How to Prepare for Author Public Appearances
Writing, for most of us, is normally a solitary occupation. We retire into our garret – or basement office under the stairs – and block out the world to produce words and worlds. Writing involves many skills and talents: one of them that doesn’t usually show up in the mix is salesmanship.
I won’t say that writing and sales are mutually exclusive skill sets but it sure seems that way. I’m sure you know the drill. Eek! I might have to ask people to pay attention to me. Eeek! I might have to ask those people to give me money for my pitiful efforts. Eeeek! I might have to do these things in public where I can’t hide behind my online avatar. Eeeeek! I will be judged severely and found wanting and nobody will ever like me or speak to me again, my spouse will leave me, and my children will starve.
This can be debilitating.
Fortunately, there are some things you can do.
Split Your Personality
First, salesmanship is a skill like any other and it can be learned. You start by separating your sales persona from your author persona. If you have ever acted, you know that your character is not you. Your character is the one running around on stage poisoning people or asking them for money. You are not doing that terrible thing. You would never do such a thing.
That person, the character you will become when you go out to meet your public, is a construct. You decide what that person is, how he behaves, how he dresses, and how he talks to an audience. This construct is a shell you can put on like a suit of armor to conceal your own sweet softness from a hostile public. We’ll call our shell Rodney Marx, after Rodney Dangerfield and Groucho Marx but you can use whatever name you like.
The first thing Rodney needs is a uniform. A uniform helps put you in the proper frame of mind. It tells you that you are on stage. It reminds you, since Rodney’s outfit is not going to be made up of your everyday clothing, that you are “acting.” Moreover, since Rodney is going to wear the same clothes for every appearance, this uniform will help the public to remember you better.
Start by thinking about what Rodney is like and what books he writes. If Rodney writes South Florida thrillers, then a loud Hawaiian shirt with coordinating pants is in order. Don’t be discreet! Go down to the Salvation Army and pick out two or three of the loudest, brightest shirts you can find. Rodney wants to be seen and remembered. If Rodney is female, then you can wear the same shirts or you can purchase a loud muumuu. Since this isn’t Hawaii, muumuus will be harder to find, but not impossible. They can also be mail-ordered.
If Rodney writes Victorian mysteries, why not choose something that looks Victorian? There are plenty of patterns for Victorian clothing so you can have something made up if you want to go all out. Or you can choose something that makes the onlooker think well-groomed banker.
Romance? Again, something dressy, distinctive and attractive that says “look at me” and “I’m interesting to talk to.”
What you do not want to wear is something that says “I am cleaning out my garage.”
If you don’t want to wear something as costumey, then choose an outfit that you will never wear in your daily life. This will be a dress, shirt, sweatshirt, or other outfit that is only worn when you are making a public appearance.
My husband wears one of two shirts: a white button-up, short sleeved shirt with rows and rows of letters on it or the same pattern in dull yellow printed with dictionary definitions. I made both shirts for him. In addition, he wears his big leather hat. People recognize him from the clothes. He never wears these clothes outside of public appearances. Putting on the type font shirt or the dictionary shirt helps him get into character.
I have two choices as well. For hot weather appearances, I wear a skirt, white tee-shirt, and over them a vividly colored, abstract print, flowy swing coat and a big straw hat with a big pink flower on the side. You can see me in that coat from a mile away and I only wear it for public appearances. When it’s cold, I wear my Peschel Press sweatshirt with our logo on the back.
Choose something you like that is appropriate (cat-patterned shirts if you write cat mysteries) for public appearances. Only wear this outfit for public appearances.
Write a Script
Once you have your clothes, think about how Rodney will interact with the public. What is your patter about how you write your books? Do you have standard things to say? You may be talking to dozens of people in one day at an event and they won’t know that you are repeating yourself; your spiel about being inspired by cats, Camaros, and wineries is new to them.
Write out the most important points you want to make. Where did you get your ideas? Do you outline or do the ideas just appear? Do you do extensive research? Do your books belong to a series? Do your series interlock? How many books are in your series and will it have an overall story arc? Are you finished or are more books coming? Do you incorporate into your fiction unusual pursuits like competitive flower growing or barbecue cook-offs? How adult is your writing? Suitable for all ages or only those over eighteen? How adult is adult?
Be prepared to answer these questions. Rehearse in front of a mirror so you don’t get caught flat-footed. When someone asks a question you haven’t thought of in advance, do your best and add that question to your repertoire of answers.
Non-writers are mystified by the writing process so this is a chance to answer their questions. Potential readers want to know something about your books so they can justify purchasing one. This is especially important if someone is buying a book as a gift.
Stay in Character
Your public persona should be cheerful, friendly, and welcoming. When you are at an event you are onstage from the moment you leave the privacy of your hotel room. You are onstage in the parking lot, the elevator, the restrooms, and the café. People love getting to know an author. Creativity is exciting. A friendly author can turn casual readers into dedicated fans.
Your attitude is so important. People you interact with as an author may not remember your name, or exactly what you said. But they will remember forever how you made them feel. Don’t ever be rude or condescending to a possible reader. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that some overweight, middle-aged housewife isn’t the right kind of fan for you. Your books right now may not be right for them, but things change and their money pays your bills. That potential reader may come back later on and take a flier on your book because they liked talking to you. If someone isn’t interested, thank them for their time and thank them for coming out to the event. They didn’t have to come out the library author festival.
If you piss off that reader, that reader won’t casually dismiss you as having a bad day. That reader may very well tell everyone they know what an unpleasant person you were. This means not just losing that one reader’s business, but losing the business of all the people that reader spoke to.
Put your author persona on for every event you do. It works for all events from a tiny signing at your public library where five people show up to huge multi-author events where you are one of 100 writers to craft shows where you are the only writer among 200 vendors. It works for conventions and book fairs, any place where you are interacting with the public.
Remember, you don’t just write books. You have to sell them too.