So yesterday at lunch, somebody asked sarah_prineas and me whether we were going to have book launch parties to celebrate our new books.
sarah_prineas’s and my reaction:
(Can you feel the resounding silence???)
I had a “book launch party” in 2005 when I had three books come out at once. There were no book stores involved. My husband cleaned the house, made appetizers and invited all my friends…it was very nice. I’d like to do that kind of book launch party again next year when my chapter book series comes out. (I’ll probably even clean the house and make the food myself!)
But I don’t get real excited about a book launch party that is really a book store signing in disguise. I’ve just never found book store signings to be all that successful. I do them when I’m asked, but I don’t ever seek them out.
But then yesterday sarah_prineas turned to me and said, “why don’t we do a book launch party together?”
Hmm.
I like it. First of all, it’s not just a random book signing…it’s two local friends CELEBRATING THE RELEASE OF BOOK TWO IN THEIR RESPECTIVE SERIES. That’s cool! It’s cool enough that Prairie Lights may even advertise that angle. (PL treats you GREAT if you write for adults…if you write for kids? Well, let’s just say I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the childrens department is down in the basement!)
We could make it an event…we could both talk a little bit about the challenges of writing multiple books about the same characters.
And well…who wouldn’t want to do a signing with sarah_prineas ?
Of course, it is still entirely possible that no one will come other than our Monday/Friday/every-third-Saturday/whenever-else-we-feel-like-getting-together-group…but as long as a few them showed up, well…that’s the kind of launch party I could get behind!
I think we’re probably going to do it!
Sounds like fun! You’ll have to let us know if/when that happens! If it’s in the summer, maybe it would be at a time when some of your Kansas friends could road trip!
Really??? That would be so cool! Another advantage to doing it during the summer is we could schedule it when one of the children’s writing classes is going on at the summer writing festival…I know several of those teachers have brought their entire classes to PL signings in the past.
But I think Sarah really wants to do it during the week her book comes out in May…and well, my book actually came out this month, so probably the sooner the better for me, too. But we’ll see…PL may try and talk us out of a during-the-week signing and they may push for summer, too.
Well, we could aim for summer, if that works better. I don’t care if it’s a launch party or not (hence the *resounding silence*).
The only trick is that my library “show” (and it WILL be a show, with explosions and swordfighting!) is scheduled for the summer. In July, I think. And I don’t want to impinge on that. When is the children’s writing festival going on? June, maybe?
We can talk about it and see what would work best…
Oh! Oh! I want to come for explosions and sword fighting!
(Can you both tell I’m itching for an excuse to take the kids to Iowa??)
Come! Bring ’em!
It’d be fun to do a joint write-in sometime with the KC group…aside from the fact it’s what? A 5-6 hour drive one way? Our group is growing. We’ve got TEN people here today!
I am so there.
And see you in a little while.
You’re coming today???? Wonderful!!!!
I hope it works out! Just waiting to hear back from you-know-who. It’ll be interesting to see how they decide to do this. As a reading/signing upstairs in their usual reading place? Or down in the basement?
It’ll fun to do it as a team event, too. We’ll have to leave lots of time for questions and chatting.
Yay!
I heard from her…the 13th is out, but she’s checking on the 12th or the 14th. So it sounds like we’re good to go as far as she’s concerned…we just need a date.
So…can we add “NO DRESSES” to our mantra? No moss…never surrender…the one I keep forgetting…and no dresses!