It’s funny how you can plan an event to the most infinitesimal detail and in the end things take their own course, turning out as they may. My book launch for Father of Contention is no exception to this rule. What could go wrong, did go wrong, but in the end it was a huge success in my opinion. I got my story across, sold lots of books, and had a great time with my family and friends, and a few new friends that I was thankful to meet during the launch.
Even though things turned out in the end, I thought I’d share my story with you in case you have a launch of your own to plan. Perhaps hearing about my mishaps can help you steer clear of your own mishaps.
It all started the second we entered the venue, and the room we were supposed to be using was still occupied by another group. I had pictured in my mind that I would start setting up at least one and a half hours prior to the event. By the time the people vacated the room, I had half an hour to get everything together. That’s when we discovered that the speakers I needed to use for my video were malfunctioning, continuously going from loud to soft. On top of it, at that same moment, I discovered that the device I needed for taking credit card and debit transactions was inoperative. I’m not going to lie, a panic attack was brewing, but thank the good Lord that I have wonderful people in my life to help me through these situations, because they swooped onto the scene like superheroes and saved the day. My husband resolved the speaker issue with a speaker I had brought from home, and my sister-in-law and a great friend called tech support for the debit device and had it working like a charm in no time.
Slowly, people started to trickle in through the doors, taking their seats, and the presentation began. My video actually went as planned, but when it came to my speech afterwards, I got a little choked up (okay, a lot choked up), finally being in that moment after so many years of planning and writing, and hoping and praying. As my eyes got blurry from my unanticipated blubbering, the speech I had prepared went out of focus and I had to wing it. Not a good plan. Not a good plan at all. To this moment I don’t really remember what I said, but I’m pretty sure most of it didn’t make sense.
Moving on to the book signing, again my predictions of how it would flow were off the mark. I anticipated that there would be time to put on a music track I had prepared for the night, but again technical difficulties ensued, the music refusing to play. While my husband tried to solve the issue, people were already asking me to sign my book. I’m not sure if it was the nerves or simply old age, but the dedications I signed were rife with errors, random words eliminated, leaving fragmented sentences behind…in permanent pen! Again thankfully, my friends are very forgiving and didn’t hold it against me, but it’s something I need more practice in, for certain.
At some point the music kicked in and the party got started right around the time the venue was getting ready to shut down, announcements playing on the overhead speaker. Slowly people trickled back out of the room and it was time to clean up. The night I had been planning for so long was over.
Reflecting back on the night, the hiccups were just a part of my story, a part of the experience and I am able to feel at peace with the result, with some added life lessons in my back pocket. I may do things differently next time, but all in all, I am pleased and consider the night a success.
Next in line, I have a convention I will be involved in, like ComicCon, but on a smaller scale. It will be tons of fun, and I get to dress up in a costume to boot, so stay tuned for details. I will post all the information on my Events page. Until then, keep reading and enjoying life. Learn from your mistakes, and embrace your quirks. And we’d love to hear about any mishaps you have gone through during a book launch, so please feel free to share!
💋 Lanie Mores
