{"id":4294,"date":"2024-04-27T08:00:37","date_gmt":"2024-04-27T08:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/colleenmstory.com\/story\/?p=4294"},"modified":"2024-04-30T17:20:25","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T17:20:25","slug":"my-first-author-reading-is-happening-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/colleenmstory.com\/story\/my-first-author-reading-is-happening-soon\/","title":{"rendered":"My First Author Reading Is Happening Soon!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m doing my first author reading Saturday (May 4).<\/p>\n

My debut novel was published in 2015. I\u2019ve since published six books total with another on the way. It\u2019s 2024. But in all that time, I\u2019ve never done a reading.<\/p>\n

When we think of writers, we imagine them reading portions of their books to audiences in bookstores, theaters, or auditoriums. In movies, characters who are authors do it all the time.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve led many writing workshops. I\u2019ve done book signings. I\u2019ve even been a keynote speaker at a writer\u2019s conference.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ve never done a reading.<\/p>\n

And now that it’s looming in front of me, I’m surprised to find that I’m feeling nervous about it!<\/p>\n

People have short attention spans
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I have no problem doing a workshop. I\u2019ve done many of them, and I know how to keep the attendees engaged and having fun. I enjoy public speaking, too, but usually, I prepare the talk far in advance. I can intersperse some funny stories or include amusing visuals to keep the audience engaged.<\/p>\n

But how am I going to do that while reading small sections from my books?<\/p>\n

People’s attention spans aren’t what they used to be. Last I checked, a study from Microsoft<\/a> found that at best, people lose concentration after eight seconds, while the unassuming goldfish can focus for nine. (Yes, we\u2019re now worse than the goldfish when it comes to focusing on any one thing at a time!)<\/p>\n

That means I have eight seconds to capture my audience\u2019s attention. (Eek!) I could choose a pulse-pounding scene to read from, but that comes with its own complications.<\/p>\n

When you read a book, you gradually learn about the characters and their world as you go. It\u2019s the gradual buildup that makes that one scene so exciting.<\/p>\n

In a reading, you have to give a quick summary to orient your audience to the plot, characters, and setting, then dive into the reading and hope they can follow you. But they don\u2019t have the advantages of a book reader. They don\u2019t know the character or their world. They don\u2019t know what\u2019s been going on.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like walking into a movie in the middle of the action. How can I expect them to pay attention?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tough to find just the right passage<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On top of that, I have a time limit. I\u2019m reading from two books, and I have 15 minutes total. That means I really have only about 12-13 minutes to read, as I\u2019ll need the rest of the time to set up each book and scene.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m looking for a six-minute clip that will be able to accomplish all of the following<\/p>\n