Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Recently I attended a local authors' event sponsored by the county literacy council at the Hastings store in town. Eighteen authors participated, representing all different genres. Each author was given five or so minutes to make a presentation, and I was curious to see how they would handle them. From my observation, I've drawn several conclusions about what to do when I'm finally involved in an authors' event as an author.

I went to a similar event last year and totally get what you mean about watching how each person handled their time. Some were super engaging, others kind of rambled, and a few just read straight from their books (which didn’t always land well). One thing I noticed: the ones who shared a personal story or talked about why they wrote their book really stuck with me.

That sounds like a great experience, especially seeing so many different genres represented in one place. Those short presentation slots really do highlight how important it is to be clear, engaging, and prepared. Observing other authors first is such a smart way to learn what works and what doesn’t before stepping up yourself. I’d be interested to hear what conclusions you came away with.