Best selling author Lev Grossman has posted an excellent little primer on public speaking, which you should run over to his blog to read. It begins:
I speak in public a lot, which is a weird thing for a person with as much social anxiety as I have to do. I mean, I can barely speak in private.But if you’re going to be a writer in the present century you pretty much have to do it. And the truth is, after hating it and fucking it up 10,000 times – and many of the people reading this blog have probably seen me fuck it up in person — I’ve actually started to like speaking in public.
The funny introduction is followed by nine lessons (such as #4 Massively Over-Prepare and #5 Have a Beer or Don't). Every one of them is a keeper.
How
authors read their work is a continued source of fascination for me. (And now
that I've gotten several of my own events under my belt already this spring, I
can discuss the topic without having to breathe from a paper bag.) Wednesday
night I went to hear Margot Livesey read from her new novel The Flight of Gemma Hardy.
From
Ms. Livesey’s flap copy: “A captivating tale, set
in Scotland in the early 1960s, that is both an homage to and a modern
variation on the enduring classic Jane Eyre.” Isn't that a terrific premise? I was
intrigued, and so were forty or so other people on a Wednesday night in
Vermont.
Ms.
Livesey enchanted her audience with her gorgeous Scottish accent. She opened
her event by reading another writer’s humorous poem, entitled Scotland. This was a stroke of genius.
The trouble with reading your own work is the potential for an hour of a “me me
me” focus that’s tough to shake. Not only did the poem set the mood as well as
provide a chuckle at the end, it helped to open up a broader cultural
conversation.
The
beginning of the book is quite sad, and the room got very quiet as she read. As
I listened to her beautiful description of the cold sea and two unfortunate
deaths, I began to understand just how different it is to read from a first
person narrative than from third person. The
Flight of Gemma Hardy is in first person (as is Jane Eyre.)
In
those few pages, the narrator loses both parents at an early age and is made to
leave her seaside home. By the time the brief reading was through, the audience
was ready to buy the author sandwiches and sign her adoption papers. The book is
not, of course, a memoir. But the combination of the first person POV and a
skilled reader sure made it sound like one.
And that was my epiphany--that reading a 1st person narrative compounds the personal
nature of reading one’s work in public. Not only are you exposing your
inventions and your view of the world, but you’re stepping into your main
character’s shoes in public. No matter how hard you labored to make sure that
the work wasn’t autobiographical, it’s going to sound like it is. And there's little you can do about it.
Tardy note
to self: reading from a third person narrative must be easier.
Other
notes: Ms. Livesey made a point of announcing, just before she read, that she didn’t
read the text exactly as written, but rather a gently edited version which was
better for “listening.” Huzzah!
(Recently
I was chatting with another author about this idea. I mentioned that I liked to
drop, for example, speech tags when reading aloud. The other author said “well
maybe that means you didn’t need the speech tags there in the first place.” I
managed not to punch her in the nose.)
Ms.
Livesey’s event had all the hallmarks of an experienced author and teacher. It
had a sort of professorial order that we might all consider adopting as an
antidote to panic. The last thing she said before reading was: “afterward, I
hope that you’ll ask me questions. Otherwise, I’ll have to ask you questions.”
And wouldn't you know? She was asked handfuls of thoughtful questions.
When I wrote this post about how authors can glean free book sales data, I began by saying "
For all the speedy change happening to the publishing industry, I rarely hear anyone speculate that publishers’ royalty statements will leap in frequency." Whoops!
Today the CEO and chairman of Random House sent out an email, inviting me (and thousands of my closest friends) to check out Random House's new author portal. I have an in-print RH title published 4 years ago, and was therefore part of the roll-out.
I'd love to show screen shots, but in checking off the user agreement, I think I signed away all rights to share it, rights to my next three books and my first born child. Even so, I liked what I saw. There is some Bookscan sales data, and it says they've added Wal-Mart into those figures as well. The site gives you a much longer history than does the Bookscan data from Amazon's Author Central, but without the geographical breakdown. (Pity.)
But the real innovation is that it shows books shipped from the warehouse. That's something Bookscan can't know.
