Do you seek opportunities to go out and read passages from your book to audiences at writers’ group meetings, conferences, book festivals, in classrooms, etc? Do you sell many books this way? If not, the problem may not be with your book, but with your way of presenting.
The fact is that few people can actually entertain others by reading to them. Unless you have been trained in reading out loud, you probably come across sounding like a 6th grader reading his book report. I’ve had the displeasure of hearing quite a few authors read passages from their books and most of them are plain awful. They look down at their books, mumble and stumble over words and speak in boring monotone. Even if you can understand the words being read, there is no life to them. They come across simply as words without meaning.
Folks, if you want to give readings to draw attention to your book, make sure you do it well. Reading in public is more than simply verbalizing the words on the page so they can be heard. In order for them to mean anything to the audience, they must be presented with the same emotion with which you wrote them.
Do you remember the emotional tugs and bursts you felt while writing various passages in your book? Even in a self-help or instructional book, you might feel a little hot under the collar while writing about the loose laws that don’t quite protect children in some child abuse cases or the number of animals who are abandoned every year by irresponsible people. Try to recapture those emotion when doing a reading.
Emphasize points with your voice. Here’s where vocal variety comes in handy. Sure, you’re going to use a more exaggerated vocal variety when reading to children or when sharing a passage that is rather exciting, for example. But you can also use variety in your tone and way of presenting important points in a nonfiction book and in suspenseful or mysterious portions in your book of fiction.
Enunciate! Oh my gosh, where do we get off thinking that if we mumble through a reading as if we have a mouthful of glue that anyone will get anything out of it? They won’t. Think about why you are in front of that audience. What is your ultimate goal? Selling books? Who’s going to buy a book that they still know nothing about even after the reading? No one.
How can you create the awareness and the habit of effective public reading? Here are my suggestions:
• Join a storytellers group. You will learn all sorts of techniques designed to discover your best and strongest voice and using it to your advantage.
• Join a local Toastmasters Club and work through the first manual of 10 speeches. You will learn much about vocal variety, storytelling, reading out loud, using gestures, speaking clearly and more.
• Practice reading to a child. And make it a point to exaggerate, exaggerate, exaggerate your voice and expressions. You probably won’t read to an adult audience with quite the exuberance that you will to a child, but at least this experience will help to loosen you up a bit.
• Consider talking about your book rather than reading it. Even if you make this choice, I would still advise that you follow the steps above. If you are not accustomed to speaking in public, you will probably need help with your way of presenting—making eye contact, speaking out, using vocal variety, speaking clearly and so forth. I’ve noticed many times over that the author who talks about his book—tells the story rather than reading the story—generally does a much better job with his or her presentation than the one who tries to read from his or her book.
For additional articles on public speaking as well as writing, publishing and book promotion, be sure to visit my website: http://www.matilijapress.com/articles.htm
My book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book also includes public speaking help. Check it out at my online bookstore. And be sure to take a look at my latest book, Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats.
http://www.matilijapress.com
“Reading Is the Kiss of Death for Some Authors” is a great article that every writer who plans to read aloud from their work should read! If you cannot bring life to your reading then you could possibly kill your sell. Reading aloud requires a performance; if you cannot perform in public then have someone who can to read your work. Simply put, if you are not excited about what you are reading, then why should I be?
Sande Cropsey
author Who’s There and Tinker’s Christmas