How one debut author prepared to give a great public reading

Chris Robley

March 6, 2015

Melville House (the rad, Brooklyn-based indie publisher) has just published my friend Josh Cook's debut novel, "An Exaggerated Murder."

The next step? A reading tour, of course!

Josh Cook will spend a good chunk of March reading at various bookstores in the northeast — and he's put a lot of thought and preparation into this tour.

He says:

Ultimately, I think of this amount of preparation as one-part “Jesus, I Hope I Don’t Embarrass Myself” and two-parts, “These People Could Be Doing Anything Right Now, I Mean, There’s Probably a Bruins Game On, but They Came to See Me,” with a dash of “This Is Part of Your Fucking Dream, Dude,” and a whisper of “You Could Even Sell Some Books Tonight.”

21 Things You Should NOT Do at Your Next Reading

Chris Robley

2 Comments

September 24, 2013

It's the day of your reading.

You're running through your mental checklist. You're a little nervous. You're stressed about how many people are going to show up. You've tried on three different outfits and none of them seem right. And amidst all this you're expected to deliver to the audience a captivating performance.

How? Well, hopefully a mixture of great writing, a receptive crowd, and a smidge of charisma. But how can you increase your odds in each of those three categories?

Carrie Etter has written an article that might help you boost the magic and trim the fat from your next reading. It's called "Things Not to Do When Reading Your Poetry to an Audience" — and while it mentions poetry in the title, the same rules apply no matter what genre you're reading. Check out the article in its entirety HERE, or read my quick summary below.

At your next reading,..

1. do NOT go over your allotted time. Keep an eye on the clock.

The Ultimate Book Signing Checklist for Authors

Chris Robley

2 Comments

February 28, 2012

As an author, a book signing is one of the rare times you’ll come face-to-face with actual human beings who want to read your book. Here's our ultimate book signing checklist so you can be prepared for your big moment.

Host Your Own Digital Author Signing

Chris Robley

no comments

December 20, 2011

Though I’ve not been to one yet, I’ve heard that Barnes & Noble’s “Digital Author Signing” Series is increasing in popularity. What I surmise about these in-store events is that the author visits a B&N location, attendees bring their Nooks (or perhaps B&N lends a Nook to each visitor as a kind of test drive), and since Nooks can automatically access any Barnes & Noble title for free from inside a physical store location, people can follow along on an eReader as the author reads from their work.