I May Be Cheap, But I'm Not Easy. Who Am I?

From the desk of Ms. Sally Spitfire...

My Dearest Suzy-Q,

How is life down in the gorgeous south? NYC is chugging along splendidly and I'm just tickled pink that the warm weather has finally arrived. Flowers are peeking out all over and Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, and all other outdoorsy beautiful city spots are filling up with people soaking up the sun.

Work is, as usual, busy but good. The big news of the week was Amazon holding a conference to announce the KINDLE 3. Although I didn't go, I spoke to a few people who did and it sounds like Amazon is getting closer and closer to taking over the world (which we all know will happen eventually, if Google doesn't beat them to it.)

The announcement of the new Kindle couldn't have come at a more appropriate time. I have ebooks on the brain and how can I not? The topic seems to come up everywhere I look, in one form or another. For the consumer, e-readers are an interesting new electronic toy and ebooks an interesting--for some exciting and for some detestable--new way of reading. But for those of us in publishing, it opens up a whole new range of questions about how we do what we do.

One of the biggest questions--of course--is that of rights. In the past, editors, agents and authors negotiated over contracts that included rights for the different ways and places a book could be published: US rights, international rights, audio rights, first serial rights, and so on and so forth. Now, the standard contract has been altered to include digital rights. All well and good. But what about those more old-fashioned authors who resist the idea of putting their work out in digital form? Should it be optional? Will that ultimately hurt the book or not? (I think that in most cases it will.) And what about books that were published before digital rights were part of those contracts? Can those books--for which there may be an audience that wants to buy it in ebook form--be published digitally without the author's consent? (In most cases, no.) And who is going to track down the authors to all backlist titles and ask them to sign a new contract that includes digital rights?

But those questions don't concern me--in marketing--personally. For me, the questions fall more along the lines of "how can we best use ebooks as a marketing tool?" and "how long will it be before it becomes common to accept ebooks instead of galleys?"

The latter question, as of yet, seems relatively unclear. There are a small number of reviewers who--when offered a galley--will request an electronic one instead but, interestingly enough, most reviewers still insist on a hard copy. Not only is it surprising that reviewers--who surely receive hundreds upon thousands of books they don't end up liking or even reading--wouldn't jump at the opportunity to trade those book piles for a slim little ereader, but the amount of money that could be saved by not producing huge quantities of galleys would be a boon for the marketing departments. Of course, it's also a matter of what each publisher is capable of; so far, it seems that the smaller publishing houses (the independent ones, so to speak) are ahead of the game when it comes to offering ebooks to reviewers. The bigger publishing houses are still trying to figure out the best way to do this without risking "big" books getting leaked early to consumers.

As far as marketing goes, the ebook is a brand new promotional object and one that is, relatively speaking, cheap to offer on a large scale. Although I am still no expert on the technical aspects of ebooks, I've been learning as much as quickly as I can about them. Already, it's becoming common practice to offer ebooks as a prize in online sweepstakes, much the same way in the past we have offered finished books or galleys. But can this be taken further? Some people are offering "original content" such as exclusive "prequels" or "gap stores" (that bridge the plot between two books of a series) in a digital form. What else is on the horizon?
As usual, there are a lot of questions floating around. You know, I've been thinking, even with all of the uncertainty in the industry right now, due to economy and changing attitudes towards "what is a book" and the rise of self-publishing, it's probably one of the most exciting times to BE in the books world...

And aren't you lucky to get to hear about it all from me, Suzy, dear... ;-)

Much love and hope to see you soon for a visit,

(Ms.) Suzy Q

Your Summer Reading Pics

Hi Everyone,

Ms. Spitfire has the vapors and won't be able to join us today. But she sends her regards, and wanted to ask, "What is on everyone's reading list for the summer?" So if you have a moment, let's share!

Thanks!!

A Bound "Gal"ley? Not a Damsel in Distress...

From the desk of Ms. Sally Spitfire...

Dear Suzy,

Missing you loads and hope that you'll come visit soon now that the sun is putting in an appearance here in NYC. This past weekend I walked (walked!) to Coney Island from my apt and waved my toes at the surf although it was too cold to actually go in...

