Part Four of How to Have a Successful Book Launch

Here I am again, finding yet another successful book launch to write home about. 

Did I say successful? Yes, and of course, success comes only after the hard work of writing an excellent book and creating a cover that fits the tone of the story. Mysterious. Cozy. 

The Lake Norman Writers Guild accomplished that in their newly released Auras of Deceit: A Trivolity Cozy Mystery. It was written by a group of authors, each with writing credits of their own, by the way.

Since I didn't know them personally to identify,
I'm listing them in alphabetical order:
Annette Larkin, James W Salkeld, John Stickney
Sandra Warren and E Jax Willoughby

Planning the launch was no easy task, I'm sure, but they did everything right. They picked a date and a time when people were generally free to attend...and arrive home before dark, thank you very much. They procured a site, the event center in their community. They invited people personally. They advertised in the neighborhood newsletter. They autographed each copy of the book ahead of time so they wouldn't be tied to an ink pen instead of enjoying the moment with the guests. They had simple but appropriate refreshments, and therein I found the first of new ideas for a launch. Serve a cake with the cover embedded in the icing:

There it is, surrounded by an array of smaller cakes decorated with open-book cupcake toppers. (It's the small things that add a creative uniqueness to a launch!)

They utilized friends like me to free themselves to enjoy the crowd. Here I am, cutting the cake, while my husband greets people at the door, passing out the welcome fliers. Rest assured that I pointed out the cake for everyone to marvel at before I cut it.

Speaking of food, they also passed out gummy bears, of all things. The imaginative thing about that? We have to read the book to find out why.

Another unique part of this launch was that the authors devised a skit where they introduced the characters in the book by becoming that character. It sure made us want to read about them. Of course, they read enough of the actual book to tantalize us even more.

They were sure to videotape the event. It will be a great tool for future advertising.

Even the way the book could be purchased was well organized: two tables, one for cash, one for alternatives to cash; both covered in stacks of books... (that they had to keep replenishing from the boxes of copies on hand!!!) Inserted in each copy was a note with a QR code for the reader to connect directly to Goodreads, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble in order to write a review. How cool is that! How convenient is that!

Like I say, it's the little things, like Christmas decorations in the background that were already in place, making one less preparation to worry about. And the welcome at the door with a gifted poinsettia beside the poster about an upcoming event.

As the guests arrived, my husband and I passed out the printed thank-you notes. These were also invitations for people to yet another opportunity where the book will be: The Trilogy Author Showcase.

Auras of Deceit will still be offered at the release special price. The difference between this launch and that event is that each author will also bring additional books they have published. I've read some of them. Wow, what a guild of authors this is!

But this launch afternoon was all about one book. I have it at the top of my TBR stack. I can't wait to dive in!

Catch of the day,

Gretchen

Award Ceremonies

Being a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators over several years brought me many great experiences. I attended their yearly large Carolinas conferences and a few small retreats with well-known authors in the children's literature genre. I attribute much of my success as an author to what I learned at those events. 

That said, the best part of attending any conference is the networking that takes place. I have met so many wonderful writers. Although I am no longer a member since my writing took a turn from the children's market to the memoir/local history adult level market, I have followed the writing careers of several fellow SCBWI members from years ago. I crossed paths with two of them this past Saturday.

On the left is Eileen Heyes, followed in the middle by Carol Baldwin, with me on the other end. 

We were at the annual meeting of the North Carolina Society of Historians at the Wilkes Heritage Museum in Wilkesboro, a perfect venue to celebrate those who have worked to preserve the history of North Carolina. From their website: 

Since 1941, the North Carolina Society of Historians

has presented annual awards of excellence

 to recognize those individuals and organizations

who discover and present information

 about the history and heritage of North Carolina.

That's why we were together on this recent Saturday, to receive recognition for our books preserving a bit of the history of our great state. I've read both the one by Eileen and the one by Carol, and yes, these books are definitely deserving of an award.

Freedom's Howl, by Eileen Heyes, tells the story of a pack of wolves that runs parallel with the story of a pioneer family during the beginnings of the American Revolution. In her acceptance speech, Eileen explained that her book was written for North Carolina's America 250 celebration. She included the red wolves, a species that was hunted to extinction. At the end of the book is a conservation moment about the program that reintroduced red wolves to the wild. 

Half-Truths by Carol Baldwin is set in the 1950s during a racially segregated period of time. Carol spoke about her book's setting in Charlotte and the two girls, one black, one white, who discover they are cousins. It is a must-read for teens, in my humble opinion. While I didn't live in Charlotte or in Tabor City, the other setting in the book, I did live in the state during the fifties. Even at that, so much of what happened was an eye-opener to me. It was fiction based on truth. And the truth often hurts to hear.

