1. Send out all your invites a month before.

Promote your event at least a month in advance of the date. Send out invites and the venue location at least three weeks in advance. Do the same a week before and the day before the event. Post the event on social media two weeks prior to the event if it’s an open invite launch. You can also create a Facebook event for your launch.

 

2. Create a buzz around your event

Share your excitement by having friends, family and everyone who has purchased a copy of the book and ask them to post themselves with a copy of the book in various locations. Be it on their holiday across the world or in their homes.

 

 

     

 

  

 

3. Get a dependable friend to be the host, problem buffer and has a great network of friends.

What better host than a childhood friend who knows you best and can represent your brand perfectly. Dr Namwinga Chintu and I have been friends since Jacaranda Primary school in Lusaka, Zambia. Her network of friends became my net worth of sales.

 

4. Join a writing or a book club community. 

 

Having people in your corner supporting your launch can not be over emphasised as they will support your day and spread the word of your book

 

 

 

 

5. Ensure you have bottomless supply of Inverroche of Gin.

 

Label-A kindly provided this wonderful tasting Gin for the book launch and needless to say, more books were sold on the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Dont forget to capture the moments

 

  

 

 

7. Get reviews for your book on as many social media platforms as possible.

Zambian politician, Mwangala Lethbridge, was involved in a horrific motorcycle accident, the victim of a drunken driver, shortly after losing in a significant election. These two disasters following shortly after each other shook her previously deep-rooted faith in both herself and her God, leaving her questioning what her future on earth could possibly be.

Still Standing is an incredibly honest and painful memoir of the months in which she began to recover, physically and eventually, mentally, with the psychological scars proving to be more difficult to circumvent. I appreciated Mwangala' candidness throughout Still Standing. She is all too aware of how her struggles to understand her predicament are reflecting upon her family and I found this aspect of the memoir one of the most powerful to consider. Mwangala's recovery isn't just her own rebuilding, but also a need to shore up and renegotiate family relationships which were also drastically changed forever when her strong maternal role was no longer possible.

Also, of great interest to me were Mwangala's thoughts around the multicultural makeup of her marriage, particularly the question of where home might be when each partner - and their children - has a very different emotional response to that question - separated by thousands of miles. Mwangala's abrupt awakening to how her home town now saw  and openly treated her very differently, purely due to her disability, was an eye-opening chapter.

Still Standing is an inspirational and, hopefully, influential memoir which I am glad to have been given this opportunity to read. I did not find it a religious book per se, although Mwangala's faith is obviously a vital part of her life, but I was more in awe of her personal strength and the dedication of her husband, Adam, as this family adjusted to such an altered reality.

8. Plan a launch party

You can reach a wide target audience at an open launch to generate as many sales as possible. To stick to our budget, we chose an invite only party and made plans to hit all our local book stores and any venue that would have us.

Also ensure you have enough signed copies of your book for sale. Try as much as possible to personalise your signings.

 

9. Choose the correct venue for your book launch.

The right venue for your book is dependent on your budget and the authenticity of the venue. In our case, we decided to be creative and opted to launch at the residence of the author. Not only was it cost effective but the outdoor venue created a relaxed atmosphere for the guests and author alike.

 

 

 

10. Create a checklist 30 days before the launch

This will ensure you don’t forget anything as the days prior to the launch can be hectic and stressful. It is easy to forget the minor but turn out to be major details.

 

 

11. Provide entertainment on the day

Ngoni traditional dancers from the Eastern province of Zambia, provided the much-needed entertainment on the day.

 

12. Coordinate with your publisher

Your publisher will guide you and in most cases use their marketing channels to send out blurbs of the book to various media groups and influencers. They will provide images and send out reviews as well as giveaway copies of your book.