Our author Martin Pütz recently got in touch with us about a project he’s involved in in Kigali, Rwanda and asked us if we might be able to help out with some resources. In this post Martin explains the project’s aims and how we were able to help.
Sheer Love Rwanda, founded by Alexis Simbayobewe, himself a former street child, is an educational institution run and organized by social workers who take care of the needs of 44 children and young people (7-18 years). Some of the youths are in this situation due to the effect of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda on their families. These youths found themselves in a bleak situation many years after the events and had to choose the “street” as their only option in life. Sheer Love Rwanda has now effectively been able to break this vicious cycle by giving the children a new perspective on life and educational opportunities. Sheer Love Rwanda has also managed to find foster families in the neighborhood that have taken in the youths and freed them from their homelessness. The mothers/fathers, often with 5-10 children of their own, are very impoverished, but do their utmost to offer the children protection and care. The children now receive schooling in neighboring schools and are looked after by the social workers in the Sheer Love Rwanda facility, where they get educational instruction in the afternoons: Learning on the computer, reading, arithmetic, writing, etc. Games and sports complement the educational programme. The children access Sheer Love Rwanda during the school holidays as well.
Regrettably, there is a shortage of textbooks for primary and secondary school children regarding almost all subjects meant for primary and secondary education like reading, writing, and maths materials, natural and social sciences, arts, music, ethics, etc. Multilingual Matters have made a monetary donation in addition to sending books so that teachers in Kigali were able to purchase textbooks and other useful learning materials. Sheer Love Rwanda will now be able to build up their own small library.
To find out more about Sheer Love Rwanda or make a donation, please visit their website.
In the final instalment of our Christmas-themed blog posts, Laura and Sarah team up to talk about Father Christmas and Anne of Green Gables.
Which book characters would you like to have Christmas dinner with?
Sarah: I always wanted to have dinner with the Blythe family from the Anne of Green Gables books. The most fun Christmas dinner guests would have to be the Weasley twins and Merry and Pippin 😊
Do you have any Christmas book traditions?
Laura: As a child we used to read Father Christmas by Raymond Briggs many, many times over. I think I still know the words off by heart!
What book would you like to receive on Christmas day?
Laura: I’ve asked for Oh My God What a Complete Aisling as it has been recommended to me by several friends who say it resonates with our generation while being funny and light-hearted too. Fingers crossed Father Christmas delivers!
Which book would you give as a Christmas present?
Laura: I heard and thoroughly enjoyed the serialisation of Becoming by Michele Obama so I am giving that to my sister this Christmas (fingers crossed she doesn’t follow the blog and see this spoiler!)
Sarah:I gave Anne of Green Gables to my friend’s daughter last year which was lovely – she then read it to me next time I babysat!
Favourite/least favourite book you read in 2018?
Laura: I’ve just started reading the complete Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis ahead of a trip to Belfast (his place of birth) in January. I’m really into them but the only problem is, Elinor accidentally told me a major plot spoiler!
Sarah: I really enjoyed The Astonishing Colour of After (Emily X.R. Pan), Love, Hate & Other Filters (Samira Ahmed), How to Stop Time (Matt Haig) and The Watchmaker of Filigree Street (Natasha Pulley) – difficult to pick one! 😊
My least favourite was The Bricks that Built the Houses (Kate Tempest) – it wasn’t awful but I didn’t particularly enjoy it.
Merry Christmas! Here’s the third instalment in our Christmassy book Q&A in which Anna talks Wind in the Willows, poetry and pulling a cracker with Professor McGonagall.
What is your favourite Christmas scene in a book?
A snowy view from Anna’s window
I do really like Chapter 5 of Wind in the Willows which is about many things, but includes an impromptu party thrown for carol-singing field-mice by Ratty and Mole. The chapter ends with Mole drifting off to sleep, thinking about the importance of having a community and a place to call home, which seems especially apt at this time of year and in 2018:
He did not at all want to abandon the new life and its splendid spaces, to turn his back on sun and air and all they offered him and creep home and stay there; the upper world was all too strong, it called to him still, even down there, and he knew he must return to the larger stage. But it was good to think he had this to come back to; this place which was all his own, these things which were so glad to see him again and could always be counted upon for the same simple welcome.