In this package, I am sending you a couple of ARCs for books that I think you'll enjoy. Although the words "galley" and "ARC" are usually used interchangeably, there's actually a difference between the two when one is being precise. I thought I'd take a moment to give you a breakdown of the the different terms we use for the printed copies of a book that the marketing department makes and gives out BEFORE the real printed book goes on sale in stores. Here they are:

Bound manuscript: This is when you literally print out the manuscript, as a word document, on 8.5X11 paper and bind it together (usually spiral) so that it can be read ASAP. Since these are unweildy and not much better than just printing the manuscript out on the printer, we rarely make them unless we need to give a manuscript to someone really important and we want to look more professional (and less sloppy).

Bound galley: This is when the print has been typeset (looks on the inside like the real book will look) but there’s no artwork for the cover and usually it has not been proofread or corrected yet, so there still may be mistakes. It looks like a book in that it’s book sized (unlike bound manuscript) but it has a plain blue paper cover with just the title and author's name in regular font on the front and no other adornments. These are usually made so that we can collect blurbs (quotes about the book) from famous/influential/well known people which we will then put on the ARC (see below.) Bound galleys are rather rare (and usually denote a book we're really going all out on) since each bound manuscript costs about $10--which is a lot of marketing dollars to spend on one book and at such an early stage.

Early Designed Galley: An early designed galley--like a bound galley--looks like the real book on the inside but--unlike the bound galley or the ARC--has neither a plain blue cover or the actual book cover art. Instead, it has some sort of "designed" cover that the art department has spent time on--with either a picture, a photo, or fancy text--so it resembles a real book jacket. These are also quite unusual because they're only made when it's important to get ARCs in for a special promotion or person (e.g. we couldn't wait on the ARCs, which take a bit longer to produce and ship). Depending on how many we order, these can cost between $3 and $5 dollars apiece.

ARC (advanced reader’s edition): This is the official pre-version of the book—it has (usually) the same art that will be on the cover of the real book, but the back features early quotes (blurbs) and usually the marketing plan or other details that we want to share about the book in a publicity/marketing way. This is sent to bloggers, magazines, anyone who is going to review the book or maybe early readers/book clubs when we’re doing special projects. These are the most frequently created marketing piece since--in most cases--the best way to get people excited about a book before it hits bookstores is to have them read it! ARCs cost between $2 and $3 dollars to produce.

So there you have it! After that, the final incarnation of the manuscript is--ta da!--the finished book.

Make sense? (Now, mind you, the prices I gave above depends greatly on the quantity ordered--because we generally order in the hundreds, the prices are lower, if one wanted to order only 10 or even 100--those $ would shoot up significantly. This means that we only do ARCs for books that we have a lot of faith in and want to get a lot of people to read!)

Okay Suzy, I've gotta run but hope you're well and do write soon!

(Ms.) Sally S.

Happy Holidays to All from Ms. Spitfire!

Hi All,

Ms. Spitfire is still in celebration mode, going from Passover to Easter to...

Nathan's Query Fest!

This is where all the cool kids will be today! Hope to see some familiar faces!

Ms. Spitfire will return next week. Thanks!

I'll Have a Latte, an African Mosquito Net, and Two of Those Titles. Please.

From the desk of Ms. Sally Spitfire...

My dearest Suzy-kins,

Sales conference was mostly a smashing success, thank you for asking. And now that we've survived another year, I have a bit more time to explain how it all works...

The goal of sales conference is, in short, to tell the whole sales force (60-70 sales people) about the entire upcoming list (remember, list=all the books to be published in a specific season) so that, within a handful of days, they can begin selling the books to their "accounts," i.e. bookstores and stores that sell books (not always the same thing, of course.)

Sounds like a simple task, correct? To tell the sales force everything they need to know about 250+ books--in a day and a half!--so they can go forth and do battle... ahem... sell the books into stores.

Sounds crazy now, right? Well, I guess there's a little more that goes on behind-the-scenes than just that. To break it down quickly--here's how it's done:

Weeks before sales conference, we, the marketing managers, begin feeding the sales force with information about the "big titles"--the ones that we expect to sell very well and hope will hit the bestseller lists. We might feed them basic information about the book, for example: "Hey guys, just thought you might want to know that we're publishing MADONNA'S tell-all book about her SECRET LIFE-LONG AFFAIR with OJ SIMPSON! This is going to be big! Already PEOPLE magazine has promised to do a 10-page feature story...".

