale or giving away the first book or a short story/novella in the series, and for readers to find series they like.    

I’ve compiled a list of these services as well as an article for authors on the subject.  The first link after each services is for readers, the second for authors who are interested in using these services.  

FOR AUTHORS—COMPARISON OF A NUMBER OF BOOK SERVICES:

http://selfpublishingadvice.org/ebook-discovery-book-promo-services-review/

THE BOOK SERVICES:

INSTAFREEBIE:

http://www.instafreebie.com/readers

http://www.instafreebie.com/authors

FREEBOOKSY:

https://www.freebooksy.com/

https://www.freebooksy.com/for-the-authors/

BARGAIN BOOKSY:

https://www.bargainbooksy.com

https://www.bargainbooksy.com/sell-more-books/

GENRECRAVE:

http://www.genrecrave.com

http://www.genrecrave.com/schedule-today/

THE FUSSY LIBRARIAN:

http://www.thefussylibrarian.com

http://www.thefussylibrarian.com/for-authors/

EARLY BIRD BOOKS:

http://www.earlybirdbooks.com

BOOKREVIEWBUZZ (SITE THAT OFFERS BOOKS FOR REVIEW):

http://bookreviewbuzz.com

http://bookreviewbuzz.com/for-reviewers-and-readers/

ROBIN READS:

http://robinreads.com

http://robinreads.com/author-signup/

BOOK SENDS:

http://booksends.com

http://booksends.com/advertise.php

BOOK BRAG

http://bookbrag.com

http://bookbrag.com/add-your-book/

BOOKBUB

https://www.bookbub.com

https://www.bookbub.com/partners

BOOK PEBBLE:

http://www.bookpebble.com

http://www.bookpebble.com/authors/requirements/

BOOKRAID:

https://bookraid.com

https://bookraid.com/requirements

LISTS BOOKS ON SALE, NO WAY TO ADD YOUR BOOK:

http://selfpublishingadvice.org/ebook-discovery-book-promo-services-review/

Promotion Items at the Freebie Table

Last week, one of the writer sites I keep up with, Killzone, had a discussion on freebie/swag tables at conventions.  Here’s a link to the blog article by Laura Benedict, and I’ve put my own suggestions down below.  

https://killzoneblog.com/2019/04/in-which-we-talk-swag.html

I dealt with and watched over the swag tables at a science fiction convention aimed at readers for many years. A lot is left behind. I still have a big pile of really nice bookmarks from the very first WHEEL OF TIME novel. Must be a collectors item, now.

Some of the things I learned is that those expensive items should be promoting you and your series, not a specific book, unless it’s your first book, so you won’t be wasting money with leftovers. Flat paper of any type, book covers, etc., is never touched unless someone already has an interest in your product. 

If you have an expensive promo item, don’t put them all out at once. Stop by once or twice a day early in the conference, restock, and straighten up your goodie pile.

Bring those promo items and business cards to whatever event you speak at and offer them when you are introduced. Have a business card with your book and author info, and also have a business card with your private contact info for when you are networking. 

If you want to offer a free short story or book sample, put a QR code on your book mark or whatever. A QR is one of those squares full of blocks that a smartphone can scan for info. Some sites online can generate a code for you. I printed a QR code to my website on my author name sign for when I do joint signings.

As a reader, I’m more likely to be interested in an author from a free book or short story from a site like Bookbub or one of the author collectives than a bookmark so I’m not that enthusiastic about freebie tables. Your taste may vary.

Bad Blurbs in the Real World, Part 7

A book description or back cover blurb is the third-best promotion you have.  (The first is name recognition, the second the cover.)  The first two may get a reader to glance at your offering, but a good or bad blurb can make or break the sale.  

I receive a number of ebook promotion emails like BookBuzz and Fussy Librarian, and some of the book blurbs have been so bad that I’ve started collecting them. 

Here are a few with the author and book title removed to protect the incompetent.  My comments in italics are beneath each one.

NOTE:  To see how to write a good blurb, please read my article on the subject or do a search of my blog with the term “blurb” for links in my “Links of Interest” articles.  To learn how to figure out your genre, clink on this.  

