10 Tips for a Successful In-Person Book Launch Party

by Lori Hatcher @LoriHatcher2

Two years ago, I planned an amazing in-person launch party to celebrate the release of my first book with Our Daily Bread Publishing, Refresh Your Faith. The week before the event, our country went into COVID lockdown. I scrambled to put together a Facebook Live event instead. (You can read Ten Components of a Successful Facebook Live Launch Party HERE.)

Last week, glory halleluiah, we were able to celebrate the release of Refresh Your Prayers, my second book with Our Daily Bread, IN PERSON.

Since some of us (myself included) are out of practice hosting live events, I thought I’d share ten tips for a successful in-person launch party.

10 Tips for a Successful In-Person Book Launch Party

Ask a gregarious friend to emcee the event.

Having someone else up front frees you to greet people, sign books, and socialize. Provide them with an agenda to help the party stay on track and within the time frame.

Enlist a friend to handle book sales.

Train them in advance how to handle electronic transactions and supply them with cash for change. Have them ask each person who’d like you to inscribe a book to write the name on a sticky note to be sure you spell it correctly.

Solicit or purchase prizes for giveaways.

Everyone loves prizes, so be sure to have a few gift cards or book-related items to give away. Sometimes your publisher will provide these, and other times friends, launch team members, or local business owners are willing to donate them.

Consider a How Well Do You Know the Author? quiz.

People love trivia, and they enjoy getting to know you better. Compile a list of ten questions, some easy and some harder, about you, your writing, your career, or your quirky facts. You might want to include multiple choices to make it easier. Award a prize for the person who gets the most answers right. Be sure to have a tie-breaker question ready, just in case.

Do a theme quiz if appropriate.

My book is on prayer, so I put together a list of multiple-choice questions about prayer from the Bible. If your book takes place during a particular time period, you could focus your questions on that era. Is it about a historical figure? Compile trivia questions about them. Award a theme-appropriate prize to the winner.

Keep food simple.

Your party isn’t a potluck or church social, so you don’t have to offer fifty options. And while food isn’t the focus, it is a fun part of the evening. Limit your choices to food that can be easily served and eaten, like finger sandwiches, cheese, meat, nuts, and fruit. Provide cupcakes instead of cake.

Ask for testimonials from beta or early readers.

If some in attendance have received early reader copies, invite them to share their favorite part of the story or something meaningful from the book. 

Consider combining the event with your writers group meeting.

I’m part of an amazing Word Weavers International group. (Shout out to Lexington Word Weavers!) We love to celebrate our writers’ successes and will often hold a launch party on the same night as our group meeting. If you choose to do this, be sure your launch event doesn’t interfere with the regular parts of the meeting. We always hold the launch party before the meeting begins.

Ask someone to take pictures and be sure to post on social media during and after.

You’ll be busy visiting with your guests and will likely forget to take pictures. If you ask a friend to capture the highlights, you’ll have pictures to share and reminisce over later. Be sure to post the pics on your website, blog, or social media. This continues to raise the profile of your book and enables friends who missed the party to still feel part of the celebration.

Thank God and those who helped make your book possible.

Write down your thoughts in advance so you won’t forget someone. Invite a friend to pray over the party and the book and ask God to bless it.

I hope your next party is a marvelous success. It takes a tribe to write, publish, and launch a book. Hosting a launch party allow us to celebrate with our tribe and gives us a chance to point people to God, who made it all possible.

Now it’s your turn. What’s your best tip for launch party fun? Leave a comment below and share your insight. 

TWEETABLE

10 Tips for a Successful In-Person Book Launch Party - from author @LoriHatcher2 on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

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Lori Hatcher is an author, blogger, writing instructor, women’s ministry speaker, and career dental hygienist. She writes for Our Daily Bread, Guideposts, Revive Our Hearts, and Crosswalk.com. Lori’s latest devotional, Refresh Your Prayers, Uncommon Devotions to Restore Power and Praise, released March 1 with Our Daily Bread Publishing. Connect with her at www.LoriHatcher.com or on Facebook, Twitter (@lorihatcher2) or Pinterest (Hungry for God).