Events

Events can be an exciting opportunity to celebrate the publication of your book, increase visibility of your article, or raise your profile as an academic. Below are tips for promoting yourself and your work at a few common types of events.

Raising your profile at events

One of the most effective ways to promote your work is to raise your profile as an academic. There are various ways you can do this, both during events and outside of them.

Conferences

Conferences are a traditional and effective way for authors to network, share ideas, and promote their work to peers.

• Skip bringing book copies to sell; instead, be prepared to share your work digitally. Journal article authors can share the toll-free link to their article, and book authors can request a free chapter or discount code for their book.
• Before you attend a conference, engage with conference organizers or an official conference account online.
• Try to connect with people as soon as possible during or after the conference such as connecting on LinkedIn.
• Submit a proposal for a conference panel related to your work where you can share your ideas or findings with your peers.

Partnering with institutions

Another effective way to promote your work is by partnering with an institution. It is worth reaching out to your university first, but there are other institutions you could get in touch with too.

• Start by considering institutions that you already have an existing relationship with, such as your current institution or the university you attended as an undergraduate. They may have an alumni network that runs events and could help to promote your work.
• It is also worth considering institutions that are relevant to your research, such as royal societies. RUSI and Chatham House regularly work with OUP authors, for example.
• If you have researched at a library with a public events programme, try approaching them. The British Library and the New York Public Library are prominent examples.
• Some universities, such as LSE and SOAS, run public events. If you have a topic or research that you believe would be of interest to them, get in touch.

Celebrating your book with a launch event

Publishing a book is a huge achievement, and one that you should certainly celebrate with friends, family, and colleagues.

Many of our authors organise book launches to celebrate their publications, whether in a small “friends and family” event or a larger event. No matter the size or the goal, there’s no wrong way to celebrate your accomplishment. Here are a few tips that may help with any type of launch event.

In-person book launches

• Remember to provide a link to your book’s page on the OUP website, ideally with a link to a free chapter or discount code.
• Bring a few display copies and print out discount flyers to promote your book, rather than trying to sell copies, particularly if your book is a monograph that is priced for the institutional market.
• If your goal is to sell book copies, we would recommend inviting at least 30 people. You could sell books yourself or approach a local or campus bookstore to do so. (See details below on ordering copies to sell.)
• If you would like a bigger audience, try to partner with a venue that already has an audience likely to be interested in your work. It is in your university’s interest to support their published academics, so you could approach your head of department or university communications team to see if this is possible. They might be able to provide you with a space and/or refreshments for the launch and could help you to promote the event.
• Try a virtual book launch if you have an international network or would like to showcase your digital book on Oxford Academic.

General tips

• We find that ‘in conversation with’ style events tend to work well. If this format appeals to you, we recommend approaching someone who knows you personally and is familiar with your work to facilitate, such as a dissertation supervisor, mentor, or trusted colleague.
• When you are speaking about your book, remember to consider your audience. If most of your attendees are family and friends rather than colleagues in your field, try to make the content accessible as you can.

Ordering personal or display copies of your book

As an OUP author, a discount of 40% can be applied to orders of a maximum of 10 copies of most OUP books. Note that any purchases must be for your own personal use or that of your immediate family and that some titles may be excluded from author discounts.

We are not able to accept online orders using your author discount. To place your order, please download and fill the appropriate author discount form below, and follow the instructions on the form to submit to Customer Service via email. You will then receive details about how you can confirm the order and provide payment details.

• UK, Europe, or rest of world form
• US, Canada, and South America form

If you have any problems, you can contact our customer services team via contact form.

Selling book copies

You do not necessarily need to sell books to celebrate your publication and raise visibility of your work. As digital publishing has grown, we no longer focus on sales as the sole measure of our books’ performance, particularly for our academic monographs.

If you would like to have your book available for sale at events, we have some tips and considerations for you to bear in mind.

Partner with a bookshop

Partnering with a bookshop can be a more effective way to sell books at a launch or event.

• If your university has a campus bookshop, they should be your first point of contact, as they are more likely invested in selling your book.
• You could reach out to a local bookshop near your home or your institution. Keep in mind, though, that bookshops often only stock lower-priced books intended for wide or general readership.
• Bookshops will expect estimated attendee numbers in advance, likely around 30-50 attendees.

Sell books yourself

Please order copies of your book to resell by contacting our customer services team and include your ISBN, title, quantity, event date, and your contact information. This service is separate from your author discount, which should not be used for selling books at events.

We recommend contacting customer service at least six weeks before the event. If you are hosting your book launch outside of the UK, Europe, or North America, you should contact customer service eight weeks before the event.

Other ways to raise your profile

Events can be a good way to raise your profile but leveraging your online platforms and network can also make a big difference in bringing attention to you and your book. We encourage you to read these tips:

• Best practices for promoting your work.
• Social media guide for authors and social media at a glance for academics.
• Pitching a blog or opinion article.