MYSTERY

Charlottesville, Virginia, Police Detective Luke McGinty has a closet filled with demons, along with a few skeletons; a steady job, but no steady partner or girlfriend; and is still married to his wife Sallie, even though she’s been dead for three years. Then his detective work takes a turn for the worse when a body is discovered at the downtown mall. One dead body isn’t enough, though, and another one turns up. When ties to a cold murder case in another county present themselves, Luke realizes that, if he doesn’t tread carefully, he could end up short more than just a few answers…

The first mistake is “closet filled with demons.”  These are figurative demons, not literal ones, but I thought literal until I looked at the book on Amazon.  Maybe that’s just me, but with a huge amount of paranormal mysteries and urban mysteries out there, I doubt I’d be the only one.  

The character building at the first is okay, but with so little space to explain the story, it would have been better to give more detail about the murders and the danger the detective seems to be facing. A mystery is first and foremost about the mystery.

VARIOUS BLURB COMPARISONS:

“Take The Equalizer, give him Mike Hammer’s fists, throw in some Pulp Fiction-like dialogue, add a splash of Bogie-Bacall banter, and you get Titus—a hard-knuckled action hero for a new generation.’'

“They are the 21st Century version of Nick and Nora Charles with adventures that go around the world.” 

“Thirty-something single mum Beth Haldane is forced to become Dulwich’s answer to Miss Marple when she stumbles over a murder victim on her first day at work.”

Most people under the age of seventy probably don’t have a clue about a majority of these comparisons.  This is the perfect example of why I’m not a fan of comparisons.  It’s more miss than hit with a possible audience.  

THRILLER:

A longtime friend has been arrested for driving drunk and causing a death. The friend also happens to be the District Attorney. Thaddeus agrees to meet. He learns about the DA's drinking. He learns that the DA's wife is on the prowl with strange men, and the DA is dangerously close to murder. Thaddeus sets out to defend. Two months in, he is savagely attacked. His office puts in a call to Christine Susmann. His old paralegal drops what she is doing and hurries to his side. Together again, Thaddeus and Christine mount their defense of the DA and mount their drive to bring Thaddeus back to health.

Would you read a book with such flat, blocky style?  I sure wouldn’t.  Plus, there’s no indication that the DA is being set up.  A drunk who kills someone isn’t someone I’d care about.  I’d root for the prosecution.

URBAN FANTASY/SUPERHERO

Dating in the city is hard. It’s too big. There are too many places to go. The clubs are too loud and the bars are too pretentious. It’s just so hard to make a connection, to find something real. Someone real...and it would all be so much easier if you could give it all up, but that’s the one thing you can’t do. So you have a choice, acquiesce to the enviable blind date from well-meaning friends and coworkers who just don’t get it or take matters into your own hands. Maybe if you play your card just right, you can do both.

No, I didn’t get the genre wrong.  It’s labeled urban fantasy/ superhero, but it has a romance blurb.  Talk about a disconnect.  Plus, urban fantasy and superhero stories are separate genres.  Here’s a hint.  Figure out what kind of book you are writing and who the readers are and aim the blurb at them.  Also, tell us about the book and its characters, don’t give the reader generalities.  

FANTASY

When a man seeks out an empath who he believes is hiding in a brothel in order to ease his daughter's suffering due to an alien infection, he soon discovers there's far more to the virus than he'd ever considered possible. 

Make that first sentence stop!  Please make it stop!  Bad writing in a blurb is not the way to attract readers.

SUSPENSE

Her husband stole her baby, beat her up, and tossed her out in the snow. She hunted for her daughter for years. She came to Atlanta on a vague clue and instead found the dead body of a girl. Is it her long lost daughter? Find out now.

The book’s title is SOMEBODY ELSE’S DAUGHTER.  Nothing says suspense like a question that is answered before it is asked.  (Sarcasm)  The summary’s punctuation is poor.  Also, when you have a sentence with a list of verbs, it’s best to list them in order of action.  In other words, “beat her up,” “tossed her out,” then “stole baby.”  And nothing says poor blurb writing like “Find out now.”  

