The Lecture Experience: Part I

During the past year or so, I have done nearly a hundred talks about my book, "LADIES: A Conjecture of Personalities." It's about the First Ladies ? the OLD First Ladies, Martha through Mamie. Since they talk to each other and cross through centuries, it is, of course, an historical fiction. In doing so many lectures, I thought it might be interesting to discuss are some of the things I have learned?.

1. Sadly enough, while my audiences LOVE my talks (and they are never the same), not too many actually BUY the book.

A lesson learned: People need to be interested in the subject or genre. They read what they like to read ? sci-fi, romance novels, murder mysteries, etc. So while they may enjoy spending an hour listening attentively and say lovely things about you and your presentation, it doesn't mean they will outlay twenty bucks to read the book. Do not take it personally.

2. Be selective in choosing your target audiences. A book about raising two-year-old twins probably will not appeal to the Rotary Club. My book about the "old gals" appeals to a wide range of audiences, but mostly women, and mostly older women at that. I have done well by appealing to Woman's Clubs, Historical Societies, Libraries, Senior groups, etc.

A lesson learned: Be very selective choosing senior groups. The "younger" seniors are wonderful. They are still working, still driving, still traveling, etc., and reading. They love having interesting speakers. The older seniors, or super seniors" who live in senior residences or assisted-care facilities are not your best audience for obvious reasons of frailties. Go if they invite you (and if they will pay). Do not solicit them.

Another lesson learned: Be very selective choosing religious groups as an audience. Of course this depends upon the subject matter of your book/lecture. Many church or synagogue groups will be happy to have you as their guest and will enjoy your talk, but few actually purchase books that don't deal in some way with their religion ? at least not in that venue.

3. To charge or not to charge: Fortunately for my financial circumstances, I am not dependent on book sales for a living. So I started out by doing my programs for free, hoping that publicity and book sales would follow. I wound up doing a lot of talks and driving a lot of miles for limited publicity and very few (usually under 10) books sold. Like I said, you have to be interested in the subject.

By the time I did a couple of dozen free talks and having my audiences LOVE me and refer me along for more FREE talks, I did a little soul-searching. If I am good enough for FREE, maybe I am good enough for PAY. After all, I reasoned, when people call me, they always ask about my fee, indicating they are prepared to pay an honorarium. So I decided that "I don't charge but my CAR does." I've kept it nominal: If the group is within 20 miles from my home, I charge $50; if it is more than that, I charge $100.

A lesson learned: Few groups object. My car is happy.

Occasionally I still do a freebie, or go to a senior care facility (although those facilities usually have a budget for programs). I like doing a good deed, and the "oldies" love hearing a talk on something other than cataracts, blood pressure or managing their incomes.

Another lesson learned: Do not be afraid to turn down a group if it is far away and they won't pay. Unless, of course, you usually sell a heap of books. Then you can go to the North Pole if you like.

4. Finally, know your audience:

This is important to any speaker, of course, but doubly so for me, since my subject is so varied and can be arranged to suit my listeners. Always as the Program Chairman (or whoever contacts you) to tell you a little about their members: their general age category, general income category (particularly if you are contacted by a social worker), the general purpose of the group, i.e. charitable, social, academic, etc.) and anything else that may be of importance to the speaker.

For instance, I was invited to speak at a banquet given by the Ladies' Auxiliary of a large hospital. So I decided to talk about the health problems of some of the "old" First Ladies. At a "Red Hat Society" program, I picked three First Ladies who I thought they would enjoy having as "honorary members." For other groups I sometimes choose one or two "old gals" that might be pertinent to their organization.

A major lesson learned: Do not forget to promote your book and read to them a little. Sometimes I get so carried away about my subject matter that I neglect to encourage book sales. Make sure you talk about your book, why you wrote it, why they should purchase it, why it makes a wonderful gift, and why they should recommend you and your program to their friends.

About The Author

Feather Schwartz Foster is the author of "LADIES: A Conjecture of Personalities" and "Garfield's Train" (to be release in 2005). She has made nearly 100 personal appearances to discuss her book.

---

Top Ten Ways of Why and How to Write your Books Sales Letter - Part 1

Authors/publishers are great at getting their books written. But after the initial one-year honeymoon, sales slow down. To counter this make sure your print or ebook will keep on selling from the first... Read More

Whats Killing Your Publishing Career?

With the large increase of books being published by self-publishers, and the up-rise of print on demand, there is still a lot of death taking place in the publishing industry. Thus far, 175,000... Read More

Online Book Promotion Beats Traditional Seven to One - Part 2

Think of Your Promotion Time and BudgetMost one or two-book authors don't have a large marketing budget. Marketing their speaking leaves them little time to write and promote their books. Marketing experts say... Read More

How to Get More Readers For Your Book

Marketing your own book can seem like a scary task. You poured your heart and soul into the writing of it, and now when you think about marketing your masterpiece, you think, "I'm... Read More

Ten Ways to Make Your Book Outsell Another

Wouldn't you rather write a book that sells well than be stuck with unsold inventory? When you plan ahead with the 10 tips below, you will sell thousands rather than hundreds of your... Read More

Sell More Books With an E-mail Newsletter

NOTE: Because many words in this article are likely to trigger sp^m filters, we've disguised them with symbols (e.g. sp^m). This will ensure a higher delivery rate if you use this article in... Read More

Is There a Book Hiding Inside You?

