Hey, writers! Are you planning to publish a book at some point in the future? It’s never too early to start preparing for your book launch.
It’s a mistake to think about your book launch as a single day. It’s also a mistake to think of it as a series of book events you merely need to show up for. In reality, authors who have successful book launches start preparing many months before their publication date. Even several years in advance, there are things you can and should do to start preparing for your book launch.
Are you in the beginning phases of writing a book that may take a decade to bring to fruition? Start preparing for your book launch now. Are you launching your book next month? There are things you can do now to ensure maximal impact.
Developing and following a book launch strategy is essential for all authors, whether you are traditionally published, self-published, or somewhere in between. This is true even if you are working with a marketing or PR professional on your book launch. Unless you are already a celebrity—and even if you are!—it’s important to promote your book as if your career depends on it. Because it does.
Why I created a presentation on how to successfully launch a book
When I was preparing to launch my own book, Two Novembers: A Memoir of Love ’n’ Sex in Sonnets, I was astonished at how difficult it was to find information on how exactly I should prepare. But after doing a ton of research, and after another ton of trial and error, I figured out what’s important for authors to focus on and what’s not, and what’s effective and what’s not in selling books.
Armed with this information, I developed a book launch plan that includes three key steps and specific action items within each step.
Because it was so difficult for me to find the information I needed, I created a presentation to share what I learned with others. It is my hope that this presentation will save other authors time, not to mention a great deal of hair-pulling, as they prepare to successfully launch their own books.
About my presentation on how to successfully launch a book
Here’s the description of my presentation:
How to Generate a Buzz: Promoting Your Book Launch
Why publish a book if no one reads it? You have the power to generate a buzz surrounding your book launch! This session will walk you through 3 steps in getting people excited about buying and reading your book.
This presentation is based on Liza Achilles’ success in selling out of her debut book twice within the first 1.5 months of publication. We will discuss which common beliefs about launching a book are myths. Then we’ll dive in to what works in generating a buzz. Learn how to develop the skills you need, how to demonstrate that you are an expert writer, and how to convince people to buy your book.
Attend my presentation on how to successfully launch a book
In 2025, I delivered this presentation at the Books, Authors & Publishers Fair in Nashville and at the Maryland Writers’ Association conference near Baltimore. I am slated to deliver it five more times in the early months of 2026.
Some of these events are free or nearly free. Others require you to pay a fee to sign up for a writers’ conference or writers’ association, which will give you access to many other benefits. All of these events are virtual and can be attended from anywhere with an internet connection. One, in Annapolis, Maryland, has an in-person option.
Here’s when and where I will be presenting:
- February 6, 2026: Online San Diego Writing Workshop (virtual)
- February 18, 2026: Annapolis Chapter of the Maryland Writers’ Association (in person and virtual)
- March 7, 2026: Black Writers’ Guild of Maryland (virtual)
- March 12, 2026: Women’s Fiction Writers Association (virtual)
- April 9, 2026: Eastern Shore Writers Association (virtual)
View my event calendar to get all the deets and sign up to attend. I hope to see you there!
Other news
For those of you subscribed to Liza’s Newsletter to receive all blog posts: the main blog will be mostly on hiatus in 2026. I’ll post occasionally as I can. But I’m pouring most of my efforts into (1) writing my next book (an autobiographical novel); and (2) freelancing (I do copywriting, manuscript editing, web design in WordPress, graphic design including book layout, and speaking and teaching).
What do you have planned for 2026?
