A few years ago I co-wrote a book of poetry entitled ‘Northbound’ (ISBN No: 0-9553344-0-3) which was published by Pearson-Smith Publications. The book contained photographs and poems showcasing the varied cultural attractions of the North East of England. To publicise the book I organised a local Book Launch/Social Evening for family and friends. With careful organisation, I discovered that this could be arranged on a low budget and costs could be kept to the minimum.
First of all, I booked the hall at the village Cricket Club at a very reasonable price
I created some bright and colourful invitations very simply on my computer using Microsoft Power Point
I also compiled a matching "Programme of Events" for the evening
I arranged to have some large posters printed. These were distributed in several prominent places such as local shops, the church hall and the cricket club
Where possible, I emailed the invitations to family and friends
I contacted a local newspaper and arranged for a photographer to come and take a photograph for the evening paper
I contacted a local radio station and they read out the details for the Book Launch on their "What"s On' slot
Word of mouth also proved a powerful tool in advertising the evening
My teenage son was in a rock band at the time and his group entitled " Declare Your War!" very kindly agreed to come along and provide us with some musical entertainment
I had recently completed a Master of Arts in Creative Writing Course at University and my fellow students were happy to come along and read some of their work at the event
The buffet was organised "in house" and all the family participated in baking items
We decorated each table with disposable tablecloths, fresh flowers and copies of the "Programme of Events" were distributed
We organised a raffle and proceeds went to the local church funds
The M.A. students gained experience from reading out their writing to over one hundred people at the event and the rock group were glad of an opportunity to showcase their talents as well.
We signed and sold approximately sixty copies of "Northbound" and everyone had a wonderful evening.
