Your outfit

Feeling stumped about what to wear? Try the following tips:

-

 Choose a stylish outfit, keeping in mind the image you’re trying to convey.

For example, dress more formally for a business or news-oriented show

and casually for an upbeat morning show. Overall, try to dress along the

same lines as the host(s).

-

 Make sure that everything fits you perfectly and is wrinkle-free and looks

good on you — not just the mannequin in the store.

-

 Pay attention to colors and patterns. Never wear busy patterns or solid

white on television.

Your objective is to look good, not to make a fashion statement like those

celebrities waltzing down the red carpet at an awards show. If necessary,

think about what Joan Rivers would say about your outfit if she were to see

you on TV and rate your outfit like she does with celebrities. Would you make

her best or worst dressed list?

If you’re having trouble deciding on an outfit, read a few current issues of

fashion magazines and visit a store that offers a personal shopping service

to help you choose what you wear. You can also hire a personal stylist to

go shopping with you, if it’s absolutely necessary. But keep your budget in

mind! You can also find good advice from friends and coworkers.

Your accessories

When putting yourself together as a complete package, you may want to con-

sider extra accessories like shoes, hats, scarves, jewelry, and so on. Here are

a few things to consider when dressing up an outfit:

-

 Shoes: Shine your shoes and coordinate them with your outfit and

accessories, especially your belt. Don’t wear shoes that hurt your feet or

that you have trouble walking in just because they look good. Unless

you’re doing a comedy routine, you don’t want to trip on live television.

-

 Add-ons: The accessories you wear should all complement your outfit

and not be distracting. Make sure to wear things that are tasteful and

not overbearing from a visual standpoint. Examples include

• Hats: Refrain from wearing a hat. Hats hide your eyes and interact

funky with stage lights if you’re on TV.

• Glasses: Wear them for vision purposes only, not because you

think that you look ultra cool. If you wear prescription glasses,

either invest in antiglare lenses or wear contact lenses. Regular

lenses reflect TV studio lights, which can make you look bad.

• Jewelry: Choose items such as bracelets, necklaces, earrings, cuff

links, or tie tacks that are subtle and complement your outfit.

Jewelry that’s too sparkly or shiny can be distracting.Planning and promoting an event

A few weeks before your book’s release date, contact a few bookstores in

major markets and speak with the store manager about doing a book signing,

hosting a discussion, or making an author appearance. Most bookstore man-

agers welcome the opportunity to have authors visit their store because

these events drive traffic into the store.

It’s always easier to start booking appearances and author signings in your

local area, so contact the managers of local bookstores first. Depending on

how things go, you can always plan a more extensive book tour later (I cover

book tours later in this chapter).

When planning a book signing, make sure that you have an ample number of

copies of your books at the location, based on the anticipated turnout. Because

your book is self-published, it’s up to you to work with the bookstore to ensure

that enough books are on hand for your event and that your event is promoted

properly.

After you receive a commitment from one or more bookstores to participate,

supply the locations with fliers and/or posters to promote the event. Don’t

rely on the location to promote the event for you. They may not promote it

at all, or they could put up fliers that you don’t like. You should also contact

local media, particularly newspapers and radio stations, to get them to help

you promote the event in their calendar or event listings. (You can use some

of the press materials I describe in Chapter 18.) Being able to promote a book

signing when you’re a guest on a local talk radio show is also beneficial.

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