As an author your new job – as you may have already discovered – is as book promoter. You’ll be coordinating interviews, writing guest blogs, managing PPC ads and doing a host of other activities designed to get the word out about your new book.

And the best way to create a buzz and get people excited about your book? A good old-fashioned book launch event. Imagine a crowd of eager fans all waiting for you to appear, read a bit from your latest bestseller, and answer questions. It’s the scene that’s filled many would-be authors’ daydreams, and now that you have a book, it can become your reality.

All it takes is a little planning and organization.

It All Begins With a GOOD Book

Does that seem obvious? Maybe not. Here’s why. There are dozens of ways to produce a book today, but very few of them are suited to an off-the-charts book signing event.

• Kindle
• Self-published ebook
• POD publishers
• Amazon’s Create Space
• Smashwords
• Traditional publishers (the kind with a big imprint)

Now, it’s obvious that you’re not going to host a book-signing event for a Kindle book, but what about other self-publishing options?

Here’s the thing: When your reader steps up to your table to buy a copy of your book, you want to ensure she has the absolute best first impression you can give her. That means top-quality writing, editing, and printing.

Sure, you can do it all yourself. Amazon and others make it easy and cost-effective to write and print a book, but will it portray the image you want? Or will it scream “amateur”?

So before you even think about scheduling your first signing event, let’s make sure your book is ready for the big leagues by creating a media kit so you get some BUZZ so you’ll have people at your event that will BUY.

Your next order of business is letting the press know about your book and or “book launch” event, but before you do that, it’s important to be prepared. You want members of the media to be able to find all the info they need quickly and easily, and the best way to do that is to create a media kit.

You definitely should include:

• Professional headshots
• Book cover images in various sizes
• Contact information (with your social media handles)
• “Talking points”
• Book blurbs and table of contents
• Rave reviews and the foreword

Make your kit easy to find, and be sure to include a link to it in all your press releases and other correspondence with the press, with bloggers, podcast producers, and anyone else who might be hosting—or talking about—you.