Elizabeth Psaltis – Marketer

I am a marketing veteran with 23 years of experience, corporately split between Penguin (now Penguin Random House) and Simon & Schuster. I’ve been a member of teams launching fiction careers (Ruth Ware, Dorothea Benton Frank), growing brand-name authors (Tom Clancy, Patricia Cornwell, Nora Roberts, Khaled Hosseini) and promoting cultural touchstone books (Alexander Hamilton, The Help, Still Alice).

I customize collaborations to be either long-term or short-term, developing and executing complete marketing and promotional campaigns as well as working with authors and publishers on a per-project basis. I partner with authors at a variety of stages in their projects, from a meticulous review of a proposal before it goes out for acquisition consideration (whether or not you have an agent already), to developing an overall marketing strategy with you (timelines/schedules, audience brainstorming, outreach ideas).

I regularly work with authors on their social media presence, and that consultation work can take the form of helping you determine your tone and voice, extensive content/post creation, audience growth ideas, and platform tips. I also routinely prepare social media advertising--writing tagline/headlines/text, determining targeting, simple designing of the ad image if you don't have access to a graphic designer, and overall guidance (please note, though, that if you are seeking someone to run multiple simultaneous ads in your Facebook Ads Manager account week over week, you'd be better served by engaging a full-time digital advertising agency).

My outreach projects include researching opportunities, preparing pitch content for, and conducting the extensive outreach and follow-up involved in pitching authors and their books to influencers, bookstagrammers, experts, conferences, and book festivals. Depending on the author's needs, I do perform limited pitching to bookstores for author events and consignment opportunities, and limited media outlet pitching (though please note if you are seeking a blog tour set-up and/or extensive review attention from the media, a dedicated book publicist--rather than a marketer like me--is who you are looking for).

Some other specific services I offer include: writing from scratch or reviewing back cover copy and retailer /product description copy; consulting on packaging/cover design and book title brainstorming; Amazon keyword audits and brainstorming; writing reading group guides for book club promotion or discussion guides for academic purposes; writing press releases and marketing collateral copy (fliers, postcards, e-newsletters, and more); suggesting ideas for boosting your book’s discoverability on Goodreads; sharing what you should ask your publisher to do for you and what you should do yourself; and helping you navigate the timing, terminology, and idiosyncrasies of the book publishing world. Before working with an author or publisher, I consult with them on how I might be most effective in partnering on their book.

I prefer to begin work with authors and clients at least a few months before their target publication date. Thank you!