Organising a book launch

For my recent book which is published by Penguin South Africa, I organised two launches myself, one in Maun and one in Windhoek. In Maun I was completely on my own, at least in terms of the publisher’s assistance.

There was not even a bookseller there, so I had to buy the books with my author’s discount and have someone sell for me at the launch. In Windhoek, it was a more collaborative effort because the publisher paid for the venue and the refreshments and a local book store sold books at the event. But the organisation was down to me. If you have self-published your book, the entire book launch will be yours to pay for and organise. A successful launch will require some planning and organisation so here are a few tips.