Once you have a venue for your book release party confirmed, it's time to ask for help. No matter if you are planning a large or small release party, I recommend asking for help from friends and/or family. It will take some of the responsibility off your shoulders and at the same time make the whole event more exciting because other people who are happy for you will be involved. Of course, if you have the money to hire people to help you, that's a great option, but I'm operating under the assumption that you, like I was, are running a DIY book release party and don't have money to throw around.
In my experience, the key is asking people for specific things to alleviate stress on the day of the release party.
Here are the five things I recommend asking for help on:
1. Greeter: You'll want someone at the door welcoming people, handing them a program and giving them the lay of the land. I find it's much better for people to get some direction when they arrive.
2. Introduction: If you are reading, it's nice to have someone else introduce you. I recommend asking someone who is comfortable in front of people to say a few kind words of introduction and ask for applause before you read. It's great for ceremony and makes the whole affair feel more official.
3. Book sales: Ask someone to be in charge of the table with your books on it when everyone wants to buy a copy. Make sure that person has lots of singles for change.
4. Food and drinks: Whether you ask someone to make the food or buy it, asking someone to be in charge of transporting the food and drinks to the venue and set them up is essential. I was 15 minutes late to my own party because I didn't and I was trying to find parking after dropping off the beer :)
5. Clean up: You can ask the same people who handled the other four things to help you clean up afterward. It's a great segue to taking them out for dinner or drinks to say thank you!
Anything that I missed?
Image courtesy of andjohan via flickr
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