So many tasks, so little time!

It is now three days before the release of The Natural Order!!  I started working on this project two months ago, and the time since then has gone by unerringly fast.

Once the book has come out, I’ll change modes: I’ll begin to report what has worked and what hasn’t worked in the realm of marketing.  You’ll hear about the book launch party, the book tour, whether I’ve been able to get the book into any local bookstores, and how my other attention-getting pursuits have panned out.

Oh, and I’ll let you know how many crocheted animals I end up making!

Remember, if you comment before August 31st, you could win a stuffed animal of your choice.  (1 in every 5 comments wins)

***

`

And the process…

For all of you who are curious, this is what the lead-up to a book release looks like:

• Ordering copies of the book.  I’ve ordered 200 copies, which will hopefully be enough for the book launch party and a subsequent book tour.  I would be thrilled if they sold out, though!  Shipping to New Zealand is extremely expensive, especially when they add the customs tax, so I’ll be planning very carefully before I order another shipment of books.

• Planning the book launch party.  The party is now listed on Eventfinda, and I’ve printed out a set of party-invite cards that I’m giving out to absolutely everyone.  I’ve been inviting my coworkers (from the cafe where the party will be hosted), the regulars from the cafe, and the staff at the local bookstore (I also left a stack of invites next to their till, for customers who are interested).  I’m hoping to visit a couple more bookstores and the farmers’ market before the date of the launch party

• Submitting the book to bloggers.  There are 238 bloggers who read and post reviews of self-published books, so I’ve been going through the list and submitting mine to everyone who accepts YA fantasy.  Unfortunately some of the most popular and well-suited sites are closed for submissions, given a backlog of TBR (to-be-read) books, but it’s still an exciting chance to get the word out.

• Requesting reviews.  I’m hoping to have 10 reviews up on Amazon before June 1st, though this seems unlikely (I’m currently at 3 reviews).

• Submitting the book to local bookstores.  Christchurch has one local bookstore, Scorpio Books, and the owners are very friendly and willing to check out The Natural Order.  As soon as the shipment of books arrives, I’ll bring one straight over to them so they can read it and make their decision.  I’ll also be trying for a spot at Boulder Bookstore, my favorite local bookstore ever (in my hometown), though this one is a bit trickier since I can’t present the book myself.

Now I’m just crossing my fingers that the books arrive in one piece!  It will be a very exciting journey from here on…

How to Host a Successful Book-Launch Party

ANNOUNCEMENT!!

I now have a date and venue for my book launch party!  It will be happening on June 11th, at Town Tonic Cafe (Christchurch), from 7-9 pm.

For those of you in New Zealand, make sure you attend, and invite everyone you know!  And for those of you elsewhere in the world, stay tuned for the results of my first-ever book launch.

***

According to Writer’s Digest, here are a few things you have to do to make your book-launch party successful:

Set measurable objectives

That means setting sales and attendance targets, as well as media presence targets.  I hadn’t even thought of inviting any media persons before now, but that might be a good idea.  I have no idea how many people I can expect to turn up.  I’ve ordered 200 copies of the book, though I’m intending to use most of them for the book tour following the launch party.  If 100 people attend, I’ll be thrilled.

Connect book, event, and audience

This means targeting the party theme to the book’s audience.  Well, I’m not quite doing that, since the audience is young adult and Town Tonic is a swanky cafe (plus we’ll be serving free drinks), but hopefully this will still build buzz for the book and get people to pass the word along to more suitable readers.

I’ll try to tailor the book launch party for the second book to a more fitting audience; at the moment, I hardly know anyone who fits in the YA group!

Employ social network 

I’ve been doing this by creating a book launch page on Facebook and advertising it on this blog…my following isn’t the most impressive, given that I haven’t been blogging for long, but it’s worth a try.  I’m more likely to use in-person advertising.  This weekend I’m planning to send my partner to the Christchurch Farmers’ Market, where he can snag as many attendees as possible!

Court local media 

Again, have to work on this one…I’ll give you updates about how successful (or not!) this is.

