Do you have a repertoire of live presentations you do on behalf of your book? When you schedule a speaking engagement designed to promote your book, can you provide a list of possible speech topics? Most program organizers appreciate having choices—topics of interest to their group that they can choose from. And it would behoove you to create such a list.
Post this list at your website to demonstrate your range of possible programs for those who are seeking speakers or for those you have contacted and who want more information about you.
I go out and speak on book promotion, aspects of publishing, writing a book proposal and freelance writing. But I make it easier for a program director to choose an appropriate program by listing more specific topics and even giving the presentations titles. For example:
• Two Key Steps to Successful Publishing.
• How to Write a Killer Book Proposal.
• Book Promotion for the Bold and the Bashful.
• Get Your Book Reviewed Many Times Over.
• Promote Your Book Through Magazine Articles
• Platform-Building Tips and Techniques.
• How to Write the After-Publication Book Proposal.
I’ve recently added, “The Psychology of a Book Proposal.”
For a book on selling real estate, your list of presentations might look like this:
• How to Establish Curb Appeal for Your Home or Office Building.
• Tips for Choosing the Right Real Estate Agent.
• Understanding the Real Estate Market.
• Just What can you Expect From Your Agent?
• Simple Steps to Selling Your Home.
• When to Buy and When to Sell Locally.
For a historical fiction novel, your list of speech topics might look something like this:
• From Banker to Novelist in Five Years. (Your story.)
• How to Research for a Historical Novel.
• Little Known Historical Facts About New England.
• One Family’s Journey Out of the Darkness.
• The Real Story About Self-Publishing.
• So You Want to be a Novelist.
For nonfiction, your chapter titles and subheadings might be appropriate titles and topics for presentations. For fiction, you might tell the story of one particular character—perhaps offering some back-story that is not included in the book. Get into the psychology of why someone would behave in a certain way, as depicted in your story, for example. Do a program on some disease or dysfunction and what you learned about this during research.
You’ll book more speaking engagements if you are well-prepared with potential programs that are of interest to your reading audience. So go to work this weekend creating your topic list and then start contacting program directors for civic organizations, your local garden club, church groups, business conferences, pet trade shows, etc.