All Blog Posts Tagged 'talks' (33)

Good times, danger signs in West Bank

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — The good news is that the West Bank is normal — kind of — and that people are content — sort of. The bad news, the Palestine Liberation Organization thinks it’s responsible for the good news.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who’s also the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) chief, has decided to stamp down on the man who’s actually made life bearable in the West Bank, Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad, and his plan to declare…

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Added by Matt Rees on May 5, 2010 at 11:35pm — No Comments

Israeli settler sect: Messiah is coming

GIVAT ONAN, West Bank—On this windblown outpost in the hills north of Jerusalem, a small fringe of Israeli settlers strives to bring the day of redemption promised, as they believe, in the Bible.

A controversial sect shunned by nearby Israeli settlements, the Brothers of Onan believe that by “spilling their seed” on the land of the ancient biblical Jewish homeland, they will hasten the coming of the Messiah. With the Israeli communities of the West Bank…

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Added by Matt Rees on April 1, 2010 at 6:00pm — 1 Comment

Writing and marketing

An important task for many writers is marketing themselves and their books. This cannot be left solely to the publisher who has a whole range of books to promote and usually across many genres. In the larger publishing houses there are publicists whose responsibility it is to help promote certain authors, who are usually the 'bigger named' authors, (the A list) or those who have been given a huge advance that needs to be 'earned out' leaving great swathes of writers and books to their own… Continue

Added by Pauline Rowson on January 20, 2010 at 11:01pm — No Comments

It's shaping up to be a busy 2010

2010 is already shaping up to be a busy year with lots of writing activity, talks and book signings to look forward to. Here is the line up for the first six months of the year as it stands at the moment. There is a new Calendar of Events page on my official web site and all my events, book signings and publications will be posted there throughout the year, as well as here.

On 27 January I start the year… Continue

Added by Pauline Rowson on January 1, 2010 at 10:49pm — No Comments

Getting the Word Out (R)

This week I'm out doing library talks, and that means getting those ducks in a row. Do I have enough cards, books, handouts, and such? How will I look after a long drive on a hot day? And worst of all, will anyone care enough to show up?

Second-time authors aren't exactly hot properties, and while libraries are usually willing to let me do my schtick, there's no guarantee patrons will show up to watch. I combat the no-name problem by approaching with a theme rather than just "Come… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on September 22, 2009 at 8:59pm — 6 Comments

A busy Autumn ahead

It's official, Autumn is here (according to the Metrological office in Great Britain) and it's shaping up to be a lively time with several book signings and talks lined up, as well as the release of The Suffocating Sea (an Inspector Horton Marine Mystery) in Large Print and news (hopefully) when the NEW Andy Horton crime novel, Blood Upon The Sand, will be published.

September… Continue

Added by Pauline Rowson on September 1, 2009 at 7:16pm — No Comments

Cornwall and CrimeFest

I’ve just returned from giving two talks in Cornwall where the sun was shining, the sea was blue and the crowds were flocking to St Ives, which was my first port of call on Tuesday morning at 11am. I met some delightful people as always and my heartfelt thanks to them for listening to me talking about how I write and for buying my books. After a quick sandwich lunch sitting in the cemetery overlooking the bay it was about an hour’s drive to St Austell… Continue

Added by Pauline Rowson on May 14, 2009 at 3:09am — 2 Comments

Audiences: What Are They Thinking?

As I speak to more and more groups, I find myself wondering on the way home, "What did they really think?" It's not a question one should stress over, but it is helpful to consider the audience's post-speech behavior and comments. Did they bolt for the door at the end or stand around and chat? Did the comments about the talk seem genuine or dictated by societal politeness? ("It was very nice," is damned faint praise.) And was the non-verbal feedback positive?

Non-verbal feedback… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on October 21, 2008 at 10:38pm — No Comments

Little Old Bag Lady, Me

Okay, I'm not very little, and I'm not that old. But I've got the bag thing covered.

My presentations have become more varied as time passes. Libraries and groups that liked the Mystery Talk want me to return, but I can't keep doing the same speech over and over. I expand my topics periodically, but new libraries and groups may still want the original speech. In order to deal with the "which speech am I getting ready for" problem, I have developed the Bag System. For each new topic I… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on October 17, 2008 at 10:15pm — No Comments

If This Is Thursday, We Must Be In...Where Are We?

I wrote last week about easy jobs, and one that used to look easy to me was public speaker. On the surface, the person breezes in half an hour before her speech, checks out the sound equipment and lays out some materials, and then talks for an hour or two. Afterward she gets a nice check and goes home to count her earnings. Since I love to talk, it seemed like money for nothing, lunch for free.

It does get a little hectic, though, now that I'm doing it. Scheduling is not particularly… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on October 16, 2008 at 9:56pm — No Comments

Literary Festival Buzz

There was a buzz in the town of Havant in Hampshire (England) when I turned up this morning at Havant Arts Centre to give my talk. Not, I hasten to add, because I was speaking, but because of the wide range of interesting events being held. I am really pleased the literary festival is being greeted so enthusiastically because it is the first one to be staged in this area, and I know the organizers have worked tremendously hard to pull it off.

I wasn’t sure how many people to expect.… Continue

Added by Pauline Rowson on September 28, 2008 at 4:13am — No Comments

Marketing Again

Once again, getting my face out there has convinced me that it's vital to get your face out there. I spoke to a small group last night, for free, and didn't sell one book. That could be depressing after a long drive, but after my talk, a woman who had sat quietly to one side came up to me. "Have you ever considered speaking at ***?" She named a library in a town where I'd encountered a disinterested and snotty librarian. After three tries, I'd given up on him.

Her next comment… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on May 1, 2008 at 10:29pm — No Comments

Brevity Is Still Soulful

It's an old quote from Shakespeare: "Brevity is the soul of wit". Oral communication in today's world, which is nonstop unless you're fast asleep, requires capturing the listener's attention and then communicating quickly. Most people aren't used to listening for more than a few minutes at a time.

I won't argue whether that's good or bad, but when we hear of sermons that once lasted three hours and piano concerts that started with nine mazurkas as an introduction, we understand the… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on March 20, 2008 at 9:50pm — No Comments