Do you have any Christmas book traditions?
We have a book with a short poem or extract from a book for every day of Advent, and I try and buy a new Christmas book for the girls each year (this year is Grandpa Christmas by Michael Morpurgo). I also try and find time on Christmas Eve to read A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas aloud to Alys and Elin…
All the Christmases roll down toward the two-tongued sea, like a cold and headlong moon bundling down the sky that was our street; and they stop at the rim of the ice-edged fish-freezing waves, and I plunge my hands in the snow and bring out whatever I can find. In goes my hand into that wool-white bell-tongued ball of holidays resting at the rim of the carol-singing sea, and out come Mrs. Prothero and the firemen.
What book would you like to receive on Christmas day?
I’d be happy with just about any book to be honest, but I would really love ‘Honey and Co. at Home’ or ‘The Phantom Atlas’, which is about mistakes on maps.
Which book characters would you like to have Christmas dinner with?
Mrs Cratchit, Professor McGonagall and Becky Sharp.
Which book would you give as a Christmas present?
Jeanette Winterson’s ’Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days’
Favourite/least favourite book you read in 2018?
I hate giving up books, but I did abandon ‘Judas’ by Amos Oz this year. I felt like I had already read enough books about middle-aged men and their obsessions with beautiful and unobtainable women.
Some of my favourite authors have published new books this year, so it’s been a good year for favourite books, but I’d probably pick ‘The Underground Railroad’ by Colson Whitehead. It’s a brutal read, but utterly engrossing and the central character Cora is a force of nature.
Part two of our Christmas book Q&A is a chat with Rose about making Christmas candy and The Night Before Christmas.
What is your favourite Christmas scene in a book?
Predictably, given they are my favourite childhood books, the Christmases depicted in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series. There is a gorgeous bit in The Little House in the Big Woods when the sisters make Christmas candy from molasses, drizzling shapes in pans of snow to freeze.
One morning Ma boiled molasses and sugar together until they made a thick syrup, and Pa bought in two pans of clean white snow from outdoors. Laura and Mary each had a pan, and Pa and Ma showed them how to pour the dark syrup in little streams on to the snow. They made circles, and curlicues, and squiggledy things, and these hardened at once and were candy. Laura and Mary might eat one piece each, but the rest were saved for Christmas Day.
Do you have any Christmas book traditions?
We have read The Night Before Christmas to Theo on Christmas Eve for the past 3 years so I guess we will keep doing that!
What book would you like to receive on Christmas day?
Well, if you are asking, the new Barbara Kingsolver, Unsheltered, please! 😉
Which book characters would you like to have Christmas dinner with?
I’d feel terribly disloyal if I said anyone other than Laura, Mary, Ma and Pa but for an entirely unique experience, I’d certainly accept an invite to dine with the Mortmains (I Capture the Castle)
Which book would you give as a Christmas present?
I’ve just bought my brother the new Michael Ondaatje, Warlight, but on the proviso that he lends it to me straight after he’s read it!
Favourite/least favourite book you read in 2018?
Perhaps controversially (and why I will never be a Booker judge!) but I’m just not getting on with Milkman. But I absolutely loved the new Markus Zuzak YA novel, Bridge of Clay. It is amazing and beautiful and heart wrenching. But a word of warning if you do read it, find a nice private place for the ending; read this on the bus and people might think you are having some kind of breakdown.
To celebrate the season we will be publishing a series of posts combining two of our favourite things – books and Christmas – in a festive book Q&A. Here’s the first one from Tommi…
What is your favourite Christmas scene in a book?
I think my favourite Christmas “scene” in a book is probably from Mauri Kunnas’ “Joulupukki” and is basically the whole book. It’s a lovely book explaining how the real Father Christmas’ operations work in Finland.
