***
With my book coming out I started to Google “launch parties”
and everything I found dealt with large venues that were rented and inviting
the businesses in town with the town’s officials. It was all about sales and
presence.
And that is not what I wanted. I didn’t want an “event”. I
wanted a celebration with my close
friends and family of what I had accomplished.
I took the concept of”launch party” and I pulled it into an
intimate setting and started planning what I saw as the perfect way to celebrate
years of hard work.
Invitations were done word of mouth and by Facebook.Nothing
fancy.
Food was planned;
just a cake and ice cream with a variety of beverages.For the cake, it took
three calls in town to find a baker who could make one with a photographic image
on it instead of mere icing.
Suggested decorations for the venue:
·
About six or eight small place cards set around
the room with character facts. In my case “Jaime doesn’t like chocolate”
(above) and “Stephen doesn’t listen to anything produced after 1979.”
·
A playlist that represents your book playing
softly in the background. For us, it was Stephen’s classic rock.
·
Recipe cards might be featured.One recipe that
works for him, one for her. I made the Sangria that Jaime loves and served it in
cups the color that matched the cover of the book. Guests took the cards home.
·
8.5X11 covers of the
book displayed in acrylic frames.Not only for this book, but others, if you
have them. I put them around the room with a note on two: “Ask Me about My Next
Book.” It was a great conversation starter.
·
A couple of disposable cameras for guests to use to
capture spontaneity.
·
Balloon bouquets, steamers, silk rose petals
here and there. Things that say “party”.
·
Most important: Your new release displayed. Stacks
standing next to one that stands alone and strong. Keep a
pen handy if someone wants a copy autographed. We sold ours at cost to our friends
and family.
A Launch Party doesn’t have to be an official occasion to
promote name and sales. Sometimes it can be a mere celebration of this wonderful
thing you worked so hard to achieve. Let your family be there with you. Have your
friends come and see why you were always so busy. And have fun. In the end,
that’s all it is about sometimes!!
***
Award winning author, Jacqui
Jacoby lives and writes in the beauty of the Valley of the Sun. Currently
adjusting to her new digs, Jacqui is a self proclaimed, self–defense hobbyist.
Having studied martial arts for numerous years she retired in 2006 from the
sport.She is a working Mom, whose career includes writing books, teaching online and live workshops and penning short non–fiction. She can be reached via her website.
WITH A
VENGEANCE
The more she wanted out, the more they dragged her
back in!
Daughter to murdered CIA officers, niece to a
deputy director, Jaime Walsh has never known
She’d planned for her long-overdue vacation to be a
time to rest and reassess. With her longtime partner Stephen not far behind,
it’s a tropical paradise away from work. A paradise where boundaries will be
tested.
From their training days, Stephen Reid has watched
Jaime kick ass while performing what has become his second job—watching her
back. But now his feelings have grown.
As best friends look at each other in a new light,
they like what they see. And Jaime dreams of a new life outside “the company”.
Except someone from their past won’t be satisfied
until Jaime and the man she loves are hunted to the brink of death. Now Jaime
must find the strength to trust her heart and let go of her fear. Before she
loses everything…
Any tips to add for a fun launch party?
30 comments:
The cake is utterly amazing!! What a fun and lovely way to celebrate and to introduce your book, Jacqui! Lovely to meet you! Hello Jemi! Take care
x
Sounds like a wonderful celebration of an impressive accomplishment. Congratulations, Jacqui!
Old Kitty - I love the cake too!
Beth - it does! :)
That is one awesome looking cake! If that were my book cover, I wouldn't want to eat it.
I like the idea of a book launch being a celebration vs. a book promotion event. Thanks for sharing the idea.
Great tips for focusing on the celebratory part of the release and using subtle marketing.
Pretty cake!
I did a big release party for my first book and it was so much fun having friends come from all over to celebrate.
A release party, what fun.
The image on the cake is awesome. I wouldn't let anyone eat it. :)
Sounds fun!
All the best with your novel, Jacqui!
Hi, Jemi :)
Alex - totally with you on that!!
Natalie - I like that as well! :)
Elizabeth - it is!
Diane - celebrating with friends is the best!!
Teresa - I agree!
Wendy - hi! It is a fun read! :)
Congratulations Jacqui! Sounds a wonderful launch party!
Kelly - it sure does! :)
Fantastic launch party ideas. I never had a book cake, but I'd like one in the future.
How can you cut into a cake that perfect! Great ideas. Congrats, Jacqui.
The cake is awesome. It would be hard to cut that. Congratulations on the launch party and the book release. Wising you much success, Jacqui.
Jemi, thanks for the introduction.
Medeia - I'd love to have one too!
Leslie - I know!! :)
Mason - you're welcome!
Yummy cake. Book is yummy, too. Her celebration sounds wonderful. Wishing her all the good luck with her launch.
Lee - agreed - on both the cake and the book! :)
What an awesome cake! Congratulations!
I want to jump in after reading all
these wonderful comments and not only say thank you, but sorry. It is a lame excuse I realize, but I got laid up with the damn chest cold and work ... no so much.
The cake, a little harder than you would think but so worth it, though I did have to cut through Jaime and Stephen. You have to find a bakery that makes the photo layer and then you have to show up with the design (photo copy on best), a letter explaining who you are and a formal ID with the name on the book to match. You can't show up and ask for Twilight on a cake. It had to be *your* book. And when I picked it up, they asked me to autograph the paper work as, in *their* words, I was a celebrity!!
Eating the cake, there was some debate over that. Jaime doesn't like chocolate so I got a lemon cake, making my son very unhappy. "It's your book," he said. "Go back in and rewrite it and tell her to like chocolate. I want chocolate."
Yvonne - agreed!
Jacqui - no worries - the colds and flus going around this year have been crazy!! I'm with your son, but lemon is a pretty close 2nd! :)
Congratulations to Jacqui!
Hi Jemi and Jacqui
That cake looks scrumptious. I'm sure it tastes as good as it looks. I enjoyed that book a lot.
Maria
RR - thanks!
Maria - I did too - and the cake does look incredible!
Now that's my kind of party!!
Lynda - me too! :)
Very nicely done all the way around.
Linda - I agree! :)
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