Hazel Edwards asked Hazel Edwards:

Why have a launch?

Hazel Edwards A book launch is a time-saving way of sharing a new book with potential readers, fans and reviewers. Apart from being a kind of first birthday party for a book, and fun, it should be more than an ego-trip for the author. When I first became an author, launches were rare events, but organised and thematic catering provided by the traditional publisher.And they handled book sales on the day. Yes, we did have a hippo party at the zoo for 'There's a Hippopotamus on our Roof Eating Cake', with BYOHF invites ( Bring your own hippo food) . Fun. These days, with self-published authors doing multiple books annually, launches can be online, or even more than one launch for the same book, in different geographic areas. (That can be over-kill) When a significant and relevant person is invited to launch the book, they often attract extra readers and guests. Getting a first edition book autographed by all of the creators is still special. But having a launch hosted by an umbrella organisation who has a special interest in the subject content is the best way to attract relevant readers. Timing matters too. But often today's launches are organised by the authors and financially hosted by them too. So, occasionally an author may decided NOT to launch with an event, but to concentrate their energy on getting the book to readers in other ways. We didn't have a launch for my memoir 'Not Just a Piece of Cake : Being an Author' because it was released pre-Christmas at the same time as too many other books. Instead, I have given major talks at literary festivals about this title. But last week our co-written 'Hijabi Girl' was launched at Craigieburn Library with the support of a local Hume City council because they wanted a book relevant to the 160 languages and cultures within their community. And the AFL Multi-Cultural Ambassador also supported because girls' football was part of the story. So relevance is the key to a successful launch.

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