Conducting a Featured Author Day
Posted By Jacquie Rogers on September 2, 2009
Jacquie Rogers, Author & 1st Turning Point Co-Captain
How To Get the Most From Your Featured Author Day
by Jacquie Rogers
1st Turning Point Co-Captain
Copyright © 2009 Jacquie Rogers
Your book is out, waiting to be purchased by eager readers, and you’re on the promotion circuit. In a flash of genius, you signed up for a featured-author day on a readers’ email group. Let’s call it BookLoversWorld on Yahoo Groups. (I just made that name up-don’t know if there really is a group named that!) So now there’s a whole day dedicated to you and your book.
Now what?
Make sure your day is a success, that’s what. Be proactive. Here are a few pointers.
First, confirm that you’re subscribed to the group and can post. Send two or three test posts. I know, this seems obvious, but I’ve seen several authors fall into this trap, and when their time to shine comes . . . nada. If the list owner isn’t Johnny-on-the-spot and helps rectify the situation, you could miss your own day. Not good.
Make sure there are at least two other people subscribed to the group who will interact with you, even if you have to drag your critique partners in and subscribe them. Nothing is more bewildering than posting and not receiving any response at all. Lots of times, if a few people respond, some of the list lurkers will come out from hiding. Otherwise, you can end up singing to an empty room, which is not what you want.
Always have plenty of material prepared ahead of time. What material, you ask?
- An introduction, preferably a bio that relates to your audience. If the list members are more scholarly, then tailor your bio to fit academia. If they are rowdy, tailor for that. Always remember who your audience is and try to give them what they want.
- An outline of what you have planned for the day.
- A listing of all your social networks in one post.
- A couple messages containing excerpts from your featured book. Prepare excerpts from other books you have available, too, just in case someone asks. Make sure you always put the rating (G, PG, etc.) and a buy link in every excerpt post. A cover image is a necessity. Learn how to do it. If you don’t know how, I wrote an article with detailed instructions: Effective Email Promotion.
- Sponsor a contest or five. Give away your friends’ books, or a CD, or a T-shirt. Make it fun. Hint: chocolate is always a hit.
Have a game plan:
- Maintain activity on the list. Yes, a day is a long time and you do have other things to do, but check in frequently. Don’t let questions go unanswered for long; otherwise, that reader will think you don’t deem his/her comment important. Bad juju!!! All readers should feel like they’re important to you. And of course they are.
- Have a contest schedule and stick to it, whether you get enough entries or not. And speaking of contests, the more you force the readers to do, the less participation you’ll get.
- Post recipes, or funny pictures, or jokes (but make sure they fit your audience, and stay away from politics and religion). Think about what will stir the list members into action.
- If someone is snarky or mean-spirited, ignore them. Policing is the list owner’s job, not yours.
- This is your special day, so take advantage of it.
Create the time to make your day a success. You’re the star, so don’t give yourself short shrift. This is not the day to write a 50-page RFP, weed the garden, and make a gourmet dinner for 30 people. Try not to have anything scheduled. All too often, there are must-do’s such as picking the kiddos up from school. You can work around those things, but try to keep them to a minimum.
Most of all . . . Have fun!
CONTEST!
Winners will be drawn from this month’s commenters.
See Home Page for details.
Down Home Ever Lovin’ Mule Bluesby Jacquie RogersISBN: 978-0-9800356-8-1 It Happened in the Idaho Desert The rodeo clown: Brody wants the thrill of bullfighting and the wind at his feet. The actuary: Rita doesn’t want anything to do with a busted up cowboy–and odds are, Brody will be. The mule: Socrates understands humans. And love, even if humans don’t. Can Socrates lead Brody to Rita’s heart? Will Rita let herself take the biggest risk of all? See the book video featuring the music of Justin Saragueta. Reviews: 2 Keepers, 2 Top Picks, 5-Heart Sweetheart of the Week, CTRR Award, and many other 5-something reviews! |
 |
About the author
Hey Jacquie,
Great article, and a lot of helpful information. I’ve l;earned over the years that it is the little details that seem so simple that we forget and causes the most problems.
Excellent advice, Jacquie! I especially like the bit about dragging your critique partners to the site/discussion. Reminds me of so many times in my life that you’ve…
Seriously, it’s so true. That’s what your critique group is there for–never ending support. Great article!
Thanks, John. Yes, the details. You’d be amazed how many authors show up for their day without having an excerpt formatted for email, or a buy link, or outside-USA online stores. The list goes on and on.
Ann, bwahahaha. I’ll get you, and your little dog, too.
This is a very helpful for the future article. Now all I have to do is write the book. lol
Great, great article! I haven’t had a featured author day yet but I’ll be sure to reread this once I do plan one.
Very helpful article….I’ve stumbled through several author’s talks, and this had some very good points.. Thanks for taking the time to write it…..Jean