Thursday, June 11, 2009

Panel Observation

Tip of the Day: I'm giving away a signed copy of Saundra Mitchell's SHADOWED SUMMER on my personal blog. Comment by midnight Friday for your chance to win!

I like to attend events that I may have to do in the future and study the people doing them for tips (anyone else do this?). So I'll go to loads of booksignings and take notes on how authors handle them. Do they read from their book and how much? Do they start or end with a Q&A? Do they talk about their publication journey or tell funny stories about how they came up with the idea for their book?

This past weekend I had the chance to see fellow Deb, Saundra Mitchell, on a panel at Printer's Row in Chicago. The panel was called Young and Restless and authors: Jacquelyn Mitchard, James Kennedy, and Sally Nemeth, participated alongside Saundra.





(Saundra is the blonde.)




The event lasted for about an hour and there was a moderator who kept things moving along-- posing questions to the authors and then giving each author a chance to answer. The authors talked about marketing to teens, pacing, and what they wish they had known then (totally great question for a panel! I love hearing what obstacles authors ran into so I can prepare) and ended with a Q&A from the audience.

When you're a debuting author, like myself, I highly advise going to the various events that you may be participating in in the future. They sound sort of scary when you just hear about the event (or maybe that's just me. Before seeing a panel the idea of being on one gave me a little shiver; but really it looked like a fun, relaxed time. It was more like being in on a conversation with a lot of knowledgeable people. Except they sat in a straight line behind a table and we sat in the audience. :-) ) but seeing other people do it first will definitely calm the nerves!

Kristina, Miss Delighted to Debut

7 comments:

Emily Marshall said...

Sounds like a fun event.

DeenaML said...

I think these events are always scarier in your mind than actuality....I THINK..... :)

Ghost Girl (aka, Mary Ann) said...

Thanks for sharing this, Tina. I've attended a lot of this as an audience member and most recently as a moderator. But I am excited to think about being one of the authors on the panel (excited and a little freaked out!). But that will be a while.

I've talked to Saundra online, but I haven't met her in person, yet. I would love to get a copy of her book. Good luck with your upcoming debut!

Christina Farley said...

You are so right. I love how you are thinking ahead. I can't even imagine myself in that situation right now but I'm still happy to learn.

Kristina Springer said...

:-) I think I'm a natural worrier-- I'm always thinking ahead!

Steph Su said...

From that one picture alone I can already tell that those kinds of panels are so much fun! And what a panel. Are you going to be going to some of these anytime soon, Kristina? :)

Kristina Springer said...

No panels for me yet! :) Next month is my first time doing ANY authorly stuff for myself-- I have a few things to go to at ALA.