EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED: PULLING TOGETHER AN INTERNATIONAL BOOK LAUNCH
By Diane Gilbert Madsen
Launching a new book under
normal circumstances is a challenge. I’d already launched two. My first, “A Cadger’s Curse,” about Robert
Burns, the Bard of Scotland, was launched at an MWA Raven Award winning Chicago
based bookstore, Centuries & Sleuths.
The second, “Hunting for Hemingway,” about --- you guessed it -- was launched
at the Hemingway Museum in Oak Park under the auspices of the Ernest Hemingway
Foundation of Oak Park.
My third book in the DD McGil
Literati Mystery Series, “The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the
Ripper,” has a new publisher -- MX Publishing.
This innovative publisher is based in London, whereas me and my office -
known as The Bat Cave - are based in Southwest Florida. I also have a fan base in the Chicago area,
my hometown. My challenge was how to work out the logistics of the When, Where
and How among all these sites for the book launch.
Luckily, communications between
me and Steve Emecz, the Managing Director of MX Publishing were excellent from
the start. The first issue we resolved
was that the date of the launch would be May 22nd 2014 -- this being
the 155th anniversary of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s birthday. Once
we’d decided on the “When,” we moved on to the “Where.”
Of course, I wanted to be in
London for the launch. In fact, my
husband Tom and I had friends from Cincinnati who wanted to join us on the trip
across the pond, and we made some initial plans. However, my husband developed some back
problems, making the trip unfeasible, so I had to be here in the US and not in
London for the launch. The “Where” would
be two locations – the US and the UK.
Steve and I agreed to work out a joint international launch between us
using Skype and a live facebook feed to connect our two locations and make it
one big party. As for Chicago, I decided
that a week after the launch, I’d go there for a signing at Centuries &
Sleuths and attend the Printers Row Book Fair to meet my Chicago based fans.
Work then began in earnest on
all the details of the Florida-London launch.
I selected a favorite bookstore in Southwest Florida – Copperfish Books
– as my venue. The owners, Cathy &
Serena, are very author friendly, and they have a base of loyal readers who
love the store and the many interesting events continually offered. I’d done several very successful
presentations and signings there, so I knew the layout well. They jumped at the opportunity to help plan a
joint international event.
My publisher chose the Sherlock
Holmes Hotel on Baker Street in London as the venue – a perfect location. The Hotel was extremely accommodating. They baked a Sherlock Holmes/Conan Doyle
Birthday Cake and even devised a special cocktail for the launch called “A
Scandal in Bohemia” a la the Sherlock Holmes Hotel. The drink recipe is on my
website -www.dianegilbertmadsen.com
Copperfish Books and I talked often, and we
coordinated times with London. Our FL
event would begin at 2 PM and London at 7 PM.
We decided how many books to order and planned e-mail announcements to
the press and to their customers as well as to my fan list. We ordered a birthday cake and wine and
cheese. We planned some Sherlock Holmes
decorations, and we developed an advertising poster for the event that could be
distributed in the weeks prior at the bookstore, at libraries and at various retailers.
We met at the bookstore several times pre-launch date to work out specifics. We
did a trial Skype run; decided where to best place the Skype camera and where
to set up and play my book trailer video; how to showcase the Conan Doyle
Birthday cake; and the best arrangement for podium and seating.
Meanwhile in London, Steve came up with some
creative ideas to help make the launch memorable. He turned it into an “event”
publicizing both my book launch and the 155th anniversary of Conan
Doyle’s birth. He organized a live
interview, via satellite, where Stephen Seitz, Sherlockian, journalist, author,
media consultant and film critic, would interview me about my new book directly
from my launch in Southwest FL. He also secured a performance of "The
Singular Exploits of Sherlock Holmes" by Jonathan Goodwin of the famous
Don’t Go Into Cellar theatre company.
The program also would update the status of the fight to Save Undershaw
- the home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes. Steve sold tickets to the event, giving
attendees entry into a raffle that included signed first editions of my book,
"The Conan Doyle Notes."
Raffle proceeds were pledged to the Undershaw Preservation Trust.