Do you have any Christmas book traditions?
Yes! As well as always getting and giving books for Christmas, when we sit down for our Finnish Christmas meal on the 24th December, mum always reads the “Jouluevankeliumi” from the Bible. I don’t really have a faith myself, but whether you are a believer or not, it’s a nice way to quieten down on for the Christmas meal. Once mum has finished reading, we turn the electric lights off and we have a quiet meditative moment before enjoying the food on the table.
What book would you like to receive on Christmas day?
Any book that someone has thought I might enjoy.
Which book characters would you like to have Christmas dinner with?
The aforementioned “Joulupukki” of course! It would mean that he definitely had visited my house, and I imagine he has a lot of stories to tell. And since he has the ability to slow time in order to reach everyone on Christmas eve, it would give me more time to eat and digest my food too…
Which book would you give as a Christmas present?
Another of Mauri Kunnas’ books “The Book of Finnish Elves”, which explains the rich variety of Finnish elves or “tonttu”. An elf is not just for Christmas, a fact that is often forgotten in the modern world.
Favourite/least favourite book you read in 2018?
I have a very short memory and I know I read some really good books earlier in the year, both in Finnish and English that I cannot remember. I am currently enjoying reading “Full Tilt” by Dervla Murphy, “Alone in Berlin” by Hans Fallada, and dipping in and out of the No Such Thing as a Fish “The Book of the Year 2017”. As for least favourite, I also have a selective memory and have forgotten the books I didn’t enjoy reading!
The CAUTHE conference headed back to Australia this year and I was happy to discover that in February, Australia’s Newcastle has very little in common with the UK’s Newcastle (no offence Geordies!). Thanks to Tamara Young and Paul Stolk of the University of Newcastle for organising a great conference – the NeW Space building is amazing!
Newcastle beach
Channel View was celebrating the publication of 3 new books (among others at the conference): Femininities in the Field, edited by Brooke A. Porter and Heike A. Schänzel, Qualitative Methods in Tourism Research, edited by Wendy Hillman and Kylie Radel and Tourism and Religion, edited by Dick Butler and Wantanee Suntikul. We held a raffle which Jill Poulston of AUT won – the first prize was 10 CVP books.
Sarah with the CVP Celebration Raffle winner, Jill Poulston, and authors Heike Schänzel, Kylie Radel and Wendy Hillman
This year’s CAUTHE was marked by the sadly rare occurrence of having an all-female line-up of keynote speakers. These were kicked off by Annette Pritchard, with a brilliant presentation that looked at gender and the advent of AI. This was followed by great talks by Sara Dolnicar on peer-to-peer accommodation and Cathy Hsu on future directions for tourism research. I also enjoyed a number of interesting papers on a variety of topics, including selfies, gay tourism and dating apps, online reviewing, the value of storytelling, authenticity and Juliet’s balcony, the role of novelty and surprise, aesthetics and beauty in tourism, the increasing influence of far right populism on tourism, and air rage!
Wendy Hillman and Brian Hay at the gala dinner
The conference finished with the annual hilarious Great Debate (should it have been a draw though?!) and a lovely gala dinner and fun CAUTHE disco at the Honeysuckle Hotel.
I got to explore some of Newcastle during the conference, which despite the major works going on, seems like a great place to live and work.
I was lucky enough to have a few days of holiday either side of the conference in which I managed to take in the Big Bash semi-final in Adelaide (still excited), a short trip to Sydney and a visit to Melbourne (sadly England did not to do as well in the cricket as Adelaide Strikers!) which included dinner and karaoke with many lovely peeps from La Trobe and William Angliss – thanks again Elspeth Frew for organising! 🙂
Already looking forward to next year’s conference in Cairns!
Every year in April and May there is a flurry of activity in the office as royalty processing season rolls around. It’s a very busy time for Tommi, as he makes at least 500 individual payments to authors and editors. In this post he answers some of the most common questions he’s asked regarding royalty payments.
