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I hit the “do or die” stage of my writing career three years ago. It was time to turn my hobby into a profession. Over the next few
months I talked to everyone, offered to take any job, and learned the golden rule of self-promotion—listen first. In turn, listening
revealed a valuable truth. The public loves to meet authors and the public does not care if writers are traditionally published. If
the writer wrote it, and the public read it, then it is published.
This revelation spawned several self-promotion ideas, the best being ‘Breakfast With An Author.’ The concept is simple: book a room for
two hours, talk to people, deliver a ten-minute speech, and mingle with potential writers and fiction (or non-fiction) fans. For ten
dollars, participants enjoy coffee, donuts, and an inspiring chat. The best part is: you have fun while learning to promote yourself.
I started my self-promotion campaign by making a common blunder: attracting the wrong crowd. Instead of marketing to book readers and
buyers, I advertised to other writers. After stepping back and re-evaluating things, I began to advertise and attract fiction fans.
Before I knew it, attendance rose. Soon, I was rewriting my speeches and transforming them into something my audience wanted to hear. I
went from How to Create Dynamic Heroes to Where Have All the Heroes Gone?
In the beginning, local libraries sponsored the event free of charge. They supplied the room and the coffee, and paid me a small
speaker’s fee. This quickly changed when the library insisted I join its volunteer network as a sign of good will. Volunteering proved
to be time consuming and defeated the purpose of the events—to establish myself as a professional speaker and writer.
Over time, I decided it would be more profitable to host the event independently. I would charge $10 per attendee and would make, on
average, between $100 and $200 for three hours of work. While I never lost money, it did take a while before I generated a good income.
Setting up an event like this is relatively easy. The first step is to decide whether you want the event sponsored by a group or
if you want to host it yourself.
If you decide to have the event sponsored, you’ll follow the steps below:
Step 1: Call the organization you’re interested in hosting the event and ask for a personal interview. Don’t offer your credentials or
idea suggestions until you are face to face with the organization’s representative. If the organization does not see an immediate
benefit, it will not support your event or your ideas.
Step 2: Learn the art of public speaking. Guests will not buy your book if they do not believe you are capable of writing a good book
and they will not attend a second event if they do not believe you are a real writer.
Step 3: Arrive on time, dress professionally, and put a smile on your face. Never dress casual.
If you decide to sponsor the event yourself, you’ll follow the steps below:
Step 1: Choose your audience. Who would be most interested in your event? Who would you like to see attend your event?
Step 2: Locate a place and time to host your event. You can host your event at the local library, in a hotel meeting room, in your
church’s foyer, or some other establishment.
Once you find the ideal place to host your event, find out when the meeting room is available, the costs involved, if a deposit is
needed, and when the final payment is due.
Then find out what other local events are scheduled for the same weekend. A quick look in last year’s entertainment guide, in your
local newspaper will suggest which weekends are free. (I live between the famous Stratford Festival, St. Jacobs’s market and Waterloo,
home of North America’s largest Oktoberfest. So, I do not hold any workshops between June 1 and Sept 30.)
Step 3: Book your event. Book the event at least two months, and never more than four months, in advance. This gives you ample time to
write and distribute press releases and articles, to pass out and post fliers, and to advertise the event. (I’ve found that the most
cost effective method of advertising is posting fliers within a fifteen-minute drive of the event’s venue.)
Step 4: Plan the menu. Your menu will consist of coffee and donuts. Will you have the event catered or will you arrive early to set up?
Will you have meeting facility provide the food and drink or will you bring it yourself?
Step 5: Choose your topic and write your speech. Once you know the event’s location and the target audience, it’s time to choose the
topic. The topic should relate to your book, fit the tone of the building, and be a topic you can discuss comfortably.
A romance author can talk about first love, autumn love, relationships, or “how to put romance back in a relationship.” If you can’t
come up with a topic idea of your own, look at the headlines of national magazines, watch soap operas or talk shows. The world is full
of ideas.
Just remember that this event is about having fun. Do not give your guests deep theoretical speeches, but give your guests snappy
little stories, inspirational quotes, cute anecdotes, and a few laughs about life as an author—give them a peak into your life.
Step 6: Develop your fliers. Fliers, like all advertising, can only attract one or two segments of the population. Your fliers should
include a catchy title (in bold), your web address, an email address, a picture of yourself, a picture of your book’s cover, and the
date, time, and place of the event.
Your fliers should work hard to attract readers to your website. Your website should then sell the event, pre-sell your books, and offer
methods of buying tickets to the event. Do not invest more than 20 words explaining the event.
Step 7: Practice makes perfect. Like every venture, it takes practice to establish a professional image. The more you host these
events, the better you become.
Step 8: Be yourself. My self-promotion efforts won’t work for you. We could talk on the same topic and host the same event in the same
building, but attract an entirely different crowd. Your audience came to see you, not someone you’re trying to be.
Step 9: Be ready for the unexpected. These events have a way of attracting speaking opportunities, which in turn, increases writing
assignments, which in turn, improves the success rate of your promotion efforts; all of which creates a momentum with the potential to
turn any writing and speaking hobby into a full-time career.
Caveat: Do not host an event like this at a bookstore without a firm, legal contract. Several of my colleagues were shocked to find
bookstores requiring a percentage of all book sales, a booking fee, and a bill for a portion of all advertising costs, whether the
author approved the arrangement or not.
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About The Author:
Suzanne James is a Canadian freelance writer, life and writing coach, and public speaker. She has taught writing, self-promotion,
and management to more than 2,000 writers. To learn more visit: Inspired Author
* This article is available for your publication, for a F-E-E.
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