Adjudicating at the 2019 Scottish Association of Writers conference, I could see the great potential in Helen Welsh’s wonderfully warm-hearted and wide-ranging memoir. We went on to work together on the production of the book. A light edit was all that was needed, followed by typesetting, proofreading and some strategic publishing advice. Helen also attended the Media Training for Authors workshop I organised with guest speakers arts journalist Jan Patience and media specialist Jill Brown. Her place was sponsored by the wonderful Bridge Awards and Helen has had fantastic success in securing media coverage following this.

Here, Helen spills the beans on her approach to celebrating the launch of her first book, ‘A Life in Mouthfuls – Scottish Food and Drink Memories’.

I decided to launch my memoir ‘A Life in Mouthfuls’ not once but twice. My friend Amanda offered to host a launch for friends in her spacious, North Sea-facing flat, which lends itself very well to social occasions. I decided that we would make this event invitation-only; in this way I would able to build up some confidence in standing up in front of an audience and reading out my work. I also invited my author friend Frank Woods to do a joint launch with me two weeks later, in my hometown. We agreed to split the costs and hired the local arts centre for a Saturday afternoon. I used Canva to create flyers and posters, and we had these professionally printed.

This two-prong strategy worked well for me. For both events, I asked another friend to act as MC, and also my semi-professional musician partner played guitar and sang a few numbers in between readings. I sent a press release to the local newspaper, and it was published one day before the second event.

For the first launch, Amanda and our friend Ann laid on a nice buffet; I provided sausages on sticks and black bun, both of which feature in my book. We had 16 people present including ourselves, and I sold 18 books. For the second launch, on a wet Saturday afternoon at the beginning of December, about 40 people turned up, filling the venue comfortably, and the music was augmented in the second half by Frank on blues harmonica, our MC on tea-chest bass, and a further musician on mandolin! There was a definite feel-good vibe in the air, and I sold 45 books. Actually, I sold out! And fulfilled the last five the following week as people left me with their orders.

An extra benefit from the book launches was that some people offered to organise further events. For example Amanda has spoken with an independent bookshop near her home, and they confirmed will be interested in speaking to me; a friend’s son manages a branch of Waterstones and they will look into the possibility of an event there; and two other friends have invited me to their respective book groups.

Now the dust has settled, I can look back and recognise the factors which contributed to the success of these events.

• The money I spent on the production of a good-looking book was worth every penny. Everyone who sees it comments on how professional it looks. Given that my launches up till now have been very local, and I know personally most of the people who have bought a copy, this is important to me, and reassuring for them. For purchasers who don’t know me at all, of course they will expect nothing less. In two months I have recovered 70% of the production costs in book sales, and the launches accounted for two-thirds of that.

• Practising among friends is a great benefit. I was certainly nervous, but only until I started talking. Friends have been so helpful to me in my writing journey, that I didn’t want to let them down, and was pleased to be able to offer them a genuinely good afternoon’s entertainment. Taking money felt a little awkward, but I had anticipated this and been firm with myself that I mustn’t just give the books away, in gratitude that anyone was even interested! None of them expected that; and at a cover price of £8.99 per copy, everyone felt it was good value.

• Having the event a few weeks before Christmas was very helpful, as people bought extra copies as Christmas presents.

• The flyers and posters were important, and acted like a calling card when I handed them out to people in various settings. All the local shops put posters up for me; and it certainly raised the profile of the event. However, they were quite expensive, and I would say that next time I will go for slightly thinner paper. The design was excellent, though I say it myself! I will certainly use Canva as it was fairly straightforward and very effective.

• Both venues were excellent in their different ways.

• Costs of the launches were more than covered, even allowing for thank-you tokens for hosts and helpers. What I have to do now, of course, is follow up all leads to try and get some more events planned; and get on with the next book!

From the EU to UK care homes and a working trip to Zanzibar, food is a fascinating prism through which to view a life. Especially welcome are the sections giving recipes and cookery hint and tips.

Need help preparing your book for publication like Helen? I offer a full range of editorial, book production services and typesetting services.