We chat to Anabel Pandiella, head of Marketing at A&U to get the inside scoop on how our favourite books are marketed!
A&U: Hey Anabel! Thanks so much for chatting with us. First up, can you please give us a little introduction to yourself and what you do at A&U?
AP: I'm the Head of Marketing which means our team's primary job is to create awareness for our books and authors with consumers that gets them buying and reading our books! That could be through advertising campaigns, engaging with our community on social media, website and newsletters, or working with our retailers to create promotions that help them promote the books in stores. There are so many moving parts it's like a huge puzzle you need to solve. It's the perfect mix of creative and analytical for my brain.
A&U: Can you tell us a little about the journey you went on to get your job in book marketing?
AP: I had finished a Media degree and was working in a bookshop, thinking I would work in journalism, when I stumbled across an ad for a publishing assistant. I had never even thought about working in publishing. After a few years I moved to working as a book buyer at a major chain and then moved back into publishing as a publicist. I had no idea what to do so read Public Relations for Dummies and picked up the phone and started calling journalists. It was a baptism of fire. A few jobs down the track and I started to move into marketing when digital started taking off. The fact you can target so strategically and see results when you pull different levers is totally my jam. And because everything is always changing, you're always learning something. It makes my brain super happy.
A&U: How has marketing in the book publishing industry changed since you started?
AP: I am so old that there was only MySpace when I started in publishing, and it was only used to promote bands, so the way we can reach readers has definitely changed. I guess the biggest changes in the past have come from new formats and changes in the retailer landscape but at the heart of it, storytelling is the same. People turning to reading during COVID was amazing but as the world opened up, they suddenly had more ways to fill their leisure time again. My biggest challenge as a marketer is to keep people reading and buying books rather than giving all their time to streaming channels and going out. Don't get me wrong, I would never give up my Netflix subscription, but people have limited entertainment hours and I want some of those to go to the page!
A&U: What is your favourite part about working in book publishing?
AP: This is the most unoriginal answer in the whole world, but I love books. When I was little, before I could read, I would fill my bag up with books to go anywhere, whether it was down the street with Mum to buy milk or in a long car ride on a holiday. My parents would ask me why I needed to take so many, and I would say 'just in case'. I still do that. And I still get excited when I sit down and open a book for the first time. I love the feeling of it in my hands, running my fingers along my bookshelf at home, going into a bookshop or a library and yes, I love smelling the pages. I mean, it's a real addiction. I just want everyone to read and feel the excitement and joy I feel when I read!
A&U: If you could switch roles for a day and work in a different department, what department would you pick?
AP: I almost moved into production early in my career. I still love the thought and care that goes into a physical book. But I also have a real soft spot for audio books and the way someone reading to me makes me feel so soothed, so maybe audio?
A&U: And finally, if you could go back in time and give young Anabel some advice regarding her career in the book publishing industry, what would it be?
AP: I see working in publishing as more of a vocation than a career. I am very aware it's a privilege for me to work in job that's my passion, but it doesn't come without its sacrifices. And when you work in a job you love it can bleed into your personal life all the time. I have a group of friends who are in the industry who keep me sane and pumped and are the best cheerleaders ever. And then I have my non-publishing friends who remind me that there's a whole wide world out there and that I am more than my job. Children are also excellent at keeping you grounded but they are expensive and very annoying at times so not a solution for everyone. I haven't perfected the balance of not taking it all too seriously and personally yet, but I think I'm getting better.