URBAN FANTASY

(Blank space)

No, I didn’t forget to insert the blurb.  Sometimes, authors don’t place a blurb with the book cover in promotional material or free ebook newsletters.  A bad blurb is better than no blurb, at all.  If you want someone to, at the very least, look at your book, insert a blurb.

Bad Blurbs in the Real World, Part 3

A book description or back cover blurb is the third-best promotion you have.  (The first is name recognition, the second the cover.)  The first two may get a reader to glance at your offering, but a good or bad blurb can make or break the sale.  

I receive a number of ebook promotion emails like BookBuzz and Fussy Librarian, and some of the book blurbs have been so bad that I’ve started collecting them.  

Here are a few with the author and book title removed to protect the incompetent.  My comments in italics are beneath each one.

NOTE:  To see how to write a good blurb, please read my article on the subject or do a search of my blog with the term “blurb” for links in my “Links of Interest” articles.  To learn how to figure out your genre, clink on this.  

SCIENCE FICTION

When war comes after a century of peace, it is sudden and brutal. Taken by surprise, Earth's far-flung colonies are in danger. The only son of an admiral, Second Lieutenant Michael Sheridan finds himself thrust into a desperate conflict that he and the untried soldiers under his command are ready for. Focusing on the people struggling to survive the onslaught, First Strike is a novel that propels the reader to the furthest limits of space. Fighting a ruthless and determined enemy, Sheridan soon learns the brutal lessons of war and that his enemy may not be what it appears to be.

A perfect example of why you shouldn’t start every sentence with clauses, etc.  The description of the book is hard to get through with each introductory phrase or clause acting as a speed bump.

MYSTERY

Will Anderson and Elizabeth Hume are called to the vast Eloise Insane Asylum outside of Detroit, where Elizabeth's cousin Robbie is a patient and now a murder suspect. The victim, like three others before him at the asylum in recent months, was killed with the infamous Punjab lasso, the murder weapon of the Phantom of the Opera. Certain of Robbie's innocence, they begin an investigation with the help of Detective Riordan. Will has himself committed to the asylum to investigate from the inside, and Elizabeth volunteers at Eloise and questions people outside the asylum. While Will endures horrific conditions in his search for the killer, Elizabeth and Riordan follow the trail of a murder suspect all the way to Kalamazoo, where they realize the killer might still be at Eloise, putting Will in extreme danger. They race back to Detroit, but will they arrive in time to save Will?

This blurb tells the whole dang plot!  We know the answer to the last sentence is “yes” so why bother reading.

COZY MYSTERY

After solving the biggest case of her career, PI Barb Jackson’s business is finally taking off. Cases are rolling in, she and her staff are getting paid, and she’s the apple of her hunky detective boyfriend Tyler Black’s eye. Life couldn’t get much better.

There should be a “but” paragraph here to set up the conflict of this novel.  Otherwise, it’s all a big snoozefest of happy.

WOMEN’S FICTION

CHAMPIONS ARE MADE BY THE ADVERSITIES THEY OVERCOME.

Well, this is incredibly vague and sounds nothing like women’s fiction.

ACTION THRILLER

Team Camelot has recovered from the devastation of their last mission, and it's time to go back to work. This time, they find themselves working right here in the good ol' US of A, taking out the top echelons of an entire drug cartel, and Noah gets the chance to use some of Wally's supergadgets. The mission comes off better than anyone could have hoped, and the team heads for home.

Okay, I know what happens in the book so I have no reason to read it.

SUPERNATURAL THRILLER

Could you survive a week in a haunted house?

No.  I wouldn’t go in it in the first place.  And why should I be interested in this book?

YOUNG ADULT CONTEMPORARY FANTASY

Bianca Tailer had always dreamed of making it big. She’d been putting on concerts for friends and family for as long as she could remember.

Oooh, how not exciting.  Why would I read this?  

What’s the threat and/or the goal?

URBAN FANTASY

Vampires? Fae warriors? Who knew they were real. Somebody must have and they should have let the rest of us know. 

Again, what’s the threat?  Who is the main character, and why should we care?