marketing

Madalena Cardoso, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2017-18

November 29th, 2017 by Madalena Cardoso | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Madalena Cardoso, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2017-18
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Chocolate, fantasy novels, large cappuccinos, watercolours, scrapbooks, yoga, Chinese food and labradors. That’s me!

Currently doing an MLitt in Publishing Studies at the University of Stirling, I wish to pursue a career in the dynamic industry of books, more specifically in Marketing.

I attained a BSc in Business Management at Nova School of Business and Economics (2014-17), in Lisbon, the colourful and sunny capital of Portugal, and the place I like to call home. The course put a strong emphasis on the development of analytical, research and communication skills, and I took modules in Marketing & International Marketing, Strategy, Finance, Statistics and so on, covering all aspects of Business. I spent one semester abroad at The University of Sheffield as part of the Erasmus + Programme, where I became more internationally aware, and where I fell in love with the UK (except for its weather), sharing unique experiences such as living, studying and travelling with people from all over the world.

My passion for the universe of words and my creative disposition dictated that my next step would be to cultivate specific knowledge in the Publishing field. Unsurprisingly, I am a fan of spending hours at bookshops, scanning charming covers and enigmatic synopses, and (discreetly) smelling lovely thin-paper pages. Four weeks into the masters, I have already learned about industry roles, trends, design theory, business models and standard software.

The Marketing of books is what really interests me, not only because of my background in business, but because organisations have become increasingly more customer- and relationship-centric and more experience-orientated. One day, I hope to become more than a mere consumer and enjoy more than the publishing output; I wish to take part on the other side of the industry, where all the magic begins.

Find me on Twitter and on WordPress

Floris Books – Chani McBain & Sarah Webster

October 30th, 2017 by Kate Bailey | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Floris Books – Chani McBain & Sarah Webster
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Our visiting speakers in week five were Chani McBain and Sarah Webster (a graduate from our MLitt) from the marketing department of Floris Books in Edinburgh. 70% of the books Floris publishes are children’s books, making them Scotland’s largest children’s publisher. The other 30% of their output are books for adults based around Rudolph Steiner education, philosophy, and holistic living. Floris likes to keep most of their work in-house, so they use very few freelancers and the people that work there usually work on all of their titles. The exception is that they have one person working exclusively on the adult books because he has specialist knowledge of the subject.

Chani explained to us that all the departments in Floris work very closely to make sure that all the elements of a book related to one another. For instance, the content needs to be reflected in the blurb, in the cover design and in the marketing materials. Apparently this can lead to some very strange tasks being shared across departments! Chani told us that the week before she came to visit, she and one of the production controllers had been scribbling on a copy of their new sticker book to see if the paper used in it was also suitable for a colouring book they would like to release next year!

Sarah’s day-to-day work in the marketing department is quite varied. She writes and proofreads marketing materials such as ebulletins to be sent out by email telling people about their upcoming or newly-released titles. Sarah warned us not to write this kind of marketing off – it is still one of the most effective forms of marketing that Floris uses! Design also plays a big role in Sarah’s work, as she uses programs such as InDesign or PhotoShop to create posters for events, catalogues or other promotional material. One of the new marketing strategies that Floris tried for the first time this year was having a Snapchat filter available for visitors to the Edinburgh International Book Festival, where users could put their silhouette on the cover of Claire McFall’s Ferryman, which was published in June (see left). However, because Snapchat does not have live data analysis, they were not sure if it was a successful experiment or not!

When starting a new project, Chani says she finds it is helpful to imagine who her target consumer is for the book she is trying to market. She thinks about who they are, why they might be buying the book, how they might like to be contacted and where they might hear about the book. This helps her it market it towards this person in the most effective way. These things are obviously quite different for the children’s list and the adult’s list. For one thing, children are not the main consumers of children’s books, their parents are! So the children’s marketing is actually aimed at parents that might want to find their kids something to do on a long drive or while they are on holiday in Scotland. Whereas the adult’s books are more niche and the main consumers might look for them in speciality bookshops or hear about them online on community forums.

