Behind the scenes of a publishing house

Interview with a Marketing Officer

Welcome to Sandra Pesso, who is a Marketing Officer working at Evernight Publishing. I am delighted to have you on my blog.

Thanks for having me, Jennifer!

Can you tell us a little about yourself, where you are from, how long you have been working as a Marketing Officer and what made you take up this role?

Sure, I’d love to! I live in the States, not far from New York City. I’ve been Evernight and Evernight Teen’s Marketing Officer for three years. I was an author with Evernight before I took the job. It was a great opportunity to use my marketing and advertising business background to help increase Evernight’s brand and recognition.

What is the thing you most enjoy about being a Marketing Officer and what is the most difficult?

The thing I enjoy most about my job introducing the Evernight brand into new markets and finding promotional opportunities to reach new readers. I also enjoy working with both new and established authors to help them navigate the many marketing opportunities available.

The most difficult thing is probably finding the time to do everything I’d like to do!

What are the biggest things that you feel authors should do more of in terms of marketing their own books?

Consistency is key. There are so many authors and books out there and entering the market every day. Try to find something that makes you and your books unique and leverage the uniqueness. For example, is your hero or heroine a chef or bartender? Post recipes and cocktails on your social media pages. Is your book set somewhere interesting?

(What an interesting idea. JD)

Write guest posts for fellow authors and bloggers about the locale. Remember, blog and social media posts are samples of your writing. The more you spark a reader’s interest, the more likely you are to get the sale.

Do you find it difficult to promote a genre you don’t particularly enjoy?

Yes and no. I love contemporary romance so it’s easy for me to promote it because I’m most familiar with the genre. However, I love discovering new promotional avenues for genres that aren’t necessarily on my TBR list.

Do you get a chance to write yourself?

Yes! Writing is my passion. I’m currently working on a Contemporary Women’s Literature series.

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

I hope to be doing what I love to do – writing, travelling, and meeting fabulous people.

What projects have you most enjoyed initiating?

Along with Evernight’s owner, Stacey, I helped create the Evernight Readers’ Choice Awards. We kicked off the third annual awards season in November with lots of new authors making it to the semi-finals.

(Yay for the awards! I’ve been nominated all three years and go a runner up place in 2014 for Sexiest Scene and a runner up place in 2015 for Best Sci-fi. JD)

What exciting events are happening at Evernight/coming up?

It’s a great time to be an Evernight author! Submissions are at an all-time high and we’re looking forward to another banner year. Look for both new and favorite events and lots of amazing new books!

What are your top five tips to authors for promoting their work?

1. Avoid straight (and boring) “Buy My Book” promotional posts. They’re ineffective. Instead, engage readers on social media to create online relationships and connections. It’s all about the connection.
2. The best promo is word of mouth. Think out of the box to get people talking about your book (ex. podcasts, book clubs, YouTube video clips).
3. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to promote your book. Swag is nice but is often thrown away.
4. Looking for reviews? Try smaller, lesser-known review blogs vs. the really large ones. Instead of a blanket “Dear Blogger” email, send a personal message when requesting review your book. Offering a guest blog or interview will increase your chances. Most book bloggers love to post guest author content. Also, it helps to note something you liked about their website. Bloggers are proud of their virtual homes and love to be noticed!
5. The best form of promotion is your backlist and new release. Protect your writing time and don’t sacrifice writing for promoting. In the end, you’re better off creating new work. (Very interesting point. It’s always hard to know how much time to give to promoting. JD)

Thank you, Sandra. It has been fabulous interviewing you. Good luck.

If you are interested in reading the other posts in the series, here are the links:

Interview with a Marketing Officer

Interview with an Acquisitions Editor

Interview with a Book Cover Designer

Interview with a Publisher

Interview with an Editor