How often will I get royalty statements?
Tommi hard at work making royalty payments
Royalty statements are sent out once a year, and are calculated on sales to March 31st. Statements are usually sent at the beginning of May, once we have collated all the sales information.
How often will I receive royalty payments?
Royalty payments are made once per year. We start to make payments as soon as royalty statements have been sent, but with hundreds of authors to pay it takes us some time to work through all of these. We aim to have all payments made by the end of July, but this is not always possible.
What methods of payment are there?
We can pay by either bank transfer, PayPal or cheque. Bank transfer is the easiest for all concerned, although in some countries this can be expensive. We can normally arrange to make payment in your local currency – please contact Tommi if you would like to discuss this.
What information do I need to provide for a bank transfer royalty payment?
The information needed for bank transfers varies from country to country. If your bank is in the UK, we simply need your sort code and account number. For European bank accounts, the IBAN number. In most other countries, if you give us your account number, sort code (or routing code), BIC/SWIFT code where possible, and the name and branch address of your bank, we should have enough information to pay you. If in any doubt at all, contact Tommi.
I have received a cheque in pounds sterling, but my bank says they cannot cash it or it is very expensive to cash. What can I do about this?
We prefer to make payment by bank transfer, and will only pay by cheque in the event that you have either chosen to be paid by cheque, or you have not informed us of your payment preferences. If the amount is too small to cash, we can set your account to only pay once it accrues over a set amount. If you would prefer to be paid by bank transfer, please send us your bank details (see above). We will cancel the cheque that you have received and make a replacement payment by transfer. We do not like to have outstanding cheques on our account, so please do not simply throw the cheque away or ignore it. Instead, please contact Tommi to discuss your options.
Why didn’t I receive a royalty payment this year?
If you received a royalty statement, but have not received a payment, please check the following:
Is there a minimum payment on your account? This would be detailed on your summary statement as “minimum payment £XX”. We do not pay very small amounts, as bank fees and administration costs would be more than the payment is worth. On older contracts the minimum payment would be set at £25, but with newer contracts it is likely £50 or even £100. We can set this as high as you like, so if bank charges are particularly high in your country, please contact Tommi to discuss this.
Is the address correct on your royalty statement? If we do not have your correct address it is possible that your payment has been sent to an old address. Please make sure you update your contact details whenever these change.
Have you changed bank accounts since your last royalty payment? Please make sure you update us whenever you change bank accounts, so that we do not pay the wrong account. If our bank informs us that your account has closed, we will attempt to contact you, but with hundreds of authors to pay, this may take us a long time!
Have we mailed your office address? If we have sent a cheque to your office, it is possible that it has either got lost in the university internal mail, or if you work from home when students are off campus, you might find the cheque in your in-tray/pigeon hole when you return for the new semester.
If none of these answers fits, please contact Tommi and we can tell you whether or not we have made payment, and if so, what method we used.
Can my royalties be paid to someone else/a charity?
Yes. You can assign your royalties to another person or, should you wish to, you can assign your royalties to a charity. All you need to do is inform us who to pay, and how best to pay them. Our preferred method is payment by bank transfer.
What happens to my royalties if I die?
We normally pay your estate, if we are given details of how to do so. If we do not have any contact details and do not know how to pay your estate, we will set your account to accrue any unpaid royalties until such a time as we are contacted. Should you wish to plan ahead and assign your royalties to a charity in the event of your death, please contact Tommi and we will make a note on your account.
Once a manuscript has undergone external peer review, been suitably revised by the author and is approved for publication by the series editors (where relevant), it is accepted for publication. We then ask the author to complete an author questionnaire and checklist and start to get the manuscript moving towards production. But what are we doing exactly? In this post, Laura outlines the small but vital stages between editorial and production.
