by Kathy Watson (Orphans of the Living)

I have a picture of Shiloh, my four-year-old granddaughter, presenting me with a huge bouquet of flowers at the launch of my book, Orphans of the Living, on September 30, 2025. It’s a good thing, too, because I don’t remember Shiloh, or the flowers, or the one hundred people who attended, or much about the journalist who come from Portland to the Hood River Library to be in conversation with me. I was too nervous.

That was the most surprising thing about the evening. As a magazine editor in the 1990s, I spoke to ballrooms full of people, no butterflies in my belly. What made this event so terrifying?

If you’re like me, your book launch is the culmination of years of writing, another twelve to eighteen months working with the team at She Writes Press and your publicist. All while trying to understand this new, arcane world of print runs, ARCS, royalties, social media and so much more. By the time your book is published, your head may feel like a nuclear mushroom cloud. And it all comes together in that launch event.

To provide some “best practices” about how to create and promote a book launch, I asked for advice from our author community:

Venue

Where will you hold your book launch? Some factors to consider will be cost, space, the ability to serve food, parking, and proximity to your most likely attendees. The two most popular spots—no surprise—are bookstores and libraries, though some chose restaurants, churches, event venues, or even their homes.

Nancy Chadwick (Under the Birch Tree) chose a venue related to the theme of her book: a historic house surrounded by trees and trails.

“I found having a launch at a site that might be considered unconventional or creative sparks conversation, excitement and buzz,” Nancy says. At her first book launch, Leslie Johansen Nack (Nineteen: A Daughter’s Memoir of Reckoning and Recovery) rented an old movie theater, and they put her name on the marquee.

Your launch may be one event, or a series of them around the time of publication, what Juliet Cutler (Lessons in Hope) called a “multi-prong approach.” She had multiple audiences in different states. One launch event was in Minnesota, and three more events were in Georgia. The Minneapolis event was in partnership with a nonprofit that supports the work featured in her books about Maasai women and girls. She sold books before and after the event, and the organization took care of ticket sales for the fundraiser, giving her a built-in audience. To follow her lead, think about organizations aligned with the content of your book, which is often easier for non-fiction. For historical fiction, think about a local historical society; for sci-fi or fantasy, an observatory.

Most libraries offer space for free. In fact, Friends of the Library at Juliet Cutler’s local library even provided coffee, sparkling water and cookies! Libraries will often have microphones, speakers and AV equipment for pictures or slide shows. My library in Hood River set up chairs, moving book stacks out of the way for my event, and set up a space for books sales and a buffet table.

Even if you choose a library, you will likely want a bookseller to partner with you. You could sell your own books (the cases you ordered for personal use when the book was printed), but as Heidi McCrary (Chasing North Star) reminds us, “Keep in mind that even though you will make more money selling your own books, those sales won’t count toward recorded sales.”

Of course, you may just want to hold your launch right at the source: a bookstore. That could be a Barnes and Noble or other chain store. Many of our authors work with their local independent bookstores, but there are cautionary tales.

“I totally regretted it,” Leslie Johansen Nack tells us of her third book launch. Many independent bookstores aren’t long on marketing skills, and you may have to prod them to put your event on their web site, as well as write your own news release, or even make posters for the store to display. But that’s not always the case!

Both Janet Kintner (A Judge’s Tale) and Hendrika de Vries (Open Turns) sing the praises of their local bookstores: Warwick’s in San Diego and Chaucer’s in Santa Barbara, respectively. Janet said Warwick’s even required people to buy a ticket in advance, which included the price of the book, assuring a sale of 100 books. I too feel like my local indie, Waucoma Books in Hood River, has been an incredible partner, even setting up a program to mail autographed copies of my book to purchasers. Shigeko Ito (The Pond Beyond the Forest) held her event at Ravenna Third Place Books in Seattle, and said the setting for her fifty attendees felt intimate and engaging.

Some bookstores, especially in large urban areas, may charge you to use their space for a launch. Andrea Leeb (Such a Pretty Picture) held her L.A. launch at a bookstore that usually charges. But because she is a frequent customer, they waived the fee.