And other times we actually try to get them to read an excerpt, a handful of chapters, or even a whole book early... "All, this brand new book by first time author X is like nothing we've read in our lives. It's everything you never knew you wanted from a book about the life of a African mosquito lost in the wilds of New York. Please read at once. Oh, and please enjoy this complimentary gift of a mosquito net to drape over yourself as you read." (Yes, occasionally we bribe them with little gifts... who doesn't want a book AND a present?)

So, by sales conference, many on the sales force are aleady familiar with the "lead" or "key" (i.e. big) titles on the list. Also, BEFORE sales conference, each sales person gets our catalogue which--as you've already guessed--is simply a big catalogue with all the pertinent information about each and every book: titles, cover, price, author bio, summary, marketing plan, picture of the cover, and sometimes early quotes. One could argue that this is the single most important thing (jointly) created by the marketing and creative services teams since it is the single tool every sales person uses every single time they meet with an account (remember? account=bookstore or store selling books) to sell in our titles.

Between being force-fed info about the big titles and reviewing the catalogue, the sales team should already be relatively familiar with the list by conference. Conference really just serves as our one chance to really talk about the books to a captive (sales) audience... "This isn't just your average baby-name book--this is the NEW, DEFINITIVE BOOK on how to choose a GREEN name for your precious, earth-conscious baby! It's exciting! It's innovative! We love it and your should too!"

To move things along, the marketing team puts together a powerpoint presentation that incorporates each and every book on the list. For the most part, it's just a slide show of the covers--but the key titles may have extra slides to explain stuff that couldn't fit into the catalogue. For each book, one person (either the editor-in-cheif, the marketing manager or the publisher) has 30 second-3 minutes to talk about the book.

Whew! And there you have it. Sales conference. Perhaps I've spent a long time talking about what is, at heart, a day and a half of talking about books. But please realize, Suzy-dear, that it is of utmost importance in the publishing cycle. It may seem like the most important "sale" is the one that happens at the cash register in a bookstore. But just think, if we don't "sell" the books to the sales force first... how will the books ever make it into the stores?

I hope you're doing well. We're finally getting buds on the trees, daffodils in yards, and winter coats are being hung in the backs of closets. Please do share what's new down your way? I haven't heard any good stories from home in what seems like forever...

Much love,

(Ms.) Sally S.

Hot Hook-Ups

From the desk of Ms. Spitfire...

My dearest Suzy-Q,

So what's new in the deep down? Are there any birthday plans for the triplets? I always did think that they threw the most fantastic parties---particularly for themselves. I don't think I've ever had as much fun as their 63rd! I can't imagine why Auntie Maybel Sue Jean disapproves so much of them! I think they're fantastic and far more fun than many people my own age...

This week has been a good one for me. I've been busy and surprisingly productive. The week felt full and strong-bodied, like a good cup of coffee. Not overwhelming and jittery, like too many hastily drunk espressos.

That being said, this upcoming week is going to certainly be a busy one. We're having a sales conference this week, which is--at least for me--one of the most important and pivotal parts of the season (remember? Three seasons in publishing: spring/summer, fall, and winter.)
I know I told you about launch, which is when all the editors present their newly-acquired books (for the "new" season) to the marketing and publicity team. Well, launch is followed by a flurry of weeks in which the marketing department and publicity department divy the books out to the marketing manager and publicist who will work on each title. These mini teams familiarize themselves with the books and meet with the editors to talk strategy, and then formulate their marketing and publicity plans. Depending on the type of book and how "big" it is, the marketing manager will begin to do some of the marketing work--particularly if the marketing plan involves something elaborate and long-term, such as partnering with a company that will promote the book, or making a book trailer.

All in all, the "behind-the-scenes" teams have several weeks after launch to get their act together before presenting the whole shebang to the sales team. This is sales conference--the big, important teleconference when the editorial, marketing, publicity and art teams band together to present the upcoming list (this one will be for Fall '09) to the sales force, who will (in the upcoming weeks) have to go out and sell the book to the major chains and independent bookstores.

By sales conference, marketing and publicity plans have to be ready. Advance publicity and already-under-way marketing extravaganzas are put on display. Cover designs have been mostly completed, although in many cases sales conference provides an open forum to discuss covers that--for a number of reasons--are actively disliked or simply fail to impress.
Sales conference is exceedingly important not only because it serves as a major motivational push for plans to be made and teams to get cracking but also because it makes sure that everyone all the way from editorial to sales is pretty much on the same page about the new books.

