Featherstone 
You wrote a book…and now you’re going to need to talk about it!
Sure, there are plenty of writers who are gregarious conversation makers, happy to take the stage, but there are plenty more authors out there who’d prefer to eat raw cane toad than tell strangers, colleagues or their neighbours about their work…let alone booksellers, reporters, podcasters and library audiences.
Whenever I feel nervous about talking about my books and what I do, I’m able to keep my nerves under control by tapping into the how and why I wrote them in the first place…how: from a place of curiosity and joy, and why: to help and entertain others. That puts me as just a single creative drop at the centre, from which the waves ripple out. Being just a tiny, little drop…suddenly the stakes don’t seem that high!
But little drops only turn into ripples and waves if you help readers discover your book, whether through your own outreach or the recommendations of others. One way to boost discoverability is by speaking up about your work, and luckily, another author has written a book to help you do just that.
At the launch of her book at Gleebooks, Theresa Miller, author of Speak Up: How to Be a Successful Presenter and Media Spokesperson (NewSouth), made the case plainly: “many subject matter experts, despite their wealth of knowledge, resist stepping up to the microphone. They stay silent, then rail against the media’s ignorance when speaking to their peers. But that silence isn’t noble. It doesn’t help them, the public or their cause. And practically speaking, if you don’t speak up, you risk becoming invisible. Your important work flies under the radar. Your gifts remain unopened.”
The good news is that speaking well about your book doesn’t mean performing or abandoning your natural self. It means knowing your material, having a clear objective and tailoring your message to whoever is in front of you, whether that’s your hairdresser, your HR manager or the head of book buying.
There are plenty of great tips in Theresa’s book, and though many are more suited to subject matter experts and non-fiction writers, fiction writers will pick up ideas too about how to calm nerves and more.
You can discover more about Theresa Miller and her book Speak Up: How to be a Successful Presenter and Media Spokesperson here.
If you need help with marketing ideas for your book, a strategy call or my book coaching services my might be just the thing. There are also plenty of ideas in Look-It’s Your Book! if you haven’t already got a copy.
Image credit: Author Theresa Millar and Anna Featherstone at book signing table by photographer Simona Janek
Selfie by author Sara Howard with Erin Huckle and Anna Featherstone