by Paul T. O’Connor, author of The Missing Child: The Life She Lived and The Life She Missed
When my local bookstores could not host a reading for my new book, I devised a more profitable and enjoyable alternative.
I threw my own party.
The advantages were many. I picked the date and times that best worked for me. I scheduled two readings, one afternoon for older friends and those were traveling a distance, another early evening for everyone else. Friends who launched in a bookstore were told available dates and times and that readings had to be held within a few weeks of release day.
The financial difference was significant. One common bookstore deal is to split the $20 sales price after the author provides the books. So, I would have made only few dollars on each copy after paying wholesale for the books and they would have made $10. By supplying my books – they had been shipped to me from the printer – I added $10 to my share. Considering that I sold 65 books at my launch, that’s good money.
I controlled the event. A friend interviewed me and we were at ease because we knew our audience. We weren’t distracted by other shoppers roaming the book aisles. It was our party, not the bookstore’s.
We could linger before and after the reading; I chatted with friends I had not seen in years. And, those attending thanked me for inviting them. I got a number of emails the following day telling me how much they enjoyed themselves and several offered to speak with their book, civic or church clubs about inviting me for further readings.
It being a party, I also provided some snacks and soft drinks, and our facility has a bar and high-end restaurant. Several of our friends had dinner or drinks before and/or after. It became a fun Wednesday night out for them.
Finally, the facility’s staff handled everything. They set up and cleaned afterwards. And there was plenty of parking.
But all of this raises the question: Where?
I am a member of a university club that hosts conferences daily. They gave me a good price. It was ironic that I read from the book that details my mother’s lifelong financial hardships in a room overlooking a championship collegiate golf course.
There are many other possible sites: A subdivision, library or private school community room, a place of worship, a hotel. Are wedding venues busy on Tuesday nights? Worth a call to find out.
There are also logistics. Make sure you’ll have enough books. I worried my publisher, Teri Rider, to distraction asking if she was sure the books would arrive at my house on time. They did, two weeks early.
Consider how people can pay. Cash, Venmo (or Zelle, Cash App, etc.), checks (?) and credit cards. Let everyone know the payment options ahead of time. Seed your cash envelope with a number of bills beforehand so you can make change. We found cash and Venmo the most popular.
For each session, I had a friend selling the books at one table. They asked the book buyers how to spell their first names and wrote each on a Post-It note they stuck on the book cover.
I sat at the next table, read the Post-It notes and didn’t forget anyone’s name as I autographed the books. (That was a huge relief.)
What started as a huge disappointment evolved into a big success and a very entertaining day.
Paul T. O’Connor is a retired journalist and journalism professor. He’s happy to answer any questions about this experience if you contact him through email. You can learn more about his book at Torchflamebooks.com or ocolumn.com.
