Comments on: Love Story – your upcoming bookstore event http://behlerblog.com/2012/02/07/love-story-your-upcoming-bookstore-event/ Publishing from my side of the desk Wed, 15 May 2013 06:11:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Frank Mazur http://behlerblog.com/2012/02/07/love-story-your-upcoming-bookstore-event/#comment-14582 Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:34:35 +0000 http://behlerblog.com/?p=6321#comment-14582 “Don’t go to your reading without having practiced your reading selections.I’ve so often wondered why, with the scores of workshops and seminars out there wooing writers, there isn’t at least one that focuses on how to hell to read your work aloud and before an audience. I’ve listened to wonderful poems read aloud by their creators and I’ve wanted to rush to the podium, push them aside, and the read the poem for them. No doubt they understood the power of their words, but they failed to understand that same power gets sucked dry by a weak delivery. I’ve seen the same in writers reading a passage from one of their short stories or novels. A little histrionics never hurts. Match your voice—up and down the scale, volume, cessation, etc.—with the words.

]]> By: Dan Holloway http://behlerblog.com/2012/02/07/love-story-your-upcoming-bookstore-event/#comment-14581 Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:39:29 +0000 http://behlerblog.com/?p=6321#comment-14581 Readings are my absolute favourite part of being a writer. It’s so important to treat bookstores well (and any other venue) – if not because you love them for what they’ve done for you (I adore my two local stores and everyone who works in them) then because building a relationship, as you suggest, is the way to get your book promoted the heck out of (I used to work as buyer for a flooring showroom and whilst quality always comes first, if it came to choosing which of similar products to put in prime position and go-to first with customers, I know it was the company reps who treated me well I sold first).

Short chunks is *so* important. It’s also important to pick passages that show of all your skills – something that goes through different paces, or has a direction to it and reaches a punchline of some kind. Linking with straight-to-audience off the cuff pieces is also really important – and if you can engage the audience directly, bantering with individuals or groups, even better

And a really daft but important tip – practice what to do with your hands. Even if it seems daft. Otherwise, you’ll be halfway through and suddenly become ridiculously conscious of what your hands are doing.

]]>