Something that I’d missed as a debut author was my book launch. My debut was published in 2020, at the start of Covid, so public gatherings were out of the question.

This time, though, it was different. My middle-grade fantasy, Zara and the Bumbling Genie, published by Om Books International, was released in March 2025. It was time to celebrate. I was going to go all out – have a launch as well as book signings.

What happens in a launch? Well, you invite family and friends as well as those in the publishing world who have helped you with your book.And you tell them about your book.  Let me warn you, they are expensive affairs, but do help to create a buzz around your book. My launch was held in the beautiful Vasant Vihar Club in New Delhi, and my agent, Suhail Mathur, was nice enough to arrange everything for me, from the panelists to the snacks served  to the gifts and even to the invitation itself. 

IMO, you hold a launch not just to celebrate your achievement and talk about your book and your writing process, but also meet the people who matter to you the most, your family and friends. And to also thank those who are behind your book’s success. Of course, if you sell some of your books, that’s an added bonus. But it’s not essentially a ‘marketplace’ for your book. But it does help in creating some buzz around it, and if you’re lucky, some media attention. I was lucky, as one of the gentlemen who attended the launch asked me if I could be featured in his newsletter that has a subscription of 4000 people. To this I readily agreed. I mean, who doesn’t want media attention? 

Book signings are a different cup of tea altogether. The publisher takes the responsibility of arranging your signings. I managed to do book signings in three cities, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai. ( Hold on, Dubai. Your turn will come soon.)

The best part of a book signing is the interesting people you meet, many of them your potential readers. When a visitor to a bookstore sees an author, they naturally gravitate towards him or her. You have to be prepared to answer all kinds of questions, especially from kids ( I was stumped with this one- what was the inspiration behind your book? Honestly, the answer was so complicated). I was a little nervous too whether I had to convince people to buy my book. as I was wondering what this entailed. I’m a writer, not a marketeer, ( and I use this term with the utmost respect: hats off to those in sales who do a very difficult job of convincing people to buy a product).  

However, I didn’t have to convince anyone to buy my book. Those who bought it were genuinely interested in reading it themselves or giving it to their kids. And  I must say I thoroughly enjoyed talking to my readers, learning a bit about them, and of course, telling them a bit about myself. And let me add why I think book signings are such a hit. Most people WANT to meet authors. Especially kids. So it’s a win-win situation for both. 

My advice to writers: a launch is not strictly necessary, but book signings are fun to do and don’t cost you an arm and a leg. So, if you’ve recently released a book, my advice is to arrange as many book signings as possible. Not with the agenda of selling, but more to meet people. And of course, it definitely helps in creating interest in your book.