Commissioning Editors with books from their respective series
The first thing a Commissioning Editor does is book a slot on our production schedule. Each month we publish a certain number of books, typically between 4 and 6, so there are a limited number of places available. The Commissioning Editor will most likely have already provisionally pencilled in the manuscript well in advance of it being accepted, using their knowledge about the extent of the revisions required and how busy the author and series editors’ schedules are. But it is only now that a publication date is set and finalised. At this point it is therefore extremely helpful to us if authors keep to deadlines they have promised!
Once the Commissioning Editor has received all the final files and supporting documents, they will check through the manuscript one last time. They ensure that the author has submitted all the documents (table of contents, each chapter, references, appendices etc) and confirm that permission has been cleared for all material from external sources. They will then update the book’s proposal P&L with the latest word count, as we use this to estimate the pagination and price.
The book is then ready for the Commissioning Editor to schedule for discussion at the next in-house editorial meeting, usually held weekly. For those of us not involved in the book until this stage, this might be the first we’ve heard of it since the proposal was accepted, often some years previously! At the meeting we discuss and approve the title; make a final decision about the format (whether it will be published in paperback and hardback simultaneously) and approximate the print run.
With all of the above finalised, the Commissioning Editor is now ready to hand the book over for production and marketing. In order to make the handover process a smooth one and to help impart as much of their knowledge about the work to the rest of us as possible, they complete a handover sheet. The handover sheet splits naturally into three sections: key details about the work, then a production section, followed by marketing information.
The key details section is where we store absolute final information about the book, mainly what we decided on at the editorial meeting. It is where we look if we cannot remember whether we did decide to remove a comma from a title or exactly which subtitle we eventually chose! It is therefore like gold dust as it is vital that we are consistent, once we have made a decision: as soon as data starts to leave our database, it is sometime hard to find where it has gone and overwrite it.
Sarah, our Production Manager, hard at work
Next comes the production section where the Commissioning Editor will tell Sarah, our Production Manager, and Flo, who does the covers, information about the book. Sections include whether there is a preference for British or another variety of English; if the author already has a particular idea for the cover and if we have agreed anything special with the author, perhaps with regard to the layout or format. We also tell Sarah about what she might expect when working with the author. This includes things such as if one is taking the lead (in the case of multiple authors) or whether we know the author is about to go on leave. This is important as production runs to deadlines which are much firmer than those in editorial often are.
Finally comes the marketing parts of the handover. The Commissioning Editor writes the blurbs, suggests subject categories and says who to approach for cover endorsements. They will also advise the marketing department on the book’s highlights; note any geographical contexts featured in the book (which might be helpful for our local sales reps); list which of our other books it links with and state any other key selling points of the work. They will also let us know any bright ideas they have for any special, out-of-the-ordinary marketing!
We find that handing a manuscript over in this way works really well. Ultimately, the Commissioning Editor is the person in the office who knows most about the book and the more of their knowledge they can share with the rest of us, the more likely we are to have a smooth, enjoyable and successful publication.
This time of year is always a busy period for conferences and 2017 has been no different, with Flo at BAAL, Sarah at the Visitor Economy conference and me at EuroSLA last week. Along with selling the books, conferences are a great opportunity for us to speak with delegates. Of course, most conversations centre around the content of the books and vary depending on what we have with us. But you’d probably be surprised at how frequently we are asked some particular questions, and sometimes we are surprised that people even ask them! Here are a selection of our favourites:
Sarah at a Channel View conference
How do you choose which conferences you attend?
Firstly, we look at the theme of a conference, the size of it (big isn’t always better) and who has recommended it or told us they’ll be attending. We then look at whether it is affordable and decide whether to attend in person or send a display. Finally, we check our travel schedule and agree who will go where. As conferences often fall at roughly the same time and sometimes, to our frustration, even clash with each other, they take a considerable amount of logistical planning. Funny as it sounds, as well as coordinating ourselves, we also have to make sure that things such as tablecloths are in the right places with the right people!
How do you decide which books to bring?
