Writing and Publishing News

I’m traveling a lot this year. And everywhere I go, I’m required to “speak for my supper.” I’m leaving for soggy Honolulu this week to give a workshop at the Pen Women Conference there. They want to know how to prepare a book proposal. April 6, I’ll give a brief talk at the Book Publicists of Southern California monthly meeting on how to work a book festival so it works for you. April 29/30 is the huge Los Angeles Times Book Festival at UCLA. I’ll be there in the SPAWN booth. That’s Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network). In June, I’m doing a 3-week workshop in Ventura, CA for Focus on the Masters. I might also do a writing workshop for a group of local home-schooled kids. In July, I’m scheduled to give a presentation at a writers’ event in Seattle. I’ll be in Wisconsin talking to writers in September and I am hoping to be invited back to St. Louis in October.

My biggest gig this year is in May. I’ve been invited to give the keynote speech before a group of 1,000 Toastmasters in Dubai. Yes, that magnificent city in the Middle East.

Do speaking engagements sell books? Absolutely. And I encourage you to hone your speaking skills, boost your courage and get out there and speak for your supper, too.
You get to experience new places and meet lovely new people. I love collecting memories from the various places where I’ve presented workshops. I was wined and dined quite extravagantly in Jacksonville, Florida a few years ago. I had a great time meeting women writers in Arlington, TX when I spoke before the National Association of Women Writers. I have made some wonderful friends in St. Louis, MO. In fact, it’s almost too much fun to be considered work.

Today, I’d like to offer you some suggestions for honing your speaking skills so you will feel more comfortable applying for the many speaking gigs there are out there, accepting those that come your way and creating new opportunities to speak in public as a way to promote your book.

If public speaking gives you noodle knees and sweaty palms, I recommend:

• Join a Toastmasters Club. Go to www.toastmasters.org or call, 800-993-7732 for the one nearest you.
• Join an organization of your choice and gain speaking experience by participating in meetings.
• Get involved with a storytelling group.
• Hire a voice coach. (Generally listed under music teachers)
• Observe other speakers. Note what techniques work and which ones don’t.
• Take on leadership roles at work.
• Find a mentor—someone who’s speaking abilities you admire.

Here are some specific tips to get your started:

Be prepared. You will be more at ease if you know what to expect. Find out if there will be a podium or microphone, for example. How many people do they expect? How will the room be set up? Also, have your props or notes organized so there will be no annoying fumbling during your presentation.

Know your audience. Gear your speech to the needs and interests of this particular audience.

Speak out. Many inexperienced orators speak too softly or they allow their voices to drop toward the end of their sentences. Practice speaking up and speaking out. Whether addressing a large audience or a small group, always speak so that you can be heard even in the back of the room.

Make eye contact. Move your attention around the room as you speak, making eye contact with each person

Use vocal variety. Make your talks more enjoyable by using an assortment of vocal tones and pitches rather than speaking in monotone. If you need help developing vocal variety, practice reading to children.

Eliminate non-words. Inexperienced speakers generally use filler words such as ah, er, um, and (where unnecessary), and so forth. Practice speaking without filler words.

Don’t apologize. Avoid sabotaging your presentation by making excuses for not being well prepared or for poor speaking skills. Stand tall, appear self-assured and you will gain the confidence of the audience.

Eliminate poor speaking habits. Rid your vocabulary of stagnant verbiage. Break yourself of those mundane phrases you like to repeat, such as, “yada, yada, yada” or “know what I mean?” Likewise, watch the overuse of words such as “really.”

Don’t apologize. Avoid sabotaging your presentation by making excuses for not being well prepared or for poor speaking skills. Stand tall, appear self-assured and you will gain the confidence of the audience.

Repeat audience questions. When someone asks a question during your presentation, always repeat it before answering it. This ensures that everyone hears i

Anyone can get up in front of an audience and speak. How well you do it is what counts.
You can’t sell a book that no one knows about. You won’t get writing jobs unless people are aware of your writing skills and services. One way to spread the word is to go out and talk about it.

Find additional tips such as these in my books, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, The Successful Writer’s Handbook, Over 75 Good Ideas for Promoting Your Book, How to Write a Successful Book Proposal in 8 Days or Less.
http://www.matilijapress.com

It used to be that when someone called and invited me to talk about my latest book at their club meeting I would think about it for only a few seconds before responding. And, usually, I would say, “No.” Well, it was a safe answer. I wasn’t comfortable speaking in public. What if I messed up? Yes, it was the right answer. However, later, I often regretted my snap decision.

So I started handling things differently. Now, when someone called and asked me to do something that was outside of my comfort zone, I’d say, “I’ll think about it and call you back.” Invariably, I’d talk myself out of it and end up missing a worthwhile activity or an interesting event. Obviously, that wasn’t the solution to my decision-making problem, either. So, I developed a new tactic.

The next time someone called to ask me to speak or to attend a writers’ group meeting or to help organize a group, I said, “Yes.” Then I figured out a way to do it. Instead of focusing on the negative possibilities and my perceived short-comings—rather than dreading failure—I began a self-improvement regimen. I started meditating and using positive self-talk. I joined Toastmasters and improved my public-speaking skills.