My last three weeks therefore have been frantic scratchings, scurryings and dashings-about of brainstormings, meetings with editors, cover design discussions, making of marketing plans for different books, and--lastly--putting together powerpoint presentations for each book about those plans. All leading up to this moment...

I'll write next week and tell you how it all went!

Sarah

P.S. Antonio loves the hyacinth blossoms you sent me. I begged him to take care of them so that they wouldn't die. Besides, they cheer up the office so much. Hyacinths really do smell like heaven, don't they? If only I could have freshly blooming hyacinths all year round.

Ms. Spitfire's Favorite Pitches!

From the desk of Ms. Spitfire

(Ms. Spitfire has selected her favorite pitches, and has explained what made these stand out. Please scroll back to March 17th's post for more details about the Pitch Party.)

Mandy's Pitch:

A curse forces Lexi to spend every night swimming. Her body craves the water, demands the water, until she can’t say no. At dawn she returns to school, where she’ll sit in class and wait for dusk. But she’s not just a mermaid-she’s a siren, and her songs are also a deadly lure. Soon a new boy discovers her lake, and Lexi must choose between agony outside the water—or falling in love.

Mandy Hubbard and the teen swimming pool siren: I absolutely loved Mandy's pitch and knew as soon as I read it that it would be among the top five. Here's why: in five short sentences, Mandy is able to describe a story simple enough for me to understand and yet with enough intrigue and possibility to pique my interest. While authors have a hard time summing up their complex plotlines and character development, Mandy delivers her story in a silver filigree nutshell. Moreover, I'm a sucker for teen novels and especially those inspired by or based on fairy tales and/or mythology. In reading the full manuscript, however, I'm going to be on the lookout for some emotional complexity as there is the tendency that this great concept will not be supported by any real depth.
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Embee's Pitch:

There are two things Holly Bailey has never known: Her father, and a sense of belonging. Holly’s only chance to learn her father’s true identity is her estranged and slightly daft grandmother, who tells her a ridiculous faery story that only leaves her frustrated. But Holly soon learns that the story isn’t so silly after all, and suddenly finds herself journeying through an ancient realm and back again searching for her father, herself, and a place to belong.

Embee and the realm-travelling, fatherless Holly Bailey: Once again, I was won over on this pitch by the brevity and clarity with which Embee shares her story. I have a good sense not only of the plot line--the protagonist's rather fantastical search for a father and a sense of self--but also of some tasty characters--slighty daft grandmother!--and the driving themes--the thirst for a sense of belonging and knowledge about one's own roots. Furthermore, the fantastical element (fairies!), was the icing on the cake. I think this sounds like a strong story--escapist, plot driven, and yet anchored by very universal, human themes that readers will relate to on a personal, emotional level. In reading the full manuscript, I would be on the lookout for the character's actual journeying to be evenly interspersed with the main character's personal journey--I'm a little worried that one or the other would be too complex and the other would get lost.
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Strugglingwriter's Pitch:

Luck you say? Niko Calender had some luck. Wouldn't have been picked for his school's honors project without it. Got to time travel, he did.Not all of it was good, mind you. Had to travel through with his nemesis Cody.Got a bit of a mess in pre-historic times. Time machine ran out of gas. Teacher got arrested because of a sneeze. That’s the thing about luck. Sometimes you gotta make your own.

strugglingwriter's time-travelling N. Calendar: I'm not sure what strugglingwriter envisioned, but I see this as a fantastic middle-grade novel. His writing tone really comes across in the pitch; succinct, humorous, and creative. Time-travelling, in my mind, is always a fun base for a story but what caught my attention was strugglingwriter's unique twist: time travel w/arch nemesis. I would have liked a slightly more developed plotline--I feel I was given a good set-up but not given a very good idea of the arc of the plot--but overall, I was won over enough to want to read the full manuscript. I would hope that the full manuscript shared a more complete story and didn't drop the ball 3/4 of the way through like the pitch.
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Phoenix's Pitch:

When theologian Pierre Abelard and his gifted student Heloise fall in love, they're certain God approves -- until Heloise's jealous uncle and Abelard's ecclesiastic rival intervene.Hounded, castrated, and denounced a heretic, Abelard seeks exile as a monk. Heloise, pregnant and unrepentant, takes the veil. Forced apart by circumstance, kept apart by God, they bare their shameless desire in letters that will echo for a thousand years. But how long can their star-crossed love survive?

