Victoria Noe

Award-winning Author, Speaker, Activist

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The Muse and the Marketplace

The Ripples of Our Audience

The Ripples of Our Audience
May 24, 2017 by Victoria Noe
Writers are always aware that we have an audience, and not just when we’re writing. We all - no matter how we publish - create marketing plans. Often, when asked who our audience is, insist it’s ‘everyone’. But that’s not realistic or workable as a plan.

We debate the effectiveness of Facebook ads vs. newsletter offers, Amazon promotions vs. Goodreads giveaways. We have at least a pretty good idea of who our audience is: gender, age, geographic location, interests. But sometimes we can still be surprised.

I was in Boston earlier this month, speaking at The Muse and the Marketplace writing conference. It was a cold, dreary, rain-soaked weekend outside the Park Plaza Hotel, but energetic and stimulating inside.

Towards the end of the...

Public Speaking for Shy Authors - Part 2

Public Speaking for Shy Authors - Part 2
May 18, 2017 by Victoria Noe
I recently gave a presentation at The Muse and the Marketplace writing conference in Boston: "Public Speaking for Painfully Shy Authors". It’s a terrific weekend that I highly recommend to any author committed to improving their craft and career.

My presentation was in the first block after the opening keynote, which turned out to be great. Everyone was awake and energized and eager to learn. I greeted everyone as they arrived and asked if there was anything specific they were interested in learning. That gave me a chance to figure out ways to make sure the presentation met their needs.

The description in the program promised that there would be time for two or three people to be guinea pigs: stand in...

Public Speaking for Shy Authors

Public Speaking for Shy Authors
Apr 20, 2017 by Victoria Noe
thebigrocks.com

There are a lot of shy authors out there. They just want to sit at their computer and write. They might be willing to be active on social media, but the thought of being in public terrifies them. In fact, there's a name for it: glossophobia.

It’s not that they have anything to be ashamed of: their books are good, even great. They have fascinating stories to share about their writing process, their travels and their challenges. But give a reading...in public..in front of...people? No way. Unless you’re J.D. Salinger, this is not a good strategy.

Several years ago I was at a writing conference. I grabbed a seat near the stage because I was excited to finally...