Writers: How to Make Your Panel Successful

Two weekends ago, I had the pleasure of participating on a panel at Murder in the Magic City (Birmingham, AL) on Saturday and moderating another panel at Murder on the Menu, a fundraiser for the Friends of the Wetumpka (AL) Library on Sunday. [See Paula's earlier post about the activities.] These were mystery fan conferences, primarily for readers rather than writers. Last November I wrote about Seven Characteristics of a Great Panel Moderator so at Murder on the Menu I needed to follow my own advice.

My preparation time was short since I only found out about the moderator assignment six days before the gig. I quickly prepared some sample questions and distributed them to the panelists, and I performed some internet research to have an idea of my panelists’ writing careers.

The panel was to run thirty-minutes and panelist descriptions were included in the program. I bent one of my rules and dispensed with any introduction other than the panelist’s names. Otherwise I followed my own advice.

I will claim that we had the best panel that day.

However, (clears throat), while my moderation seemed to work well, I discovered another important key to successful panels—one that relates also to event book sales.

Panelists who spent every opportunity hawking their book quickly became boring, both to the audience and to their fellow panelists. Those who illustrated points with quick reference to their books were much more interesting.

That wasn’t the key, however.

The audience wanted to know about the writers as people. What kind of a sense of humor did each author have? What was the author’s passion? They wanted to figure out if the author was someone they wanted to invest three or five or more hours with.

After our Murder on the Menu panel concluded, I chatted with one of my panelists, Julia Spencer-Fleming, a NY Times best-selling author. We agreed we had the best panel because we had the most interesting authors (and admittedly because we were prejudiced). I considered the Murder in the Magic City panel I had participated in the day before. It was also the best panel of the day, because Paula Benson did an excellent job as the moderator and because the panelists were most interesting.

Distilled for you for the very first time are the four secrets for authors to create an excellent panel.

1. Authors on the panel engage with each other and with the audience.

2. Authors attend to each other’s remarks.

3. No author tries to hog the discussion.

4. Authors build their points off the previous discussion, rather than acting as if they were the only one on the panel.

Not only does this make the panel discussion interesting, but here’s the other thing:

My Key Takeaway: Whether moderator or panelist, book buyers will make judgments based on the way you present yourself. If all you present is a hard sell, they won’t be impressed. They are going to buy your personality.

~ Jim

Addendum: After I wrote this blog, I was assigned as the moderator on the 2014 Left Coast Crime panel entitled, Traditional Mysteries: We Like It That Way. Along with my invitation to moderate were two documents "The Moderator's Guidelines: How to Moderate a Great Panel" and "Calamari Crime Panelist’s Help Sheet." These two pieces expand upon my advice in this blog and if you would like a copy of them, shoot me an email and I'll forward them to you.

Finding an Audience

Phyllis A. Whitney

Phyllis A. Whitney was one of my favorite authors. I read her young adult novels as I grew up and her romantic suspense later in life. In particular, I read her books on writing and wanted to be like her. I remember that she started writing short pieces for religious markets. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to follow in her footsteps and made an amazing discovery.

I began writing short devotional services for my church. Eventually, with collaborators, I tackled writing original one act musicals for our annual Christmas presentations. The experience has been enriching for me spiritually, but it has also taught me how important it is for an author to find an audience.

Many writers participate in critique groups that are beneficial in helping improve plots, characters, and techniques. A critique group consists of peers who evaluate a work based on its acceptability for the market place. This review is valuable and particularly helpful in assisting writers with developing works for consideration by agents and publications.

A critique group is different from an audience. An audience reads or watches a writer's work because they choose it. Perhaps audience members will have different reasons for making their choice: (1) because they want to read/see it; (2) because they felt obligated to read/see it; and (3) because they have time to kill and the author's work offers something to occupy that time.

The audience may have different reactions to the author's work. Perhaps they will share or not share their reactions with the author. But, their presence in the author's life is valuable. Even reluctance to share is a reaction an author needs to evaluate.

First, an audience reminds the writer why he/she writes. The audience is the person/people the writer envisions as he/she writes. The audience is the story's mirror image.

Second, the audience's attitude toward the piece tells the writer something different from the critique group's opinions. It lets the author know how his work affects someone who made the decision to read or see it. It may be gratifying or grounding, but either can help the author improve. The audience reaction comes from personal preference more than a business perspective. Of course, it doesn't hurt if the audience is simply being supportive. Every author needs groupies!

Third, the audience gives the author purpose. So often the solitary pursuit of writing seems to have no outcome. Only if an agent agrees to represent the work or a publisher sends a contract does the author feel validated and can tell his/her relatives and acquaintances that he/she has a "job."

If you find an audience that wants/needs/requests/demands to see and react to your work, you'll have a job--perhaps more of a job than you expected. If you write well enough to affect hearts and minds, so that your audience returns to subsequent efforts, you have made a substantial achievement.

So, who's your audience or where might you find one?