Before the launch date, I sent
out e-mails to potential readers on several occasions, highlighting different
aspects of my new book. I continually
tweeted, put information on my facebook page and on some additional facebook
page opportunities that my publisher provided for me.
We scheduled a 60 day “Goodreads Giveaway” for 3
copies of my new book for US, UK and Australia. It was amazing to see over
1,500 readers sign up for this promotion. I tweeted the promotions and put them
on facebook
During this time I signed on for some blogs relating to
my book launch. Also I wrote an article
for PBS Expressions Magazine due out
in June 2014 entitled, “The Secrets of the Underground: Jack the Ripper,
Sherlock and Ghosts.” Additionally, I
submitted an article to “The Baker Street
Journal” which was accepted for publication.
My publisher and I worked to
get reviews and endorsements on the new book. They were all excellent,
including one from the Sherlock Holmes Society of London.
Finally we drew up our co-ordinated agendas for
the events. Here’s the London agenda:
6.30pm
Guests
arrive & Cut Doyle Birthday cake
7.00pm Performance
of ‘Singular Exploits of Sherlock
Holmes’
8.00pm Save
Undershaw Presentation, Doyle’s home
8.30pm Diane
Gilbert Madsen Book launch & Interview by
Stephen
Seitz via Skype on her new book “The
Conan
Doyle Notes”
9.00pm Draw
Raffle Prizes
Here’s the Florida agenda for Copperfish Books:
2 PM Guests Arrive &
Refreshments Served
2:20 Cathy Introduces
Diane
2:22-2:50 Remarks:
Diane
2:50 – 3:00 Q
& A
3:00 Toast
Conan Doyle Birthday & Cut Cake
3:05- 3:25 Sign
Books
3:25 –4:00 Skype Interview with London at
Sherlock Holmes Hotel
·
Steve Emecz, MX Publisher, talks about the London bash &; Steve Introduces Diane-
Steve Emecz, MX Publisher, talks about the London bash &; Steve Introduces Diane-
Diane introduces Carl Patrick and Marcus Goodson, real life people who
are characters
in the book.
in the book.
·
Steve Emecz introduces Stephen Seitz
Steve Emecz introduces Stephen Seitz
3:35-4:00 Diane Interviewed by Stephen Seitz w/ Q & A for
London & FL
audiences
So how did the joint launch
come off? Fabulous. Both in Florida and London we had standing
room only enthusiastic crowds. We sold
lots of books and the audiences in both locales were interested in the
interview. London & Florida both sang “Happy Birthday” and enjoyed the
unique Conan Doyle birthday cakes. And I
understand that the “Scandal in Bohemia” drinks were a hit at the Sherlock
Holmes Hotel. In fact, many guests in FL were disappointed we didn’t serve them
as well.
We did run into two minor
hitches. First, the lighting at the
Sherlock Holmes Hotel venue was too minimal to be able to Skype much of the
party there. Instead, each locale enjoyed its own birthday celebration. Secondly, Stephen Seitz had kindly agreed to
interview me about the new book. He was
based in Springfield, Vermont, which meant that our Skype connection was a
3-way connection between London, Vermont and Florida. Before the launch, we practiced a three-way
trial run on Skype, and it worked perfectly-- we were ready for business. But
the unforseen often knocks at the door, and it did so in the shape of the
weather. There was a horrendous
thunderstorm in Vermont at the time of the interview that knocked out one of
the two computers I had at Copperfish Books to run a facebook live stream. Then it knocked out the 3-way video during
the interview. We still had sound, and
both audiences stayed with us all the way through and asked a lot of good
questions. Never take a hitch like this as an ill omen. Quite the reverse. People are still talking
about the event – including the thunderstorm, which in the final analysis made
it even more memorable.
This event involved a lot of
work and coordination, but I learned two important things. One is that you must
have good partners to pull it off, and I was very fortunate in this
regard. Two, planning is essential, but
always expect the unexpected.
www.dianegilbertmadsen.com Twitter - @DianeMadsen
Wow! What an amazing idea! Sounds like all went well!
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Diane