Have you always wanted to write?Are there ideas churning in your mind waiting for just the right time to get them down on paper? Do you have a unique perspective on a subject... Read More

Top Ten Basics on Internet Article Writing to Promote your Book

Whether you have already written articles and published them or not, you may want to check out the difference between writing for online ezines and web sites and writing for print media. While... Read More

Book Publishing Without Pain

When I meet an author with a great book concept, one who's definitely the right person to write that book, right away I'll often encourage her to self-publish. This is because I know... Read More

Marketing Virus ? Every Writer Needs to Catch It

For you writers aspiring to greatness, you might need a virus, before you can be great! You need a Marketing Virus. Every unknown writer needs a virus that will spread like the deadliest... Read More

Discover 3 Easy Ways to Promote Your Articles

Are you using these methods to promote your articles?If not, you are missing out on some easy ways to get more traffic. Ways that require no additional work on your part once they... Read More

Publicity for Buzz Marketing for Authors

Congratulations, you've written a book and even gotten it published! Now, all you have to do is get people to buy it. Getting people to actually enter a bookstore with the purpose of... Read More

Why Would I Buy Your Book? Six Steps to Your Tell and Sell - Part 2

How would you like to have countless people clamoring for your book and willing to visit your Web site to buy them? How would you even like to presell your self-published book before... Read More

The Bible Of Self Publishing

Any book that is in its 14th edition must be doing something right. Such is the case with author Dan Poynter`s, The Self-Publishing Manual: How To Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book.Poynter,... Read More

Looking to Sell Your Book for a Good Price?

Many self-publishing authors plan on eventually selling their book to a large publisher at a good price. The fast track way to achieve this goal is to push up the market value of... Read More

The Perfect Book and Where to Find It!

If I was asked to describe the perfect book, one that's in high demand, moves off the shelves quickly, costs little or nothing to produce, involves the least amount of work possible, and... Read More

How to Create an Amazing Author Website

Without a website, an author is unknown. Without a website, an author sells fewer books. Without a website, an author has limited web presence. Without a website, an author has limited media presence.... Read More

Book Signings Are Pure Gold

So you've written a book, had it published by a publishing company and you are now facing the dreaded book signing or book launch. Your palms sweat at the thought of facing droves... Read More

You , Your Book and the Internet!

Authors, especially self published, small press and Print on Demand authors should understand the power of the Internet when promoting a book. There is POWER in cyberspace authors and it's only getting bigger... Read More

Why Should I Buy your Book?

How would you like to have countless people clamoring for your books and willing to visit your Web site to buy them? Most entrepreneurs wait until their Web site is designed before they... Read More

The Lecture Experience: Part I

During the past year or so, I have done nearly a hundred talks about my book, "LADIES: A Conjecture of Personalities." It's about the First Ladies ? the OLD First Ladies, Martha through... Read More

Online Book Marketing: How to Sell Your Book Even If You Are Not a Salesperson

What you do after you have written your book is as much, if not more, important than the actual writing of it. You can take a great book and poor marketing and have... Read More

How to Grab the No.2 Spot on Amazon for Advance Book Sales

When my first book was published way back ten years ago, I thought that was it.I reckoned I'd never write another one.But I was wrong.It has enjoyed many reprints, multiple editions, and proceeded... Read More

Quiz: Will Online Book Marketing Help Sales?

Most authors sigh a sigh of relief when they finish their book. Then comes the awesome task of marketing the masterpiece. You may choose the traditional route--to give talks, write press releases, or... Read More

Comments From A Book Reviewer

For the past several years I have been reviewing books for my own site, Bookpleasures.com, as well as many other sites. I am also a regular contributor to the Canadian Book Review Annual.... Read More

How to Make Money With Your Short Stories, Poems, Essays, and Novels

Recently, someone rated my "Online Book Marketing" article a 2 out of 5. That person apparently didn't like the article. My guess is that he or she was turned off by the marketing... Read More

Top 10 Ways to Know your Book Concept will Sell--Before you Invest Time and Money

Make your book stand out from the crowd! Test your book's significance, find your market before you write, and treat your book as part of your business. 1. Test your book's significance... Read More

How Many Ways Can You License Your Tips Booklet?

You've been thinking about writing a tips booklet. After all, it's shorter, faster, and easier than writing an entire book. A single tips booklet manuscript can be recycled over and over again, developing... Read More

Top 5 Book Selling Tips

TIP # 1Online reviews are paramount in importance when it comes to drawing attention to your book. And the best part is, you're in control of your own destiny!If you haven't yet submitted... Read More