A Little Life List: How to Host a Book Launch

With tips from guest Anthony Bidulka

Nov 08, 2024

The world has been very loud this week. I invite you to pause and think about books with me, with coffee, too, if you like.

Two quick updates before we launch into A Little Life List I’m so happy to share with you….

I’m excited to invite those of you who live in Saskatoon to Writing Secrets, Tips & Coffee on November 23rd at 10am. FREE TICKETS FOR YOU HERE. (More details at the end).
Our Life Changing Book Club this November has so many people already reading The Salt Path by Raynor Winn. It’s a beautiful book for hard times—such a wonderful choice from
Cate Whittle
. Thank you. I need it right now. I have lots to share with you next week, which gives you time to join in. No commitment required, but do start reading if you desire.

And now get coffee and get comfy! With my own book launch on my mind (even as the loud world is also very much on my mind), I wanted to reach out to a local author I deeply admire. Anthony Bidulka is a generous writer, and a kind and creative man, full of heart, curiosity and joy.

He also hosts the MOST fun book launches.

I’m so pleased he took time in this interview to share his experiences with us. Maybe you’ll have your own book launch one day—or maybe you just want to get to know this lovely, smart author of soooo many books—another novel about to appear!

If you have questions about anything or want to say hi, comment below.

What are the first things you think about as you plan a book launch? How does your plan progress? Any tips?

The first things I think about are:

(1) Is there something about the book that can I can tie into a theme for the event

(2) How can I make the event unique, not your typical book launch

(3) How best to host my guests to make them feel welcome and appreciated

With (soon to be) fifteen books under my belt - when did that happen? —I have experienced a great many book launches, from Saskatoon to Vancouver to San Antonio and Philadelphia.

For the purposes of this discussion, I will restrict my comments to my hometown book launches I’ve hosted in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, which are, by far, the most varied and the ones over which I have the greatest amount of control and input.

Each of my first eight books (the Russell Quant mystery series) is set in Saskatchewan plus another non-Saskatchewan location, such as New York, France, Africa, Dubai, to name a few. Each of the book titles referenced a food or drink.

Tying book launches into a location theme was easy and fun. Not only did we have food and drink from whatever place Russell was playing detective in, but to make the events even more unique we’d do things like bring in dancers or musicians for a bit of extra entertainment.

For my most recent launches, I’ve used venue choice to make the event unique, from an old-time movie theatre to the Ukrainian Museum of Canada. Not only did the space tie into the storylines but they gave my guests someplace interesting to visit.

I don’t know if it’s a prairie thing or a Ukrainian thing or simply because of who my parents were, but top of mind for each book launch is a desire to host people, to let them know how glad and grateful I am that they’ve taken the time to support me and my book.

Growing up, Mom and Dad’s door was always open. I can remember many a Sunday afternoon and evening with a house full of people, eating, drinking, singing songs and laughing. For them, hosting meant plenty of food and drink and going out of your way to make people feel welcome. I do my best to emulate this with my book launches.

Once the theme, venue and catering decisions are made, all that’s left is marketing and inviting guests.

Can you describe a couple of your recent launches to inspire people who might want to create something similar?

My most recent launch was for my second Merry Bell mystery, From Sweetgrass Bridge. The main mystery in the book revolves around the disappearance of a quarterback for our beloved provincial CFL team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Now, I must admit, I know very little about football. But for the launch, I totally leaned into the theme. I did this not only because it tied in so nicely with the book, but because even though I do not, I know many Saskatchewan people derive a great deal of pleasure from celebrating the Roughriders. I thought it would be a fun experiment to combine that joy with attending a literary event. I love the juxtaposition of that.

The event was held in a penthouse ballroom atop a local hotel with a gorgeous, expansive view of a local football field. We had temporary Roughrider tattoos, the food was tailgate party fare, and I brought in a guest speaker, a Roughrider aficionado, who shared little-known facts and fun stories about everyone’s favourite team. We invited guests to wear their Roughrider t’s and jerseys.

One of the Russell Quant book launches featured Middle Eastern appetizers and drinks which were unique and tasty. For another book, called Flight of Aquavit, we distributed aquavit to the entire crowd and had a shot together to toast the book. For Aloha, Candy Hearts we had Hawaiian delicacies and hula dancers.

Whenever you can tie a book’s content or theme into your launch in a way that is both meaningful and of service to the book AND provides your guests with a memorable or unique experience, you’re going to have a winning event.

Can you remember your earliest launches? What do you wish you'd known?

That was twenty years ago! How can I remember that far back? Aha! I know. Pictures and videos. Speaking of which, that’s what I wish I’d known: Record your event in some way. This is so important. Not only for when Alice Kuipers comes along and asks a question like this one but also for posterity.

I am a big believer in recording life’s important moments. A book launch is certainly that. I only have a few photos from the first one or two launches. I wish I had more. I’m wiser now. I also know I will be too busy to take pictures myself, so I always designate someone to do it for me.

Another thing: always start on time. For me, it’s a sign of respect for your guests. It’s not always as easy as you might think. I showed up half an hour early for my very first hometown launch, excited and ready to greet people (I was VERY worried no one would show up…actually I still have that same worry twenty years later, even though it’s never happened.)

