Book Review: The Author's Guide to Planning a Book Event

Are you a business owner who recently published (or is about to publish) a book or eBook to promote your business? If not, have you ever considered doing so?

Publishing a book or eBook that offers readers advice in your field of expertise can promote your business, establish you as an expert in your field, and provide additional income. But, whether you self-publish your title or work with a professional publisher, you'll need to promote your book in order to get the maximum benefits. That's where author and novelist Carol Hoenig's book, The Author's Guide to Planning Book Events can help.

About the Book
In 135 informative pages, Hoenig gives authors and aspiring authors everything they need not only to plan book events, but to build a platform (essentially, a “following,”) and promote their book. I emphasize “aspiring authors” because, according to Hoenig and other experts, book promotions should begin before your title even goes to print.

The book is neatly divided into three sections with shorter chapters within each section:

1. Before You Publish
2. You Have a Due Date!
3. Tips and Techniques

If you're new to marketing (perhaps you're a new business owner or have previously relied on a marketing and PR firm to handle that aspect of your business) you'll want to focus on the chapters that describe how to write a press release and how to put together a media kit -- the basics of PR and marketing. You'll need these in order to approach event planners to schedule an event in their venue.

Creative and Practical Book Promotions
The book provides excellent, creative promotional advice even for seasoned marketing professionals, though. Hoenig, with more than a decade of experience as an events coordinator for a major bookstore chain, thinks outside the bookstore box (or big box bookstore, as the case may be) when it comes to suggesting book events.

Her ideas and examples for promotions are unique and inspired, but practical, and she provides real-life examples from successful authors. You don't need a big budget to implement most of her suggestions, either. (Although you can, if you wish, spend quite a bit of money on a book launch party.

If you've recently written a book, are writing one now, or are thinking about writing and publishing a non-fiction book, eBook, or even a novel, I'd list Hoenig's The Author's Guide to Book Event Planning: Tips and Tools for Bookselling Success as a must-read.

I would like to thank Carol for sending me a complimentary copy of her book for this review.

Dawn Allcot is the owner of Allcot Media, a full-service writing, ghostwriting and editorial firm with a staff of writers and editors capable of handling diverse writing assignments in a variety of fields. With 15 years experience as a writer, ghost writer and editor, Dawn specializes in niche markets such as parenting, technology, small business marketing, and paintball.