Andrea makes a good point: whatever location you choose, the closer you are to friends and family the better chance you’ll have of drawing a crowd, managing costs, and having enthusiastic support from your venue partners.

Says Karen Solt (Hiding for My Life), “My local bookstore is in my hometown, where I live, and my hometown is also mentioned in my memoir. So, lots of lifelong connections and support.”

 

Timing

There are a lot of strong opinions on this, with some authors adamant that holding a launch event on your pub day is dangerous. What if the books don’t arrive? Others love the thrill of a party on the book’s birthday. Since Tuesdays are often publication days, some worry that that’s a bad night to draw a crowd, or that a Tuesday election might hamper turnout.

In many cases, if you are working with a bookstore or library, they will weigh in on this. My bookstore definitely wanted to do my launch on pub day, Tuesday, Sept. 30. They had the books two weeks in advance; they say they never worry about getting books on time. It may be that some bookstores aren’t paying close attention to ordering your books in time, so you may have to keep tabs on this.

Karen Solt’s bookstore only holds their launch events on Saturdays, so she waited until then, and used the four days between publication and Saturday for press events, which drove more people to the Saturday book store launch.

Barbara Stark Nemon (Isabela’s Way) agrees with this approach, and always sets her launches at least a week after publication, which gives her time, “to deal with all the social media and publicity first.”

Shigeko Ito wanted her event on pub day, but it wasn’t available, so she scheduled a week later. “That was fortuitous, as I had a local morning show appearance on the pub date, where I announced the upcoming events.”

Andrea Leeb focused, too, on publicity on her launch date. She had eight TV appearances on the day of her launch, promoting California’s Safe at Home program for victims of domestic violence. The TV interviews were set up by her publicist, and let her promote her book and book launch a few days later.

These factors—the preferences of your event partner and venue, the advice of your publicity team, the possibility of linking to other events—will help you decide the timing of your launch.

 

Publicity

One of the reasons Leslie Johansen Nack was so frustrated with her indie bookstore experience is the eight hundred-pound elephant in the room: Amazon.

“If we get recognition with fifty reviews on Amazon and the algorithms start to support us at one hundred reviews, what the heck are we doing” spending so much effort to support the independent bookstores, she asks. Whether you’re “all in” on supporting independents, or working hard to get recognition at Amazon—or working both angles—your launch is a grand opportunity to garner recognition and book sales.

If you are working with a publicist, planning events such as launches and readings may not be part of your contract. It’s expensive! But you can still ask your publicist to concentrate some publicity efforts around the launch. You should be thinking about all forms of publicity for the launch event two to three months out.

For example, Janet Kintner’s publicist worked to place two stories in the San Diego newspaper shortly before her launch and the stories mentioned the event.

Shigeko Ito’s publicist secured a Seattle Times feature in the Sunday paper right before the launch, which she says increased attendance.

If you are responsible for launch publicity, here are some tactics to consider:

• Use email and social media to invite friends, but don’t just do it once. Do it three times: six weeks out with a “save the date” message, a month out, and a week out.
• Make posters and post them around town in coffee shops, bookstores and libraries. One author even delivered them around her neighborhood.
• Build toward the launch with frequent social media posts and ask people to share your announcement with their friends.
• If you have a web site, make sure the event is prominently placed.
• Make bookmarks with your cover image and information about the launch event, and pass them out constantly. If you are working with your library and bookstore, they will probably take some too.
• Search for all the media (newspaper, magazines, radio, community calendars and TV) within 50 miles of your venue, write a news release and email it to them. Check their online site for a book, arts or lifestyles writer or editor, and send to their attention, or to the news department. Make sure to include your phone number and email in the release, and attach your author photo and cover image. Many community calendars will let you create and post events. Pay attention to news deadlines! Your local arts magazine may have a deadline two months prior to your launch date.

 

Programming

It is so exciting to read the many ways our authors engage with readers at their launch events.

