Simon Whaley
Book promotion is like Marmite: authors either love it or they hate it. But when writing is your business, promotion has to be part of your business too. Getting out there and meeting your public can be a great way to market your book. However, it can also be a dangerous affair, as I recently witnessed at an author talk given by archaeologist and historian Alex Langlands (from the popular television series Victorian Farm, Edwardian Farm and Wartime Farm). He was promoting his latest book, Cræft, and was showing us how to turn a bramble stalk into garden twine, when he cut his thumb on the blade of the whittling tool he was using. Despite the bleeding, he continued, as only a true professional would. Proof, though, that author talks can be bloody affairs. So what should you think about before giving your first author talk? Like Alex Langlands, Caroline James (www.carolinejamesauthor.co.uk), author of The Best Boomerville Hotel, finds having props useful. ‘I use props in a talk because they help me and prompt me if I’ve forgotten what I was going to say,’ she explains. ‘A great talk should be entertaining. The audience will take for granted that you know your business or you wouldn’t be standing there, so ensure that you entertain too. Leave them with a smile and the knowledge that they go away with many memorable moments to discuss and share in the future.’