Believe
Hosting Your Own Book Launch
The Invitation
Your book launch is a big deal. I worried about mine for months. Given that we were in the middle of a pandemic, I knew that it would have to be an online event. Part of me was relieved that I wouldn't have to read in front of a group of potential strangers at a location I had never been to before. However, the other part of me was concerned about the technology and that there would potentially be even more people watching because of the convenience of attending virtually. Worst of all—the live event would be RECORDED—for all the internet to see!!
But, in the end, it turned out great, and I was so proud.
Here is what you need to do . . .
Build Suspense
If people are asking when they will be able to purchase your book, hint at approximately when the book launch will be and share what needs to happen before you can formally commit to a date. Until then, include them in the excitement. Post about what you are up to and how you feel and respond to their comments. Build a buzz.
Set Up Your Facebook Event
About a month before your book launch, you can finally announce the details of your book launch. Before you do, however, you will need to set up a Facebook Event through your Facebook author page.
Set the date, time, and location that work for you, but also choose a date and time that should be good for most others as well. Prepare some imagery and text and share it with those on your Facebook author page.
Announcement
The invitation to your book launch should be appealing and in the genre of your book. Make your audience curious.
Most people will not have been to a book launch before. It is a pretty neat opportunity for them too. Even though it is at a time most people can attend, let it be known that they will be able to watch the recording afterward if they can’t make it. Get people excited!!
Book Trailer
A week before the book launch, it is fun to share a book trailer to create some additional anticipation around your book.
A book trailer is a fun thing to do to build interest in the upcoming release of your book. First, gather pictures from WordSwag and upload them to the iMovie app on your phone, select music, and add text.
Reminder to Sign Up
A few days before the release of your book, post a reminder to ensure people remember to sign up to attend the book launch. Facebook will send a reminder, to those who have signed up, 15 minutes before the event starts.
Test Event
Set Up a Test Event
A day or two before your launch, set up a test event just as you did for the actual book launch.
Because I was planning on having the book launch on our back deck, I did my test event there as well. I set my phone horizontally on our old music stand and experimented to find the distance that was comfortable for me—not so close that all the camera could see was my face, but not so far away that I couldn’t read the comments.
By testing in the same location ahead of time, you can ensure your WiFi connection is strong and you can figure out when you need to press Record so that you can capture it for others to see afterwards. Besides, you will want a memory of this event, even if it is hard to watch yourself. (Who likes to see themselves speak on camera? Not me.)
Tip: You will want to give your guests a minute to log in. While waiting, have a plan of what you want to say to welcome them. For example, you could ask people to type where they are joining from in the chat. It gives you a chance to calm the nerves and start having some fun.
Sign Up Test
Have someone agree to do the test event with you. Ensure they sign up by clicking Going on the Facebook Event invitation.
Reminder
Did your guest receive the reminder 15 minutes before the start of the event?
Time Zone
Check that the time zone is accurate.
Test Event Video – Record It!
Go live.
What is Your Message?
Do a short live video explaining that this is a test run and that you are excited about the upcoming launch, on Date and Time. Mention that you will be doing a book reading, answering some questions, and having a book giveaway. And if they would like a signed copy of your book, they can request it through your website sign-up form!
Speaking Notes
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Contact Form for Signed Copies
By letting people know that they can sign up for signed copies through a form on your website, you will increase your mailing list. This can also be used as a form of pre-sale, so you may wish to promote it through social media ahead of time as well.
Information to Include
Please let me know if you would be interested in a signed copy of Northern Escape.
To order yours, go to www.cindyfolkauthor.com/books and fill out the form there.
Note: My contact form is no longer on my website, but /Books was the location where I had put it.
Contact those who have signed up and make arrangements for them to e-transfer you the cost of the book.
Note: Shipping in North America is approximately $15/book so if someone requests a signed copy and they live outside a comfortable driving distance, you will have to let them know that you are happy to sign and send their book to them, but that there will be an additional shipping charge.
