Hi. I’m Laurie McAndish King, an indie author, editor, and marketing consultant. My travel memoir, Lost, Kidnapped, Eaten Alive! True stories from a curious traveler, came out in August, 2014. More than 100 people attended my launch party and I sold more than 70 books that day. I consider that a hugely successful launch — even though I hardly did anything I’m recommending here, because I didn’t yet have the information or organization I needed to put these best practices into effect.
That’s good news: You can have a very successful book launch if you implement even a few of the ideas on this website.
Here’s some of my other launch experience:
- My travel writing has been published in 11 anthologies, and I helped with launch planning for many of them.
- I co-edited two volumes of erotica in the Hot Flashes: sexy little stories and poems series, and participated in the launch planning for them.
- I published a small volume of poetry called An Erotic Alphabet, and organized a successful launch party for it. (See Case Histories.)
And here’s a link to a Bay Area Independent Publishers Association panel discussion about self-publishing I participated in. My presentation about the “Five Things I’ve Learned about How to Launch Your Book” runs from 14:44 to 28:27.