| Is "marketing" a dirty word? |
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Q: Is “marketing” a dirty word? It always surprises me when this question comes up. Often it’s not asked directly, but is implied, as though even talking about the business of children’s books is embarrassing. Having checked the dictionary definition and having spent more than twenty years on the business side of this business first in a bookstore, then in educational and consumer marketing at publishing houses and for the last fifteen years running a marketing and publicity agency, my answer is no. Marketing is defined as “the total of activities by which transfer of title or possession of goods from seller to buyer is effected.” In my experience, most authors and illustrators want their books not just to be published, but to sell. We all want that because the point is to get the books into the hands of children and to get them to read. So, I think this question has more to do with quality than with marketing. Will we sell any book just to make money, or do we care about what we’re asking kids to read? Most of the marketing people I know in the children’s book business do care about quality and are here because they want to help get good books to children. In running an agency, I’ve always made a point of working on books I believed in and wanted children to have access to. I’ve also turned down some very big projects for books I didn’t want to be involved with — and that wasn’t always easy. I think it might be a good idea, as we move into the 21st century (it’s this year, remember?), to acknowledge that we’re all working toward the same goal. It’s a tough enough goal to reach without working at cross-purposes. 1:2/01 |