Television Publicity: We Can Do Scary Things

 Hello, Shelley Burbank here, still in my home state of Maine and absolutely loving the fall foliage and glorious weather. Also "enjoying" a mini-publicity tour of two events in two weeks. Stressing the "mini" aspect because I know two events is really very modest. However, both events stretched me as an author and public speaker. 

Have you ever been interviewed on your local news? I hadn't. Not until this week when I was the guest author on WABI TV Channel 5's Book Club segment on the 4 o'clock news. I spoke with Brian Sullivan at the studio--my first time in a tv studio. Before my spot, I could see the meteorologist standing at the weather map in her dress and tall boots. So chic. So cool. 

Then I was escorted into the studio and mic'd up--yes a wire run under my sweater and little mic attached to the collar. I had a quick 12345 soundcheck for my voice and after a bit of small talk to warm up, we were live on the air. Brian asked me questions, and I was able to sound somewhat coherent on the topic of my Olivia Lively series and synopses of each of the two novels and the upcoming novella. 

In 3.5 minutes, it was over. Watch the whole clip at https://www.wabi.tv/2025/10/02/mystery-womens-fiction-author-discusses-olivia-lively-mystery-series/

Here I am before the interview with PR guru, Melissa Gerety of BookMarks-Maine. She sets up the Book Club interview schedule, and I am so thankful for her because I never would have reached out to my hometown TV channel on my own. I grew up in Bangor, Maine. Yes, I know the world's most famous horror author also lived in town. Stephen King sightings were rare, but thrilling. Also, if you haven't read Tabitha King's Nodd's Ridge series of books, you are missing out! 

You can follow BookMarks-Maine on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bookmarksmaine and Facebook. 

This wasn't my only event this month. Last week I spoke at the South Freeport Church's author luncheon. They hold these four times a year, and I heard that the last speaker was none other than Tess Gerritsen. Tess. Gerritsen! Okay, that was also intimidating, but the people were so welcoming and kind. They served a fantastic lunch, and then I spoke about external versus internal storylines and how to create a character arc over a series. 

Members of the Freeport Woman's Club also attended and took this lovely photo. If I lived in Freeport I would certainly join both these groups. I had such a good time talking with everyone about Olivia Lively.

Both of my recent events caused me a little bit of stress. It's been awhile since I've had a public speaking engagement. But, my friends, we can do hard things. 

This is the lesson I'm taking from the tv interview and the author talk. I can be scared. I can prepare. I can practice. I can think deeply about what I want to say and the best way to say it. I can mess up. But the important thing to remember is, I can do hard things. I will survive them. And sometimes I might even surprise myself and do better than I expected. 

And so can you! 

Proofing and Public Speaking

By Johnny D. Boggs

Yesterday was one of those days I dread.

First, I had to get the final proof of a forthcoming novel for Kensington titled Longhorns East – shameless self-promotion – back to the production manager.

That’s never fun. Well, it’s fun to know that you’ll have a book coming out – in September – but that also leads to all sorts of stress.

Did I hit my goal? … Am I catching everything that needs fixing? … Does it read the way I want it to read. … Bigger question: Will anybody actually want to read this? I mean, it’s about a cattle drive to New York City and it opens in 1840 England! … It’s also my first original trade paperback. If the sales aren’t there, that’s when novelists get dropped.

There’s no job security in this business.

And you never know what the reading public will like and buy.

For me, the deadline for final corrections is more nerve-racking than the deadline for filing the manuscript. I’m confident that copy editors and main editors will catch the silly mistakes, question the parts that need questioning, offer erudite suggestions (or orders) and turn what I’ve written into something better.

But once I send in the final fixes, it’s all over but the worrying.

And then there was the rest of the day.

I had to give a talk for the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library on the newest nonfiction book, American Newspaper Journalists on Film: Portrayals of the Press During the Sound Era (McFarland), at the Santa Fe Woman’s Club.

I know. It’s not that big of a deal. And I speak in public often. Have for decades. I’ve acted in theater (still waiting for some company to announce auditions for Mary Chase’s Harvey (Elwood P. Dowd or any part!), Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s Inherit the Wind (the Reverend Jeremiah Brown) or Sam Shepard’s True West (either brother, but I’ll do the producer, too). I’ve been a talking head on documentary television shows. I get interviewed by newspaper reporters and magazine writers fairly often.

Besides, this is a library fundraiser, and I’ll do anything to help libraries. But then, paranoid as most authors are, I worry about trivial things like How Many People Will Show Up (maybe more this time, since they serve alcohol) … What Kinds Of Questions Will They Ask? … And I have to give a talk. Keep them entertained. Remember not to say anything that will turn them off. But what if they don’t laugh at my jokes?

High pressure. Maybe even more pressure than writing a Western novel that opens in England and focuses on a pre-Civil War cattle drive from Texas to New York City.

It’s a lot less stressful sitting in a room all day just typing ... with nothing to disturb you but doggies that demand attention and spam telephone calls that interrupt your train of thought.

But – and I tell every beginning author this when I’m speaking to beginning authors (which I have to do March 26 for New Mexico Writers):

It’s part of the job.