My book, Southern Fly Tyers, like Eileen's, speaks to the conservation of our natural resources - hers the wolves and their habitat, mine the trout and their habitat. Mine goes on to tell individual life stories of those people who tie flies. This history goes back to the early Cherokee and continues the narration with individual stories from the men who tied in the turn of the twentieth century all the way to current tyers. It is not a how-to book. It is a how-they book, how they lived their lives.

Our three books were only a few of the ones recognized on Saturday. Eventually, the full list will be on the society's webpage. There's a lot more to the story of preserving North Carolina history. Stay tuned.

Catch of the day,

Gretchen Griffith

Part 3 How to Have a Successful Book Launch

Every book deserves to be celebrated when it, after much frustration and joy and deleting and rewriting and tears, is finally ready to be released into the world! It's a launch, as in rocketing forth! Sometimes a book launch is a jubilee. Sometimes it's a gathering of those who care, a meeting of the minds, of sort. Sometimes it's in a winery where spirits flow. Sometimes in a coffeehouse where the caffeine flows. A senior center. A church fellowship hall. Under a tent at a fall festival. Those have been ways I celebrated being an author with a new book, whether mine alone or with co-authors.

Sometimes, like yesterday, it's a quiet spot in a bookstore with customers dropping in and being introduced to the authors for the first time. I belong to a wonderful group of authors calling ourselves the Foothills Writers. We've published several anthologies containing our original work. This one, Things That Haunt Us, was a fun one to do where we let our imaginations go wild. One of our members arranged the signing and one donated the beautiful table runner to add to the presentation. It turned into more of a book signing than a book jubilee, but don't get me wrong. We were jubilant over its release and had celebrated ourselves at one of our weekly sessions.

With eight authors to schedule around, this celebration became a case of "who can come." Only two of us were able, and I had to leave after a few minutes to go to work. That left one very enthusiastic author who held down the fort and showed the world what we had to offer. 

There we are, moments before I scurried out the door, Tula Smith and I, surrounded by books and books and more books. The featured book that day, proud to say, was our little offering. Thank you, Tybrisa Books, for carving out a spot for authors to share the fruits of their work. We appreciate others appreciating us!

Catch of the day, 

Gretchen

Part Two - How to Have a Successful Book Launch

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to help with a book launch. This was not just a plain launch, but a BOOK LAUNCH that pales all the book launches I've ever heard of. Two days long!

The birth of each book deserves to be celebrated, whether it's headed for a small circulation of family and friends or destined to be a New York Times Best Seller, which this one probably is.

The first step in any book launch is to write a wonderful book. Of course, it helps if it is the much-anticipated newest in a wildly successful series - in this case, the sixteenth book of Jan Karon's Mitford series, My Beloved. 

A few years ago, when Jan Karon thought she was finished writing about her main character, Father Tim, and his life in the fictional North Carolina town of Mitford, she decided to create a museum, or as she calls it, "a book without covers." She returned to her roots in the small town of Hudson in the western part of the state where she gained much of the inspiration for characters in the series. She talked with authorities there about possibilities. She found in those authorities a deep desire to preserve the community school building which had been closed for several years.  

Jan Karon is a visionary who sees what can be as much as she sees what is. She saw a way to pay tribute to what made her who she is today, to the value system she drew upon when, several decades ago, she first penned a story about an Episcopalian priest in a small town in the mountains of western North Carolina. She envisioned people searching for "home" and finding it not only in her books, but in a physical spot she would call The Mitford Museum. Nestled in the far back hall of a transformed school building is the location where as a six year old, she began her road to publishing in Mrs. Downs' first-grade classroom. That room is now gallery one, the family room, where visitors are introduced to small-town life in the 1940s. Beside it, through a connecting doorway, is gallery two, the book room, my favorite. It is all about the life of a writer who brought the influences from what is exhibited in gallery one into a faith-based set of books revolving around a minister and his flock. Across the hall in yet another classroom is the Happy Endings Bookstore, based on the very bookstore in the series.

I have been fortunate to be a docent in the museum since the day it opened four years ago. I thought the Grand Opening that October day was a big deal, but this two-day book launch far surpassed that event. Neither came at the snap of a finger. A book launch of this magnitude doesn't just happen. It takes months of planning and coordinating and frustration, and then things falling into place. 

So, back to How to Have a Successful Book Launch: 

After a book has a publication date, detailed planning can begin. Location first, and in this case, where else but at the museum. While the museum is a large part of the Arts Center called the HUB (Hudson Uptown Building in the now repurposed school), there are other businesses and activities there. In addition to the large auditorium, there is a smaller, multipurpose room available. This is where I had my latest book launch in August that I talked about in part one of How to Have a Successful Book Launch. In this case, that same room was used to sell one thing only - My Beloved. 

