Web Casts for Writers

We haven’t talked much about marketing on this blog. I think that is because the three of us spend most of our designated writing time in production—we are at that initial writing-polishing-submitting stage.

Earlier this week we established that I’m the kind of person who reads an instruction manual cover to cover before getting started (thanks, Stephanie!), let me say that I’m already studying up on what it takes for a writer to market her books. I just started reading Get Known Before the Book Deal by Christina Katz.

Chapter 1 is called Become Visible, and the graphic is a picture of a grayed-out crowd with one dark silhouette in the center. Both the chapter title and the graphic speak volumes to me. You see, I’ve spent most of my life trying to be invisible. I’m perfectly happy blending into that grayed-out crowd.

My introverted self is attracted to the solitary writer’s life. Except for one thing. I know there is a day coming when I’ll have to stand in front of a group of people and read something from my novel. I’ll have to hold a mike in my hand and answer questions about where my ideas come from. Yikes!

So I go to the web to get prepared. Here are a couple of sites that post web casts of writers doing the very thing that scares the pants off me.

Library of Congress National Book Festival

http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/

The web casts go back as far as the 2001 Festival, with writers ranging from Sue Grafton to Neil Gaiman.

Borders Media

Here are two links: Borders Presents are here: http://www.bordersmedia.com/

And Live at 01 here: http://www.bordersmedia.com/liveat01

Take notes about what you like and don’t like about each presentation. And keep a running list of questions that people tend to ask. You’ll be more prepared when it is your turn.