 Overall, Floris sounds like a really positive place to work and I am sure I was not the only person to leave Chani and Sarah’s talk to think seriously about a career in marketing!

 Picture credit: Floris Books

When the Swedish Academy got to meet Bob Dylan

April 21st, 2017 by anna-corrine_egermo | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on When the Swedish Academy got to meet Bob Dylan
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Only half a year has passed since Bob Dylan was announced winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in literature and he has already managed to go pick it up. This past weekend he had a concert at Waterfront in Stockholm so on Saturday evening, before the concert, he had a private meeting with twelve of the Swedish Academy members. According to attending sources they drank champagne and spent some time looking at the back of the prize medal. It’s all hush-hush and no media was invited. Personally I think a sense of mystery is the best marketing strategy one can use, under the right circumstances, and I even imagine Dylan might have watched some The Young Pope.

Modern version

Another student already wrote about the prize when Dylan was announced winner; and there was a lot of opinions going around in general. There is nothing we love as we love some controversy. Hence, as a publishing student I still feel the need to think about the questions his win raises.

First of all: what is literature? Dylan does not write what we commonly associate with literature – he writes songs. The Swedish Academy acknowledges as much, and this is what they rewarded. On the one hand, one could argue that they take the sense of tradition to an extreme, considering that my education in literature taught me that the troubadour tradition belongs within literature. It is basically poems about love with music composed to it, and some people do like to argue that the same goes for contemporary lyrics.

Less modern version (Guillaume IX d’Aquitaine)

Without going into detail, this is an argument which could be made and it may be convincing. But why is it so upsetting? For one of our recent seminars we read an article by the sociologist Joel Best called “Prize Proliferation”  (Sociological Forum, 2008), on the topic of the title. Best states that award giving is the “want to recognize and reward exceptional performance, to bestow esteem on the deserving”. It “affirms and embodies the group’s values”, meaning that we as a social group are affirming Dylan as the most deserving within the category of ‘people making literature’. Subsequently, we have a problem with our collective values not being reinforced if we don’t agree on the basic premise that Dylan is, in fact, making literature. Do we even belong together? Can the Nobel Prize continue to represent our collective idea of literary taste?

Since Dylan never used to be seriously considered to be making literature, the debate was easy to predict. Some people called the Academy’s choice “brave”, but I am not convinced bravery is what it took. Rather, we got a wonderful show in the media and all over Twitter which implanted the Nobel Prize in the minds of millions of people. This will not be forgotten, it will be written about and remembered as a highlight in the history of the prize. We will see it on encyclopedia pages forever after and ride off into the sunset. It is hard to imagine that for example Herta Müller’s win in 2009 will be remembered as a landmark, but this might.

So when Vanity Fair wrote that “Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize has been something of a saga”, I agree. It has been a wonderfully entertaining marketing trick allowing us all to be more emotional this year than usual (at least in Sweden), and publishers got to sell more books. But most important of all: the Swedish Academy finally got to meet Bob Dylan.

Let’s toast to that!

Visiting Speaker: Vikki Reilly, Birlinn Books.

March 14th, 2017 by Rachel | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Visiting Speaker: Vikki Reilly, Birlinn Books.
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Last Thursday we welcomed Vikki Reilly from Birlinn Books, one of Scotland’s leading independent publishers. The talk covered her experience working in a sales team, getting into the publishing industry, and advice about internships.

Birlinn and being part of the Sales team

Although Birlinn are a fairly small publisher with a team of around 20 employees, they punch significantly above their weight, publishing around 160 titles a year. One of their more  distinguishing features is that they proudly publish books that tell the stories of all of Scotland – not just the central belt. This leads to a more national conversation, which can only benefit the book industry in Scotland.

