Recently the administrator of the Books go Social Readers Facebook group invited me to submit a video of me reading part or parts of my book Lethal Inheritance. My first thought was, ‘What? Who wants to watch a video of me reading from my book?’ But I followed the link I was given to a video another author had done and listened to her presentation. As I expected, I found it pretty dull. The problem, I realised, wasn’t the author reading, it was the fact that video is a visual medium and without something happening, there’s not a lot to hold you. Had the video been audio only, it would have been a lot easier to focus on the words. That’s why podcasts and audiobooks are a fine medium on which authors can read their books.
But I hadn’t been invited on a podcast. I’d been invited to submit a video, so I decided I’d better have some props – and something more than just a copy of my book. You can see the video I submitted below. It’s about 6 mins long and I’d love to hear what you think of it, so I hope you’ll take a look.
But taking a wider perspective on the topic of authors reading their works, do you ever go to live author readings? I never have. If you have, tell me why you went and what you thought of it. What did you get out of it?
A very accessible way to hear authors read their work these days is podcasts and audiobooks. Since I’m about to launch a podcast, I’ve been listening to some while driving in the car – I suspect that’s when a lot of people listen to them – and I have a friend who listens to audiobooks while driving. Have you ever listened to an author reading their book in a podcast or on an audiobook? If so, what did you like or dislike about getting your stories that way?
I love to hear your comments, so please ask questions or let me know your thoughts on this post. And if you enjoyed this blog post don’t forget to share it with your social networks.