Once we have decided to be involved in a conference, as Marketing Manager, it is my job to sort out all the details. I look at the programme and decide which of our recent books are relevant and which of our authors are attending. It is often a real challenge to cut a list of perhaps 100 books down to a reasonable number that will fit on a single table! But having to cut down a long list of books that we’re keen to show off is not a bad position to be in.
How many copies do you bring of each book?
This is another source of much umming and ahhing! I come up with a figure by combining information about how popular a book has been at previous conferences and its sales in general, with how relevant it is to the themes of a conference and whether the author will be there to promote their book. It is not the most scientific of processes but, having been to many conferences, I have a good feeling for what is about right. I’ll then check the list with whoever is attending the conference and they’ll make further suggestions or amendments.
Laura with a stack of empty boxes after the AAAL conference
Did you bring the books here in your suitcase?
No! This always makes us laugh because the books are really heavy and usually fill several big boxes! Except in exceptional circumstances, such as when we are going by car, the books are delivered straight from our warehouse to the conference.
Why is my book not here?
We do our best to bring authors’ books to conferences if they have forewarned us that they’ll be there. If we haven’t got your book, it might be because it is slightly older and we have to give preference on the stand to newer books. My favourite response to this question is that if it’s too old to have made the cut, it might be time for you to think about writing us a new one to bring!
Can you ship the book to me for free?
If we have sold out and there is no copy for you to take, then yes, we will gladly send you a copy with free shipping. This is a sign that I didn’t get the numbers quite right and should have brought more so that you can take one. But if there is a copy on the table and you want it shipped, we do ask that you pay the shipping. It makes sense really: we will have paid to have the book shipped to the conference, will then pay to have the booked shipped back to the warehouse and then pay again to ship the book to your home. If we did all that shipping, the costs would soon add up to way more than the price at which we sell the book. So, in order to continue to offer the books at a special conference discount, we cannot also offer free shipping.
Why are your books so much cheaper here?
You’re buying directly from us, so we don’t have to give a cut to any booksellers or wholesalers who might otherwise be involved in the book selling chain. We don’t expect to make a profit through book sales at a conference; conferences have an immeasurable value for us in terms of meeting people; showing our books to a new audience and keeping up with trends in the field. The price we charge is therefore as cheap as we can afford to sell it at, with a small contribution to the cost of attending conferences.
Do you get to go to the sessions?
Yes, sometimes, especially if there are two of us and one can man the stand while the other goes to a talk. We are also usually able to attend the plenaries as most other delegates will do so too and thus these are quiet periods at the stand. At other times, delegates may make the most of a session when there is no paper of interest to them to browse the books and chat with us. This is often much easier done when we are quiet than during the rush of the coffee or lunch break and we’re usually glad of the company!
What do you do when it’s quiet?
If we’ve just had a busy coffee break then we’re usually glad to have a moment to sit down! If there’s no-one browsing books and no session we want to attend, then we might tidy the stand, check emails and social media or catch up with the other publishers. And of course, if it’s really quiet, we have plenty of reading material in front of us!
Anna, Tommi and Laura at a conference
What makes a good conference?
We’ve had fun reminiscing about previous conferences and come up with the following that may combine to make a really good conference from a publishing perspective: excellent speakers whose presentations spark interesting conversations and discussions; a well-organised committee and host venue; being close to the refreshments (not only because we enjoy them, but because this is where delegates tend to congregate); a location that will attract many attendees and is easy to get to; a well-thought-out schedule that isn’t overcrowded and runs to time; plenty of table space so we can spread out our books; double-sided name tags with large print and, even though it’s out of everyone’s control, rain! A wet conference means that delegates are more likely to spend the time between sessions browsing books than out enjoying the host city!
Do you have a book on x-y-z?
We can’t promise to know all our books inside out but we’ll do our best to help you find what you’re looking for. And if neither you nor we can find it, then that’s probably a good sign that you have pointed out a gap in the market! Why not talk to us about writing for us?
Where are the toilets? Is this the registration desk? Can I put my coat under your table? Can I leave my child with you? Do you have a USB stick I can borrow? Can I check a reference in a book?
