Help! They want me to TALK!?!

[VydorScope]

So, background... I work at a major university that you likely never heard of. The name is not important, what is is that we are building a new library dedicated to the school's founder and all that. Well, I work in planning so I was called to a "vision casting" meeting for this new Library and some one else in the room (I swear!) mentioned that I am an author so I basically said, "yeah... working on my fifth novel...but anyways back to the subject of the meeting..." and tried to be a loyal employee to my employer and not sell my books in company meetings on company time... BUT the Library would have nothing of it. They said they are looking at lining up some authors to give talks at this new Library and wanted my contact info and all of that?!? So umm, what? Err... I said I was a WRITER not a TALKER! Erf. Soooo anyways.... questions...

1) This something that makes sense to do?
2) Should I bring books to hand out? If so, just book one, or more?
3) What are the kinds of topics it would make sense for me to talk about (assuming they don't assign one)?
4) What the heck do you do with things like this?
5) Do I market this? how? I do not have much of a local following... cause I never marketed locally.

So basically... ERR WHAT?!?!?!

[speakingtohe]

hah! give them a talk on the various coffee brewers out there. If you can't blind them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.

Just kidding, I am sure you will do better than fine.

Helen

[gmw]

Whether it makes sense to do is a purely personal thing.

Bring books? Well, at least I'd bring a few copies for your library! (And maybe have a few more in the car in case you need them. )

Self publishing and/or the changes to publishing as they effect libraries seem relevant topics in this context - the news thread here may offer some ideas for a particular and current aspect of the subject. (Hopefully the library will let you know who else is coming and coordinate things so that not everyone is discussing the same subject.)

It strikes me that a library opening is a different forum to a book tour or book fair. While it can be viewed as a form of marketing for you, I personally would treat it a little cautiously in that regard.

[cromag]

1) This something that makes sense to do? => Absolutely!

2) Should I bring books to hand out? If so, just book one, or more? => Maybe a copy for the library (offer to autograph it). If there's a publicity sheet make sure they have your details right so people can find you online!

3) What are the kinds of topics it would make sense for me to talk about (assuming they don't assign one)? => I'd push really, really hard to have them tell you what they want!

4) What the heck do you do with things like this? => Add it to your resume/bio. Make sure they send out a press release to local papers. Send out a press release of your own.

5) Do I market this? how? I do not have much of a local following... cause I never marketed locally. => Aside from the press releases, yours and theirs, put an advance word on your website or author's page (at Amazon, Smashwords, etc.). You never know who might see it!

Good luck, and have fun!!

[avantman42]

I definitely second the advice to ask what they want you to talk about, if you possibly can.

Joanna Penn recently wrote a blog post about doing a book reading. Some of the advice might be useful regardless of what you talk about:
http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2013/...ur-book-aloud/

[Nancy Fulda]

>>1) This something that makes sense to do?

From a marketing standpoint, absolutely. Building local connections is great -- it's not so much about hand-selling books to people in the audience. It's about establishing yourself as someone to pay attention to. The kind of folks who attend library presentations are often also bookshop owners, members of literary clubs, other librarians... There will be lots of interesting people to meet, with fascinating perspectives on all aspects of publishing.

>>2) Should I bring books to hand out? If so, just book one, or more?

It never hurts to have books handy. How many, and whether you display them prominently or only bring them out when asked will depend on the nature of the event and your personal marketing style. When in doubt, err on the side of caution.

>>3) What are the kinds of topics it would make sense for me to talk about
>>(assuming they don't assign one)?

Who's the audience? Local students? Other librarians? Aspiring authors? Friends of literature? You want to pick a topic that is relevant and useful to the people who will be listening. Assuming the library doesn't assign you a topic, I'd suggest giving them two or three options and asking which they'd prefer.

>>4) What the heck do you do with things like this?

Uh... have fun?

>>5) Do I market this? how? I do not have much of a local following... cause
>>I never marketed locally.

Press releases. I cannot emphasize this enough. Learn how to do them -- and yes, you can write your own and no, local papers will not think that is weird. All the big companies do it, too.

Robert J. Sawyer's page on Getting Good Press is an excellent reference. In our modern world, you probably don't need to put together paper press packages. Most local papers will have a 'contact' button or a 'news tips' link that is especially designed for press releases.

Here's the thing -- and this is VERY important -- write your press release as if it were a news article. Newspapers run on a deadline. Sometimes they have too many stories. Then you're out of luck. But sometimes the day is slow and they need something to fill up page five, and so the editor will flip through the press releases and looking for something to shove in there. When I send out press releases, I'll sometimes be contacted by journalists who want to write a detailed story. But nine times out of ten, the newspaper will simply run the press release verbatim.

Also important: The main purpose of the press release is NOT to get people to attend your presentation. If they do, so much the better, but the point of the press release is to establish yourself as someone worth talking about. You are an Interesting Local Author. People cared enough to invite you to speak at the shiny new library. You are worth paying attention to -- this is the message you want newspaper readers to take away. The next time you do a signing, or a presentation, or whatever, send out press releases again. And again when you release a new series. Don't get pompous, and don't try to pitch the events as more significant than they really are, but don't be shy about positioning yourself as an interesting local author, either. You never know what might come of it.

Oh, and make sure the press release includes a web site and contact information, in case journalists want to get in touch with you.

