23 July 2010
Book Breakthrough: Interviews and Workshops
Categories: interviews, events |
Recently, I exchanged emails with Debra Eckerling of Write On Online for a Q&A about Beatrice and writing, where she invited me to talk about some of the most common mistakes writers make. Taking a cue from Merlin Mann, I mentioned the importance of actually writing rather than simply calling yourself a writer, but then I also touched upon the need to understand the business side of writing, including the marketing, and in particular the potential advantages of using social media: “You need readers,” I said, “and as wonderful as it would be for people to just discover you over and over again by happy accident, it doesn’t work that way very often. You need to be out there where your potential readers are, get to know them, and let them get to know you.”
I’m going to be talking along similar lines next week at the Book Breakthrough Workshop, which is being held on July 29-31 here in New York City. My friends Janet Goldstein and Liz Marshall, who both have extensive experience helping authors (especially nonfiction writers) refine their message and build up their audiences, have put together a great lineup of guest speakers, and I’m delighted to be able to give a short presentation during the portion of the workshop that focuses on connecting with potential readers. The specific focus of my talk is going to be book trailers, and the ways we should be thinking about what makes them succeed, rather than just hoping for a gazillion views. The other speakers should be pretty amazing, too, so if you’re in the New York area, and you’re serious about wanting a career as a nonfiction writer, this should be a worthwhile experience.
12 July 2010
Maggie Pouncey’s Perfect Reader at Greenlight Bookstore
Categories: events |
I’ll be at Greenlight Bookstore tonight for another installment of our monthly “Author/Blogger” series. This time around, it’s a hyperlocal affair, as Robin Lester of Clinton Hill Blog interviews Brooklyn-based Maggie Pouncey, who will be reading from her debut novel, Perfect Reader. As always, we’ll also be fielding questions from the audience—and since it looks like it actually might not rain this month, I hope those of you reading this in New York City might be able to make it. (The reading starts at 7:30 p.m.; Greenlight is right at the Lafayette St. stop on the C line, and very close to the Atlantic Avenue nexus for several other subways.)
I’m catching up with the back half of Perfect Reader this afternoon; it’s a great story about a twentysomething woman who’s struggling to deal with her father’s death, the situation exacerbated by his designation of her as his literary executor—including a collection of unpublished poems he wrote about his love for a girlfriend she never knew existed—who’s very eager to see those poems published.
7 June 2010
Glen David Gold Is Coming to Greenlight!
Categories: events |
Next week, as part of the ongoing “author/blogger” event series at Brooklyn’s Greenlight Bookstore, I’ll sit down for a conversation with Glen David Gold about Sunnyside, which uses Charlie Chaplin’s film career during the First World War, and the American government’s propaganda efforts, as the starting point for a brilliant, freewheeling exploration of the origins of celebrity culture. Last summer, when Glen came to New York, we talked a bit about the novel’s origins:
“I grew up in Los Angeles,” Gold continued, “so I’ve seen fame happen to people. I’ve seen how gravity realigns around them when they enter the room. So what would it be like to be the first person that had happened to?”
So we’ll talk some more about that, and knowing us, we’ll probably talk about comic books, and if I ask nicely, maybe Glen will share another reading recommendation with us, like he did last year:
