A book event (a book signing) is a popular way for authors\rto create awareness for their work. Most large publishing\rhouses require authors to participate in a 10-city book\rtour, at the minimum. For self-published authors, it's a\rgood idea to arrange as many events as your time and budget\rallows. But, no matter who's making the arrangements, there\rare five key ingredients to making the event a success:

1. It is very important to plan your book event carefully.\rThis means knowing exactly what you're going to say and how\ryou will say it. Some authors believe that they can just\rwing it, relying on the audience to provide questions for\rdiscussion. Leaving the content to the audience to define\ris a poor idea. The author should take the lead. Audiences\rare there to hear more about the book, usually before they\rbuy it. Have a plan for what you are going to say. You'll\rfeel much more confident, and then if the audience is\rfamiliar with you and your writing, you will have that much\rmore to enrich your talk. Remember the purpose of the book\revent: you are there to convince people to buy your books.\rBe prepared, and don't leave things to chance!

2. Keep it interesting, build a relationship with the\raudience, and leave them wanting more. More, is for them to\rpurchase a copy of your book. If you've written a book,\rthen you have a story to tell. Connect with the audience,\rtake them into the palm of your hand, and make them want to\rhear the end of the story.

3. Practice so you are natural, be consistent with who you\rare as a person. Even the greatest speakers practice their\rspeeches before they give them. Have you ever watched the\rOscars and cringed at some of the acceptance speeches? Have\ryou ever been captivated and want more from the actors?\rWhat's the difference in those speeches? The amount of time\rand care that went into practicing what they were going to\rsay, and to whom.

4. Keep to the time frame. Tell your story, but don't\roverstay your welcome. Practicing your speech allows you to\rtime your speech. That sense of time makes it possible to\rshift naturally from building a relationship, telling the\rstory, and moving to the business portion of the book event.

5. Allow time to tell people about the book itself, what\rit contains, and how it completes the story you just shared\rwith them. And don't forget to tell people how they can own\ra personal copy! After all, that's the reason you are there\rin the first place.

Marilyn J. Schwader is creator and publisher of the "A\rGuide To Getting It" book series. Her articles on topics\rrelated to books are published in ARE Books News the leading\rresource on-line for information about books. Visit the\rcomplete archive of articles here: http://www.arebooks.com/