The hype comes next. Anticipation. Advertisements. Newsletter announcements. Docents wore shirts showcasing the cover. My Ohio friend Inez volunteers at Mitford for special events, and here we were wearing the book cover shirt at the bookstore back in May. Yes, the interest level started building months before.

Be present ahead of time, and even if you can't be physically present, then offer photo opportunities for guests by having a life-sized cardboard cutout. I took this picture in the hall outside the entrance to the bookstore. People walking down the hall often mistake it for the real deal and get excited that they lucked out for her to be here. She is always here, in spirit, for sure.

Enlist the town to help with crowd control and security. The event staff erected a tent on the front lawn for the evening meal on Saturday night. Note the blue sky. One thing a book launch planning team can't control is the weather. One year ago, this was a hurricane disaster area. This year made up for it!

Create bling beyond a T-shirt. Earrings were a good seller. Limited edition plaques. And this wrist band that served as a ticket for the evening meal and served as my keepsake. 

Invite press. The CBS Sunday Morning crew interviewed Jan, several attendees from across the country, and one of our docents. Look for the feature some Sunday morning when you least expect it! Of course, local media covered it before, during, and after. Photographers were everywhere. I took this picture in the balcony of one of them taking a picture of the crowd below.

I was curious, so after he moved on, I investigated. He had spotted a reader with the book open. My version might not be as professional, but it gets the point across. These devout readers couldn't wait to dig into the book. It was a sight seen on campus all day! Which brings up another suggestion for a successful book launch, provide plenty of seating for people to read in silence or to interact with each other about the book.

Have the grand finale in a large auditorium with ample seating and great acoustics. No one wants to miss a word of what the author says to her readers. The auditorium of the school is now a huge multipurpose room, perfect for plays, concerts, and book launch speeches.

I sat in the balcony with the rest of the docents and volunteers and photographers. In her speech, Jan referenced an experience she had in the balcony as a fifth grader back in the day, and pointed up to us. We all laughed with her because we could relate. In fact, that's the beauty of the Mitford series. We are them. We see ourselves and our neighbors on the pages. They have trials and challenges. We cry at their tragedies. We rejoice with happy endings.

We hung on every word she spoke at the actual launch. She opened by thanking all of us, those who came by jet plane from the other side of the US, and those who walked here from home. Her publishing team was there all day, and she introduced them, although we had met them as the days went along. She introduced her family seated in the front section of the audience, had them stand. 

My final takeaway from this book launch - be gracious like her. Show the readers they matter and they are appreciated. Jan autographed books ahead, so she was not burdened by that distraction. I should mention that all the books for sale in Happy Endings Bookstore are personally autographed. I've seen her do it on her marathon signing days. 

At the end of her speech, she directed those who wanted to shake her hand to form a line at the side of the auditorium. She said she didn't care how long it took; she would greet everyone. She wanted to look them in the eyes and say thank you. And she meant it.

That is the bottom line of a book launch. It's the time to let the readers tell you how much you mean to them. 

It's not all about selling the book. 

Catch of the day,

Gretchen

Mountain Strong

I'm an avid reader. I practically inhale books. That being said, I'm not a big magazine reader, never have been. Yet I do subscribe to one magazine that I devour rather than inhale. It's the Our State Magazine, and unfailingly it has the most fantastic articles relating to North Carolina. I enjoy reading about places I've been. I also get ideas for new places to go and things to do. The day it arrives in the mail, I hurry through it, flipping to see what is new and exciting and enticing enough to bring me back for a long read over a cup of hot tea.

When October's issue arrived last week, I began the usual page flipping. I soon found that this issue was different. At the top of the cover is the statement, "Special Issue: Healing After Helene" and below the subtitle, "Celebrating North Carolina," in large bold print, are the words MOUNTAIN STRONG. This photo taken by my friend and co-adventurer, Sara, and reinforces how much being strong meant to recovery.

I didn't make it far into the pages before I began mentally dog-earing pages to return to and read later, but when I got to page 174, I stopped dead in my tracks. Sara's photograph was taken at the same place as the location of an article in the magazine. The title drew me in first, "River Reclaimed," and then I saw the pictures. We had been on the very same river back in July and I even blogged about it a few weeks ago. If you didn't get a chance to read it, click on the link and check it out before you read any further so you'll see why I'm so excited to share with you now.

This mountain-strong story featured one of the characters (chapter 39) in my newest book, Southern Fly Tyers. Her name is Kelly McCoy, aka Rivergirl. In my book, she wrote her own biography, and it is dripping with love of river and fly fishing and all things nature. In the magazine article, author Katie Reynolds interviewed her and masterfully captured Kelly's love of river and fly fishing and all things nature. 