Phoenix for star-crossed, theologically minded historical novel: Wow! Again, fantastic job summing up a potentially complex and dynamic novel in two short paragraphs. This is a talent that many otherwise talented authors never develop. I like this pitch because while on the one hand it remind me of many of the world's great, doomed romances (even just the word "star-crossed" brings to "Romeo and Juliet" to my mind immediately), on the other hand, the particulars of the situation and the characters seem quite original--at least for me. I love the use of letter-writing (epistolary novels--even if this isn't strictly so--always float my boat) and this sounds like a story that would really sweep the reader up and away into a different place, a different time, a great love and a great story... I'm wary, however, that the final novel would take itself too seriously and--in attempting convey all this greatness--would sound grandiose and lack emotional sincerity.
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Macaronipant's Pitch:

Consolation will die on her eighteenth birthday, as each of the women in her family have before. Armed with her Sylvia Plath memorabilia and a bottle of Tequila, she’ll meet the family curse head on. When death doesn’t come, she hasn’t a clue what to do. Led to a women’s shelter, she finds resurrection in the form of a small boy. When death comes calling, this time she fights for what she’s come to love.

macaronipants's sylvia-plath-clutching, curse-overcoming novel of hope and redemption: This may be my favorite of all. It has everything that many of attributes I've seen in best-sellers: a quirky protagonist, fantastic and unique details, a succint set-up and an ending that promises hope and redemption. I really can't see anything wrong with this pitch at all and I would be very intrigued to read the manuscript--I think my thumbs up or thumbs down would be entirely based on the actual writing and learning more about the inner workings of the main character. As the plot stands, I love it--but it's a bit bare for me to know exactly what to expect in terms of characters, genre, book length, etc. etc. etc.

Slush Party! Bring Your Own Pizza...

From the desk of Ms. Spitfire

My dearest Suzy-kins,

It was so good chatting with you on the phone this weekend! Even with all of our emails back and forth, I still hate that we live far away and that we can't be a bigger, more present part of each other's lives. This new man you've just met sounds very interesting and I look forward to hearing more about him. Oh--and--as per our calendar-comparing conversation, I am looking into plan flights for the middle or end of May. You better start grinding the mint for the mojitos now, my darling cuz.

When we spoke, I forgot completely to tell you a great story from my week. As Antonio becomes more competant around the office--and his English begins to improve--I continue to give him more little responsibilities and fun projects. This past Thursday I introduced him to one of my favorite "busy" tasks--setting up the slush pile party.

Here's the deal: big publishing houses only accept solicited manuscripts, i.e. manuscripts that come from an agent to an editor who has already asked for and expressed interest in reading said manuscript. In other words, nobody--agent or author--simply sends an editor a manuscript and expects it to get published and, what's more, editors pretty much only read submissions from agents and not directly from authors.

The surprising thing is that even though this is a well known fact, we still receive hundreds of submissions each year from authors ravenous for publication. These authors address their letters to "Editor"; are writing from everything you can imagine including prisons, pension-plans and Russia; and send every variety of pitch letters and sample chapters, their full manuscripts, or even their vanity-press published works. In response, every 4 or 6 months, our company's assistant join forces at the slush pile party; pizza is ordered, the slush pile is brought into the room in a giant mail bin, and one by one, the brave team of assistants sends a form "rejection" letter to every author.

It astounds me that authors continue to send works directly to publishers. Is it possible that so many authors are simply unaware? This might be the case, of course, for those authors who send us hand-written missives or laboriously typewriter-written works. I always feel a pang of sympathy for those submissions and imagining an earnest-souled, paper-skinned octegenarian sitting with tears glinting from his deeply lined face as he reads his 87th form rejection letter, wondering why their 627 page novel about a guilt-ridden WWII pilot's failing marriage and passionate love affair with a Syngapore beauty has been returned unread.

Of course, it is clear that there are many authors who are perfectly aware of the "no unsolicited manuscripts" rule and continue to send submissions anyway. These fall into two categories: those who send the same submission time and time again--"Hey look! It's the children's book about the cherry red fire-hydrant who befriends the large scary black rottweiler! I remember rejecting this last year!"--and those who actually send their submissions with pitch letters from fake literary agencies, pretending to be agents pitching a "new and upcoming" author--"Has anyone hear ever heard of the "Happy Days Literary Agency"? Oookaaay then, literary agent Ringo Starr...". Again, I am boggled. Do authors think that somehow their manuscript might slip through? I wonder if they realize that none of the manuscripts ever make it into the hands of an editor; they go straight from mail-room employee, to assistant, to assistant, back to mailroom employee and right back to the author again...

