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How to Talk About Your Book at Holiday Parties – and Get Invited Back

November 16, 2018 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

By Mary Walewski, guest blogger

It’s time for holiday parties—a season when you attend parties where you only know a few people. There you are, chatting away with total strangers when someone asks you what you do for a living.

“I write books. I just published my latest one,” you say.

“Wow, you wrote a book? What’s it about?”

Before you start on a blow-by-blow description of your subject or plot that leaves them looking around the room for somebody—anybody—to interrupt you, STOP.

You’ve just received an invitation to practice your Very Short Description of What Your Book Is About. Its purpose is to keep the conversation going. Most authors feel they need to relay a lot when they’re asked, “What’s your book about?” But that’s not what people really want. They want a one- or two-sentence answer to respond to and generate a conversation.

What is Your Very Short Description?

Before you go to your next party, practice a 10- to 20-second description that will encourage others to respond with questions, not leave them looking for an escape. It’s natural for you to want to tell them all about your book. But, please remember, this is a conversation, not a sales call.

What happens when you begin to describe everything in your book? You shut down the conversation and the other person becomes a hostage to your narrative. Instead, reply with something like, “It’s a mystery novel set in a hospital.” This is short and concise, while encouraging the other person to say something like, “Wow, I’ve always wanted to write a book. How did you get started?”

Then the conversation can continue to a natural conclusion—and that person isn’t suddenly seeing someone across the room to speak to.

Ideas for What to Say at Holiday Parties

Examples of your Very Short Description of What Your Book Is About:

  • If it’s nonfiction, what problem does it solve? Who is it for?
    • “It’s a self-help book for single fathers on how to start dating after divorce.”
    • “It’s a diet book for people who don’t want to give up carbs.”
  • If it’s fiction, state the genre (Is it mystery, detective, romance, etc.) and where it takes place.
    • “It’s a historical novel set during the California Gold Rush.”
  • Who’s your main character and what happens to him/her?
    • “It’s set during the California Gold Rush. It’s about a sheriff who falls for the local madam in a mining camp.”

May all of your conversations at  holiday parties end with “Where can I buy your book?”

Enjoy the season!

Mary Walewski is a book marketing consultant who works with indie authors and publishers. Request her online report The 5 Marketing Habits of Successful Authors at Buy The Book Marketing.com.

Filed Under: Book Writing Tagged With: #betterwriting, #business book editing, authorship, book authorship, book marketing, book marketing consultant, book writing, holiday parties, Mary Walewski, nonfiction book editing, professional book editor, successful authors, talk about books, what is your book about

Good vs. Great Business Writers: Cite 6 Differences

October 19, 2013 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

by Dianna Booher

Face-to-face and phone communication is fading fast from our everyday experience. We work, love, and live now by writing—Facebook posts, tweets, LinkedIn messages, Google+ posts, blogs, white papers, website copy, emails, sales proposals, activity reports, résumés, job offerings, performance reviews, reports, and recommendations.

improve business writing from good to great

Business writing tools

The good news: Great writing skills will give you the edge for career advancement. Having made authorship my life’s work for three decades and having presented hundreds of business writing and technical writing workshops during the same span, I’ve discovered these distinct differentiators between good and great business writers:

1. Structure

Good writers may organize, draft, think, reorganize—in whatever way works best for each project. They may end with a well-written document, but it may take them a while to do so.

Great writers have a repeatable system. They typically spend more time thinking about their writing than actually drafting.

2. Word Choice

Good writers select clear words. They avoid ambiguous phrasing that has different meanings for different people.

Great writers choose precise words. They tickle the ear with eloquent phrasing so that their sentences beg to be reread.

3. Conciseness

Good writers get to the point.

Great writers get to the point—but they never sacrifice clarity for the sake of brevity.

4. Grammar

Good writers consider grammar important; they want to get things right. They know when sentences sound right.

Great writers understand the link between grammar and clarity; they insist on getting the grammar right. They know the rules—and which “rules” are only style matters.

5. Tone

Good writers convey their message (even a sensitive email about a negative situation) in a clear, straightforward style.

Great writers communicate their message in a clear, straightforward style—but with an upbeat, conversational warmth.

6. Editing

Good writers edit their work to spot weaknesses.

Great writers rarely trust themselves to edit their own work. They welcome other opinions.

So let me paraphrase Ben Franklin as I sum up: Either do something worth writing about or write well about something you’re doing.

Can you add other differentiators in the “Comments” section below?

© 2013 Dianna Booher. Booher Consultants, a communications training firm, works with business leaders and organizations to increase effectiveness through better oral, written, interpersonal, and enterprise-wide communication. Founder Dianna Booher is the author of 46 books, published in 26 languages. Her latest titles include Creating Personal Presence: Look, Talk, Think, and Act Like a Leader and Communicate With Confidence! The Revised and Expanded Edition. www.Booher.com

 

Filed Under: Business Writing Tagged With: authorship, business writing skills, Dianna Booher, professional book editing services, professional editing, self-editing, social media messages, write better social media messages

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