These and many others are frequently asked and we’re always willing to answer and help out where we can, even if it’s just sending someone in the right direction. Sometimes it’s from the small interactions that the greater conversations begin.
We’re busy making plans for 2018 and hope to see you at a conference somewhere soon!
Every month Laura and I sit down together to have a marketing meeting where we discuss books that are currently in production, are about to be published or have just been published. This is a chance for us to outline a bespoke marketing plan for each book and check up on its progress at key points throughout the publication process.
Shortly after a book goes into production, we have an initial meeting about it, in which we take a look at the documents filled out by the author and the commissioning editor (this is when the Author Questionnaire comes into its own!) and devise a personalised marketing plan for it. The commissioning editor will have pointed out the book’s unique features and flagged up anything else that might help us to market the book (does its publication coincide with a relevant day, e.g. World Heritage Day or is there a particular news story that ties in with the book’s content?)
The AQ is another source of valuable information to us at this point, as it contains details of relevant conferences, journals, blogs, newspapers, magazines and organisations that we can contact to spread news of the book’s publication. If you have any specific contacts, like a journalist for example, make sure you include this on your AQ, as it can be a challenge to successfully make contact with newspapers or magazines without one. In the past, the books which have had the most exposure have been the ones whose authors have given us plenty of ideas for publicising the book and have put us in touch with relevant people who will help to spread the word. When it comes to the media, local contacts should not be underestimated. It’s often local papers and magazines that will be most receptive to being contacted and – particularly if your book is of local interest – more likely to want to feature a piece about it. If you’re able to establish contact prior to the publication of your book, it will be easier for us to go back and notify them once the book comes out.
Our two Twitter pages on which we post tweets about books
At the end of the initial meeting, we outline a plan for the book and assign tasks to each of us. I deal with all the social media promotion (including arranging blog posts, publicising the book on Twitter and Facebook, posting any accompanying videos on our YouTube channel etc.), as well as contacting any media and organisations we think might be interested. This could be anything from print newspapers and magazines to blogs and online publications, as well as specific organisations with mailing lists who may be able to share publication news with their members. Meanwhile Laura takes care of areas such as conferences, book prizes and production of marketing materials like flyers.
Shortly before publication, we meet to discuss our progress. This interim meeting is more of a check-up meeting than an action one as we make sure that we have everything prepared ready to launch on publication. The timing of marketing can be key so it is important that we are all set in time for the book’s release. We might do things such as make sure that we have asked the author to write a piece for our blog, written a press release ready to send out on publication or made a list of suitable journals to offer the book to for review.
Finally, once a book is published we meet to discuss what we have done, what was successful and what was less so. We record all our efforts and eventually present an individual marketing report for each book to the rest of the team. This is done six months after publication when we also look at the early sales of the title. We are always interested to see if there is any correlation between ours and the author’s marketing efforts and the early reception a book gets.
If you have any ideas for marketing your book that aren’t here, make sure you get in touch as we’ll always do our best to make them happen!
Sheer Love Rwanda, founded by Alexis Simbayobewe, himself a former street child, is an educational institution run and organized by social workers who take care of the needs of 44 children and young people (7-18 years). Some of the youths are in this situation due to the effect of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda on their families. These youths found themselves in a bleak situation many years after the events and had to choose the “street” as their only option in life. Sheer Love Rwanda has now effectively been able to break this vicious cycle by giving the children a new perspective on life and educational opportunities. Sheer Love Rwanda has also managed to find foster families in the neighborhood that have taken in the youths and freed them from their homelessness. The mothers/fathers, often with 5-10 children of their own, are very impoverished, but do their utmost to offer the children protection and care. The children now receive schooling in neighboring schools and are looked after by the social workers in the Sheer Love Rwanda facility, where they get educational instruction in the afternoons: Learning on the computer, reading, arithmetic, writing, etc. Games and sports complement the educational programme. The children access Sheer Love Rwanda during the school holidays as well.
Channel View Publications and Multilingual Matters 