Some of the most creative writing and ideas--albeit, many of them quite bad--end up in the slush pile. When I was an assistant, I really looked forward to these slush pile parties and used to occasionally sneak photocopies of my favorite submission letters and sample chapters to reread later over a latte with a friend. This year, I asked Antonio to pick two or three of the funniest or most interesting submissions and bring them back to me. At the end of the afternoon he came back with:

1) A 278 page poetry manuscript in which every single word began with the letter 'A'. 2) A pitch letter in which an author earnestly explained that his manuscript was inspired by his realization that he was the Jesus Christ, son of man and God, in a previous life, and 3) a collection of short stories all sharing one subject: boxes.

Suzy dear, if you ever do write a novel, please don't send it to a random publishing house where it will end up in the hands of assistants who have no authority to do anything with it!
On another note, if you were to write a novel, what would you write about? (Remember, A-ccentric poetry and "box"y short stories are already claimed.)

Much, much love,

(Ms.) Sally S.

Viral Marketing? Deliciously Dirty...

From the desk of Ms. Sally Spitfire

My dearest Suzy-kins,

I think that for once all of the warm wishes you and Auntie Mabel Sue Jean keep sending me have finally made it! Although the week began bitterly cold (below zero wind-chill after the sun went down!), by Friday the temperature took a turn for the better and began climbing all the way into the fifties. You should've seen how quickly and gladly we New Yorkers shed out Northface winter jackets and puffy eskimo gear. The first daffodils and t-shirts even began peeking up for a breath of fresh air. I know that it won't last, of course, but my, my is it delicious while it's here!

But enough about the weather. On to this week's publishing world tidbit...

One of the more immediate effects of economic crisis on my job (aside from no longer being provided with free bottled water in my office) has been the gradual disappearance of money in the budget for advertising. In the past, any truly healthy marketing plan had some sort of advertising--whether it was in the New York Times or in the School Library Journal e-newsletter. In fact, in my company we have a whole team that used to be known as the "ad-services" department whose main job it was to design and place ads in newspapers, magazines, journals, and online.

These days, however, the attitude towards advertising has changed considerably. First and foremost, in a world where publishers need to cut extraneous costs wherever possible, advertising is inevitably going to suffer. Ad placement in the more prestigous papers and magazines is incredibly expensive--tens of thousands of dollars for 1/4 or even 1/8 page ad.
Much of the time, authors are confused and unhappy with this change. However, the truth is that while advertising is out--online marketing is IN! and this change actually makes a good deal of sense.

Look at it this way: while publishers no longer seem to have the money to place as many ads in papers and magazines, a large number of Americans are gearing away from buying those same publications. It has escaped no one's notice that more and more people are spending their free time, doing their shopping, and even book browsing online. And so, where print and online advertising used to appear in marketing plans, now we are using phrases like "BLOG CAMPAIGN!", "PODCAST TOUR", "VIRAL MARKETING!!!"

Of course, internet marketing is by no means new. Any publishing company worth its salt has had a digital marketing team in place for a few years now. At different houses, there have been big pushes to major networks of websites for each house, imprint and book; to not get left behind in converting books to e-formats; to set up direct-to-consumer sales portals.

I apologize, Suzy dear, if some of these phrases I'm bantering around have confused you. Believe me--you are not the only one. A good deal of the publishing world is still confused by much of what is happening online and working hard to keep up to speed.

It seems to me that the publishing world is divided into three groups when it comes to understanding the new surge of internet trends: First there are the digital marketing teams and the young, tech-savvy employees who talk DRM (digital rights management) and HTML (a computer language) with the best of them. There are people like me who aren't experts, but have a pretty solid understanding of the important stuff, for example, the differences between blogs and podcasts and webinars and Skype and e-newsletters and list-servs and so on and so forth. And then--still wading through the mud--are those who are--intentionally or not--letting the digital wave pass them by--the ones who understand very little of what's going on in online and digital publishing, but have learned to nod very enthusiastically whenever the phrases "viral marketing" or "blog campaign" waft in their direction.

