You want to sell books, right? The journey to publication was long, wrought with *tears and massive revisions (*Oh, was that just me?). The sole purpose of our admirable, satisfying, and daunting craft is not to send our books to a blind oblivion, buried under the three million other books published each year. We not only want our books seen, but more importantly, read.

I’ve included several links below to some great tips online. These are tried-and-true methods of book PR pros who know how turn the publication of a book into an event. The launch of a book is (typically) one-time-only, happening live–and the more attention you can attract to your book event, the more readers you’ll reach. (And in turn, sell more of your already published books.)

Joel Friedlander  of The Book Designer blog, says, “For many authors, this is a critical time in the life of their book. First, decide whether you want to run all of your activities on a single day, over the course of a week, or extending to a longer time period. Any of these options is workable. Remember that you’re in charge, so you get to decide the exact parameters of your book launch. ”

Let’s look at book launch opportunities. You won’t be doing all these things, so don’t become overwhelmed. Read through these exhaustive lists and create your own menu of options, the action items that you feel you can tackle.

My method: I am creating my own Book Launch Marketing Plan. Examining each article I’ve linked to below, I’m copying and pasting each idea or action item which appropriately fits my audience, budget, time schedule, and let’s get down to it–capability. I’ll then organize them in an effective order. That way, each day, I’ll know what I’m supposed to be doing and who I should contact or reach out to–or help. (We’re all in this together.) This approach is easier and allows tasks to be accomplished, while averting the pitfalls of attacking a gigantic to-do list. It will also help me focus on key components, which are much more trackable. You can do this too!

Begin with these links:

• Joel Friedlander’s 8 Ways to Make Your Book Launch Take Off
• Jared Dees posted an excellent piece:  The Ultimate Book Launch Guide: 33 Ideas Any Author Can Use  
• Caitlyn Muir has a post that is a must-read: 89+ Book Marketing Ideas That Will Change Your Life
• Kary Oberbrunner utilized a launch team of nearly 200 men and women to hoist Scott Fay’s book directly to the top of the New York Times bestseller list in the post, How to Launch a Bestselling Book by Using an Online Book Release Party.
  On the first day of the launch, the team was asked to read the book (that had been supplied to them, free) and then post their review online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. (They posted more than 70 reviews on Day One!) On “Creative Day,” the team was asked to post a picture of the themselves with the book (or the book alone) and include a favorite excerpt. (It might look like this. In my opinion, this kind of help deserves some prizes as an incentive! Free books, downloads, coupons, or chocolate–whatever works for you, and your book subject!) Where do you find such amazing people to help you with YOUR book? See the next bullet point…
• Jeff Goins has tips on attracting influencers and some other fabulous ideas at One Incredibly Overlooked Key to a Successful Launch)
• Tim Grahl has some great tips on How To Launch an Instant Best Seller (Oooh, instant gratification? Sign me up.)

Mr. Friedlander adds, “Putting together a book launch can be a lot of work. But there are a lot of tangible and intangible benefits. If you’re in this for the long haul, you’ll recognize that these benefits will repay your efforts in many ways. For instance, by going through the launch, you can:

• Create better relations with other bloggers in your field
• Better understand your readers and why they respond to you
• Explore aspects of your subject that might be of interest to different groups of readers
• Learn which approaches work best in driving traffic, and interest, about your book.

Managing a book launch can be an exciting and awarding adventure. You’ll learn a lot, and you’ll be able to use that learning for your next book. What are your ideas? What works and what doesn’t? Please comment below!

More Resources

Book Launch Media Kit—Using Your Testimonials

Book Marketing: Your Online Press Kit

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