How to prepare for author events, readings, panels and more

Being invited to your first events as an author can be very exciting – and also quite nerve-wracking! Help calm those nerves with a look through our quick guide to the kind of things that might come up and ways you can prepare for them.

Below, you'll find some of the most common types of writing events and preparation tips for each.

A slot at a prose, poetry or spoken word event

There are a whole host of different types of nights, from open mics where anyone can sign up to curated nights where everyone has been chosen for a reason. These events tend to include a lot of different performers and your time in front of the audience is likely to be short. These can be a great way to get used to performing.

• If possible, head along to one of the nights beforehand to get an idea of the format and style of pieces being performed
• If the organiser doesn’t share information about how long you’ll have or what shape the event will be upfront, feel free to ask ahead of time
• Think carefully about the piece you’re planning to read or perform and ensure that you’re staying within any time limits

Headlining or featured spot at a literary night

Lots of these open mic or cabaret events also include one or two spaces for a featured poet or headline act. These spots tend to last a little longer, so that you have more of a chance to share your writing with the audience.

• Again, it’s great to attend a night beforehand to get an idea of the vibe but if that’s not possible, be sure to ask the organisers any questions you have
• Look at the time slot you’ve been given and think about the best way to fill it, whether that’s several short pieces or one longer one

Thinking about setting up a night of your own? Check out some tips for organising a spoken word event.

A launch event for your book

Often, although not always, authors have launch events for their books. These tend to be in bookshops or in art spaces or bars where you’re also able to sell copies. These are often solo events but authors might also team up to run launch events together. Sometimes, a book will even have a small tour of launch events at a variety of places around the country (or even world!). These have a few different formats, but most include a reading, discussion of your book and a Q&A from the audience.

• Pick at least one section from your book to read and be sure to practice it plenty beforehand. Sometimes, two or three short readings can also be nice
• If the sections you’re choosing to read need context, make sure you know how to give this as concisely as possible
• If the event has a chair, it’s a great idea to connect with them beforehand to share anything in particular you’d like to talk about

Hoping to reach a wider audience? Check out our tips for running a virtual book launch, too.

A solo author event at a bookshop, library, festival, etc.

If you have a book or collection out, you may be asked to appear at an author event to promote your book. This will typically be around an hour and you’ll be expected to read a little bit and talk about anything from your writing process to the book itself. These events are normally chaired by another person, although it’s always worth checking because some organisers might not bring in a chair.

• The tips for this are very similar to a launch, but it’s worth bearing in mind that you may be expected to talk more about your career or writing in general rather than about a specific book
• Always check in with the organiser to make sure you have an idea of what kind of event they have in mind and whether you’ll have a chair or not

Author events in schools

If you write for children or young people, you may find that you’re invited to schools to talk to pupils. For schools based in Scotland, there’s also a decent chance that a school event may be part-funded by our Live Literature programme. We also fund School Residencies, which involve an author working with a school or class for a longer period of time.

• Be sure to chat to the organiser about the kind of school visit they’re planning. Is it a classroom visit, an assembly or a workshop?
• Think hard about the age of your audience and the size of the group you’ll be working with, and use that to work out things like how long you might spend reading or answering questions

We’ve also got some great tips from author Steven Cole in his guide to running a smooth author event.

Panel events at festivals and bookshops

Often, especially when you’re an early career author, you might be asked to be part of a panel. This is when a number of authors, generally two or three but occasionally more, are matched and put in an event together. These are very similar to solo author events, although the readings may be shorter and questions may be more generic, allowing everyone to answer.

• As with solo events, it’s a great idea to choose a short reading of your work. This will often be much shorter and your chair should let you know how much time each person has. Sometimes, the chair might ask panel participants not to read a snippet and to use all the time for discussion
• Your chair should hopefully share some questions beforehand. It’s perfectly fine to ask if they have any specific questions in mind if you don’t hear – or to mention things you don’t want to talk about
• It’s best practice, if possible, to read the work of the other panellists beforehand. You can often request books from their publicist or contacts from the event organiser

Chairing other authors or author panels

You may also be asked to chair other people’s events or book launches. This can be a great way to make new connections, as well as an opportunity to find your own new readers, although as a chair, the focus should always be on the guest and not your own work.

• The first and most important tip is to make time to read the author’s work that you’ll be discussing. These can normally be provided by the publicist or, sometimes, the festival or organiser
• It’s a good idea to get in touch with the author beforehand with a list of the kind of questions you’re thinking about. It’s also nice to check whether there’s anything they don’t want to talk about or that you should be aware of
• Doing a little bit of research on the people you’re chairing is also a great idea. It’s often easy to gather a few bits of handy information online

Running a writing workshop

Authors are also sometimes asked to run workshops for other writers, especially if they have a particular area of expertise. These tend to be anywhere from an hour to a half or even full day and you’ll be expected to share parts of your own process as well as examples and tasks. It’s normally expected that these workshops are interactive and setting up a workshop can be time-consuming, especially if you’re new to it.

• Be sure to email or talk to the organiser about the kind of event they have in mind and what kind of audience they’re expecting to attend
• It’s a great idea to mix up a variety of advice or examples with some practical exercises

Online author events

An online author event can be a great way to connect with a range of writers and readers and in many ways, the advice for running a great one is very similar to in-person events. However, there are a few extra things to think about.

• Share the format of the event and your expectations at the beginning. Cameras on or off? Chat throughout or questions at the end? Be clear so everyone knows where they stand
• Having a host, chair or helper can be very useful for dealing with technological snags
• Consider shorter readings for online events. It can be harder to hold attention during online events than in person

We’ve got some more tips in our guide to running a welcoming author event or workshop online.

Additional guidance

Author events and payment

Some events, such as book launches, are thought of as purely promotional and it’s very unlikely that you’ll be offered payment. Likewise, slots at an open mic or literary night may be very short and there may be no payment offered. Sometimes, featured and headline performers are offered a fee, to account for the fact their appearances are more substantial.

For other events, we would always expect an author to be paid. This is especially true for events that take a lot of planning, such as workshops or chairing a panel. If you’re invited to take part in one of these events and the organiser tells you they have Live Literature funding, then you’ll know you’ll be eligible for the full Live Literature fee and your expenses getting to and from the event.

Some organisations may ask you to appear without payment or for expenses only and it is up to you to weigh up whether the opportunity is worth your time and investment. We advocate for authors to be paid wherever possible. Find out more in our guidance on author fees and free events.

Selling books at author events

The opportunity to sell books at author events can help boost your sales and even make a difference to your bottom line, depending on who is doing the selling. For bookshop events, book sales will, naturally, be dealt with by the bookshop organising the event. Most festival events will also have partnerships with a bookshop, who will take care of sales. When it comes to community or school events, you may find that the organisers either partner with a local bookshop or ask you to bring books yourself.

There are pros and cons to both options. When there’s a bookshop taking care of sales, you don’t need to worry about transporting stock yourself and you won’t need to deal with the transactions themselves. However, when you’re asking to bring in books yourself, you may be able to buy books at a lower price from your publisher and sell those at events for a larger percentage of the profit.

It is definitely worth asking an event organiser whether they have book sales lined up and, if they don’t, whether they think it’s likely that people may be looking to buy a copy. That way, you can work out whether it’s likely to be worth your effort in bringing stock!