Tag: marketing

Meet the Professionals — Tracey Dettman

Writers can be woefully unaware of what happens to their books behind the scenes. I have been interviewing publishing industry professionals to get insight into that other side of the story. Enjoy!

 

Tracey Dettman
Sales Representative for wholesalers and chains for Fitzhenry & Whiteside

I have known Tracey Dettman since 1998, when The Best Gifts, my first book with Fitzhenry & Whiteside came out. Back then, she was a publicist and I was a brand new author, with a single book under my belt (Silver Threads, Penguin, 1996). It seemed fitting to sit down with her over lunch recently while she had the new version of The Best Gifts on her iPad, ready to show to clients.

Tracey is no longer a publicist. For the past six years, she’s been a sales rep. Her customers now include wholesalers and chains for Fitzhenry & Whiteside. Tracey’s efforts are key to getting a creator’s book in front of buyers and I was curious to know what her job entailed.

You’ve been at Fitzhenry & Whiteside for a long time. What was your first job there?

I started with Fitzhenry & Whiteside in 1989 as an assistant to Mr. Fitzhenry. I would answer the phone, take messages and so on. He had a dictaphone and someone else to type for him, but I looked after everything else. While in that position, I became interested in the publicity side of things, so when I had time, I’d help out. After awhile I ended up over in publicity myself.

Even though you are the wholesale and chain rep, you still work on the publicity side of things too, don’t you?

Everyone at Fitzhenry & Whiteside tries to help each other. We all pitch in where we can.

Have you seen a big change in the way publicity is done now compared to how it was when you began?

There has been a sea-change. Back then, everything was paper-driven. Press kits, advance review copies. Any book review or news story we’d get would be in print. Now, everything is online. Blog reviewers have become a transformational force. Twitter, blog tours, facebook, pinterest. Completely different world.

Tell me about your current position. What do you do, exactly?

It is my job to promote Fitzhenry & Whiteside books to retailers.

But there aren’t that many bookstores left anymore, are there? Especially independents. Haven’t they almost entirely disappeared?

There are still some very vibrant independent bookstores out there. The ones that have been able to thrive in spite of e-books, online bookstores and big box chains are the ones who know their market and are passionate about books. These booksellers hand sell books. What they do can’t be replaced by a software program.

But selling books to them can’t take up a huge percentage of your time. Where else do you sell books?

There are the news groups, the chains, school and library supply companies. There are also school boards, library systems and conventions.

What do you mean, news groups?

News groups are merchandizing companies. They supply grocery stores, drug stores and department stores with books and magazines. Not every one of our books is right for this market, but this is an important market. I meet with various niche merchandizers to show them a selection of our books that are appropriate to the retailer that they represent, and then they decide which ones they’ll order.

It’s fairly immediate?

Not at all. I prepare a spreadsheet for them, so while I’m talking about our new books, they’ll mark right in on the spreadsheet the books they’re interested in, but the timing is unknown. Shelves in stores come available as other merchandise is bought, so there is no way to know if they’ll order a particular book in a couple of weeks or a couple of months. It makes the question of inventory a guessing game. It is wonderful placement for many of the books that are chosen for this.

Tell me about the chains.

There are primarily two chains: Costco and Indigo.

Costco sells huge amounts of books, don’t they?

I discovered that there is an interest in some of the regional titles we carry as well as cookbooks and some children’s books.

Has the popularity of e-books and online bookstores hurt Costco?

Perhaps. It’s also likely a space issue. They carry a lot of bestselling novels, but now they carry cookbooks, calendars, diet books – the kind of book that’s an impulse purchase.

They carry a lot of kids’ activity books as well, if my local Costco is any indication.

There are some Costco stores that go through mounds of activity books. Costco shoppers tend to be parents with young children and this particular demographic is more interested in work-book type activity books for their children, rather than story books.

How to you go about selling books to Indigo?

Indigo has buyers for each department. I put in a request for an appointment for several of them, and then I’ll spend half a day or so, talking to one, then the next, then the next.

Do you go to their office?

They have it set-up at the Indigo head office. We sit across from each other for the alloted time. I show my upcoming books and they ask questions.

What about online Indigo online?

That’s separate buyers as well, and I meet with them as well.

So everything is done by the buyers in the head office?

Mostly, although there are some very knowledgeable store managers who can have huge influence on what ends up being purchased.

