Book Sales
With Rochelle Dowden-Lord – Sales Operations Executive at HarperCollins
“For anyone interviewing for a sales position, my advice is this: for the publisher you’re interviewing for, know the list like the back of your hand. Frontlist and backlist. Know what the big prize-winners were and know what is about to be published. They will ask you what you’re reading, so have an answer.”
I’ve been working in publishing for a year and a half now. I started my journey as an International Sales Intern at Pan Macmillan, and now work as a Sales Operations Executive at Hachette (I work for six of their divisions: Hodder, John Murray Press, Quercus, Headline, Little, Brown and Orion).
Working in publishing has always been a dream for me, though for a long time I thought it was unachievable as I didn’t go to university, and therefore thought it was impossible to convince the publishing gatekeepers that I cud reed and rite – thankfully, attitudes have changed. Instead, I worked for charities for a few years, figuring that if I couldn’t have my dream job, at least I could do something good. Of course, working in an office, particularly in such a stressful environment, meant that I gained many transferable skills, and this combined with retail management work and answering some extremely intricate interview questions, got me my internship.
In my current role I support the Key Account Managers/Directors, which involves creating sales presentations, putting together monthly and six-monthly title grids for retailers, sending proofs and point of sale (bookmarks, window clings etc) to independent bookshops and other retailers, creating order forms, and other ad hoc tasks. I also organise book signings and event stock for shops and festivals. If I’m asked, or if I’m extremely excited about a manuscript/proposal, I also read submissions, though since my recent promotion I do less of this due to not having much free time. It can be hectic (it’s always hectic), but I honestly love it. I love reading ten proofs at a time, meeting authors and seeing signed copies I helped to organise appear in shops.
Of course I’d say this, but I love working in sales, and not-so-secretly think it’s the best department in publishing. I think people assume sales is only ‘selling in’ (meeting with retailers and convincing them to stock your books) which of course is a large part of it, but in reality, it’s extremely varied, and it’s always fun when the fairs come around (not that they’ve happened for a while – sob). Perhaps more than some other roles, you work with every other department very closely, from negotiating POS with marketing, liaising with publicity to have author book signings, and crying into the metaphorical lap of production over print dates.
At different levels in sales you negotiate RRP with editorial and production, agree advances with finance and editorial, and give your input about book covers due to your knowledge of the market. In a way, it’s the best jack-of-all-trades job (master of all): you’re charismatic enough to sell to shops, but perhaps not patient enough to deal with a difficult author 24/7; you’re good with numbers but not a finance whizz; you can correct a TI but maybe editing an entire book isn’t for you, etc. I will update you on whether any of my colleagues come after me with pitchforks for that comment. But it’s also such an important job. No matter how arresting the prose is, how clever the marketing, if we don’t get books into the hands of readers it’s all for naught; it’s a business after all. I also enjoy that most of my colleagues only vaguely understand what I do (an enigma, I love that for me!) and I can swan around the entirety of Hachette towers as I work for so many of our divisions!
In general, I’d say publishing is both exactly how you hope it is and nothing like you think it’ll be. Yes, there are expensed lunches, day-drinking (under the sophisticated guise of raising a glass to whichever author crosses the threshold) and free books. But it’s also a lot of begging shops to put books through the till so they can chart in time, pleading with the editors to please, for the love of the book gods, update the TI on Biblio, entering data non-stop, running pre-Frankfurt sales figures for a bookshop in the Middle East after two glasses of prosecco (it was one time - I was young) and reading so constantly my thirteen-year-old self would be delighted.
Ok, I’ve convinced myself: it’s pretty fantastic being a book pusher.
For anyone interviewing for a sales position, my advice is this: for the publisher you’re interviewing for, know the list like the back of your hand. Frontlist and backlist. Know what the big prize-winners were and know what is about to be published. They will ask you what you’re reading, so have an answer (preferably something you’ve almost finished, not just started). Read books from their list and mention them. Know their imprints by name and genre. Market knowledge is paramount in sales, so you’ll need to have some! One thing I hear about all the time is people being very enthusiastic about books in general. We all love books! That’s why we allow ourselves to be paid in prosecco and proofs. Tell the interviewer about a specific book you loved and why, what you thought was interesting about the campaign, what prizes you think it deserves. Subscribe to The Bookseller and know all the gossip, follow people on Twitter who work in publishing and comment on the books they post (with praise), and know what’s charting.
Rochelle Dowden-Lord @rochdowdenlordy