So, while the loss of advertising has certainly made some authors (and agents) unhappy, the smarter ones recognize that much of the action is now happening online and online is where the marketers need to be. Unfortunately, it's an ever-expanding universe and every month it seems that there is some whole new "incredibly, amazing thing" that needs to be understood, examined, and exploited in the name of selling books. Three years ago, it was blogs. Two years ago, it was podcasts. Last spring, it was facebook. And this week it is Twitter.

Oh Suzy! Have you yet learned about Twitter? I bemoan it's existance, but at the same time, I am starting to build it into my marketing plans... More on this next time, perhaps? I feel that I could manage a whole letter just about the new Twitter trend, the way that publishers are reacting, and who is "tweeting" these days...

I love and miss you and hope that all is well down in the sunny south. Ah!

Your lovin' cousin,

(Ms) Sally Spitfire

P.S. In honor of the warm weather, Antonio has brought some potted flowers into the office, saying that we need more flowers and beauty after all the drabness of winter. I couldn't agree more, but you never I've never had anything like a green thumb. Antonio, apparently, is fantastic with green things. You should see him singing Italian operettas while he waters those plants...

Bringing Eyes to Books

From the desk of Ms. Sally Spitfire

My dearest Suzy,

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written! I hope that all is well with you down there in the warm embrace of the sunny south. These past few weeks in NYC we have had rain, snow, driving winds and bitter cold sprinkled with the occasional day of teasing warmth and courageous sun. I know we have a few months of winter to go, but oh! how I do long for spring!

In the meantime, despite my whining about the weather, life in the big city is going quite well. Antonio says hello (he says that I talk about you so much he feels he already knows you) and I hope that you'll give my love to everyone back home.

Now on to your question from you last letter. It's an extremely good question and the one that I get asked most frequently about working in the marketing department: what exactly is the different between marketing and publicity?

It can get a little confusing because there is definitely some overlap and--in other industries or even in much smaller publishing houses--in some cases publicity and marketing are smushed together into one job or one department.

At larger houses like mine, though, the publicity and marketing departments are very separate entities with very separate responsibilities. Once I heard it described this way: although both departments departments are--in essence--responsible for drawing attention to a soon-to-be or just-published book, publicity generally does it without spending money.

But perhaps that doesn't make sense yet. Let me break it down for you a little bit further one department at a time.

Publicity

The publicity department publicizes a book. It is their job to make sure that book-buyers--the general public--learns about a book. The majority of their energy is spent getting the book reviewed (in newspapers, magazines, websites, and blogs), getting the book or the author featured in national television or radio shows (NPR, The Today Show, Oprah, etc.) and setting up publicity events such as book signings or tours for the authors. Although of course it does costs money to set up a tour, none of these things (think interview on NPR or positive book review in the Wall Street Journal) can actually be purchased. Successful publicists can often be described as a combination of a talented car-salesman and a socialite... they're able to pitch anything (and convince you that it's PERFECT for YOU) and they have a well-thumbed little black book with contacts everywhere it matters. Talented publicists can name-drop with the best of them.

Marketing

I feel like the longer I work in marketing, the more responsibilities I realized are delegated to us. But at heart, the marketing dept. is in charge of making sure that booksellers--bookstores--and bookbuyers--the general public--learn about a book. We do this by advertising (in newspapers, magazines and online), by making promotional materials (think bookmarks, t-shirts, advanced readers' editions and galleys, etc.), by offering co-op to bookstores, and by setting up special programs or opportunities such as planning a sweepstakes or getting the author to do a guest blog for a popular website. You'll notice that most of these things (advertising, promotional materials) cost money. Successful marketing people are a perfect mix between left-brain and right-brain: they are able to understand money and budgets and bang-per-buck and can also be creative, reinvent the wheel (i.e. the marketing plan) for every book and continually put themselves in other people's heads. Talented marketing people know that every book has an audience and come up with creative ways of introducing THAT audience to THAT book in such a way that they will feel compelled to rush out and buy it immediately.

Whew! And there you have it! The marketing dept. spends money (usually) and publicity does not (usually) and both bring eyes to the books.

What do you think? Does it make more sense now? If so, I'm going to enlist YOUR help, Suzie-darling, at the next family reunion; you'll be in charge of answering that question every other time it gets asked...

Much, much love,

(Ms.) Sally S.