So you have published your first book and now you feel nervous about giving the book talk? Don’t worry! Every newbie writers have that feeling on their first book launch. A book talk is your chance to sell yourself to your audience and make them aware of the things they are likely to find in the book.
So if you are having second thoughts on giving the book talk, here are some of the expert tips that can come into play:
1. Sell Yourself And Not the Book
Too often authors focus on selling the book in their first book talk. While it is technically the right thing but it should not the only thing in your book talk. A book is your brainchild, so you need to define yourself in the first place. You need to bring out the inner person within you and how that person relates to the readers.
2. Build a Connection
When you give self-talk, you are in front of the readers. So this is your chance to create the connection with them so that they are on the same wavelength as you are. This is where you can use the excerpts from your book that can engage the audience from you and they feel the emotional connection.
3. Create the Suspense
This is particularly applicable to authors who are good in the thriller genre. Let’s say you have written a novel on the murder mystery, so you can give a clue to the real murder. Similarly, if you have written a suspense short story, you can leave the audience with that enigmatic element that is the suspense element in your story.
4. Use a Sense of Humor
A book talk has a serious connotation that makes it a bit boring and people don’t want to be a part of something that is boring. To spice it up, you need to infuse an element of a sense of humor to make it more interesting so that people don’t yawn while you are giving them a book talk.
5. Get Prepared For the Q & A Session
A good part of your book talk will involve giving answers to your readers. So you need to collect your thoughts and prepare your answers before you go for the book talk. There will be common questions like “what is your book about?” or “what is the USP of your book?” and there will be questions specific to your style of writing and personality.
You need to take it as a good opportunity to present yourself as an author and pitch your book. Just be yourself and let the people know the great things that make you a good writer.
6. Create a Hook
Good book talk begins with an interesting hook. It has to be an excerpt from your book that can build the narrative in your writing and keep the people hooked on to your book talk. You need to say it in the storytelling style and use the sensory elements to invoke the right emotions in your audience. In other words, you need to make them feel part of the story that you have narrated in the book.
7. Demonstrate the Characters
It has become much easier in today’s era since you can make use of the projector. With help of a projector, you can give a visual story of your book. In this way, you can give a glimpse into the shade of your characters and give the audience an idea of characters they are going to find in the book.
8. Don’t Make It Long
When you give a long book talk, it is likely to turn off the readers. A good book talk is precise and only highlights the features of the book including the plot, characterization, and strong points of the book. Don’t make it too long or you will bore the audience.
A book talk is your chance to convince the readers about the strong points of your book. Therefore, you have to give your best in order to persuade the readers to get a copy of your book.
Author Bio
Margaret Jones is a veteran author, blogger, and an educator at assignmentcreator.co.uk. She has written plenty of ebooks on the growing issues of academia, student affairs, and career matters. She has a knack for blogging and loves creating articles on every possible topic. She loves reading short stories and novels.
