Planning a Book Launch

I’m busy planning the launch for my new novel, Spring Into Danger, the fourth book in my Paula Savard Mystery Series set in Calgary. This will be my first in-person book launch in four and half years. I’d forgotten how much work it is to plan the event. No sooner do I check off an item on my to-do list, when five more tasks appear.

What is a book launch?

Basically, it’s a celebration for a new book. After months or years of writing, revising, and polishing every word, it’s time to party. Friends, relatives, acquaintances, fans, even strangers gather to mingle and cheer you on. Ideally, they’ll learn something about you and the book you’ve released to the world.

Choosing the Venue and a Date

The first step in planning a launch is choose a venue and a date that allows enough time for copies of the book to arrive from the printer. No one attending a launch is obliged to buy a book, but the host bookstore, if there is one, and the author hope they do. Launches and literary readings usually take place on weekday evenings to accommodate people with day jobs and weekend lives. I chose Thursday evening, September 21st, to make my launch the first out of the gate for the fall literary season and, with luck, catch a last burst of Calgary summer weather.

Owl’s Nest Bookstore hosted my four previous launches and I didn’t think twice about going with them again. Due to a COVID-19 wave, my launch two years ago had to move online. The first three launches were held at the bookstore, with great turnouts and a lot of fun. But shortly before the pandemic, Owl’s Nest cut their store area in half. There wouldn’t be space for all the people who might attend the launch for Spring Into Danger.

I considered other venues. Calgary’s central and Memorial Park libraries offer large and lovely meeting rooms, but city driving and downtown parking turn some people off. Another option would be a restaurant or pub with a room separate from the main patrons and their noise. This could save me money if guests order their own food, although some establishments charge for the private space. But from the start, I had my eye on The Treehouse at cSpace Marda Loop.

When my writing group, the Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society, moved from Inglewood to cSpace, I toured the innovative creative hub, which occupies the former King Edward School. I fell in love with fourth-floor Treehouse meeting room, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, outside deck, and views of Calgary and the mountains. I’ve attended writing workshops in the Treehouse, but never a party. I booked the space and can’t wait to show it off to my book launch guests.

Create Your Social Media

My second step was to create a Facebook Event page. This is simple to do and the page has buttons to invite all your Facebook friends. They click ‘going’ or ‘interested’ if they have any thought of attending. I use the discussion feature to make the page interactive. For friends and acquaintances not on Facebook, I created a launch invitation, which I emailed to them with a personal note. When they reply, I send a friendly response to maintain the personal touch.

The key is to invite everyone in your circles of acquaintances. You’ll be surprised by their interest. And keep it as personal as you can.  

Consider Printing Invitations

For my first launch, I printed invitations and handed them out to people I saw regularly in my daily life but rarely spoke with – neighbours, people in my gym classes, my favourite grocery store clerks. This resulted in conversations: “You’re a writer? I didn’t know that.” It prompted them to share things about themselves. Strangers rarely come to a launch, but some bought the book or took it out of the library. A few became fans.   

Notices and Newsletters

In addition to personal connections, I send notices to my writing groups to post in e-newsletters. Other types of groups might do this too. Since a launch is an event, the media might be interested, depending on the appeal of the book. In the past I’ve had profiles in the local newspaper the week before the launch and have approached the journalist again. No harm in trying.

Snacks, Wine, and Presentation

Aside from mingling and cheering, what happens at a launch? Usually there’s snack food, wine, and non-alcoholic drinks. I’ll have to purchase these, along with a $10 single event liquor license. A big task is to plan the program. Some authors hire entertainment or have friends play music at the event. As a minimum, most read from their book and answer audience questions. Staging an interview is popular and dynamic. You choose a compatible, perhaps noteworthy, person to pose questions and the two of you chat back and forth.

For my last two launches, I created power point presentations and really enjoyed doing them. I featured pictures of locations that inspired my novel and scattered short readings from the book through my talk, against relevant backdrops on the screen. I’ll be doing this again for Spring Into Danger and wrap up with audience questions. 

Door prizes can be fun. Everyone likes to get something for free. At my last launch I had a prize-winning contest. Attendees suggested titles for my next Paula novel and my husband chose the winner. Since Spring Into Danger is set during the first shutdown for the COVID-19, I’m preparing a COVID trivia quiz, but to keep things light I might let people call out answers and then have them randomly draw for prizes loosely related to the novel or mystery writing.  

Date and venue reserved: check. Invitations: check. Program: check. Food & Drink: check. Liquor license: check. Books arrived: check.

One final task: pray for beautiful weather during the waning days of summer.