Be Your Best Reader

For the most part, if you write, you are going to have to read what you've written to a crowd. And yet, I find the large majority of writers rather poor at reading their work. I understand that it is largely a matter of fear (public speaking being our number one fear), but you need to get over it. People may love your writing a great deal, but if they find the author read their own work poorly, it takes away the power of the writing.

The best way to get over your fear is to get into your writing. When you write, you take care of your words. They move with a given pace. They flow from one to the next. There are accents and pauses, pits and peaks, countless minute details that we are not even fully aware of. But as soon as you get in front of other people, all of that care goes out the window. You don't project your voice. You rush your words. You do everything you can to finish as soon as possible to get away from people's attention.

Take a break. Relax. Stop thinking about the audience. Pretend you are in the shower or in the park or wherever you feel safe and comfortable. Pretend that you are not just giving a performance, but are a part of the world. Tell the story the way your characters would tell the story. Similarly, read your work the way you would read to a child. They love theatrics. Entertain the child and you will entertain the crowd.

If nothing else, take some public speaking classes. You may learn a whole lot of things you didn't know. At the very least, you will get some experience out of the deal.

I will admit that writing words and speaking words are very different things. I will admit that it is very possible to be able to do one without being able to do the other. However, if you are the person writing the words, then there is nobody who could know how you want them to be said better than you. Use that position of power and give the best reading of your work possible.