Feedback
Confirm that your test guest was able to watch as expected. Ask them to give feedback on sound and video quality from their end.
Tip: The Facebook Live Event will be published to your author page after the event. You will be prompted to press a button at the end of the event to enable that. You may also delete the recording afterwards as well.
Preparation
I’m not going to lie, I was nervous about this, but preparation and practice really helped.
Secret #1 – Ask Someone to Host
Consider inviting someone to host the book launch with you. It is helpful to have someone to talk to during the live recording since you can’t easily interact with your audience. Comments come rolling in, and that is fun, but it is good to have someone introduce you and lead the chat.
I asked my niece, Rebecca, to help me, and I am so glad I did.
I sent her the agenda and my notes a few days ahead of time to give her some time to think about what she would want to say as well.
Prepare Your Agenda
This was the agenda for my book launch.
Northern Escape Book Launch
A Facebook Event
Wednesday, June 23rd
7:00 – 7:30PM
Agenda
Welcome
Readings
Give Away Time!
Question and Answer
Thanks for Coming!
Make Notes
For each item on the agenda, I prepared some notes on what I wanted to say. Although I didn’t want to read the notes word for word, they were helpful to collect my thoughts, ensure I talked to what I thought was important, and let Rebecca know what I had in mind.
Welcome
Thank you for coming to support my Auntie Cindy’s book launch for Northern Escape
We are here on her back deck with some friends, enjoying the sun; thanks to everyone for coming
It is her first book . . .
It is set in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario . . .
o A woman escapes an abusive relationship and goes into hiding at a fishing lodge with a group of people that are participating in an artist’s retreat . . .
o Two men are looking for a friend who leaves a trail of messages in geocache boxes
o Maybe read the back of the book?
So, we are going to do a question and answer in a little bit to address some of the questions Auntie Cindy has been asked already. These may be the same questions that others have be wondering about, but first she is going to read a little from her book!
Auntie Cindy is now going to read a couple of excerpts from her book, Northern Escape.
Prologue
Finding the geocache box
When she jumps off the cliff (if there is time)
Tip: I moved this to the start of the book launch because I found that when I practiced reading out loud, it calmed me.
Next, we are going to do a give-away!!
· Everyone who said they would be attending today has had their name put into the Wheel of Names
· The giveaway is for a free paperback book
· In fact, we are going to give away three books today
Giveaway Time!
The Wheel of Names is a fun way to do a giveaway. Simply enter the names of the people who said they would be attending or were interested in attending the book launch ahead of time.
You may want to put the names into a word document and email it to your host, as your phone will be busy during the live broadcast. This is also useful in that if you have any technical difficulties, you can forward the email to someone else who is attending the book launch in person and have them copy/paste the list into the Wheel of Names.
Q & A
Start with questions that you have been asked.
Why did you want to write Northern Escape? How long did it take you to write it?
I’ve always loved writing and had a real desire to accomplish . . . something that was unique and mine, but I didn’t know what that was
I think it was October 2015 that I had a conversation with a friend of the family who told me about Nanowrimo
· Nanowrimo is . . .
· It’s what I needed – a specific goal and a deadline
· So, I wrote 50,000 words in the month of November 2015
· I took a couple of months off, then I read it through and began to edit it chapter by chapter
· I finished the first version of Northern Escape in October of 2016
· I shared it with family and friends, got some feedback, and incorporated some of those suggestions
· From there, I submitted it to the Saskatchewan Writer’s Guild and worked with their feedback as well
· I improved it here and there but didn’t spend much time on it until this past September when I submitted it to Shayla Raquel, my editor
· So, although it’s taken almost six years to get to this point, I think it could be done in a year or two
Have you experienced the things that happen in the book?
Mostly I’ve experienced the settings. I found it easiest to write when I put the story in places I have been. So, yes, I’ve experienced the northern lakes of Ontario and Saskatchewan, campfires, the bed and breakfast that is in the first chapter of the book, and Ottawa, where the early part of the book takes place, but the situations found in the book, no, the actual events in the story have not happened to me
Northern Escape touches on domestic abuse, drug abuse, and mental health issues. I wanted to write about them because I’ve seen how they have affected people I’ve known or known of and I hoped that by writing about them, it might help someone, somehow.
