Literary events are the festive gatherings of authors, publishers, and literature lovers, performing various social works at one platform. Many authors arrange an event or are invited to read their work live in front of the audience when they get their books published.
It is a great opportunity for authors to interact directly with the readers and let them know more about who you are as a writer and what emotions they experienced when writing the book.
In this article, I will share some key tips to help you read and present your work best in a literary event, broadening exposure to books and building community.
Choose an appropriate excerpt to avoid exposition
The excerpt will determine whether you will become successful to hook the audience or not. Be mindful when selecting the sessions and dialogues from your book to share with the listeners, revealing the entire plot and idea behind the story.
Expositional writing or the long description will make the audience bored and lose interest soon. Moreover, reading or listening is totally different from writing, as the listeners struggle to follow and comprehend the extensive conversations.
Sometimes, less is more, so avoid exposition and select the thrilling, action, conflict, or emotional scenes from the book to captivate listeners.
Stick to time constraints to keep audience attentive
It is crucial to set a time limit and adhere to it to sustain the interest of audiences. Respect the time you are given you interact with them, allowing other sessions to proceed with the schedule.
Furthermore, you should practice with the assigned time to avoid words fumbling and skimming, leading to limited comprehension and awareness.
Enlarge your text copy for easy reading
Print the copy of your text in large and clear fonts with double-spacing in lines, so you can see and read the content easily without mixing the phrases or dialogues. Arrange the pages carefully to avoid any confusion.
Mark the excerpt to add emphasis, pacing, and pauses
Another key tip to read your work best in events or in front of a crowd is to mark the excerpt to remember where you need to add emphasis, pauses, pacing.
It is a great way to deliver the target message, desired emotion, dramatic effects, and suspense, grasping the audience's interest and attention.
Infuse vocal expressions and body language
Setting the tone and varying the vocal expressions at particular events in the story will enthrall the listeners and draw their attention.
Try to use your hands and facial expressions when reading your work to involve the audience in your reading venture, connecting more to show enthusiasm and emotions.
Don’t rush with the words
Maintain the reading speed to avoid word rushing and confusion. It holds a substantial role in building tension, explaining plot, and communicating with the crowd.
The technique to control the speed and time in storytelling comes with experience, such as the action and thriller can go with a little bit of fast speed, but the emotional and functional genre need slow pacing.
Interact directly to entertain them
The crows sit to be entertained with the way you read or narrate your book summary. Therefore, try to make as much eye contact as you can to make them feel addressed and involved.
Don’t stand and read the book in the flow. Look at the listeners, make emotional connection, and add a few humorous dialogues to entertain them and make the event memorable.
Practice vigorously
Practice polishes you remarkably. Read your work in front of your friends and family to improve the mistakes and get confidence, embracing their response and feedback.
You can also practice it in front of the mirror or record the videos to see how fluent you speak and where you fumble.