Now, when I say, “Yes,” to a speaking invitation, I spend my days preparing for a positive outcome rather than dreading failure. Consequently, book sales are up, I’m getting more client work and I’m having a lot of fun traveling all over the place. April 1, I’ll be in Honolulu presenting a workshop on how to create a book proposal for the Pen Women’s Conference. I’ll be speaking before the Book Publicists of Southern California in Studio City, CA April 6 and I just accepted a gig for May 10 as the keynote speaker for the area Toastmasters conference in Dubai—yes, that amazing city in the Middle East.

I learned my lesson: Make snap decisions based on your fears and insecurities and you could miss out on some exciting adventures and great book-selling opportunities. Just say, YES.

And don’t forget to say YES to my suggestion that you purchase and study my latest book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

For suggestions on how to find speaking engagements through which you can promote your book, read the previous entry posted in this blog.

I do quite a bit of public speaking. I present writing/publishing-related workshops at writers’ conferences and book festivals throughout the U.S. And I’m frequently asked, “How did they find out about you?” or “How did you find out about them?”

While some authors sit back and wait for opportunities for book promotion and exposure to present themselves, I go out in search of those opportunities. Of course, my expertise is in the area of authorship, freelance writing and publishing. So I read writers’ magazines and newsletters in hopes of finding out about upcoming events. I do a Google Search in order to locate pending events for freelance writers and authors. If I want to locate an event in a certain area, I might type in, “book festival” or “writers’ conference” and “Arizona” or “California” or “Seattle.”

I study the information related to this event and, if it seems appropriate, I’ll email the director and ask how to apply to be a speaker or workshop leader. I have a resume already prepared listing my qualifications as an industry professional as well as a speaker and I’m always ready to make workshop or speech topic suggestions.

Sometimes I fall into a sweet speaking deal with little effort on my part. Someone reads one of my articles somewhere, they’ve heard me speak, they stumble across my Web site or they read a review of one of my books and they contact me with an invitation to speak before their group. Sometimes they contact me because of my affiliation with SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network).

So you see, there are two main ways to get speaking gigs: you can go out in search of an opportunity or you can grab the opportunity that unexpectedly comes your way. If opportunities are not knocking at your door, perhaps you aren’t getting out enough. Still, I meet authors who prefer to hole-up in their offices; never venturing out where they will be noticed.

What are the benefits of speaking in public? I think they are many and far-reaching. It’s an opportunity to sell books on the spot. If your message is clear, concise and useful, members of your audience will buy books. It is good exposure for you as a professional in your field and for future sales of your book(s). Also, not only will you be in front of an audience of, presumably, anywhere from two people to 200, you potentially reach thousands more by placing announcements about your presentation in newspapers, magazines, newsletters, your blog, on related Web sites and so forth.

Where do you find speaking opportunities for books like yours? Just about any author, who has some public speaking skill, can land speaking engagements at local civic club meetings, in bookstores and libraries and venues related to your book. If your book is a how-to on making living wreaths, for example, you could probably arrange to give demonstrations at nurseries throughout your state and beyond.

Maybe you’ve written a book on animal behavior. I’d suggest that you contact pet stores, animal shelters, veterinarians’ offices and breed clubs everywhere and offer to speak.

If you have written a historical novel based in early Pennsylvania, for example, contact the various Chambers of Commerce in that state as well as libraries, museums, schools, civic organizations and historical societies and volunteer to come and tell your story.

Once you’ve landed some engagements, be sure to alert local newspapers of the event so you’ll have good coverage and draw a large audience. And be prepared to sell books on the spot. Bring change and open a merchant account so you can take credit cards or you may lose potential sales.

We’re marching toward spring. If you start now contacting appropriate venues for your speeches, you’ll begin the new season with plenty of reason to celebrate: sales and exposure.

If you are not comfortable speaking in public and you would like some motivation, guidance and skills, join a local Toastmasters Club. Find a club near you by visiting: http://www.toastmasters.org Or look in your phone book or contact your Chamber of Commerce to locate a local club.

I’d love to hear from those of you who are actively speaking on behalf of your books or who are motivated by this blog entry and are taking the steps necessary to start seeking appropriate speaking venues for your book topics.

SPAWN had a booth at the first Ventura Book Festival in Ventura, CA yesterday and it was a big success. I gave a workshop on book promotion while there. Why? Because they offered this opportunity and I took advantage of it. They had readers and workshop leaders. I met one exhibitor who was disgruntled when he didn’t see his name listed as a reader. He wondered why. I asked if he had signed up to do a reading. He said, “No. I didn’t know we could.”

About two dozen others knew that they could because they read the application and the exhibitor information. This is another good lesson for authors—search hard for those opportunities; don’t just assume they don’t exist.

My latest book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book is getting excellent reviews. Look at the new ones that are posted at my listing at Amazon.com. Readers are also taking the time to compliment me on behalf of and thank me for writing this book.

Be sure to order your copy at http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html