The Incentive

Since I just launched my book, Death by Bikini, we decided it would be fun to include a post about the launch at Face the Page. Not a promotional post - I do that stuff over on my own blog - but more of an incentive post. Things like launches make all those solitary moments and struggles to find time and motivation and the muse worth it!

To kick of the launch weekend, I held a blog party and invited several other YA authors to guest blog and celebrate with me. This turned out to be super fun and generated a lot of traffic. The best part about it, though, is that I could completely revel for three days straight that my book had hit the shelves. : ) You can't really do that in real life. Not without your friends getting reeeaaallly tired of you.

On Friday, I hit Upper Arlington for a author visit and signing. They had a huge cake with the bikini logo on it and so even the guys stopped by the signing table. The funniest question I got asked: "How old were you when you wrote this book?" LOL

Friday night, my DH hosted a book launch for our friends and neighbors. We had a great turn out and it was a lot of fun, but it was interesting to me the people who I think truly expected me to be handing out books at the party instead of my DH's gentle suggestion that they go grab a copy or two at the bookstore. "They make great gifts!"

Saturday was a taste of humble pie. I had a signing at Barnes and Noble and... they didn't advertise it. I know, right? Why host a signing if you don't really care if anyone comes. I had to hand sell every copy we sent out the door, and believe me, that is not in my comfort zone. I have now been through the initiatory awkward book signing, so I know what to do and not do next time around. That said, the staff at B&N was great and I got a peek at the inner workings of bookseller brains (more on that in another post) so it wasn't all bad.

Sunday I wrapped up the blog party by announcing winners of all the great book giveaways and prizes and wrote thank you's to the authors who participated and read through all the congratulatory emails that I didn't have time to get to on Thursday or Friday. It was a completely Aaaaawwww feel-good day.

This week I have two more school visits and I will consider myself successfully and completely launched.

All the above was exhausting and exciting and exactly what I used to dream about when I first started writing. I guess the message of this whole thing is that by facing the page every day, great things can happen.

Write on!