Most authors are introverts. Our whole job is to sit alone with our laptops and invent make-believe characters to have conversations with rather than to have conversations with real life people!
But despite being far more at home on my couch and with my dog than other humans, I make one exception: meeting readers. Before I became a full time writer, I was a high school English teacher in a very rural area. Most of my students had never left the state—a few had never left the county—and nearly all of them felt like their only prospects for the future was farming. Having authors visit my classroom opened their eyes to so many possibilities of their future.
And so I knew, one of the most important things I wanted to do after publishing was classroom visits and library visits. And, as I was certain it would be, those visits have become some of the most important aspects of my career.
Visits always surprise me. Will this be an audience that’s more interested in my Star Wars books or my fantasy novels? Do they want to talk about craft or dream about possibilities? Are they curious about the process of publishing that will show them how writing is just a job like any other—like they could potentially have—or do they want to talk about specific scenes and learn about the art side of writing?
I never know what I’m going to get until I show up and start talking—and I love that about author visits! I have a wide variety of books under my belt now, and a wide variety of speaking engagements, so I like to think that I can pivot and meet any group’s needs. I have loved doing teaching gigs so much that I help run Wordsmith Workshops, a program for aspiring authors. Cristin Terrill and I travel the country setting up workshops to teach about the craft of writing and the business of publishing, and have done custom programs for high school and middle school students adaptable to one lesson or a whole unit.
Blending teaching and writing is the perfect blend of both my careers—teaching and writing. But nothing makes my introverted heart sing quite as much as being able to reach out and help pave the path for others the same way my teachers helped encourage me.
Beth Revis is currently scheduling both in-person and virtual school and library visits and conference appearances for the 2024-25 school. If you’re interested in hosting her and would like more information, please contact The Author Village.