A cyber launch is basically a Facebook online party celebrating the publication of your book and promoting it. There are usually quizzes with prizes, giveaways, special offers and so on. The only requirement is to be logged on to Facebook at the time of the event.
The author usually selects You Tube music tracks that are either appropriate to what they have written or are old favourites. (You can tell a lot about a person from their musical tastes. The launch, to an extent, is promoting the author as well as the book). In my case, I hope to have examples of both.
Then there is the food and drink! I will be getting the drinks in on Saturday… but they will be virtual ones! There will be cake but at least you won’t load your teeth with sugar with what I put up on site… (Definitely for real cake either make your own or go to Bay Leaves Larder!).
You get to chat to the author live online and they usually share excerpts from their book and any other information they think might be of interest. Chat is encouraged!
This is also a chance for the author to share other work, their website details and so on and hopefully spread the word about who they are and what they do. They can also link to future book signings if they have any. (I’ve still got to sort mine out but there will be plenty of other material on my cyber launch page and indeed I have already started posting, the idea being this is a kind of warm-up for the main event. I’ve shared why I have three websites, yes three!, how I came into writing flash fiction and so on).
I am thrilled to say my cyber launch for From Light to Dark and Back Again is this coming Saturday 1st April between 10 am and 6 pm. (Just so you know, there WILL be comfort breaks! I can’t go that long without a cup of tea and what goes in etc etc!).
As this is new to me (though I have “attended” online launches by writer friends so have some idea of what to expect), my publisher, Chapeltown Books, linked with Cafelit where some of my flash fiction first appeared, are hosting the event. (I am a co-host). I am really grateful for that!! I hope to learn a lot from this and will almost certainly write another post for CFT about how it went, what I think I could have done better (there will be something!) and so on.
How to join my first cyber launch?
You can join in by following the link: Cyber launch of Allison Symes’ From Light to Dark and Back Again and then it is a question of responding to the material put up (or just read it!). It is a Facebook page and you post comments in the usual way. The idea is to pop in and out during the time the event is on and to have fun. There will be a lot of chat about books and stories in general too.
Hope you can join me as and when during the event! A lot of people “wander” in and out of events like this for the time period it is on and I’ve often done this myself.
In the meantime if you go to the link now, you will see there are posts already on there and I will be putting something up every night until the big day. Oh and questions from you will definitely be very welcome, though if you ask me about life, the universe and everything, I will have to point you in the direction of Douglas Adams…!
Related Posts
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
Informative article, Allison. Good luck with cyber launch and hope to se you there. Kind regards, Karen
Many thanks, Karen. Be glad to “see” you on Saturday!
Looking forward to the launch.
Many thanks, Brenda. “See” you around!