Presentations
Tom has a number of presentations prepared for your school, library, or other organization. These can be altered to suit your needs, or a specialized program can be tailored for you. Every presentation concludes with a Q&A about any topics your audience requests. Tom is also available for conference panels and keynote addresses on a variety of topics. Contact him at tom(at)tomleveen.com.
Toil & Trouble: Using Theatre Techniques to Improve Your Dialogue
Dialogue is frequently cited as an author’s biggest challenge. With 22 years of theatre experience and critical praise for his spot-on dialogue, Tom shares a number of techniques taken from the perspective of an actor and director to polish your dialogue to a shine! (No performance or public speaking is required.)
Book Talk: Party
In this entertaining presentation, Tom covers his early attempts at finding agent representation, submission to agencies, and how PARTY came to be. Are the characters based on anyone you know? Did any of these events really happen to you? Why is [character X] such a [fill in the blank]? These questions and more are addressed with full disclosure and humor. Hand-in-hand with a discussion of the novel and path to publication, Tom encourages listeners to never let others determine the direction of their hopes and dreams. Perfect for junior high, high school, and aspiring writers of any age.
Publishing Your First Novel
How do you get a literary agent? What about e-publishing? How do you get an editor’s attention? What makes a marketable novel? Whether for the young adult genre or any other, the basics of submitting your novel to an agent or editor are the same. Tom shares his personal trials and successes, pitfalls and how to avoid them, and what elevates a good story to a great one. Perfect for writers’ groups, bookstores, and libraries.
