Mark interviews Matty Dalrymple and Michael La Ronn about their new co-authored book From Page to Platform: How to Succeed as an Author Speaker.

Prior to the interview Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor

This episode is sponsored by the Fall 2024 Novel Writing Storybundle.

In their conversation, Matty, Michael, and Mark talk about:

A bit of a refresher/background for both Matty and Michael
Dale L. Roberts being the person who connected the two of them together
How they got the idea for the book when both at a Writer's Digest conference together
The process of going about writing the book together
The flight instructor term of the "awkward exchange of control"
Why a writer might be interested in getting into speaking
A look at the importance of fleshing out your goals from speaking
How speaking can open up new opportunities for a writer
Some of the key strengths that can be brought to a speaking engagement, such as storytelling or making a talk feel more like a conversation
The "dress for the job that you want" aspect for speakers
Ideas for how to get started particularly if you're nervous about speaking to a large group of people
Some of the do's and don'ts for doing panels, author readings, keynotes, etc
Advise for authors who are on a panel
The concept of stepping up if necessary if the moderator isn't performing the job as well as they should
Matty's concept of the two different bios - the "speaker application bio" and the "brief speaker introduction" bio
Tips for professional behavior and things author speakers should consider doing
And more . . .

After the interview Mark reflects on a couple of things from the interview and also shares a special offer for Patrons related to the aforementioned Storybundle.

Links of Interest:

Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers and the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels and Suspense Shorts. She also podcasts, writes, speaks, and consults on the writing craft and the publishing voyage as The Indy Author. Her articles have appeared in Writer’s Digest magazine, and she serves as the Campaigns Manager for the Alliance of Independent Authors.

Michael La Ronn is the author of over 100 science fiction & fantasy books and self-help books for writers. He writes from the great plains of Iowa and has managed to write while raising a family, working a full-time job, and attending law school. Michael runs the award-winning YouTube channel “Author Level Up,” and Michael serves as the Outreach Manager for ALLi.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0