Tell me about the school and library supply wholesalers.

They carry a vast range of books that are geared towards the school and library market. They also recommend to their clients which titles they think will be popular. They know their clients and it’s my job to let them know which of our new books will fill their needs.

Some libraries buy pre-selected packages of books from the wholesalers, don’t they?

Not every library has the staff to review all of their own book purchases, so they count on their wholesalers’ recommendations. And of course the wholesalers get their information from sales reps.

But some school boards and library systems make their own purchases, right?

I do presentations to systems like Toronto Public Library but the orders will go through the wholesalers they have designated. There are also opportunities like the Ontario Library Association Superconference and smaller wholesaler run displays to show books directly to librarians.

So they have a combination of ways to get books.

Yes.

Do authors or illustrators have any way to get involved in this process?

Authors and illustrators do not go to most of these events or meetings. But what they can do to help get their own books noticed is to hone their online presence. That makes them more attractive to merchandisers and retailers.

So do you show the same books to each group that you meet with?

Not at all. That would be a waste of my time and theirs. My clients count on me to use my judgement and select from our list the books that will fit in with their needs. I like to think of myself as their problem solver.

Tell me about conventions.

I go to the American Library Association Convention, the OLA Superconference, of course, and others like this. This year we had a booth at Ad Astra – a mecca for the fans of fantasy and steam punk. The steam punk, Star Trek and Star Wars costumes on the attendees made it an interesting show to be at!

What about the Bologna Book Fair?

I would love to have to go to Italy, but it would be a waste of money. Bologna is about selling international rights. I don’t do that. I sell the books. One of my co-workers goes to that show and does a great job.

Do you read a lot?

I don’t think you could be in this job without loving books. I read the books on our upcoming list on my iPad. It’s important for me to be knowledgeable about our books. I also read for pleasure.

What are you reading right now for pleasure?

The Children’s Book, by AS Byatt. It is wonderful.
What are ways that an individual author can help or hinder you?
If an author knows that they will be doing any sort of appearance or event please make sure the publisher’s publicity department knows. They can share that information with the sales reps. Even if you think it doesn’t have anything to do directly with your book the information can be helpful.

Another piece of advice: always remember the special attention you will get at your local independent for signings. They will do a great job for you.

Do you have any advice for a first time author?
Be patient. First time authors frequently need to build up a reputation with readers and buyers. It is a much easier decision to buy that book by the known quantity. Wait for the first reviews to appear and the buzz to build.

Meet the professional: Denise Anderson, Director of Marketing and Publicity, Scholastic Canada



My CANSCAIP Interview with: Denise Anderson, Director of Marketing and Publicity, Scholastic Canada

How did you become the director of marketing and publicity for Scholastic Canada?

My background is journalism and public relations. My first job in the book industry was with Coles Bookstores in corporate communications, first as an assistant to Kelly Duffin (a great mentor) and then as the editor of their bi-monthly consumer magazines.

I then moved to Scholastic as their publicist briefly before heading to Vancouver to work at Raincoast and Douglas & McIntyre. When I returned to Toronto in 1998, I worked at D&M, managing special sales and Candlewick Books, which they distributed at the time.

I returned to Scholastic in 2002 to work in marketing. Scholastic Canada had decided to focus on growing its trade presence. Many of the people I’d worked with were still there and now running the company, and the others brought on board were people I knew from so many years in publishing –it made for a very comfortable transition!


What advice would you give to someone who wanted a career in marketing or publicity for a publisher?

You have to be willing to do anything: work nights, weekends, get coffee, lift boxes. If you go to an industry party, you’re not there as a guest. You have to be alert and make sure things go smoothly. You have to be a multi-tasker who pays attention to detail.

When hiring, I will look for people with retail experience who have also taken publishing courses. But the most important factor is that you have a passion and knowledge of books. You are surrounded by book people and if you don’t love that, it’s hard to take the pace.

 

Can you describe the qualities of a dream author to work with?

These days, it is crucial to be connected on social media. An author must have online presence. They must be accessible to their audience. Having said that, they don’t have to spend all of their time on Facebook, Twitter, and blogs, but there are so many exciting possibilities for promotion and this is often the way readers find you.

In the world of children’s books, it’s really important to have a website where teachers and librarians can go to get information about you: your books, your biography, whether you do school visits.