Vikki works specifically in the sales department, and provided us with some valuable insight into working in this sector:

  • Nurture your relationships with booksellers.
  • Be trustworthy – people can tell when you’re lying.
  • Know what market a book sells best in.
  • The best way to sell a book is face-to-face, and sales teams are developing more now as publishers begin to recognise this (hooray!).

Getting into the industry

Vikki talked us through her experience of getting into the publishing industry, including completing the MLitt in Publishing Studies at Stirling University and interning for several publishers, including Canongate. But her presentation emphasised that it is crucial to expand your frame of reference. One of her main pieces of advice was to “never underestimate what you can learn on a shop floor.” Taking on jobs in music shops and bookstores is useful, and will enhance your ability to relate to other people’s interests, which is useful in publishing. Additionally, her presentation stressed that people rarely have a singular career path in publishing now, so be flexible and don’t let good opportunities pass you by.

Internships

Birlinn offer an internship programme where interns spend 3 months at a time with them, and Vikki informed us that they have a space coming up in April. During these 3 months interns can get the most out of the experience and gain new skills. Vikki offered some useful advice for all the existing and future interns out there:

  • Don’t go in there with a sense of entitlement, (there’s nothing wrong with making a cup of tea occasionally).
  • While it can be difficult, try not to be too shy! You will get more from your experience by asking questions and being enthusiastic – people like it when you take an interest.
  • Remember that everyone is still learning, not just you. Meaning, no question is too stupid (this was definitely reassuring to hear).

At the end of the presentation we were provided with lovely catalogues of Birlinn’s titles as of 2016 (and cake). Overall, the presentation was lively and engaging, and I think most people left the room feeling really inspired.

– by Rachel Patrick

Mariclaire White, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2012-2013

January 23rd, 2013 by Mariclaire White | Posted in Student Profiles | Comments Off on Mariclaire White, MLitt in Publishing Studies 2012-2013
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I began considering a career in Publishing while studying MA English Literature and Film Studies at the University of Dundee. During summer break between 3rd and 4th year, I became a marketing intern for a comedy company during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The job was frantic, consuming and required a lot of walking around rainy Edinburgh promoting a show alongside hundreds of competitors. While this may sound like hell to a lot of people, the reward of seeing a member of public you had encouraged at the show, was completely worth it. Once University began again, I sought a way to combine a lifelong interest in literature with my newfound passion for marketing, leading me to the logical choice of working within the publishing industry.

Whilst researching postgraduate degrees, I was immediately attracted to the MLitt in Publishing Studies at Stirling due to its reputation as a Centre for International Publishing and Communication as well as its excellent links to the publishing industry. In order to finally make up my mind about applying, I spoke to a former student who could not recommend the course enough and I have not been disappointed. I am so excited to progress with my studies and put the skills I learn into practice in the real world! You can find out how my studies are going on twitter!

Shanghai: City of Books

March 26th, 2010 by cs48@stir.ac.uk | Posted in Blog | Comments Off on Shanghai: City of Books
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099Shanghai is known for its skyscrapers, the Bund and the financial district, its Art Deco buildings, some delicious food, and the forthcoming Expo 2010. But in a recent trip to the city, it became clear that Shanghai is also a City of Books.

On Fuzhou Road, the ‘book street’ of Shanghai (rather a different feel to London’s Charing Cross Road), shops include the Shanghai Ancient Bookstore, the Shanghai Foreign Language Bookstore (currently with a very enticing display of English-language books on Shanghai and China), and the piece-de-resistance, the multi-storey Shanghai City of Books, which was buzzing with readers and book-buyers at the end of the working day.

 112In-store promotions included book covers printed onto the escalator hand rail, something I’d never seen before, and which made me stop to look at the big pile of books it was promoting. I hope no-one noticed me going up and down the escalator several times to examine this point of sale. Never surprised by my capacity to acquire books in languages I can’t actually read, I amused myself by buying a copy of The Blue Lotus, the Tintin adventure set in China.