Book Launch Party to Reach the Stars

The masterpiece of literature that you just published won’t move off the shelf by itself. You need to let the world know that it is out there. This is where the book launch party comes into play; it was the first major action I undertook to reach my goal of selling 200 copies of my book, Frankenstein’s Science Project. “Moving forward” on actions identified in your action plan represents the first M in the DREAMS Cycle ™ as discussed in previous posts.

Publicist, publishers and marketers will tell you that the book launch is the culmination of a sustained effort to market your book before it is available for broad distribution. The Book Launch Party is that fun event that celebrates your accomplishment of having published your book. It is part of a publicity campaign. The book launch party for an author is a bit like a wedding party. You invite all your friends and family to celebrate a major achievement. Here are a couple articles on book launch parties: Writer’s Digest and The Book Designer.

With my limited time and budget, my book launch party was more on the low key side. These are the elements I considered.

Timing

I selected a time for the party that was going to insure that my book would be available for purchase on Amazon. I estimated this would take 6-8 weeks after I officially approved the proof from the publishing platform I used, Lulu. It actually only took three weeks for Amazon to carry my book. I chose the Saturday afternoon after Easter to ensure my friends and family would be available. The actual event was from 2 to 3 pm.

Location

There are different places to hold a book launch party. Common locations include a book store, a hall, or in my case a library. I chose the local library branch as people in my neighborhood are familiar with it. The advantage of the local library is that you can rent a decent meeting room for little money. I only paid $37.50 for a two-hour window to allow for the set-up, the 1-hour party, and the clean-up. The disadvantage is that at the branch I was, they did not really care and I was not even allowed to advertise anywhere in the library.

Promotion

I had a date and I had a location, now I needed to get people there. I created an 8-1/2 color poster that I could send around by email or to post at various locations.

To add to the appeal of a book launch party for a kid’s Frankenstein book, I linked it to the 200^th Anniversary of the original Frankenstein’s book by Mary Shelley.

I sent out emails to family and friends, as well as parents of my children’s friends. I sent out about a dozen of those invitations. I also sent along paper copies with my two youngest kids so that they could bring it to their classmates. My wife was even more diligent than me and sent out more than a dozen invitations. I posted the advertising on a communal board at work. I sent out the invitation to the local community newspaper. Unfortunately, as the posters were sent out too late for their publishing date, they were not included in time.

I posted the event on Eventbrite. That is a great site as it is free to post if there is no charge to attend the event. I also posted on a couple of online local events pages for Ottawa. These events posting however did not bring anyone to the launch as I knew everyone that showed up for the launch. One person inquired about the event beforehand, but in the end did not show up.

Inventory

Before the event, I needed to ensure that there would be enough copies of the book to sell at the launch. I already had a dozen copies so I ordered another 20 from Lulu. With over 30 books, I figured I had enough for a 1-hour event.

Script

The last thing I needed to prepare was my presentation and speech. I had initially thought that I could present a video trailer for the book, but in the time I had, I could not produce the quality video that I wanted, so I dropped that idea. I then settled for a short speech followed by a reading. The speech was on the genesis for my Frankenstein book and the efforts of trying to get it published through traditional publishers. I thanked people who made the book possible like my wife, my editors and my kids. I made this light and funny going as far as including some Frankenstein Jokes. I then read Chapter 4 of the book, which is my favorite, and the same one I had read at the Ottawa Independent Writers Reading Night.

Event day

The day of the event, I was nervous that no one would show up. I had tempered my expectations hoping for a dozen people and selling 10 books. The library had no signage and we were not allowed to post anything the day of the launch. The librarian was not even aware there was an event that day.

With the help of my wife, my kids, my sister, brother-in-law, nephew, niece, we set up a table where my books were displayed and where people could buy a copy. I also had a box for people to put their names in for a free copy of the book. We set up a table with juice box drinks and the cake. The book launch also gave me an opportunity to sell a memoir of my running, Take10 and Reach the Boston Marathon.

As family and friends showed up with their kids, I felt blessed to have such supportive people surrounding me. Friendly neighbors even showed up, and even a friend of my sister. About 25 people showed up.

As I welcomed people and started my speech, held firmly in my hand, my wife at the back of the room gestured with her hands to slow down. When I am nervous, I tend to speak softly and fast. After my 15 minutes presentation, jokes and the reading of Chapter 4, I signed some books and talked to as many people as I could. We also cut the cake and handed it out.

In the end, I sold 15 copies of Frankenstein’s Science Project at $10 each and four copies of Take 10 and Reach the Boston Marathon, also at $10 each. I made $190 that day. Considering the cost of the book at $5.62 and the cost of the room and food, I made a profit of about $40.

Post-Party

Following the launch party, my sister, bless her heart, bought 15 copies of the Frankenstein book for a charity that gives books to underprivileged kids. I also sold two additional copies of the book to people at the event who did not have cash at the time.

The book launch is also meant to generate excitement about your book, so I posted a picture on my Facebook author page of me reading during the launch party.

Although nowhere comparable to my wedding day, the book launch party was the highlight of my writing days. I highly recommend it, even if it is just to celebrate a major accomplishment like self-publishing your book.