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