Author Readings: How You Can Start Doing Your Own

Quick plug first — if you haven't already heard via my newsletter or through one of the social networks I'm on, I'm doing a Halloween reading on Monday, October 31st, at The Reading Room! As I said in my newsletter:

The Reading Room is below the Globe Building in Pioneer Square, one of the oldest buildings in Seattle, and the former home of the Elliott Bay Book Company. It's a part of historic underground Seattle, the original ground level of the city before the Great Fire in 1889. This gorgeous space was a saloon both before and after Prohibition, and for years was the Elliott Bay Book Company's reading space, hosting readings from authors all over the world.

I always wanted to have a reading there, but somehow I'd always figured there would still be, you know, a bookstore upstairs when that happened …. But instead, the space has recently reopened as an entirely lovely bar, with great drinks and ridiculously tasty small plates. It's way fancier than anywhere I've ever done a reading before, and I think this is going to be a hell of a lotof fun. I hope you'll be there.

I've been doing readings for well over a decade now, and people are pretty enthusiastic about them.

Last time we talked, I promised I'd talk about how you can get started doing readings of your own.

First off, though, I have to tell you: if you're wondering how you can do a reading in a book store, I'm … not sure? I've never done it — since I've never managed to get my books into bookstores, I've never looked into getting me into bookstores, either, if you follow me.

But the trick is, look beyond the bookstores. If you happen to be a genre author — in other words, you write science fiction, fantasy or horror — you can try getting in touch with local science fiction conventions. If you live in a big city, there's got to be one in your area somewhere, and Google can tell you where. Get in touch with their Programming department and ask them how you can do a reading.

If they say their schedule is full, or if don't ever get back to — and that happens, conventions are run by busy volunteers and sometimes things just get dropped — you can always do what I've done at various cons in the past and have yourself a "guerilla" reading. Rent a room at the con hotel, and print up flyers to post up around the convention. Print up some bookmarks with the time of your reading and your room number, and don't be shy about telling people, "Hi, I'm doing a reading … " and handing them a bookmark, especially if you overhear them having a conversation that relates to the subject you write about, or if they're wearing a relevant costume. People at conventions are pretty friendly, they don't bite — well, most of them, anyway — and they're there to interact with people and be entertained, so don't be afraid to approach them.

You might not get a huge turnout, especially in an area where you're not already well known. That's all right, you have to start somewhere. One of my favorite "guerilla readings" was at a World Horror Con, where literally one person showed up — so I just read to her. It was great. She ended up buying a book, and in the world of marketing, we call that a 100% conversion rate.

Conventions totally not your scene? That's not a problem, I understand. Try asking your local libraries if you can come in to do a reading — I hear this is definitely a good idea if you write for children, because children's programs at libraries are always looking for speakers and events.

Lastly, I'm going to suggest my favorite — coffee shops. Coffee and literature have a long shared relationship stretching way back. Now, admittedly, if you're not living in Seattle, you may not have quite as many coffeshops as we do (Google says we have over niiiiine thousaaaaand, and that number seems like they're low-balling the estimate to me), but you should have a few in most urban areas.

Check them out on Google, or even better, drop by — especially keeping an eye out for quirky little indie coffee shops. See if they have an event calendar. If they do, and there are already some readings listed, you're golden — ask them who you need to talk to about doing one. If there aren't any readings on their calendar, ask them if they'd be interested in starting to have readings.

The trick for any of these approaches is ask, ask, ask — you never know what you can get until you ask for it. Libraries, coffee shops — all of these places would love to get more people in the door, especially with free entertainment. They'll love to have you — get over your shyness and ask.

Ahhh, you're saying, but — how do I get more people in the door? No matter where I end up scheduling a reading — how can I make sure people show up?

It's a good question. And it's one we'll talk about next time.

(Hey, one last plug while you're here — don't forget to enter to win a free copy of my horror anthology, "Slices!" You'll like it, I promise.)

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