Emily Waters, associate marketing manager, school and library marketing, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
How long have you worked at Macmillan?
I’ve been at MacKids for over two years now.
What was your first job in children’s publishing? How did you come to school and library marketing?
My first job (and the only full-time job I had previous to this one) was in the school and library marketing department over at Random House Children’s. I came to New York to participate in the NYU Summer Publishing Institute right after getting my bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies. English and literature had always been my primary interest (although I wasn’t interested in teaching, hence the Communications degree), so I started by applying for editorial jobs. Along the way I sprinkled in some marketing and publicity interviews, and when I interviewed for the S&L assistant position at RHCB I knew I’d found my niche. I loved the travel aspect of the job and the fact that I’d be able to work with teachers and librarians, some of my favorite people (even more so now!)
How did you make the transition from the assistant level to the level of associate marketing manager? Can you share a piece of knowledge you wished you had known while making that transition?
I actually met my current supervisor when she was freelancing for RHCB. I passed a few projects over to her and trained her in a few of our programs . . . and now she’s supervising me! 🙂 She took the S&L Director position here at MacKids shortly after that, so I applied for the Associate Marketing Manager position with her then. If I had any advice about that process, I would say don’t underestimate yourself. It can be scary to jump to a higher position, but you’ll make the transition faster than you think!
Can you describe your typical day?
I have three main responsibilities: conferences, national and state book awards, and brainstorming and creating promotional pieces to take to the conferences. The conferences are a whirlwind — I need to start planning for them a year in advance so it’s a constant cycle, and I’m usually working on 3-5 conferences at a time. And of course there’s the time we get to spend traveling! There are thousands of national and state book awards that we can submit books to. I focus on the ALA awards as a priority and have a core list of state awards that we submit to as well. And of course we’re constantly promoting our books throughout the year, outside of the shows. I write copy for posters, brochures, bookmarks, and for our conference program ads.
And what’s a typical conference like?
Did I mention they’re a whirlwind? We need to arrive a few days before the exhibits open for setup. Hard and dirty labor! But so worth it when you see the final booth space. During the exhibit hours we’re either in the booth talking to librarians/teachers about our books and answering their questions, coordinating an author signing in the booth, or escorting an author to one of the many programs that take place throughout the conference. We usually have anywhere between 8 to 15 authors so it’s a lot of coordinating to get them where they need to be. We host at least one dinner per show with authors and conference attendees so that they can get some one-on-one time.
What was the first conference you took part in? What advice would you give someone going to their first conference?
My first show was an ALA Midwinter show in Denver. I was SO EXCITED. I took pictures of everything and bought a t-shirt at the ALA store. I think I almost fainted from the excitement of being at the press conference where they announce the Newbery and Caldecott award winners. And I ate…a lot.
My #1 conference advice: wear comfortable shoes and stretch for your galley squats before and after exhibit hours. We keep our galleys underneath the tables of our booth and have to bend down to get one each time an attendee requests it. I foolishly squatted on my knees every single time and I was so sore that I could barely sit down.
What is your favorite part about interacting with librarians and educators? What, if anything, have you learned from them about our books?
My favorite part about interacting with them is their enthusiasm and their dedication to children’s literacy. It is unsurpassed and like nothing I’ve come into contact with before. From them, I’ve learned that a single book can change a child’s life. I know you hear that all the time, but I’ve heard so many specific stories that I know it to be a fact! Which should make all of us feel good about being in publishing.
What skills do you think are indispensable to working in school and library marketing?
Organization, time-management, attention to detail, and enthusiasm. Those first three may sound like a generic job listing but when you’re keeping track of so many conferences at once and each conference has x# of authors and x# of events and x# of shipments, you really need to practice those skills! And you need to be genuinely enthusiastic about the books in order to book talk them at the shows. Librarians and educators honestly listen to us and respect our opinions, so if we can convince them that they can’t go another day without reading a certain book, then our job is done.
What is one of the worst (it doesn’t have to be the worst) mistake you’ve made? How did you get beyond it?
I must have blocked all of the many mistakes I’ve made from my memory in order to move forward, but I can tell you an embarrassing story instead! Better, right? It was my first week at Macmillan and I hadn’t had a chance to meet everyone yet. There was a large meeting one of those days and I was nervously trying to find a seat after grabbing a cup of water. I accidentally tripped and spilled my entire cup of water onto the lap of an extremely important person who shall not be named. I hadn’t met this person at the time, so I’m sure I made a wonderful first impression as I RAN to the bathroom to get paper towels and kneeled at his/her feet to mop up the mess. I honestly have no idea if that person connected me to the incident when I did formally meet them.
What is your favorite industry-related website or blog?
I usually frequent PW and the SLJ blogs (Fuse #8 and the mock award blogs) to get my current industry and buzz info. My favorite blogs right now are probably Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Bookshelves of Doom, and Screwy Decimal.
What are you reading now? Or what was the last book you really enjoyed?
I just finished a 2013 galley, Love in the Time of Global Warming, by Francesca Lia Block. She has a large following of devoted fans, but I’ve never read her before. I was blown away by her prose. I’m a little over the post-apocalyptic themes that are popular right now, but she takes it to a whole different level.
Recent years have seen a rise in picture-book biographies. Were your life ever to be chronicled in such a way-and don’t be modest, now-who would you choose to illustrate it?
When I read these questionnaires I always make sure to read the answers to this one, but I really don’t like having to answer it myself! There are a million illustrators swirling around in my head right now and I’m sorry I just can’t pick one. It would probably get me in trouble, anyway. Some angry illustrator would want to know why I didn’t pick THEM. Am I right?
