Good question! I hadn’t heard of one until I signed with Booktrope. When I signed with them I had visions of glamorous book parties, a la Sex and the City. I imagined donning some fabulous dress and posing for the paparazzi.
Well, that stuff happens for debut authors on TV. Real life is different. And that is perfectly OK. Getting me into a fabulous dress is hard. I would likely have to spend approximately 18 months shopping to find one that won’t make me look sausage-y around the thighs. No matter how many miles I run, my thighs still resemble those of a Soviet gymnast. (See above, that is perfectly OK.) And I usually blink when I encounter camera flashes, so paparazzi won’t really do me any favors as I’ll look stoned in all the pictures.
What is a Facebook party?
1. It’s a great way to get a group of people from all over the world together without anyone having to spend gobs of money on airfare.
2. It’s also a great way for me to mingle with everyone at the party all at once. Have you ever been to a wedding and missed the entire cake cutting because you were outside getting caught up with your long lost cousin? That doesn’t happen at a Facebook party, because the party is literally in your hands on the screen of your phone. Because the party is in your hands, on a platform that you likely already utilize quite a bit, you won’t miss out on anything.
3. The party will be rock and roll themed. I will post different videos of 80s rock songs. Then I’ll post facts about the song and the band, and about Beside the Music. At the end of that theme I’ll do a trivia question. Be the first to answer the question correctly and I’ll send you a prize.
So, how does it work?
I invited you all to my Facebook Launch party for Beside the Music; it takes place on December 3 at 7-9 PM eastern. Accept the invite, and then during the time of the party any postings on the party page will show in your Facebook feed. Once the party is over, there won’t be anymore postings on your feed, and life will go back to normal for you.
You don’t need to go out. You don’t need to find your own fabulous dress that won’t make you look sausage-y. If you want to wear a dress, that’s fine. I think I might put one on just to get myself into the party mood. Crack open a bottle of something you like and sit back and enjoy.
Think of it like pop up videos, only on Facebook. (Remember pop up videos on VH1?) Pop up videos didn’t give any prizes away. So, then my Facebook party has the potential to be BETTER than pop up videos. During a pop up video you don’t get the opportunity to interact with the person who is presenting the facts. During my Facebook party I would love it if you interact with me
I will also post the link to Amazon in case you’d like to purchase the book as well. I hope you’ll be able to make it and participate.
Here is the link to the party, in case you missed it. https://www.facebook.com/events/1826019634291365/
BJ Knapp is the author of Beside the Music, available for purchase here. Please sign up for the Backstage with BJ Knapp mailing list to get updates on events, signings, dog pictures and so much more.