Authors who are “out there” doing events and appearances are fantastic. The ones who tell their publishers what their doing and when, with plenty of time for us to help promote and get books where they need to be are even better!

Dream authors also know that there is a fine line between promoting a book and harassing about a book. They are respectful of everyone’s time. It’s great to let the local bookstore know you have a new book out, offer to sign stock or whatever they’d like, but going in every day to see if they’ll bring more in doesn’t generally earn you any friends.

 

And now describe an author from heck.

An author from heck is one that plans events on their own but doesn’t let us know until a day or two before and then expects us to somehow have books in place and do promotion for them.

They are too aggressive with their needs. There is a fine line between promoting and irritating, and the author from heck is blind to that line. I don’t know any publicist who doesn’t wish there were more hours in a day and who doesn’t do everything possible to get the word out about their books.

It is completely understandable that not everyone is super tech-savvy these days, but it’s very important to at least have a basic knowledge. “I don’t have email” doesn’t instill confidence in an author’s ability to help spread the work about their books.

 

Authors are almost by definition introverts. Do you get frustrated by authors who won’t do publicity things for you?

It does no one any good to put an author into an uncomfortable situation. We respect the various personalities of authors and try to make sure that what we ask them to do is in keeping with their comfort levels. While not everyone looks forward to getting up and talking in front of a crowd, I would say most of the authors I’ve worked with are as happy as I am to get out of the office and talk to people.


Can you describe your typical day?

There isn’t really such thing as a typical day, although every day seems to involve a lot of email and meetings! It could involve meeting about our websites, signing off on ads and catalogues, working on authors’ tour schedules.

Our department tends to get a lot of general questions and complaints sent our way, on top of the usual tasks. It varies at the time of year as well. If a sales conference is coming up, I’m preparing presentations and gathering sales and marketing materials; meeting with our team to create marketing plans; and organizing the “social” part of conference.

September is “book festival” month, so we are arranging for author appearances, getting promotional materials to our retail partners at the events and manning booths on weekends. It’s also when we have a lot of authors on tour. Summer is also surprisingly busy, prepping for the fall events.

 

What advice do you have for a first-time author?

Join CANSCAIP.

Connect with other authors and illustrators. It is a small but generous community and there are lots of mentors who are willing to share their own experiences.

Be nice to everyone. Canadian children’s publishing is a small community. You never know where someone may turn up next. Also, word gets around, so make sure the words about you are positive ones.

Hone your presentation skills. Being able to do school and library presentations is absolutely key. The first step may be doing one for free at your own kids’ school.


If you could generalize, what would be the most common problems you run into?

Many new authors have unrealistic expectations about bookstore signings. We read about line-ups out the door with mega-author bookstore signings, but unless you’re Dav Pilkey, the reality is that most authors will get few people out. Even relatively well-known authors will get few people out. But if that happens, appreciate those who showed up and spend some quality time with them. Sylvia McNicoll wrote a great blog about book launches recently.

A better way around it is to plan a community event that is creative and interesting. Invite your friends and family, neighbours, students, teachers, and the local media. And ask your local independent bookseller to be the vendor. This brings attention to you and your book, and it helps your local bookseller as well.

We are always on the lookout for new ways to connect authors with bookstores in a successful way.

Peer into your crystal ball and tell me what you see in the future for publicity in children’s publishing…..

Now is like the wild west. It’s an exciting time in book publicity. There are so many new opportunities and they are constantly changing. It is crucial to be flexible and adaptable.

I love the bloggers. In the last couple of years, they have become the new way to promote books. I have had more fun marketing books in the last two years than ever. There are so many cool new venues out there and hardly enough hours in the day to keep up with it all. Not necessarily every new online venue will be successful, but it is so fun to try.

Some of the challenges? We need to support authors and illustrators more with training on Skype and other online tools. Ebooks are on the rise, even in the children’s book industry. I hope that means people will just buy more books in different formats.

 

Marsha Skrypuch is the author of sixteen books for children and young adults. Her two most recent are One Step At A Time: A Vietnamese Child Finds Her Way (Pajama Press, 2012) and Making Bombs For Hitler (Scholastic, 2012). She is thrilled to have two Forest of Reading 2013 nominated books: Silver Birch Fiction for Making Bombs, and Red Maple non-fiction for Last Airlift.

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