Back in July my friend Sara and I went tubing on the New River through Rivergirl Fishing Company, Kelly's company. Sara took this picture of the Rivergirl main building.

See the canoe on the front porch? There's a story behind that canoe as recorded in the article. Here, look at it more closely:

This is a page from the magazine with the canoe's picture taken by staff photographer, David Uttley. I took the other picture of the front of the business the day we were there.

See the heart on the canoe? Kelly painted it there after Hurricane Helene, after she rescued the canoe from the tree that caught it in the flood. It's a reminder that's visible to her every day. Stay strong. Stay safe. You can overcome.

Just like our state!

Catch of the day,

Gretchen

Picture This

An author drives down a country lane and delights in finding a connection to one of her books. That would be me, one day not long ago, on State Road #268, Happy Valley, North Carolina. I was passing by the campus and just had to stop and take a photograph of this sign.  

Cap Wiese was the headmaster at the Patterson School for a number of years in the mid-twentieth century. As a disciplinarian, he used fly fishing as a method of calming hyperactive boys and in the process changing their lives. In his honor, a room has been designated as the Cap Wiese Flyfishing Center. 

I first heard of him when I was compiling information with Ron Beane for our Fly Fishermen of Caldwell County: Life Stories that came out in 2015. Cap's daughter wrote his chapter and titled it "Dean of Fly Fishermen." Much has happened since that book came out, including the creation of this center at Patterson School. He appears again in my newest book, this one with Alen Baker, Southern Fly Tyers: Life Stories of Those Who Tie Flies. He's in Chapter 4 and also in the appendix, page 211.

I took this photograph at the Red Awning Gallery in Hudson where my books are surrounded by the beautiful art of local artisans. This newest book is about art of its own kind. Designing a fly to fool a fish is a skill that should be celebrated. It will be. 

Alen and I are presenting a program about the history of fly tying to the Caldwell County Historical Society on November 6, open to the public. If you think you'll pass on this because you couldn't care less about tying flies, please reconsider. These flies are painstakingly created using everything under the sun, from a rooster feather to the underbelly fur from a dead possum on the side of the road or to styrofoam packaging beads. Talk about creativity! Alen will display containers showing replicas of ancient flies the Cherokee once used here in our Appalachians. 

I have never fly fished in my life. The very idea does not appeal to me at all because these fishers have told me one too many horror stories of being surrounded by forest critters - think bears - or stepping into knee-deep water filled with snakes. I've been a part of five books about fly fishing now, and I've become a true sideline enthusiast, which is where I'll remain for now. I have met the most wonderful group of men and women who care as deeply for the environment as they do the sport. Our world needs them to tell their stories. Join us to hear their stories on that November Thursday evening at the Caldwell Heritage Museum in Lenoir. See you then!

Catch of the day,

Gretchen

Travelogue

In response to my many Facebook posts of places I've been lately, a friend of mine asked if I were writing a travelogue. Short answer - no. But...sounds like something I should do. Actually it's something I've been doing all year, going somewhere and then writing about it. I'm always eager to share places and available experiences from here in my neck of the woods.

In the midst of one such experience, I hollered "What were we thinking?" at my co-adventurer. This one was beyond my usual sitting in an easy chair at a local winery, even beyond the tame hikes to mountain peaks. Indeed, what was I thinking!

This time, the adventure was tubing. Rivergirl tubing, to be exact, on the New River, Todd, North Carolina. What a kick in the butt that was! Wait, that sounds negative and this was positive, all three downstream miles of it. The energy kick was from the cold water tickling my low-hanging butt! What a way to spend a hot July day!

Because I was paranoid about dropping my precious cell phone into the murky waters and floating away from it, never to see it again, I purchased a waterproof disposable camera. So did my friend Sara. 

It's a little blurry, our photography skills lacked a lot, but I still wanted to share this image of us preparing to launch. My kind of launch is usually a calm event being surrounded by books and refreshments and well-wishers, not an actual get-in-the-water-and-launch-this-baby-off launch. 

What a delightful, relaxing way to cool off, although it took me a while to get the hang of things. The two of us tried linking together with the hooks they provided, but we found it much smoother to go our own ways and enjoy the moment without dragging each other down...literally.

Two and a half hours later, we docked, if you call it a dock. It was more a slippery slope of mud, sliding two steps down for every one up. But once we both found our land legs, we laughed our way to the top and ventured on to the nearest winery.

Exploring in western North Carolina is so much fun. Give it a try someday.

Catch of the day,

Gretchen