Cyn

I'm tired.  You know those sort of days.  You want nothing more on your responsibility plate than to take care of basic needs like eating and sleeping and if you had your druthers, you'd sleep because eating is too much work.

So, what do you do?  I usually end up taking a mini-nap or crawl beneath a blanket on my bed and read.  Right now I'm reading The Finishing School by Dick Couch.  One thing struck me.  Some military special operations schools are meant to force people out, to see who will quit and who will give the unit more than 100%. 

On these sleepy days, I think about people I respect, people who don't quit.  They encourage me to keep slugging uphill, to steal my thirty winks and then get back at it...the business of writing and editing and entertaining readers.  Nothing I do can touch what the men in special ops do.  Makes my whining insignificant.  So, I'll take my tiny nap and despite how tired I believe I am, I'll get back to my job at hand and work at making a little difference in someone's life.

 

This is supposed to be a picture of Air Force Sgt John Gebhardt in Iraq.  He's holding a little girl whose family was executed.  In fact, she was shot too and survived.  The nursing staff at the hospital say he is the only one she's able to be calm with and that he's held her during the night, for several nights, while they both slept. 

I hope this is a true story.  I haven't run Snopes on it yet as some of you might (and I encourage you to do so).  Still there is something special in seeing a military, tough man hold and comfort a child.  I hope my sons turn into the sort of men who can offer similar comfort to children wherever they are.

Be thankful for the people in your life, the people who've been there and the people who will be brought to you in the future.

Here is a list of things to keep in mind when you’re promoting your stories.

1. When you get scheduled for an event, put it immediately on your calendar.  Include day of the week, date, time and location.  If you forgot you create a lose-lose situation for all involved: yourself, the party hosting you, your fans, and your potential fans.  Be prepared for the right kind of event.  Book signings are different from a teaching opportunity and require a different mindset.  Some of the items below apply to all events, some only apply to teaching/lecturing events.

2. Be neat and clean.  This seems like a no-brainer, but it happens.  Authors have been know to show up at events without the best of personal hygiene.  Be showered, clean, neat.  You don’t want to show up at an event looking raggedy.  You don’t have to wear Armani, but you should look put-together.  You need to look like a successful author.  Holey clothes, even in fashion just won’t cut it.  Think business casual.

3. Have comfortable shoes if you are going to be on your feet a lot.  This is especially critical for the ladies as we tend to have higher heeled footwear.

4. If you are traveling, have your itinerary with phone numbers.  If you are driving, have Map Quest printouts or a good map.

5. Phones.  Have a cell phone available.  You can purchase cell phones with prepaid minutes on them.  These are extremely helpful if you need to contact anyone in regards to your presentation.  On the other hand, when you are at the signing or making a public appearance, turn the damn thing off!  The last thing you want is to be considered rude because you were talking on the phone when you should have been connecting with your potential readers.

6. Have a decent watch so you can keep track of time.  Think respect.  Fill the time required, don’t go over, and don’t cheat your audience either.  Be on time.  If you have those items from #4, you can responsibly inform your host of difficulties you encounter so that all may work on adjusting time slots if need be.  You can’t do that without a watch.

7. Copies of your work.  Since we are an electronic medium bring CDs.  Also, since we sell electronic books it is helpful to show your audience ways to read your work.  I make it a point to bring my e-Book reader with me and I point out its advantages (I can read in bed without disturbing my partner, I carry several books at a time when I travel all for the weight of one paperback, my reader feels like a book).

8. A pre-printed form for gathering mailing and email addresses.  Use these for newsletters and announcements.

9. Pocket calculator so you can tally sales!

10. Pens for autographing.  Some authors take postcards of their covers, or printouts (go to Kinko’s or a nice copy place and get the laser color copies made, they turn out gorgeous) and then a color pen that contrasts nicely with the cover.  I have a nice metallic gold permanent calligraphy pen that makes the autograph really stand out.

11. A TINY autobiography (of yourself).  You don’t really know how much a host knows about you.  Have a list of your books and their current publisher handy.  What are your credentials?  Share them with your audience.  Have more than one copy on hand in case you need to give it to someone else, like a store manager who will read it over the p.a.

12. Black and white photos of yourself…just in case you attract the attention of the local media.  Have a black and white of your book cover too, just in case they want to include it in an article.  Remember, you are promoting your work, not you.  If you have to choose between a photo of you and your cover, choose your cover.  People won’t remember your face in the newspaper, but they might remember your cover.

13. Business cards.  You can be so creative with them it’s not funny.  Ask Nikita Gordyn for help.  She does nice designs that will get you noticed…and they stand out from the Vista Print cards (and you can upload them to Vista Print for a very reasonable cost.)  Include your web site, book titles, and email address…the things you consider pertinent.  Some people I know have different business cards for different purposes.

14. Name tag.  Don’t just put your name on your name tag.  Let your company or product be listed too.  It can read something like XXX author of YYY at Aspen Mountain Press.  Name tags can be those sticky ones like the ones you wear at non-profit functions, or you can have a permanent one made.  My nametag for the Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association adheres to my clothing with magnets.  I love it.

15. If you are giving a presentation or lecture of some sort, have two copies.  Keep one in a notebook you carry, have the other with the equipment you plan to use.  If you are using one of those big charts, write the information you want the audience to remember in a dark, vivid color and write notes to yourself in pencil on the same page.  The audience won’t see it and you’ll look like a genius.

16. Questions and answers.  Write your own ahead of time, just in case the audience is too quiet to ask.  You can preface your question with something like, “Once I was asked…” or some such thing.  Having questions and answers is also helpful for the host of an interview.  It gives you an opportunity to guide the interview somewhat, let’s the host know what you think is important, and let’s the host get to know you a little ahead of time.  You should have these with you for both your presentation and just in case you get asked to do an interview.  And, please, please PROOF READ anything you might give to the media.  Spelling and grammar mistakes when you claim to be an author are just not to be tolerated.  They make you and the companies you represent look really bad.

 

17. A list of your presentation needs.  Most hosting entities can get you an overhead projector, a computer with PowerPoint, a podium, whatever.  You just have to let them know what you want and need.

18. Review clips.  These summary snippets with your rating (if it was decent) give more credence to your work and store managers love them.

 

19. Book covers.  Again, go to a place like Kinko’s and have them laser printed (they are about $0.79-$1.29 a copy) and then put them in the acrylic holders you can get at Office Max or Office Depot.  This is really helpful again because of our electronic media.  Seeing a cover sometimes makes a sale.

20. Index cards.  You pass these out to the audience to get their questions.  In the matter of questions, by the way, you don’t have to answer any that are controversial.  Don’t feel like you have to answer all of them.  You can politely say, “That’s all we have time for this afternoon.”  You can also see which questions are similar and address those if appropriate.

21. Something to drink…not alcoholic!  Water, tea, pop.  This can help you get over your nerves, help you get your thoughts together, give you a tiny break while you’re thinking about that last question you received.

22. Evaluation form.  It is always a good idea to let the audience know at the beginning of your presentation what your goal is in talking to them.  That way they know if you met that goal or not by the end of your talk.  In a recent lecture, I received a negative comment because the participate thought I was going to teach a writing course.  That individual didn’t understand the purpose of the class, which was a talk on a genre of writing. I know to clarify my lecture purpose better in the future.