how to throw a great book launch party

you never know when you might need this

Guys, I’ve never been one for organizing events. But when my book got published, and my publisher asked if I’m going to have a party, and considering I live in London, a city where cool things are easier to plan than in others… I thought I can’t let this opportunity pass by. So I got to planning, and a few (at least 4) anxiety-ridden nightmares about the party going terribly later, I’m happy to say it was genuinely the best. The vibes were incredible, I got 50-60 amazing people in one room, and everyone had a much better time than I could have hoped for. So for all of you writers and future (or current) authors, here’s my guide to throwing a great book launch party.

Keep in mind, I had never been to a book launch party and I don’t have any published author friends. So I had absolutely no idea how these things are meant to go. Now I kind of do! I hope this post becomes for someone the post I wish I had when I was planning.

1. The venue

London is full of beautiful venues, but they were either super expensive, unavailable, too small, too big. I wanted something that would bring cozy and chic together, feel intimate but fun, and that’s what I found! Sneak peek:

Choose a venue where the staff seems friendly and is responsive. I bothered them with a lot of questions during my planning phase, from do you have DJ decks and how much prosecco is enough for 50 people to can I please please deliver 100 books to you a few days before the event. They were so helpful and it made the whole experience easier. All my guests absolutely loved the venue, and since it was so beautiful, everyone was taking lots of pictures because it made the event photogenic.

2. The invites

I had my event on a Friday night and used Partiful to create a digital invite that I sent to all my friends. Partiful is my new best friend. It makes it really easy for everyone to RSVP straight away, and then it sends automatic text reminders a few days before the event so you make sure no one forgets. Because I know my friends, I sent out the invites more than a month ahead of the event, so no one made any plans on that random Friday night — high success rate. My very kind friends and family traveled from other countries to join, which I am incredibly grateful for, so that alone made it very special. I designed a cute little invite to go with it:

3. The entertainment

Okay, you got everyone you know to show up at your book launch party. Now what? I messaged my editor as someone who, naturally, has been to a lot of book launch parties. He said get snacks, drinks, and maybe make a couple of speeches. So I did that - got welcome prosecco for all the guests (10 bottles), a lot of snacks because who doesn’t love that (mini quiches and tarts, wraps, etc - mix of sweet and savoury), and then on to the SPEECHES.

I didn’t want the event to feel formal so I didn’t prepare a speech - I figured that if there’s something I can talk about on the spot, it’s the book I wrote. So hoped I’d just figure out what to say when the time came (I did! Also threatened to haunt anyone who leaves a bad Goodreads review). And then came the fun part - my best friend, my boyfriend, my sister, and my dad, all insisted on making speeches too… Get all your closest people in one room and that might happen. It felt like it was my birthday and my wedding at the same time - I just stood there while my best friends spoke about how much they love me? Honestly highly recommend. It was also a good conversation starter - tons of my friends went up to my dad later to comment on his speech (it was a great one). I joked about bringing my blue, sparkly, wireless karaoke mic with me to use for the speeches, but then it wasn’t a joke anymore so that’s what we actually did. Pictured below: me trying to keep it together while my best friend is practically serenading me with her speech.

Many authors have panels or Q&A’s at their book launch, or a more organized format that resembles a little conference event. Although I considered that more structured approach, that’s not the vibe I wanted to go for, so besides the 5-10 minutes where we were giving speeches, there was no other ‘activity’, I just wanted people to meet each other and make new friends. It was a big success as everyone met new people and had great conversations, which was my hope! If you manage to bring together tons of wonderful and lovely people in one room, the best thing you can do is let everyone talk to each other.

I also of course made a good playlist to play the whole night (was going to have a friend DJ but ended up deciding against it so that she could also have fun talking to others during the event).

4. The details

My publishing house helped out by providing the banner you see below, and coming along on the day to sell books and give people free bookmarks. Turns out everyone does want to buy a book at your book launch party, so I ended up signing a lot of copies! I was well prepared (see pen below).

You’ll probably forget to take pictures at your own book launch party, I definitely did. So I gave a point and shoot film camera to my sister and just told her to go wild until the film runs out.

5. The souvenir (highly recommend)

Thank you to the random TikTok I stumbled upon one day that suggested getting everyone to sign your own copy of your book, so you can keep it as the best souvenir. I brought my hardcover copy of my book, set it on the bar (assuming people would go get drinks a lot and see it there), with a pen and a big note next to it that said “SIGN MY BOOK WHEREVER YOU FIND SPACE!!! XXX ERIFILI”. It worked! Over 6 pages of the book were signed by almost 50 people that left lovely messages all over, circling themselves in the Acknowledgements page and giving me the best tangible souvenir to quite literally keep forever.

So, there you have it - here’s how I planned my book launch party and everything I did to make it a memorable night. You have to celebrate your wins once in a while, and there’s nothing better than getting tons of great people together in one room for an evening. I hope a future author reads this and saves it for their own book launch, it’s worth it.

P.S.: I share most content about my journey as a first time author with my paid subscribers, so consider joining for £3.5 a month or £2.92 a month if you’re on the anual plan! Very grateful for all of you and thank you for being here. ❤️