While Nancy Chadwick preaches “Keep it simple! It’s less stress for the author, with less things to go wrong,” some of our authors went all-out with themed events and food connected to their books.

If you intend to follow Nancy’s KISS protocol, you will at the least want to welcome guests, talk for a few minutes about your book, give a brief three- to five-minute reading (most people at your launch will not have read your book yet) and answer questions. You will want to sign and sell books, hopefully with a bookstore partner.

If you are looking to zhuzh it up, here are some suggestions from our authors:

Conversation Partners: Bring in a conversation partner. I invited a popular newspaper columnist from the Oregonian. Janet Kintner invited her daughter, also a writer, to interview her. Karen Solt asked her writing partner from a memoir course to appear with her. Shigeto Ito took the stage with a well-known Seattle memoirist, and at a subsequent event, a retired Japanese literature scholar. A conversation partner can make the evening more lively for guests, and garner more buzz and attention.

Food: “And always … FOOD!” says Barbara Stark Nemon. Some authors have tailored the food to the subjects of their books. For Juliet Cutler, it was African food. Stephanie Maley (No Longer that Girl) had snacks, cake and punch at her church. Karen Solt offered cupcakes in the book’s theme, and napkins that looked like her book cover. As Heidi McCrary says, “Never underestimate the power of free food.”

But authors also recommend caution on this front. Some venues, including bookstores, will not allow food, so check before you book. Think about the time of the event before you plan the menu. Shigeko Ito discovered that people were just not that interested in heavy noshing at 7 p.m.

Nancy Chadwick adds, “You don’t want the food and drink to be a distraction.”

Audio/Visual: You may want to add live entertainment, such as music or actors who do a scene from your book.

“I create a slide show and talk about the story behind the story, and my research, and how a book connects to my life and other books,” says Barbara Stark Nemon.

Reading: You will certainly be expected to read from your book, but keep it short. Consensus seems to be one or two selections, three-five minutes each at the most.

Andrea Leeb prepared for her readings by going to an open-mic night at her local bookstore once a month for a year. “I practiced speaking up into a mic, learned to how to articulate, lost my nervousness and bolstered by confidence.”

Giveaways: Hendrika de Vries gave away kangaroo key chains because her memoir takes place in Australia. Gretchen Staebler (Mother Lode), earning a prime spot in heaven, gave away books by other SWP authors as door prizes.

Be Prepared: I was so glad I had an extra two boxes of books in my car. My booksellers were not anticipating one hundred attendees, and would surely have run out of books. They sold mine, then ordered more and replaced mine, so I got credit for the sales. Several other SWP authors offer the same advice. Bring extra books!

Book signing: Heidi McCrary suggests enlisting a friend to help with book signing. The volunteer asks guests in line for their name, then adds it to a Post-it note on their book. You’ll know the reader’s name, which helps you sign the book, and also helps you through that awkward moment when you forget an acquaintance’s name. And bring a good pen you love to write with.

 

Lessons Learned

In their own words:

“It’s a huge milestone to publish a book, so I think the most important thing is to have your people around you who will celebrate it with you.” —Karen Solt

“I am not a salesperson. I’d rather just hide in my home and write. But I loved the response from friends, colleagues, former students and clients. I think mainly it affirmed that promoting a book after it has been published takes a huge amount of energy and dedication.” —Hendrika de Vries

“Leading up to launch was intense for an introvert like me, but everything worked out magically with my publicist’s help.” —Shigeko Ito

“Be kind to yourself and honor yourself during launch week.”—Andrea Leeb

Finally, some advice from an author outside the SWP cocoon. Cal Newport, in his interview with Panio Gianopoulos of Author Insider, cautioned authors not to feel pressure to go all-in on launch week. Gianopoulos says, “He pointed to his own breakout title, Deep Work, which never made the New York Times list but is now approaching three million copies sold. Why? Because it resonated. People recommended it. The idea spread further than any press campaign could have pushed it.”

So, plan your launch carefully. Promote it. Have a great time. And remember … it’s just the beginning.