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Book Discussions are a great way to promote your books.

When you are writing questions for a book discussion packet, make sure that your questions will lead to discussion. Let the respondent think about their own perspectives and emotions. Make the questions personal – What do you think? How would you feel? Get the book discussion participant involved. Make the discussion interactive, a good discussion is not a lecture or a fact finding exercise.

Never ask yes or no questions and avoid needing answers that would rely on fact only Don’t ask, “In 1918 what length skirt did women wear?”; instead you might ask, “In 1918 when women were expected to wear ankle length skirts, what do you think would have been the reaction to modern day mini-skirts?”

The book discussion for my novel Bartlett’s Rule, a love story involving a rape survivor, includes questions like: What pressures does society place on men in relationships? How different are those pressures now in 2008 as opposed to, let’s say, the 1950’s?; Lon admits he has to rethink his view of rape when he learns that Paige was raped by an ex-lover and not a stranger with a weapon. Discuss different concepts of what is rape, what is sexual abuse?; and How do you think you would feel if your private life, particularly romance, was scrutinized by the paparazzi? How much does a public figure owe to the public and fans in terms of privacy? How much does the media have the right to report?

Whether it is you or someone, the discussion facilitator is ideally listening to the answers and letting them lead the dialogue. A discussion packet shouldn’t be a script. The questions and topics should trigger responses. When the moderator is actively listening she should be able to provide feedback and build on responses while still controlling the subject. For instance if the question “How much does the media have the right to report?” elicits a response about Princess Diana being pursued by paparazzi, steer the discussion into the pressures on Paige (character in the book) and how that may have influenced some of her decisions.

If you are the author, allow questions about your motivation for the story and never take anything personal if the audience has difficulty agreeing with a character’s response. Use that difficulty to ask how he would have handled the situation and why does he think the character looked at it differently. Always build on the answers to ask more. If you are not there in person, list questions that someone else can use as a guide.

And never worry if you don’t get to ask all of the questions because you ran out of time because the discussion was so lively.


Writing exercise: What is your most prominent memory from your childhood? Is it a happy or sad memory? How does that memory affect you today? Is there something you have or would change in your life today because of that memory? Write a few short paragraphs about that memory and how it makes you feel.

Writing prompt: A recent internet meme encourages you to discover your “porn star name” by combining the color of your underwear and the last thing you ate. What is YOUR porn star name? What kind of personality would go with that name?