Live Music and a Successful Book Launch Party

We had another very successful book launch party as The Fart Fairy came into the world. Our closest estimate is 365 people! One of the keys to the success of the event was having live music geared specifically to the kids. In my case, it was "Uncle Pete", a local talent who entertains children as a profession. And his joy is so contagious. He sang and played the guitar and organized dances for the kids for two full hours. It's Uncle Pete's voice and music that you hear on the CD that accompanies the book.

One huge advantage to providing entertainment for the kids is that the parents can stand in line to have their books signed and not have whining kids pulling on them. We were sure to mention the live music on all of our advertising. This (along with the promise of face painting and cake)was one of the reasons we had such a large turnout. My talented illustrator (Mark Wayne Adams) was also a featured guest. His illustrations always delight the kids and parents alike. Of course, I'd like to think that the new book brought them, too.

As an added benefit, our event was sponsored by the Harford County Libraries. And, as always, the Barnes & Noble (Bel Air, MD) staff was fabulous. I can't thank them enough for their support.

I love my community and I am so grateful that they have always been there to support me. Thanks to everyone who helped make this a very special event.

Who Should You Invite To A Book Launch Party?

If your first reaction to this question is, “Huh? I didn’t know you should invite people to the party,” then listen up. If you have planned the party well (see my post dated July 7), then it would really be a shame if no one showed up.

Yesterday an author friend of mine told me that she never sends out actual invitations to her launch parties or bookstore events. She relies on her press releases to do the job. No, no, no. That's not enough.

The goal is to invite, invite, invite.

The first thing to do is create a colorful invitation. The many online printing sites make this easy and affordable. I guarantee that you will have a more positive reaction to professional looking invitations than to boring run-of-the-mill flyers. If you plan ahead, you will be able to take advantage of the promotions and coupons that the online companies always offer.

The number of invitations needed depends on how big you can think. A print run of about 1200 invitations is an impressive, yet reachable, goal if you work at it. Today I invited an entire Brownie troop to my upcoming launch party. That was 30 down and 1170 left to go! Then I visited a day camp at my local community college and handed out 200 more. That brings me to 230 down and only 970 to go. Uh oh, I hope I don’t run out.

Use the internet to your advantage. Today I emailed a copy of my invitation to a teacher friend of mine and asked her to forward it to the other teachers in her school, as well as to her students. She was happy to do so. I will send the same request to a friend who belongs to a large Mom's club and to all of my friends,
both the real life and the online social networking ones.

For a children’s event, think of schools, camps, daycare centers, dance classes, scouts, etc. For other genres, ask yourself exactly who you think will be interested in your book. Then ask yourself where these people shop, eat, have meetings or just hang out? Think of specific places to promote to your particular niche market. Think of shops, organizations, colleges, libraries, book clubs, etc.

And, of course, don’t forget the media. Be sure to send invitations to the newspaper reporters in your area. A great personal touch is to locate the reporters’ names online and hand-deliver the invitations. Even if only one reporter shows up, the result will often be an article with some free publicity.

Remember = You Are Invited To A Party – everyone who reads this blog is invited to my book launch party for The Belly Button Fairy on August 29th at 11 AM – Barnes & Noble – Bel Air, MD – Come for Storytime, Gifts, Prizes and Cake - Meet the author and the illustrator - Fairy costumes are welcome!

Bobbie Hinman
http://bestfairybooks.com

Would you Like To Have 200 People Attend Your Book Launch Party?

After launching two new children's books during the past two years, it is almost time to launch #3. Since each of my launch parties resulted in the sale of over 200 books, I am really nervous. I want to be sure that this one is also a success. Right now I'm feeling that old familiar fear: What if I have a party and no one comes?? Yeeks!

As I organize the details for this event, I would like to share with you some of my hints for making sure that a launch party is a success:

Start early - Decide on the time and place at least 6 months ahead of the book release. A local bookstore is usually a great place for a book event.

Plan the event thoroughly - Meet with the store manager and plan everything. What will the store employees be able to do on that day? What would they like me to provide? With children's books, there need to be specific planned activities. For example, first I will read the new book and then provide coloring pages so the children will be occupied while their parents purchase the books. My store manager will have the tables set up and will provide crayons, glitter, glue, etc.

Feature something special - Make this a party, a happening! Since my books are fairy books, I call this event a Fairy Party. Children are invited to come in fairy costumes. We have a face painter, a craft, some raffle drawings and a huge cake. This year my illustrator will also be joining us and he will be demonstrating his sketching techniques.

Two months ahead - To promote the event, contact all of the nearby newspapers and news websites and make sure the information is in their calendars during the month of the event. Set up newspaper interviews and supply press releases for the week before the event.

One month ahead - Have postcard/invitations printed. I order from an online printer and always order at least 1000-1500 invitations. I make sure there is something on the invitation that will entice the youngsters. In my case, I think the promise of a piece of cake is often more important to them than the new book.

Also one month ahead - Order party favors. This year I decided to hand out plastic stadium cups imprinted with a picture of my new fairy character, and filled with an assortment of goodies - a little doll, a lollypop, etc. These items can be purchased very inexpensively at dollar stores and through online catalogs. Both kids and adults love party favors.

Three weeks ahead - Make sure the bookstore has received their order of books, including any backlist titles (very important).

Two weeks ahead - Time to distribute the invitations to daycares, preschools, libraries and children's stores. I also try to visit as many elementary schools as I can, to read one of my other books and distribute party invitations. I also distribute invitations in local coffee shops (with permission, of course), my athletic club, the grocery store, and wherever I can. This is also the time that I order a very large sheet cake decorated with a picture (in icing) of my newest fairy. I purchase lots of napkins. The bookstore will provide small cups of lemonade.

Email marketing - If you have an email list, be sure to send an email invitation to everyone you know, requesting that they forward the email to everyone they know. Be sure to invite local news media. Also, don't forget your friend and family.

Yes, it's very hard work. And, it takes a lot of planning. However, it works!

Now, please come to my party!

Bobbie Hinman
http://bestfairybooks.com