Last week I invited everyone to a series launch party my friends and I hosted for The Alchemical Tales. This week, I wanted to share how the party went, along with some advice for other authors who might be considering hosting a book party for the first time.
The first thing I have to say is: thank you so much to everyone who attended the party and helped to put it on! 😀
Like many authors, I tend to be a bit introverted (and also a worrywort) so I wasn’t at all sure what to expect when holding a book launch party. And it certainly didn’t help matters that a shipment of my books (which I had intended to have for sale at the party) was delayed in the mail and finally went out for delivery the morning of the party. I definitely had myself in knots over that. 😉 But in the end, everything went wonderfully. The beauty of having a series launch (along with having participated in several anthologies in the past year) was that I had a lot of books to sell and talk about, even if they weren’t the ones I’d had in mind (those ones showed up about three quarters of the way through the party . . . better late than never, right?). I spent most of my time talking to people individually and signing books, but I did also get up and talk about the series and do a reading of a particularly spooky scene.
Hands down, the best thing about the party was how supportive everyone was. Other authors–and readers who have a creative hobby or side hustle!–can probably relate: since so much of my writing and planning happens alone, I sometimes get awkward or tongue-tied when I have to describe what I do to real-life people. And since this series is in a funny little niche (cozy mystery/fantasy), I wasn’t totally sure what people would think. But at the party, people I never expected–both strangers and amazing friends–were as enthusiastic about it all as I was.
It was definitely the cherry on top of this “rapid release season,” and really made my inner child-who-wanted-to-be-a-writer say, wow, I think I did it.
Now, as for tips I would give to other authors considering hosting a book launch party . . .
- If you’re in charge of selling, definitely order extra copies of your book(s) with plenty of time to spare. Like seriously, a ridiculous amount of time to spare. 😉
- Don’t be afraid of a nontraditional venue. My party was at a historic house rather than a book store, and we were able to do a lot of decorating to personalize the space!
- Be prepared to answer these questions: would you recommend this as a gift for my niece/nephew/kids/parents/sister/etc, did you really do this all yourself (especially if you’re indie), and where would you recommend a reader start (particularly if you have a series or other short stories available too).
- Do a reading from your book! I may write a whole post about this in the future, but for now, aim for a passage that’s ten minutes or less, feels like a complete scene (or go for a purposeful cliffhanger, like I did, haha), and definitely practice beforehand. I actually had practiced two options: the first scene of book one, and a more suspenseful scene where the first body is discovered. I asked people which they wanted to hear, and they opted for suspense. 😀
- Relax and remember that everyone who shows up is rooting for you and your book, too. I saw this advice on the internet as I prepared for the party and thought huh, that’s nice, but didn’t really believe it until I was in the midst of my own party. It’s definitely true!
The bottom line: if you’re an indie author on the fence about having a party, go for it. Even if no one shows (which is doubtful, especially if you share an invitation with your friends and they know how much it means to you), it could still have positive effects that you weren’t expecting. (Putting my book launch on a local calendar of events got the attention of a local reporter, for example!)
I could ramble on, but since this is already a long post, let me just say: thank you again, to everyone who was there or who has been supportive in other ways. I might not be here without you!