[exaltedwombat]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

1) This something that makes sense to do?
2) Should I bring books to hand out? If so, just book one, or more?
3) What are the kinds of topics it would make sense for me to talk about (assuming they don't assign one)?
4) What the heck do you do with things like this?
5) Do I market this? how? I do not have much of a local following... cause I never marketed locally.

Doubtless your "major university" and its surrounding area has other authors visiting and speaking. Attend some of these events and see how it works.

You don't have to give away books. You will probably be allowed to sell copies. Buyers will expect you to sign the book, and have a short personal chat.

You can talk about the content of your books. What made you start writing. How you developed your craft. The process of self-publishing.

Sure, publicise the event as best you can. Local/campus radio/TV? A poster in local bookshops?

Be attractively modest, but DON'T APOLOGIZE! You have done it. Most of the audience haven't. Don't waste time telling them how BADLY you did it :-)

It's a pity you're being coy about your location. Some of us might have attended!

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by exaltedwombat

It's a pity you're being coy about your location. Some of us might have attended!

Lynchburg, Va. Not really being coy, at least not intentionally. I know I am in the middle of nowhere and its extremely rare people have even heard of the town, never mind the university which currently has 12k on campus students, and 100k off campus students.

[exaltedwombat]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Lynchburg, Va. Not really being coy, at least not intentionally. I know I am in the middle of nowhere and its extremely rare people have even heard of the town, never mind the university which currently has 12k on campus students, and 100k off campus students.

You're right, never heard of it! Heard of the other one, Lynchburg, TN of course.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Lynchburg, Va. Not really being coy, at least not intentionally. I know I am in the middle of nowhere and its extremely rare people have even heard of the town, never mind the university which currently has 12k on campus students, and 100k off campus students.

I'd say the university and its founder are very well known indeed.

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by issybird

I'd say the university and its founder are very well known indeed.

I had never heard of it before I got a job here, and it is RARE that I meet anyone that has. I was just at a conference in Philly for example, wearing a name tag that listed the school name and location - not a single person there recognized it. Not even one.

In certain circles it may be well known, but for the vast majority of the US... I highly doubt it as my personal experience says other wise.

[theducks]

An American Civil War era city.

I vaguely remember summer vacations traveling 'The South' and 'Dead Presidents' mansions as a child. (I was raised in a town with 'Revolutionary War' era History.)

[Elfwreck]

I'd heard of it, but I have a long-time interest in very specialized aspects of education.

You've gotten marketing advice (add bit: if you have free ebooks online, hand out cards with the URL), so I'll throw around some advice about topics.

Almost anything that's regularly discussed here at MR is good. For a library, anything about digital archives and preservation of texts is more than appropriate: the Hathi Trust lawsuit, library ebook costs, whether libraries should or should not carry indie/self-pub books, digital preservation of rare/fragile books, etc.

Or anything about writing is appropriate... how to actually *finish* writing a novel (there's no special trick to this, but the public doesn't get tired of hearing it as long as they don't feel like they're being insulted for not having done so), differences between academic and commercial writing, author styles--outlines vs "just start writing" vs writing some scenes and later assembling them, etc.

If you know the history of the library, that's usable, but what's usually mentioned in "history of this building/organization" is dull. If there was a scandal or a passion behind the library's creation--"the founder grew up without a library nearby and swore that students would always have something to read, which is why the library keeps longer hours than most bookstores" (or whatever), that's worth talking about. If the library has interesting programs or special collections, you can talk about those.

Don't try to figure out The Best Topic For A Library Speaker; don't assume you need to do "Why I Love Reading And Why Libraries Are Awesome." The people attending already know that libraries are awesome, and they also love reading; that's not an interesting topic unless your particular take on the awesomeness of libraries is unique. ("Libraries opened new worlds to me" is not unique. "My friends built a code around the Dewey Decimal System and arranged secret meetings by mentioning book titles when our parents were listening" is unique.)

Assume they asked you because they like *you*; find a topic you're happy to discuss with a few dozen strangers and wouldn't mind a few thousand (the readers of the local papers) knowing what you think about it. Assume you have between ten minutes and half an hour; if you need more specific info about that, contact them.

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by gmw

Whether it makes sense to do is a purely personal thing.

Bring books? Well, at least I'd bring a few copies for your library! (And maybe have a few more in the car in case you need them. )

Self publishing and/or the changes to publishing as they effect libraries seem relevant topics in this context - the news thread here may offer some ideas for a particular and current aspect of the subject. (Hopefully the library will let you know who else is coming and coordinate things so that not everyone is discussing the same subject.)

It strikes me that a library opening is a different forum to a book tour or book fair. While it can be viewed as a form of marketing for you, I personally would treat it a little cautiously in that regard.

I think you are correct. It might be permissible to mention that you have donated a couple of copies of your book to the library, and even jokingly mention the Dewey decimal system catalog number!. It might be possible to discuss the issues facing self publishing authors and library systems in general (and possibly what Amazon brings to that relationship), but I think treating this as an overt marketing opportunity might not be viewed too favorably.

Don't sell the T-Shirts!

[crich70]

Sounds like you are a victim of your own success in some ways VydorScope. Good luck with your talk. I'd go with some of the advice already given. If they give you a general idea what they want you to talk about at least you will have a starting point. And I can't see the harm in giving a copy of your book to the library. Maybe print up a flyer to give away with some info about your book and where it can be found if someone wants to buy a copy.