For a book four years old, the "shipped" numbers are much more telling than the point of sale figures, because many of the bookstore returns have happened already. With a title like Ski House Cookbook, Bookscan can only show less than half of all sales. I never understood why until today. The new site shows which category of buyers took the shipped books: chain bookstores, bookstores, book wholesalers, etc. If you're moving a lot of units through Special Sales, Bookscan doesn't capture those at all. (i.e. Bookscan doesn't see all the little kitchen stores and gift shops that carry cookbooks.)
The site will also show you the most recent of your royalty statements, and it offers advice about how to use social media. It's great, and it's a long time coming. Publishers need to stop Amazon from having all the best information. Also, I can see why having a company-wide go-to place for author training would be useful. As social media trends change, they can centralize the updated information. (There's probably a Random House intern writing a lengthy tutorial on Pinterest as we speak.)
As many of you know, I'm a recovering business nerd. So I've always wondered why publishing houses don't often develop recognizable brand recognition among their imprints. It's not that I think this would be an easy feat, it's just that I don't often see it tried.
Along comes the Atria Mystery Bus Tour to show us how it's done. One month from now, a groovy bus will drive over 2,300 miles with four of Atria's best loved mystery writers on board: Joe Connolly, Liza Marlund, William Kent Krueger & M.J. Rose.
The bus will visit 12 cities in 8 days, and many of the stops are independent bookstores which specialize in mysteries.
Read the USA Today story about it, or visit the Atria Mystery Bus Tour on Tumblr.
Author Saundra Mitchell has a new book coming out next month: THE SPRINGSWEET. Isn't the cover pretty? Saundra has some experience with the launch process, and also much needed perspective. God, I love this post. And I really needed to hear it right about now. Thank you Saundra for sharing it with Blurb is a Verb. --Sarah P.
By Saundra Mitchell
Dear Debut Authors,
2012 is here, and you’re no doubt freaking out. Will you make foreign sales? Audiobook sales? Will you sell at all? Why isn’t your cover up on Indiebound? Why is the wrong cover up on Amazon? What if nobody wants to interview/guest blog/blog tour you? Why did that person on Goodreads just give you two stars for a book that’s not even off your hard drive yet?! What if none of the other authors like you? What if the booksellers hate you? How do you do a launch party!? Do you need a launch party!?
What if you don’t have anything and that author there has EVERYTHING? Will your book be in the catalog? The catalog for Bologna? What are they saying at Bologna? London? Frankfurt? Why haven’t you sold another book yet? What if this first book in your series tanks, oh god, you have two more books to come after it! What if Kirkus hates it? What if Kirkus ignores it? What do the B&N rankings mean? What about the Amazon rankings? OH MY GOD WHAT DOES THIS BOOKSCAN MEAN!?
I’m here to tell you a thing I wouldn’t have believed in October 2008, right before my debut novel came out. And that thing is: I know you’re going nuts right now but eventually, you’ll care less. I know it seems impossible when there’s so much to learn and so much at stake.
But one day, you’ll care less. You’ll forget a foreign rights festival was coming up. You’ll willingly ban yourself from Goodreads. You’ll stop charting every single lead title in your year by B&N ranking and Amazon ranking in an attempt to figure out how many books you have to sell to get to 42 on one and 523 on the other.
And this is a good thing. Right now, you’re at the place where you have to do all the things, and learn all the things, and freak out about all the things so you can eventually relax and just write your books.
The marketing push your house gives you is going to be the biggest push available; the things you can do for yourself aren’t nearly so encompassing as it may seem at this moment. And the thing that matters, that truly, truly matters, is writing a great book.
But, maybe it will help you better enjoy your debut– your one and only debut– to have some answers. So…
Will you make foreign sales? Maybe. The less regional your book is, the more likely it is to sell elsewhere.
Audiobook sales? Maybe. I’ve never gotten one; they seem to go for lead titles and perennial favorites rather than midlist debuts.
Will you sell at all? Yes, you will. There has never been a book in the history of books that sold ZERO copies.
