Next up in our series of interviews with the industry professionals attending Spring Fling 2010, we would like to introduce Danielle Jackson, lead publicist of Sourcebooks Casablanca. Danielle provides much useful information in learning to navigate book promotion and publicity.

1. Tell us about your publishing house, Sourcebooks, Inc.

Sourcebooks is a forward-thinking, innovative publishing house committed to making an impact on society, on its industry and on the lives of individual readers by publishing books with high-quality content and uncommon value.  Over the years, Sourcebooks has grown and flourished by following its independent vision, publishing extraordinary authors and unique books with readers in mind.  Sourcebooks began publishing romance fiction in 2007 under the imprint, Sourcebooks Casablanca.  Now Sourcebooks Casablanca publishes over 30 books a season by debut and seasoned authors, covering all genres of romance.

2. Tell us about yourself and what you do as lead publicist for Sourcebooks Casablanca.

I’ve been working with Sourcebooks for over 2 years, and have always had a focus on our romance fiction.  As the lead publicist for our Casablanca imprint, I am responsible of collaborating with our authors on making sure we get the word out about their books!  I always remind authors—“you wrote your book, now tell everyone about it!”  From my end, I work on press materials, contacting reviewers, coordinating virtual blog tours, setting up signings, and keeping everything very organized!!  Additionally, I help coordinate our contributions to various romance trades shows—whether it’s deciding what books we are going to donate, or actually attending to represent Sourcebooks Casablanca and our authors.

3. Which genres are you responsible for?

I work with all of our romance genres, which covers anything and everything! Contemporary, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Westerns—you name it, we’ve got it!  In Fall 2010 we will release our first erotic romance, so that will be very exciting new territory for me to learn more about.

In addition to our romance fiction, I also work on our Women’s Fiction, Jane Austen-Inspired Literature, and Historical Fiction.  If you’re interested in fiction, there’s a pretty great chance that I’m your go-to gal!

4. How does an in-house publicity dept. promoting authors and titles differ from an independent publicist?

The major difference between an in-house publicist and an independent publicist is that an in-house publicist has more than just your title to work on!  An independent publicist is hired solely to publicize your book, but for me, I’m working with multiple authors each season. However, I give each book individual attention, and every author knows they can contact me with their questions and ideas!  An in-house publicist also has very direct and easy contact with editors and cover designers and pretty much everyone involved in the publishing process first hand.  If I have a question about the plot of a book, or need to know when a book is on a promotional table in a store, I can easily contact the right person.  I think each publishing house is different when it comes to what is and isn’t done with their in-house publicity department, but the one I’m a part of at Sourcebooks is a group of people who all generate creative ideas, work closely with our marketing and sales departments to make sure we’re all working together and also making sure we always keep our authors’ best interests first and foremost.

5. How does the relationship between the author and publicity dept. come about?  Do the editors point them in your direction or is everyone published by your house entitled to publicity?

For us, our publicity manager assigns the titles each season to the publicists in the department.  A lot of the publicists have an area of focus—for example, I focus on romance, women’s fiction and historical fiction, another publicist works with our children and YA titles, another works on parenting, another on college guides and study aides, and so on. Editors are definitely a part of the early introductory process, but once the review copies are in, we become the main contact at Sourcebooks for our authors.  Many of our romance authors have written multiple books, so they keep in pretty constant contact with our editors, too!

6. What can authors do to assist in promoting and marketing their work?  What venues seem most successful in today’s market?

I think the most important thing an author can do to assist in promoting and marketing their work is to TALK ABOUT IT!  It seems obvious enough, but a lot of things depend on how active an author is willing to be.  You’ve spent so much time and effort working on something you hold dear to your heart—don’t you want the world to know?  Also, thinking of your publicist as a collaborator, not an assistant or the only one responsible for getting word out, makes a WORLD of a difference.  And communication is key. . .do you think you sent me an email update about your availability, or do you know?  I’d rather be told something 20 times than 0 times.

The most successful venue for promoting romance is without a doubt the internet.  With print publication shrinking and often times putting more content on the web, it has become the go-to place for talking about romance.

7. What role does technology play in publicity?

Technology plays a very big role in publicity.  As I mentioned above, the internet has become the main mode for romance promotion and marketing.  Everyone has an email, everyone goes to an author website to find out more information, everyone’s reading something new every minute or so thanks to Facebook Status Updates and Twitter.  The online book blogging community has strong pulse, and I think will only get stronger and grow more.  Networking and outreach and research are all things that are done almost completely through the web, and it’s my main priority when it comes to promotion.  That’s not to say that I don’t contact print publications (newspaper and magazines), but more and more the internet is the place to be to learn more about books, and in turn, to promote them.  It’s the easiest and cheapest way to reach readers!

Many authors are a little bit intimidated by the internet (it’s ever-expanding!), but if you focus your efforts on a really good website and one other thing—be it a Facebook Fan Page, a Twitter account, a blog, etc.—the rest sort of falls into place.  I learn something new everyday about what can be done in regards to promoting on the internet, and that’s one of the coolest things about my job!  The publishing world is continually changing, and I’m glad I work with a company like Sourcebooks that prides itself in utilizing new things, and continuing to build upon what we have in place that works.

8. Anything you wish authors did more of to help you in your quest to promote, market and publicize them?

I will say that I work with some of the most hardworking authors in the business.  Many of them have day jobs, families, and other activities on top of writing their books.  Then add to that promoting, which generally involves more writing and time spent in front of a computer? I couldn’t do my job without them, and I’m forever grateful that they are so eager.

The number one thing that an author should do is have a website made.  I think this is among the top things you should spend some time researching and then once it’s created, updating on a regular basis.  It’s also incredibly important to know your audience and their arena (i.e. the book blogging community—which can easily be connected with through the internet and an author website!). As I mentioned before, don’t be scared to talk about your book!  It can be hard at first, and I’m always around for a pep talk to remind you to share what you’ve worked so hard on!  And finally, have an open mind when it comes to anything and everything in regards to promoting your book!

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