You self-published. Why did you choose that route?
I self-published because I had no desire to approach publishers, wait, and be turned down. Being a ‘published author’ wasn’t really part of my dream
I wanted to write a book and I figured if I didn’t share, what was the point?
I had read that any author, whether they publish through the traditional route or do it on their own, were required to create a website and use social media, like Instagram or Facebook, to let people know about it, so what I have done is the first step, regardless
I wanted to be in complete control of the process and I don’t feel as though I would have been if I had gone through a traditional publisher. Besides, I have learned a ton this year and it has been good for me
I came across Shayla’s book, The 10 Commandments of Author Branding, and she made the process pretty simple and clear
· She said over and over that you have to be yourself, and that felt right
· She also had a sense of humour and seemed like the type to cut to the chase, which I appreciate, so I approached her to edit my book
· She recommended a few cover designers and a few interior formatters and based on what I saw on their websites, I chose Monica Haynes of thethatchery.com to do the cover and Melinda Martin for the interior formatting
· I couldn’t be happier with all three of them; they were super professional and did a great job
How can we get a book?
Through Amazon
o The paperback is $19.97, and the e-book is $0.99 this week only
If you would like a signed copy, let me know
o Direct message me through Facebook and we can get that arranged
Don’t forget to record and post it everywhere!
MY BOOK LAUNCH
Here is a link to my book launch. As nervous as I was, I am really pleased with how it turned out.
WHERE WILL YOU HOLD YOUR BOOK LAUNCH?
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SET YOUR AGENDA
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WHAT IS YOUR STORY?
Think about your writing story. Why did you start writing? How long have you been writing for? What have you learned?
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WHAT QUESTIONS HAVE YOU BEEN ASKED?
When you talk with people about your story or writing, what do they want to know?
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Practice, Practice, Practice
The best advice I have for a smooth book launch is to practice what you want to say. Not only should you write it down, preferably in bullet points, but you should practice out loud a few times. I did this over my lunch breaks at home because that was when my house was quietest. I also practiced in the car.
As I am not chatty, and rarely speak to a group, hearing myself speak for any length of time was strange, especially as it was a presentation rather than a conversation. Through practice, I was able to address my discomfort with this and get used to it.
And I reminded myself that people are interested in what I have to say. Writing a book is cool and they want to know all about it.
Post Launch Activities
And when the party is over, there are a few things you will want to do.
Rankings
Watch the Amazon rankings at the end of the book launch. It was so fun to see Northern Escape move up the charts and sit beside famous authors.
Take screen shots because this is short-lived unless your book really takes off!
These were the best rankings that I could find on Amazon.ca during launch week. It’s pretty exciting when you see your book next to the likes of Dean Koontz and Lucy Foley.
Books
#333 in Books
#31 in Contemporary Women’s Fiction
#36 in Suspense
#18 in Psychological Thrillers
Kindle Store
#2348 in Kindle Store
#2830 in Suspense
#3511 in Contemporary Women’s Fiction
#5296 in Suspense
#3 in Canadian Literature
#16 in Sports Fiction
#862 in Psychological Fiction
#64 in Women’s Sleuth Mystery
Signed Copies
Deliver the signed copies to those who had requested them via the form on your website. Ensure you have received payment from everyone.
Build a Buzz
Ask that people to send a picture of themselves with your book either through email, text, or direct message via Instagram or Facebook. Ask them for permission to post on your Instagram and Facebook account so that you can promote the book that way as well. People really engaged with this and it was so fun!
Metrics to Watch:
- Going/Interested
- Attended
- Rankings
Which Path Will You Choose?
Circle Your Decision.
A – Host a Virtual Book Launch
B – Host an In-Person Book Launch
Notes, Insights & Your Answers to the Exercises
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