by Korina Moss
Happy Easter and Passover to all those who celebrate!
I recently celebrated the release of the third book in my Cheese Shop Mystery series, CURDS OF PREY. I enjoyed all the buzz and excitement on that day and the days leading up to it. With each book in the series, I’ve been getting more publicity opportunities, such as written interviews and guest blog posts. I’ve also done more podcast/YouTube interviews in the last two months than I had in the last two years. I don’t know how you feel about public speaking, but I’m not used to it (Hello! I’m a writer!), so it was nerve-wracking to know I’d have to talk about myself and my books on camera.
As live appearances began to fill my calendar, I wanted to be able to look forward to them instead of being anxious about them. My stress comes from thinking I’m going to lose my focus or stumble over my words or draw a blank or say too much or… You get the gist. So how to combat that fear? I keep the following in mind.
1. You will not literally die from embarrassment.
It was a lesson I learned at last year’s Malice Domestic convention when I introduced my first book, CHEDDAR OFF DEAD, at the New Authors’ Breakfast, an in-person event. Several things factored into why I was flustered, but I’ll just say that my five minutes in front of an audience of authors I admire felt like five hours when I couldn’t even properly describe my own book. Which leads me to my second recommendation…
2. Prepare, prepare, prepare, and then go with the flow.
It’s better to over-prepare than to under-prepare. Many podcasters will give you the topics they plan to discuss or even a list of questions they may ask, and it always makes me feel better to run through my possible answers aloud. But another thing you have to be prepared for is going where the conversation takes you, even if it’s not what you practiced beforehand. Before that embarrassing New Author appearance, I thought, how hard can it be to talk about my book? I know it cover-to-cover and I’ve talked about it before with friends and family, even acquaintances in social situations. I thought I’d do fine “off the cuff.” The difference is that in social situations, you don’t have to be as concise as when you’re speaking to an audience about a specific topic. Think about what you really want potential readers to know when you introduce your book to them. Can you describe it in a few sentences? Nowadays, if I find myself rambling instead of getting to the point, I’ll stop and simply say, “I’m getting off course. Cheese. It’s got cheese.” Luckily for me, that usually does the trick. Which leads me to my next recommendation…
3. Humor is good and so is vulnerability.
It’s okay not to sound perfect. In fact, admitting to a flub often breaks the ice. You’re not giving a TED Talk (and if you are, I am definitely not the person to come to). The advice of Elise Hart Kipness, an author and fellow Sisters in Crime – CT member who used to be a broadcast journalist, stuck with me: If you lose your train of thought or you realize you’ve gotten off track, just be real and say so in the moment. The podcast host will almost always bail you out. Which leads me to my next recommendation…
4. Pretend you’re having a conversation in your living room with a friend.
This might be a tall order since you still have to prepare and be relatively concise. However, at least the audience isn’t in front of you, staring at you, and you don’t have to pretend they’re in their underwear. (Am I aging myself with that old piece of advice?) Before doing Liz Mugavero’s Get Writing podcast, I was surprised that I wasn’t nervous until I realized it was because she was a friend. It wasn’t that she was any nicer than any of the other hosts I’ve encountered. (In fact, they’re all exceedingly kind and I was previously acquainted with several of them.) It was because I was excited to chat with her about writing. It made me change how I perceive these interviews going forward. Now I try not to think of them as interviews or even call them interviews. I think of them as chats and it makes me approach them differently.
With each upcoming appearance, I keep all these simple things in mind, and now any nervous energy I might still have is founded in excitement. For the times I still stumble or say “um” too often or anything else I wish I hadn’t done, I only have to remind myself of recommendation #1. Hey, I’m still alive to talk about it.
If you’d like to listen to or watch any of my recent podcasts, click on the above photos, which will take you to their site, or listen on your favorite platform. You can aways find my updated news & events on my author website at korinamossauthor.com
Writers: Do you enjoy or think you’ll enjoy doing live interviews? Readers: How do you feel about public speaking?
Great advice. I remind myself that it's a show, and I am playing a character, and after it's done, I can take a nap.
ReplyDeletePublic speaking holds no fears for me. I think doing live interviews is a hoot, but a few years ago, I developed a throat issue that makes my voice unreliable. So now, I always make sure to have lots of water available, and I let the interviewer know in advance that I might have to use it. So far, everyone has been very accommodating and understanding.
ReplyDeleteGood ideas. I'll keep them in mind.
ReplyDeleteHate "public speaking," but since I've had teaching experience, I try to frame it in terms of that, rather than giving a speech.
ReplyDeleteLots of great ideas here.
Thank you.
Great post, Korina. I enjoy doing interviews, though I hate the way I look and sound when I view them afterward.
ReplyDeleteAs a former speech teacher, I’d say you have great advice here, especially #1.
ReplyDeleteSuch good advice, Korina. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteExcellent advice, Korina! I was a teacher for many years and could speak in front of large groups of teenagers with no worries at all. But put me in a front of adults, and I get nervous. These are good tips.
ReplyDeleteThank you, everyone! Lori, I was never a teacher, but when my son was in school, I'd go in regularly during their fiction writing lessons and I was never nervous. You'd think I would be -- kids can be savage! LOL. Marilyn, I've seen a couple of your interviews and they've always been great. But I'm the same way -- picking it apart afterward. I try to be objective, but it's difficult. I'm sorry to hear about your throat issue, Kait. You make a good point not to be scared of interviewers -- they are there to help create a great experience. And Jim -- LOLOLOL!!!!
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