An Author Speaking Gigs Primer, Part 1 of 3

An intro to how any author can progress from Toastmasters to speakers bureaus and make income along the way

Photo by Vanilla Bear Films on Unsplash.

Extrovert or introvert. Enthusiastic amateur or noted expert. Informal and intimate or polished and charismatic. Authors, regardless of temperament or approach, if you have something of value to share with others and can put together a solid program for delivering it, you can start making money as a speaker. Oh, you’ve written a book? You have a boatload of value to share.

Before you write this off as not for you, I want to call your attention to some specific things in the above paragraph:

• Regardless of temperament. Public speaking doesn’t have to come easy or naturally to you. If you can get to a place of your voice not quivering (too much); where you can speak at a pace, volume, and clarity level for others to understand you (most of the time); and you can smile, make eye contact, and take questions with composure (decently enough), you can start.
• Something of value. This is wide open. Value can be general or specific; entertainment, inspiration, knowledge, nostalgia; a breezy survey or a deep dive; how-to, interactive, lecture, or any useful format of choice. I’d wager good money that you have something of value…