Create a fun atmosphere 

This has been a big focus for us.  Town Tonic is a lively, suave cafe, so it’s already a great atmosphere for any sort of party.  We’re also playing with the idea of getting live music.

Offer incentives

Again, something very important for us.  As an unknown author with a small social circle, I can’t rely on my name or book as motivation for attending.  So we’re going to have free drinks, snacks, and door prizes, which means no one will walk away empty-handed!

Make buying easy 

Since we’re at a cafe, we can use their register for credit card and Eftpos purchases, which certainly simplifies matters.  We might even be able to use the cash in their register to make change…

Rally your party guests 

This last factor is all about giving your guests a way to help you spread the word. That includes asking them to write reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, post photos of the party on facebook, and tell their friends about the book.  I’ll probably include a “call for reviews” as part of a bookmark that comes with their purchase, and I’m planning to collect emails through the door prize sign-up.  That way I can email everyone to remind them!

I have to think of a good photo op that would motivate people to post photos after the party…any ideas?  Let me know in the comments below!

***

P.S. If anyone is wondering how this ties into my hobby-based marketing scheme (remember, I’m trying to use cooking, travel, photography, and crochet to promote my book), it does in several ways!

1. I work at Town Tonic (my book launch venue) as a chef during the daytime
2. Some of the door prizes will include crocheted things
3. We’ll be making mulled wine for part of the free drinks

So there you go!

Marketing Schemes

My only knowledge of book-marketing comes from my experience working with a literary agency, when we dressed as witches and went around Salem handing out bookmarks for a pirate novel during their month-long Halloween celebration.  Salem has a pirate museum and attracts an endless flood of parents and children (all in costume) throughout the month of October, so we had hit our ideal market.  That marketing campaign was a huge success.

Here are a few of the marketing ideas I’ve come up with so far, categorized by hobby.

Crochet:

• Hosting the aforementioned giveaway (one in five comments wins a crocheted animal of your choice!)
• Selling the novel at a farmers’ market alongside crocheting

Travel:

• Doing book signings around New Zealand…where the location is chosen for its merit as a destination, not for its customers
• Staying at huts and hostels in New Zealand, sitting in a corner and crocheting, and telling everyone who asks me what I’m doing about my project.  To date, this has proved the best way to sell crocheted objects (hats and scarves and phone cases etc.) that I’ve discovered.

Cooking:

• Hosting dinners combined with book signings
• Posting recipes that appear in the novel

Photography:

• Recording all of these schemes through photos…

If you have any other ideas–the more ridiculous, the better–let me know in the comments below!  Also, if you have any experience with hosting book signings/book events, going on book tours, or doing any of these other publicity schemes, I’d love to hear about your experiences!

~R.J. Vickers

About

Follow me on my unconventional book-marketing journey!  I’m using all of my hobbies–crochet, travel, cooking, and photography–to promote my new YA novel.

Irresistible Amigurumi

One of my first ideas for crochet-themed marketing is a giveaway of cute crocheted animals.  Who could resist one of these cuddly critters?

Anyone who reads and comments on my book will be in to win, and one in every five comments will win.  This might be a horrible idea, since if it takes off I could end up drowning in crocheted animals (I’ll post a photo if that happens!), but it seems reasonable from my current perspective.

YOUR CHALLENGE:

I challenge you to recruit as many of your friends as possible to read and comment, and see how many crocheted animals you can get me to make!!  I’ve never made more than 30 animals in  a row before, so…help me beat that record!

~

From June 1st (publication date) to August 31st, anyone who buys, reads, and comments on The Natural Order (on Goodreads or Amazon) will be entered to win a crocheted animal of their choice, and one out of every five comments will win!  It can even be a negative comment–any honest feedback is appreciated.  I just won’t enter someone’s name if

1. They obviously haven’t read the book, or

2. The comment is spiteful rather than constructive

Everyone will just have to email me at r.j.vickers@comcast.net once they have commented, including the username they have commented with.

Let me know in the comments below if you’re going to try to win!  And if you can think of any other crocheting-themed promotion ideas, add them as well!

Cheers,

R.J. Vickers