Book Launch has Passed, Now Do a Book Launch Recap

 

By Tammy Karasek

You’ve recently launched your book and finished up your launch tasks with your team. If this was your first launch, I can’t stress enough how important it is to take time to sit and do a recap of your full launch session, beginning to end, soon after the end of your book launch.

 

The good items you did and the ones you feel you should do better or different will still be fresh in your mind. This is a great time to assess this, so you can prepare now what you’ll do on your next launch. Or even what you will not do again. 

 

In your recap, include what you’ve done for the year prior to the actual launch date, not just the launch team session leading up to launch day. Some of those items or activities could include:

1.     Did I schedule podcasts, book signings, and meet the author events far enough in advance to give myself the proper time to advertise the event?

2.     Was the time I planned for the launch session to allow the team a fair time to assist me in the book’s promotion enough to accomplish all I planned?

3.     Were the SWAG/thank-you gifts, gifts for drawings, ordered early enough so I had time to get them ready to send right after the launch session?

4.     Did I get the book, whether PDF or paperback, to the team at the start of the launch session to allow them enough time to read and promote the book?

5.     Was my interaction with my team good—not too little and not too much—and did I remain engaged with the team?

6.     Were all promised items out within two weeks after the launch date? For any that still needed to be mailed at the end of the launch, why didn’t they go out and how do I fix that next time?

7.     What will I do different on my next launch?

8.     Will I handle my next launch team any different?

9.     Would I change my time frame for the prep needed to accomplish a successful launch?

 

To do this for yourself will set you up for a better launch the next time around. You will find each launch you do will differ from the one before. Time changes, apps will get better, or you’ll find a better way to connect with your team. Be open to those new options that come along. That popular cliché will be your friend—work smarter, not harder. 

 

No matter the assessment you make of what worked or what didn’t work, you must look at positives and determine to change the negatives on the next launch. Whether this was your first launch, or your first launch with some helpful tips, I promise you—no two launches will be the same.

 

The people on the team may be all new, half are new, or the same team. Maybe they were super workers on the last launch, but the timing was off for them on this one. It’s okay. Give it your best shot and never sit back and not try new things for the launch. Certain items are best left as they are, while new ideas, social media functions and more may change. Be willing to go with what needs to happen on the current lunch. What I do not want you to do is to take this recap as a reason to beat yourself up or take the attitude of failure. Learn from it. Change what needs changed. Then move on with excitement to the next launch. 

 

*This post is an excerpt from my book—Launch that Book—released December 9, 2025.

Tammy Karasek uses humor and wit to bring joy and hope to every aspect in life. Her past, filled with bullying and criticism from family, drives her passion to encourage and inspire others and show them The Reason to smile. From down and defeated to living a “Tickled Pink” life, she believes there’s always a reason to giggle! Tammy writes romance—with a splash of sass. Her book, Launch That Book, second edition, released December, 2025. Contact: https://www.tammykarasek.com