Posted By 1st Turning Point Guest Columnist on December 3, 2009

Erin Quinn, Author

by Erin Quinn
1st Turning Point Guest Columnist
Copyright © 2009 Erin Quinn

Planning a book launch party can be easy and fun, but there a lot of moving pieces in the event, so if you’re going to do it, be sure to do it right.  I recently threw a launch party when Haunting Beauty was released in August and had a full house.  I was too busy signing to count heads, but it seemed that the crowd was happy, the champagne and chocolate were in surplus, and I sold a lot of books.

Here are ten things you should consider when throwing a book launch party:

1. Location, location, location: The where of the party is important to keep in mind.  Champagne gives the party an elegant touch, but if you serve any kind of alcohol, you eliminate having it at bookstores (no liquor license), so keep that mind when planning.  This means you either have to shell out the big bucks for a banquet room somewhere or you do it in your home.  For my party, I opted to do it in my home.  It gave the party a personal feel and allowed me to purchase the champagne at Costco rates instead of expensive banquet rates.  (You’ll want to have plenty of non-alcoholic beverages on hand as well.)
2. Food-Chocolate tempts almost everyone and your goal in this party is to make the event irresistible.  When planning on how much food to have, remember if you stick with rich desserts-like chocolate cakes, cheesecakes, truffles-you don’t have to plan it like a meal.  Even the most hard core chocolate lover can’t eat that much chocolate in one sitting.  Chocolates on dishes throughout the party and cakes served from a central location will do the trick.  If you can make a dessert centerpiece (chocolate fountain, for example), that also gives it an extra flair.  I have a very good friend (Robert Fuhriman Creations) who makes chocolates, and not only does he make incredible chocolates, he sits with me and plans a centerpiece that goes with my
   

   Robert Fuhriman Creations

   book.  In the picture is one of his masterpieces which depicts the mystical Book of Fennore which is a central part of my Haunting Series.  He even used dry ice to make it mist like it does in my story.

3. How many should you invite-book parties aren’t like other parties in that people come and stay all night.  Yes, you’ll have friends and neighbors who come and socialize, but your general reader will probably only stay for short amount of time, have a glass of champagne and some cake, and then leave.  Don’t panic if you RSVP list is so big that you don’t think they’ll all fit in your house.  First, not everyone who says yes will actually show, and second, they will come and go throughout the event.  I have some wonderful readers, so I invited anyone on my mail list who lives in Arizona.  If I were a bigger name and more famous, I might not have felt comfortable opening my house to strangers, but at this stage in my career, I have a fairly personal relationship with my readers, so I had no qualms about inviting them.  It was so exciting for me to meet readers who have been following my career since my first book.
4. Invitations-I sent out postcard invitations via regular mail to everyone invited (who I had an address for) and then I followed it up with an Evite.  I recommend doing both to anyone considering this type of party.  The postcards are cheap to print (I think I printed a few hundred for $25 bucks), and a mailed invitation is much more personal than just email.  However, keeping track of the RSVPs is difficult if it’s not done using Evite.  Plus, Evite allows mapping and reminders.  Even if you don’t get an RSVP from the postcard, you’ve given your reader something “in-hand” to take to the bookstore and remind them to buy your book.  I also recommend a guest book for people to sign and give you their address and emails-I forgot this at my last launch party and really wished I’d had it.
5. Help-this is the time to call in favors with friends and family.  You will not have time to be a hostess during this event.  You need someone (or several someones) to greet people at the door and show them where to go for drinks and food, pour champagne, serve the cake, clean up dirty dessert plates throughout the event, wash glasses and put them back into circulation, make sure you have plenty books at your table, take the money and make change.  Your only job during this party should be signing.  Do not think you can sign and take money too-it’s too much.
6. Timing-You want to time the party as close to your release as possible but allow for enough time for the shipment of books to arrive.  The first launch party I had, my books came the day before the party, and I was sweating bullets-worried that they wouldn’t make it in time.  You don’t want too much time in between release date and party, though, because then people will already have purchased the book.
7. Nerves-I’m always anxious at a book signing-probably because when my very first book came out and I did a signing, I was so exciting that I forgot everybody’s names.  I mean EVERYONE.  People I’d known and been good friends with for years I blanked on.  This fear of forgetting names has gotten worse over the years, and I usually get myself so worked up about it that it’s a given I’m going to draw a blank at least once or twice.  Just have a few prompts in mind when they come to your table (ex:  Do you spell your name different?  Which will usually prompt them to spell for you.  Just hope the name isn’t Sue or Bev J).
8. Cost-It’s not cheap to throw a book launch party, so you need to make sure you have a good turn-out and sell a lot of books.  Not only are you paying for refreshments, you’re also paying for the books up front.  The advantage is that you can order them during that first week of publication so they count as first week sales (which are important).  The disadvantage is you have to pay out of pocket and hope to recoup your costs later.  Plan on many of your guests buying multiple copies, though.  When they come, they will often buy a copy for their mother, sister, daughter, friend.  (God Bless them!)  If it’s near the holidays, don’t be shy about reminding them that autographed books make great stocking stuffers.
9. Pros of having a party-You are having an event which will facilitate the purchase of your book.  Many times, people will plan to buy your book, truly intend to buy your book, but never make it to the bookstore.  You are eliminating that middle man and getting your book in hands where it might not otherwise make it, and you are also making a big announcement, “MY BOOK IS OUT!” to everyone you know.  Often, it’s hard to be so bold about your book because you don’t want to put people in an awkward situation of feeling like they must buy your book-which, of course, is true-they must!  Inviting them to a party is a different animal, and even if they don’t make it to the party, they will, more often than not, go out and buy your book because you were thoughtful enough to invite them.
10. Cons of having a party-You are buying the books upfront and putting the cash out with no guarantee you’ll get it back.  And since you never want to return your own books, you keep what you don’t sell.  Also, if you’re inviting everyone you know to your book launch, you reduce attendance to any bookstore planned signings because your friends and family already have the book.  With my launch, I did only the book party and did not schedule in-store signings.  I sold 10 times the book at my party than I would have ever sold at multiple bookstore signings, but it is something to keep in mind as building relationships with bookstores is important.

If you’re planning a book launch party and you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out and ask questions.  You can find me at www.erinquinn.info (just click the contact button).

Haunting Warrior

By Erin Quinn

A past he couldn’t forget.

Rory McGrath’s life changed the night his father mysteriously vanished after uncovering the secrets of the ancient Book of Fennore. The trauma turned Rory from an innocent boy into a troubled, cynical man. Leaving Ireland, he shunned his family, his heritage—and the very magic that has defined his people for centuries.

A dream he couldn’t ignore.

Then the dreams begin…dreams of an ethereal beauty whose touch is more real that any he’s known. And in these dreams, she has a message—a calling for Rory to return home to a destiny that will take him beyond the realm of anything he imagined.

A woman he couldn’t resist.

Lured to the castle ruins where his father disappeared, Rory is plunged back in time, and into the body of another man—a man betrothed to the very woman of Rory’s dreams. In possession of the secrets of his past, his family, and his identity, her hold on Rory is inescapable. For she is his doom. His salvation. And his destiny.

Categories: E-press, Guest Columnist, Marketing, Newly published, Short story, Small press
Tags: book launch, book launch party, cake, Erin Quinn, menu, new release, Robert Fuhriman Creations