Joan in the Press!
J.L. Regen is an author living and breathing her work!
The following article, How To Become An Authorpreneur, which I authored, has been published in the September 2025 issue of Working Writer:
How to Become an Authorpreneur
by Joan Ramirez
You’ve written several books—
nonfiction or fiction.
Now you want to add the title:
Authorpreneur.
If you’re doing nonfiction or fic-tion, please follow these steps.
This is the abbreviated version to get you started.
For further reference, I invite you to refer to The Write Rules by Joan Ramirez,
my handbook that goes from A to Z on a variety of issues involved in
opening your own enterprise as an author.
How to Speak in Front of an Audience
These are universal rules:
1. If English isn’t your native
language, please do read your pre-
sentation on your book out loud
to hear how it sounds and dictate
it into a recorder. Listen for any
mispronunciation of words.
You don’t want to discourage any po-
tential clients sitting in the audi-
ence. After your presentation, you
want them to run up to you and
get your email and phone to fol-
low up for a consultation.
2. Research your host so you
don’t embarrass yourself by
preparing a presentation for your
book that is not spot on regarding
who and what they represent.
3. Ask for a list of attendees to
follow up with an email that says,
“Thank you for coming to my
talk. I look forward to hearing
how I can be of assistance to
you.” Don’t overwhelm your
prospects with brochures. Leave
a flyer on the back table so they
have something to refer to—short
but meaty.
4. Appearance counts: This isn’t
casual Friday at the office. Wear
a suit and tie for the men. Wear a
business suit and plain pumps for
the women.
5. Bring copies of your books
and put them on the back table
along with business cards but
don’t push sales. The most im-
portant aspect of speaking is to
generate a mailing list, to start.
You can always pitch your book
in follow up emails.
6. Jot down questions that
weren’t asked, or you didn’t have
time to answer and email them to
attendees with your follow-up
note.
7. Most important of all regard-
ing speaking: Stand up straight,
scan the room so people know
you care about everyone in it, and
don't grip the lectern for dear life.
Also have a bottle of water as
your throat will get dry and can
affect your volume and tone of
voice.
How NOT to Follow Up
1. Don’t call or email the next
day. Wait at least a week. I’ve
had leads come six months later.
2. Do send a flyer with your list
of services. If prospects want your
fees, let them ask you in a follow-
up email or phone call, and be
certain to describe each of your
books so they know which one is
right to suit their needs.
3. For fiction, you’ll be asked
to speak on a topic related to your
book so please do not say you
can speak on anything. This will
not get your toe in the door, espe-
cially if you want to get paid for
your talk. Be specific and always
tailor your presentation to the
needs of your client. For example,
one of my novels is a contempo-
rary romance about taking a sec-
ond chance on love. I would
present to widow/widowers, those
for whom marriage wasn’t an op-
tion at an earlier age, and divorced
people who are on/off the fence
about taking the plunge again.
TARGET your talks.
How to present your book
theme online
1. First, give a one-sentence
summary that describes what
readers will find of use to them in
your book. For my entrepreneuri-
al/business communications hand-
book, it would be "How to present
your topic in clear, concise lan-
guage." People don’t have time to
read a lot. So again, make it short
and meaty.
2. Give a brief Table of Con-
tents with a few words to describe
each section. You don’t want to
offer too much. The idea is to
capture their interest.
3. Give the website address and
invite them to sign up for your…
“A thought leader and mentor to all aspiring writers.”
“The Write Rules”
Joan has compiled a fine communications guide. If you're looking for a concise reference to help you with your verbal and written communications skills, The Write Rules is for you."
— Steve, ESL teacher
"This book gives clear writing guidelines--keep it concise and simple.
— PE— Kelly, Engineer
Joan spoke to P.S. 97 in Queens