Book cover for The Strategy Cover

A typical book-launch tour usually involves some combination of the following:

  • Author gives a presentation about the book — the genesis for it, the key ideas, its implications in society, etc.
  • Author answers a bunch of questions from the audience and tries to give thoughtful answers
  • Author reads an excerpt from the book
  • Author autographs inside the book cover for willing audience members, who then go and buy the book

In short, the book launch is really all about the author and pumping out a bunch of book sales on the spot. Not there’s anything wrong with that, of course. Authors and publishers want their books to sell.

But what about a book launch that is not only about the author, but about bringing together a community or a potential community? A book launch that gives an audience an intimate setting with the author, and also enables those audience members to form new connections with each other?

Well, that’s what happened last night, at a social media book launch for The Strategy Paradox: Why Committing to Success Leads to Failure [and What to Do About It] that I attended in Boston.

Total time spent by author Michael Raynor talking about the book? About five minutes. Total number of public questions asked from the crowd of about 30? Two. Value of the conversations held, connections made and strengthened, and overall experience for this blogger in the four-plus hours hours I spent at the event? Tremendous (the “priceless” line would be passe, no?)

Of note:

  • Simon Clay Michael and I had some discussions about a potential new project we’ll be collaborating on.
  • I talked to John Wall about Seth Godin’s upcoming book, The Dip.
  • I recruited Chip Griffin of Custom Scoop to trek down from Nashua Bow, New Hampshire for the occasion, and we talked podcasting, Slingbox, Red Sox baseball (we agreed that a World Series campaign most definitely awaits us), and the Sony Reader.
  • I peppered a PR rep from Hill & Knowlton with suggestions for carrying out a successful blogger relations campaign, also encouraging her to take a read of Chip’s recently released white paper, The Seven Deadly Sins of Pitching to Bloggers.
  • And, yes, I also spent a few minutes in a one-on-one conversation with Michael Raynor, as did several others in attendance.

So really, this book launch was about much more than the book and the author. It was just as much about creating a social experience for the participants, many of whom could very well wield their social-media influence and play the role of book sneezers.

Kudos to Eli Singer from The Cundari Group and independent consultant Andrea Lekushoff for organizing this successful “experiment.” You’ll be hearing my interview with them about the evening in the next episode of New Comm Road.

I’m also giving Deloitte, & Touche whom Michael Raynor consults for, and Hill & Knowlton a virtual pat on the back for this foray into the social media realm.

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