Recipe for a Book Launch, by Georgie Tennant

The ACW Facebook Page is a fine place to gain encouragement for our writing journeys. No topic is off limits, from self-publishing, pitching to traditional publishers, photographing our books and the cruel jungle of social media. One of the more frequently-occurring topics is how to hold a successful book launch, especially as the covid pandemic has made these occasions a rarity.

Last week I had the privilege of being part of one, for the third book in Ruth Leigh’s compelling Isabella M Smugge series – The Continuing Times of Isabella M Smugge. Ruth, herself, although an old hand at publishing now, hadn’t yet held an in-person launch, the other two having been online events, during lockdowns. The evening was a triumph, so I am here to share with you, today…

 A Recipe for a Successful Book Launch  

 Ingredients

 1 x lovely, cosy winebar (or similar – this one was 1975Wine Bar, Woodbridge, in case you wondered)

1 x willing husband, or similar, with tech skills to operate card payment machine for book sales

 1 x enthusiastic looking family and a couple of close friends to smile in the right places

 Your desired number of books to sell (within reason!)

 40 x sausage rolls

 8kgs of nachos and sour cream

 Selected fancy breads and cheeses

 Infinite bite-sized rocky road pieces

 60 (optional – higher or lower is fine) willing guests

 24 pints of orange and apple juice

 5 bottles of prosecco (also optional)

 A liberal sprinkling of prayer

 Several designated photographers / videographers

 A clipboard with many notes and reminders attached

 A copy of your book to read from

Method

 1. Take one wine bar or similar.  Fill with all the ingredients (but not the willing guests yet).

 2. Add your family and some close friends, ahead of the rest of the willing guests.

 3. Pour the orange juice, apple juice and prosecco and assemble it near the entrance.

 4. Watch while the wine bar owner assembles enough of the above food ingredients to feed a small army and feel thankful you didn’t have to make any of it yourself.

 5. Pace around the wine bar and start to feel terrified.

 6. Marinate a little in thoughts of “will anyone come, will it be any good.?”

 7. Add a liberal sprinkling of prayer to dispel those thoughts and soak in the clipboard instructions as many times as is required.

 8. Stir in a little relief, as people start to arrive.

 9. Spread around some instructions not to eat the food yet.

 10. Once guests have marinated in orange juice, apple juice and prosecco for some time, fold them into a circle around the bar, where they can hear you.

11. Position the willing photographers and videographers to capture everything, as you will forget to take a single photograph.

 12. Add two or three readings from your book, sprinkled with thanks and gratitude for everyone who has helped to get you this far.

 13. Ply the guests with all the food ingredients above.

 14. Add a smattering of excellent conversation and encourage old friendships and new connections.

 15. When the infinite pieces of rocky road finally run out, blend the guests together again for an author Q and A (this should have been marinating beforehand for a few days, between you and a close friend).

 16. Throw the Q and A out to the rest of the guests.  When this is complete, thank them for coming and follow it with some carefully orchestrated mingling.

 17. Thin out the guests gradually, until only family members and close friends remain.

 18. Realise you haven’t eaten anything, and consume half a strawberry and a raisin from the rocky road – the only evidence left that the bar ever contained food.

 19. Shake the remaining family members and close friends until they are willing to carry all your heavy boxes back to the car.

 20. Drive home and retire to a comfy armchair with a drink of your choice and congratulate yourself on a job well done!

 

* Ingredients and steps can be substituted for alternatives, according to taste.

 

Georgie Tennant is a secondary school English teacher in a Norfolk Comprehensive. She is married, with two sons, aged 14 and 11 who keep her exceptionally busy. She writes for the ACW ‘Christian Writer’ magazine occasionally, and is a contributor to the ACW-Published ‘New Life: Reflections for Lent,’ and ‘Merry Christmas, Everyone.' More recently, she has written 8 books in a phonics series, published by BookLife and taken on some freelance writing for King's Lynn Magazine. She writes the ‘Thought for the Week’ for the local newspaper from time to time and also muses about life and loss on her blog: www.somepoemsbygeorgie.blogspot.co.uk