Support for Indie Authors discussion

Hi everyone,
Lately I´ve been the visiting author at book clubs that have read my novel.
I have several booked for this year and I´m considering bringing "Book club discussion questions" to my next appearance.

What do you think? Would it be a good idea to think of questions that would be good for discussion. Is this something that you have done? I often wish that participants had asked certain questions and feel like we missed an important discussion by it not being brought up. This would be a way for us to have deeper discussions.

I´d appreciate your advice.
Thank!

I've never visited a book club before, but I did have a book club read one of my books a while back and they were hoping there would be questions to discuss. I think some of them visited my website, but at that time I didn't have any book club questions. I have since written questions for each of my books (I think around 8-10 questions for each one) which are available on my website.

As I haven't visited a book club before I can't contribute much advice about that, although my instinct would be that it can't hurt to have thought of some questions and take them with you, then you could use them or not use them, whatever seems right when you are there :)

L.K. wrote: "I've never visited a book club before, but I did have a book club read one of my books a while back and they were hoping there would be questions to discuss. I think some of them visited my website..."

Thank you so much. I didn´t even think to put them on my website. That´s a great idea. Can I find yours through your profile? I would love to take a look at yours if you don´t mind?

Found them now. I really like how you did that! And thank you again for your advice.

Helen wrote: "L.K. wrote: "I've never visited a book club before, but I did have a book club read one of my books a while back and they were hoping there would be questions to discuss. I think some of them visit..."
I did not think to do questions at the end of my paperback novel, but since that is quite popular these days, I did put some in when I created the kindle version. I looked at samples in a couple of books I'd read, and also did a google search that addresses it and gives examples. I also have them to send out via my FB author page.

Carmel wrote: "Helen wrote: "L.K. wrote: "I've never visited a book club before, but I did have a book club read one of my books a while back and they were hoping there would be questions to discuss. I think some..."
Thank you!
You´re giving me great ideas. I have a pinned post on my facebook page about book clubs. I could post a link there to the questions on my page.

This is also a great way to be more prepared for this book club appearances which is nice.

Thank you!

Intersting idea, bringing questions to the book club. I guess it would depend on the book club and the type of book. For me, when I've been asked to join a book club that has read my books, they have a lot of questions ready for me. At some, they've been just as curious about me and my writing as they have been about the books. I've asked questions of them, what they like and don't like about the book, that sort of thing, but don't know if I'd be comfortable driving too much of the discussion by having too much prepared ahead of time.

Margaret wrote: "Intersting idea, bringing questions to the book club. I guess it would depend on the book club and the type of book. For me, when I've been asked to join a book club that has read my books, they ha..."

Thanks. There's always that too, a risk that I'd be overdoing it and not give them a chance to ask what they want.
Maybe I'll put a few together to have on hand if groups get stuck and can't think of anything to ask. But not use it unless I need to.
I've had the same experience as you that people ask me a lot about me and the process. But afterwards it happens that I feel that they missed something and wished it had come up.

I haven't been invited to or asked about book clubs yet, but I'm hoping to jump on that bandwagon with the 2 books I have coming out this year. I went ahead and came up with some questions for "The Visconti Devils," created a .pdf of it and posted a link to it on my blog. You can take a look at it, even print it out if you want. I think if you click on my profile, a link to my blog should be there somewhere. Once there, click on the tab "Media Room."

Ria wrote: "I haven't been invited to or asked about book clubs yet, but I'm hoping to jump on that bandwagon with the 2 books I have coming out this year. I went ahead and came up with some questions for "The..."

Thank you! I´d love to take a look.

Helen wrote: "Ria wrote: "I haven't been invited to or asked about book clubs yet, but I'm hoping to jump on that bandwagon with the 2 books I have coming out this year. I went ahead and came up with some questi..."
Can I post a link here? It's [my first and last name] dot com.

Ria wrote: "I haven't been invited to or asked about book clubs yet, but I'm hoping to jump on that bandwagon with the 2 books I have coming out this year. I went ahead and came up with some questions for "The..."

I´m sorry, but I didn´t find the blog link, would it be ok to post it here?

Helen wrote: "Ria wrote: "I haven't been invited to or asked about book clubs yet, but I'm hoping to jump on that bandwagon with the 2 books I have coming out this year. I went ahead and came up with some questi..."

Great minds think alike! We both posted about the same thing at the same time. Got it. Thank you.

Helen wrote: "Margaret wrote: "Intersting idea, bringing questions to the book club. I guess it would depend on the book club and the type of book. For me, when I've been asked to join a book club that has read ..."
I think that would be the perfect solution! Have it in case the discussion lags, but let them ask what they want to know. May I ask you, and others, how you got attached to book clubs? I've run into issues of etiquette around even contacting them to ask about interest, despite readers telling me it would make for great discussion. Any advice there would be appreciated.

Thanks Margaret, I think so too.

I have a pinned post on my Facebook page about book clubs and I offer to visit via Skype which makes my audience much broader.
My book is about a specific subject and historical so it´s rather easy to promote myself by e-mailing historical organizations. (At 50 soon, I´ve finally learned not to be shy anymore.)
Some book clubs come organically when someone read my book and wanted to discuss it with their friends.

Helen wrote: "Thanks Margaret, I think so too.

I have a pinned post on my Facebook page about book clubs and I offer to visit via Skype which makes my audience much broader.
My book is about a specific subjec..."
Super. More for me to learn, but greatly appreciate the ideas.

Anytime!
And thanks to everyone here that helped me brainstorm.

I have 10 book club questions at the end of my novel, just in case anyone wanted them. I've never attended a book club meeting in person, but I've done panels at cons, and having a few questions prepared ahead of time is a great way to start off a discussion if they're not sure where to begin. Also, I think it's best to let members drive the conversation for the most part, but always have the questions in your back pocket in case things slow down, so there's no awkward silence while you're trying to think of something to say off the top of your head. :D

Thank you Lynn!
I haven´t done panels or cons. That sounds fun. How do you go about finding them?

No problem, Helen!

You can do a web search for cons in your area, especially if they're related to some aspect of your book--I do geeky/gaming cons since my book features those kinds of characters. Once you find one, their websites are usually pretty good at outlining the procedures for submitting panel ideas and/or getting a table in the marketplace/artist alley. They typically set up months in advance of the actual dates though, so watch out for that!

Thank you! Are these usually affordable?
I looked at a few marketplace things during the holidays but it was too expensive.
Thanks for the heads up about doing it in time!

Small town book fairs are typically the cheapest events, but cons can get pretty pricey. Tables can run you $100-400, or sometimes more (make sure you opt for Artist Alley over Marketplace if there's that option, as that's always cheaper,) but the profits from your sales can help offset that.

If you can go in on a table with other authors in your genre, it makes it a lot more affordable. Then you can also offer bundle deals, and the energy at your table tends to be higher, drawing more people. :D

Lynn wrote: "Small town book fairs are typically the cheapest events, but cons can get pretty pricey. Tables can run you $100-400, or sometimes more (make sure you opt for Artist Alley over Marketplace if there..."

Good idea. I live in New York City so as you can imagine it's outrageously high here. Though looking at smaller towns nearby is a great idea AND what a wonderful idea to offer bundle deals with someone else. Thank you!

I made sure to have a “Book Clubs” tab on my main navigational bar of my website. I provided a handful of discussion questions they can use if they’d like. It felt like by having only 5 to 6 questions, it left plenty of room for each club to come up with plenty of questions of their own. I did it soon after building my website as I saw that author, Jo Jo Moyes, put the questions directly in the back of her book. Seemed like a cool thing to offer readers.