Hosting a book launch is a bit like organising a wedding …
Believe me, I know what I’m talking about! Not only have I organised my own wedding (and helped with my daughter’s), I’ve also I’ve published two books and have held a launch to celebrate the release of each. 
Now I’m sharing some of my tips to help make YOUR event (and book) a success!
Just like a wedding, there are many things to consider: venue, guest list, invitations, catering, entertainment, photographer, decorations, book table, ushers, a running sheet, and the all important thank-yous!
Venue
The obvious choice is to host your launch at a bookstore, but there are plenty of other possibilities, such as a church, hall or café.
Think about the subject matter of your book – if it is about fashion, hold your launch at a boutique. If your book is about education or for children, ask the local school. Your library would probably be very interested too!
For my first book launch, my own church women’s group supported me by hiring a room at the local cultural centre (as we didn’t have a church building of our own at that stage). The second time around, I chose a café.
Guest List
Invite everybody you can think of! Many people have never been to a book launch and will be intrigued enough to come along, especially if you can entice them with free food and/or entertainment. Don’t forget to invite your family, your friends, your church, your neighbours, your workmates, your writing buddies, and of course anybody who supported you during the writing of your book.
Depending on how big a splash you want to make, you could invite along some dignitaries – local politicians, community and business leaders, or the local media.
Just remember: the more you invite, the more are likely to turn up and the more books you will sell!
At the “Clues to your Calling” launch (photos above), there were about 100 people in attendance; at the “Decadence” launch at the café, we had about 70 women (and would have been hard-pressed to fit anybody else in!). But I have been to heaps of book launches where twenty or thirty people seemed like a crowd, because a more intimate venue was chosen.
Invitations
Nothing beats a personal invitation. Invite people via a Facebook Event page if you must – but chances are, many won’t see it and it’s easy to ignore. A hard copy is better! With computers and the wide range of stationery available today, it’s easy to make your own. For “Clues to your Calling” we had a purple theme (to match the cover of the book), and I made invitations out of sparkly lavender card, with plain white inserts glued in (see picture below). You could use a pad of party invitations , or photocopies that you can hand out to all and sundry!
If you want to open your event up to the local public, a notice in your local paper and posters in nearby shop windows, bookstores, or your chosen venue (whether a church, hall or café) would also be a good idea.
Don’t forget to encourage guests to RSVP, so you can keep track of the numbers for catering purposes. Be aware though that many people don’t let you know they are coming, or say they will be there and then don’t turn up. Australians are notoriously bad at RSVPing! I have learnt this the hard way. At the “Clues” launch this didn’t matter so much, but at the “Decadence” launch unfortunately I still had to pay for those ten people that didn’t show up.
Catering
What sort of food are you going to feed your guests? Grazing boxes? Hors d’oeuvres? Morning tea? Wine and cheese? Who is going to serve it, and how are you going to pay for it?
As mentioned earlier, the “Clues to your Calling” launch was done on a shoestring budget in partnership with my church women’s team. A few of the ladies contributed a plate of goodies, while another oversaw all the catering arrangements and was capably assisted by her teenage daughters at the actual event. This was great as it was one less thing I had to worry about!
In order to help cover the costs, we asked for a “gold coin” entry fee to the event. This made it affordable for everyone and I was able to give this money back to the women’s team.
As the “Decadence” launch was held at a café, they provided an afternoon tea for just $10 per head, which was exactly what we charged our guests. Or you could charge slightly extra to help you cover the costs of a performer or the invitations or whatever. Just remember, the more expensive it is, the less likely people are to come, and the less books you will sell.
Entertainment
Try to think of something that ties in with your book’s theme. At the “Clues to your Calling” launch, the whole night was a celebration of people contributing their talents and callings, a great example of my book’s message! Some young people from church played background music, and later performed a couple of items. A couple of dignitaries – our women’s pastor, and my writing group president – gave short speeches, and being the author, I also got to share a few words.
At the launch of “Decadence” we took a slightly different tack. This time our guests were all women, so we had a couple of icebreaker games (you can find heaps on the internet) to start things off. A gospel singer performed a couple of songs which she was happy to do in exchange for the opportunity to sell and promote her CDs at the event, and our speaker was a DJ from a local Christian radio station.
Perhaps you could do a short reading from your book, or show a Powerpoint presentation of photos relevant to your subject matter.
Lucky door prizes are also fun – tape a ticket under a couple of chairs before hand, and then ask everybody to check beneath their chair. Or hand out raffle tickets at the door. Of course, the prize would be a copy of your book/s!
Why not celebrate with a cake? A cake-cutting (just like at a wedding) is fun, and also a great photo opportunity!
Photographer
You will be too busy to think about taking any photos, so assign this task to a snap-happy friend or family member – ask them to be your official photographer for the occasion! Not only will you capture precious memories, you can use these in media releases and publicity for your book.
Decorations
Some of the Footprints Team Members assisted with the decorations at the “Clues” launch. They cut out large stars from purple and silver cardboard, which we then stuck around the walls of the room with blu-tac. We also had a few arrangements of purple helium balloons tied with silver ribbon, to add to the party atmosphere.
At the “Decadence” launch, our theme was gold and red roses. We bought some roses from a wholesaler, and had some in vases, as well as leaving some loose to decorate the display and book tables. I bought some gold fabric to drape over tables, and printed out colour copies of the book cover which I laminated and stuck on the walls. Finally, we sprinkled all the tables with gold confetti.
The Book Table
To decorate the all-important book table you will need tablecloth/s, and copies of your book (of course!). You may like to print and frame a cover of your book to place on the table. And don’t forget a receipt book, cash box (I recommend a $50 float in small change), and pens so you can sign copies for your fans! As many of the guests will want to spend some time chatting with you, the author, it’s a good idea to have a couple of other people to handle the sales part.
Make sure you have a couple of designated “greeters” at the door of your event, to collect the entry fee (if any), to hand out lucky door tickets and/or name tags, and generally make people feel welcome.
Running Sheet
So that things run smoothly, prepare a running sheet beforehand and give a copy to anybody involved in the “formalities” of your event eg performers, speakers, the café staff. That way everybody knows what is happening and when.
Thank Yous
It’s important to make a point of thanking everybody for all their help – after all you may need them again at your next book launch! You can do this by mentioning them in your speech, or in the acknowledgements page of your book. Make sure you give a copy of your book to those who have been especially helpful and/or provided their services for free!
Just like a wedding, you could follow up with a thank you note to each of your guests. Or, send them home with a cake bag or even a party bag! At the launch of “Decadence” we gave each of our guests a small organza bag of goodies, including a fridge magnet, some sweets and a couple of other tiny treats, to show them that we appreciated their presence at our special day.
Most of us have organised a party or even a wedding at some stage in our lives. As you can see, hosting a book launch is very similar. You’ve worked hard and have something extraordinary to celebrate – the launch of your book. This is your special time – enjoy it!