Why isn’t your cover up on Indiebound? Sometimes they don’t get sent through. You can ask Indiebound to add it. Just create an account there, then go here to add your cover.
Why is the wrong cover up on Amazon? Amazon has spiders that crawl the Internet and pull information automatically. Your book cover is one of those things. If your publisher has an alternate cover on their webspace or FTP site, Amazon will pull it and post it. Feel free to mention it to your agent or editor, but don’t worry. As soon as the correct cover goes live online, Amazon will replace it.
Why did that person on Goodreads just give you two stars for a book that’s not even off your hard drive yet?! Sometimes, people accidentally add stars when they mean to just add you to a TBR list. Sometimes people want to vote down books they think are competition for their favorites. Sometimes, people just suck. This is one of those things that is literally out of your control. Accept the struggle and stop struggling against it!
What if none of the other authors like you? We will. Writing YA & MG is like joining a big club. We already like you; we’re thrilled that you sold your book. We can’t wait to meet you.
What if the booksellers hate you? Without you, no books. I promise, at least some booksellers will like you. (As long as you’re not a jerk!)
How do you do a launch party!? Let Editorial Ass tell you.
Do you need a launch party!? No, but if you like parties, they can be fun. Even if you don’t like parties, they can be fun.
What if you don’t have anything and that author there has EVERYTHING?Then that’s the way it is. If it makes you feel better, the people with everything are often pretty sheepish about it, and also kind of lonely because people keep their distance. Don’t keep your distance. They’re scared, too!
Will your book be in the catalog? Yes.
The catalog for Bologna? Si!
What are they saying at Bologna? Stuff in Italian. Foreign sales happen all year long, so don’t get wound up over one book fair. Especially since most deals don’t even close at the fairs.
London? Frankfurt? See above, only replace Italian with English and German.
Why haven’t you sold another book yet? I’m not going to lie. Sometimes it takes a long time. Sometimes it takes a medium amount of time. As long as you remember that you’re not getting your NEXT deal, you’re getting A deal, that will help keep it in perspective. Every new book is a new experience. And if it takes a while, that’s okay.
What if this first book in your series tanks, oh god, you have two more books to come after it! Sometimes a series gets cancelled, it’s true. But you don’t get thrown out on your butt and told never to darken publishing’s door again. Sometimes the publisher will buy out your contract. Sometimes you and your editor will come up with a different book to fulfill your contract. Either way, there will be some disappointment and some opportunities, and quit worrying about the first book tanking anyway. It’s not even out yet!
What if Kirkus hates it? Chances are, they will. Consider it a badge of honor. Or make a video about it.
What if Kirkus ignores it? They may. But somebody else will pick it up. You’ll get trade reviews, eventually.
What do the B&N rankings mean? How well your book is selling both in the physical B&N stores and B&N online (compared to other books selling at B&N.) Less than 5000 is good. Less than 75,000 is not bad. But it’s still a relative number.*
What about the Amazon rankings? How well your book is selling compared to other books selling at the exact same time on Amazon’s website. This is ALSO a relative number; it doesn’t tell you much either.*
OH MY GOD WHAT DOES THIS BOOKSCAN MEAN!? Nothing. It only counts sales from reporting stores. It doesn’t capture sales from many Internet booksellers, from Wal-Mart, from libraries or schools. My bookscan number has always been 25% of my total actual sales. So even though Amazon lets you look at it, don’t worry about it too much. The sales numbers from your house, that you get on your royalty statements, are the ones that really matter.
I hope this helps. And if you’re ever freaking out, and just need somebody to talk you off a ledge? Drop me a line. Or ask on Twitter. Other authors are standing by to help you through this stressful time. No matter how completely insane it gets (worst the month before and the three months after your debut,) I promise you, it doesn’t last forever.
And better still– eventually you’ll care less. You’ll get back to doing what’s amazing and magical and wonderful about this job– writing your books. It really is a good thing.
Good luck,
Saundra
You can read more of Saundra's wisdom on her blog: Making Up Stuff for a Living. The Springsweet is on sale April 17th!