Wondrously, the turnout for that first event was huge, with everyone surrounding me to say hello and get their book signed before things got started (just in case they “couldn’t stay until the end”). Well, things got out of control quickly. Thankfully the bookstore’s events coordinator rescued me. But we still started late. Ever since then, I know it may sound strange, but I sequester myself until it’s time to come on stage. Things run much smoother that way.

Although I still experience sparks of nervous excitement right before each launch, in the early days I allowed nerves to overshadow the joy and exhilaration. I wish I knew to be in the moment and revel in the privilege and honour of hosting a book launch. I mean, how cool is that?

How do you promote a book launch?

Promotion is something that is constantly changing and evolving.

How I promoted my book events in the early years (getting on a plane and flying around Canada and the U.S. hosting book launches in brick-and-mortar books stores, courting newspaper book reviewers, and delivering posters to local businesses) is much different than how I promote today. There is still a bit of flying around, but the vast majority of bookstores I used to visit no longer exist, nor do newspapers that run book reviews. Today, much of my marketing effort is about utilizing social media including promoting book launches.

Over the decades I’ve collected a database of reader contact information (names, email addresses and location), so whenever I am hosting a launch in a specific city, I will send out invitations. Try thinking outside the box and get creative.

In the past, I’ve sent bookstores everything they needed to set up an in-store display to promote the event. I’ve tied in book giveaways or offers to attend a book club meeting. At one book launch, we encouraged guests to dress as a favourite character from the book. I have found the key to promotion is to keep trying different things and do a lot of it. Not everything will work, but the more you try, the more the likelihood that some of your efforts will pay off.

How do you balance the public-facing part of a writing life with the actual writing?

I see writing as my professional career with two equally important components. The first is the creative side, the writing. The second is the business side, all the rest: developing marketing plans, communications with readers, industry personnel and colleagues, advertising, social media interaction, contract negotiations, financial decisions, travel, giving back to your profession through mentoring, attending festivals, volunteering, sitting on boards and committees, providing blurbs other authors, manuscript evaluations.

Maintaining balance is not always easy. There will be times when I’m simultaneously promoting a current release, writing or editing the current work in progress, and thinking about/planning the upcoming book. Becoming distracted or giving short shrift to one thing over another is a real risk. For me, the key is to be organized and assign equal importance to both components. There is a temptation to say: I’m a writer, so I must spend most of my time writing (even if it comes at the expense of say, promoting a finished book.)

Writing is a spectacular, creative pursuit. It can feel wrong not to focus on being creative. I believe it is very important for all writers to ask themselves one question: Why do I write? If part of your answer includes selling lots of books, developing and serving a growing readership, then, quite simply, time and effort need to be spent on the non-writing aspects of the career. For some of those things, you can find and pay someone to do them for you. But I have found that no one is more invested in a writer’s success and servicing their “WHY” than the writer themselves.

The public-facing part of the writing life falls in the second, business side of being a writer. It includes book launches and personal appearances at writers’ festivals, fan conventions and conferences, as well as social media interaction.

More and more, readers are used to having closer contact with writers than what was possible prior to our current social media world. This increased contact is something I really enjoy and treasure. But again, balance and organization are key. This is a huge topic, so since this discussion is meant to focus on book launches, I’ll talk about that part of the public face.

Book launches are one of my favourite aspects of a new book’s post-release life. That is not the case for every writer. For some, who I know well, it is their least favourite thing. It can be because they are uncomfortable with public speaking, don’t like crowds, struggle with anxiety or nerves, etc.

There is always a workaround. I have seen some brilliant ones. For example, if you know you’re not a great public speaker, invite someone else (perhaps a bookstore employee, a local celebrity or an extrovert family member) to do the actual reading. You’re on hand to answer questions, shake hands and sign books. Know what you do well and do those things. Overall, be consistent, be grateful, and gracious and have FUN.

Anthony Bidulka has developed a body of work that often features his Saskatchewan roots and underrepresented, diverse main characters. He tells serious stories in accessible, entertaining, often humorous ways.

Bidulka’s novels have been shortlisted for numerous awards. Going to Beautiful is the 2023 winner of the Crime Writers of Canada Award for Best Crime Novel and also won the Independent Publisher Book Award as the Canada West Best Fiction Gold Medalist. Flight of Aquavit was awarded the Lambda Literary Award for Best Men’s Mystery, making Bidulka the first Canadian to win in that category.

In his free time, Bidulka loves to travel the world, collect art, walk his dogs, obsess over decorating Christmas trees (it’s a thing) and throw a good party.

Website: www.anthonybidulka.com

Can you come on November 23rd? Half the tickets have already been claimed and I so hope to see/meet some of you there.

Writing Secrets, Tips & Coffee

Come join us for a morning filled with inspiration, knowledge, and, of course, coffee at the Saskatoon Club.

For adults who want to write for young readers, this FREE one-off event features FOUR brilliant local authors, sharing their writing secrets about what it's really like to live and work as a writer in Saskatoon. Authors Kristy Jackson, Khodi Dill, Arthur Slade and Alice Kuipers (me!) will talk with you about how they write for young readers. I’m launching a new book, Spark, which is full of advice for aspiring writers, and our featured authors are all brilliant writers for all age groups: picture books all the way to young adult.

Here’s the link for YOUR FREE TICKET.

For those of you not in Saskatoon, I’m planning a virtual chat about Spark in early 2025—stay tuned. You’re really important to me, too, and while I love in person events, I look forward to meeting you on here, too.

Take a moment and tell me how you are. What are you reading?