Kristen O'Connell

Kristen O'Connell – Marketer

20 year vet of Big 5 pub dedicated to helping authors with strategy, platform, podcast & creative campaigns. Booking Feb 2025 & beyond

Overview

Building on twenty years of experience in digital marketing, social marketing, content strategy, book marketing, and publicity, I'm passionate about building meaningful connections between authors with audiences who love--and buy--great books! ​I spent my career in positions at Penguin Random House, Penguin USA, Simon & Schuster, and DK Publishing where I created and managed innovative marketing initiatives, oversaw email communications to millions of readers monthly, developed engaging acquisition campaigns to help grow author and program platforms, booked author tours of all sizes, and launched web and social properties for fiction, nonfiction, self-help and children's books. ​

As an independent marketer and agency owner, I'm devoted to connecting books, authors, and readers to stories that matter. My process always kicks off with a complete reading of your book. In order to o accurately target your audience and find unique, creative, opportunities it's critical to get to know your writing and have a deep understanding of your work. We'll start our collaboration with an in-depth conversation during which I can hear from you about the work you've done, discuss your goals, and understand your strengths as an author/marketer. I love collaborating with writers and am available for questions, calls or video meetings throughout our collaboration.

My strengths are in commercial fiction, literary fiction, women's fiction, memoir, self-help, contemporary romance, romantic comedy, young adult, picture books, and middle grade. I work with a mix of traditionally published, hybrid, and indie authors and can offer any of the following to help with your project:

Market research and competitive title research for careful positioning

Price analysis

Book blurb

Author bio

Categories and keywords

Author platform building

Email marketing

Social media marketing

Social advertising

Low price campaigns

Website content and SEO

Influencer marketing campaigns

Press release, media kit, and pitch creation

I'm ready to put my skills to work for you. I believe that marketing a book is a marriage of science and heart--and I'm uniquely positioned to use my experience creating marketing moments led by data and insights to create a compelling strategy for your book.


Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs Parenting & Families Political Science & Current Affairs Self-Help & Self-Improvement
Fiction
Children's Contemporary Romance Literary Fiction Mystery & Crime
Works with
Squarespace Wix
Certifications
  • Member of the Women's Media Group

Work experience

Self-employed

Feb, 2021 — Present
In 2021 I launched a full-service author and book marketing shop designed to help authors build their platform, connect with readers, and sell books. Specializing in web, email, and social media strategy and campaign management, I'm available to help you meet your readers where they are and create meaningful, lasting connections.

Penguin Random House

Jan, 2018 — Feb, 2021 (about 3 years)

Penguin Random House

Jan, 2016 — Jan, 2018 (about 2 years)

Penguin

Sep, 2008 — Mar, 2013 (over 4 years)

Projects

Mother of All Fights

Metadata analysis and suggestions on this terrific memoir has positioned the book as the #1 new release in category on Amazon 6 weeks prior to publication.

Read To Sleep 2020

In January of 2020, I worked with the team at Penguin Random House to launch a campaign with luxury home textile company Parachute to drive subscriber acquisition, build positive brand sentiment, and promote reading as wellness. Encouraging readers to swap their phones for a book at bedtime, the team created a campaign landing page, sweepstakes, and 5 part email series featuring bedtime routines and author reading recommendations. The campaign included bestsellers The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Fleischman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson, Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, and Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano.

Campaign coverage included the New York Post and The Drum.

Book the Vote

Timed with the 2020 election this multi-author campaign for Penguin Random House featured bestsellers Deepak Chopra, Khaled Hosseini, Jasmine Guillory, and Jeff Tweedy, and partners PEN America, When We All Vote, and Out of Print. Weekly author videos were featured on-site as well as in email campaigns.

Penguin Random House Books Connect Us

In 2020, at the start of the pandemic, I led my team in the launch of the Books Connect Us campaign to help readers find solace and connection in books during a time of separation. This campaign featured multi-channel communications across web, email, and social channels and reached millions of readers throughout spring and summer 2020.

Coverage for this campaign included articles in Esquire and Publisher's Weekly

Portfolio

Hungry Hill

Curran, Eileen Patricia

Malibu Summer: A Novel

Gill, Libby

Penguin Books

Marr's Guitars /anglais

MARR JOHNNY

THAMES HUDSON

Vestiges

Patinkin, Daniel J.

Transmitter

A Northern Light in Provence: A Novel

Birkelund, Elizabeth

Ballantine Books

Blood Honey

Koval, Poppy

Milo's Moonlight Mission

Blasi, Kathleen M.

Evan Wycliff Mysteries

Jones, Gerald Everett

Powerballs

Jimmy Clifton

"A mysterious author delivers the comical tale...a raucous adventure around the globe." -KIRKUS REVIEWS A sudden windfall – and the money to make every dream come true… With finances and marriage strained to the breaking point, Rose and Henry Ball dream of new... read more

Kristen has 72 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Emily A.

Emily A.

Jun, 2025

Kristen exceeded my expectations! She provided helpful insight and knowledge about the market for my book that was beyond anything I could have figured out on my own through googling. This is my first indie book, and I really appreciated that she took time to explain everything and to talk me t...
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Miyam J.

Miyam J.

Jun, 2025

Kristen is an amazing resource. She did a great job reading my book and identifying key strategies for marketing, specific to my needs. She was thorough, professional and a delight to work with. I plan on using her again in my future endeavors and would recommend her wholeheartedly.
Julie S.

Julie S.

Apr, 2025

I worked with Kristen on my upcoming book, Gluten for Punishment: Just Desserts for the Heartbroken, Lovesick, and Jilted. As a first-time author, I was overwhelmed by all the marketing advice out there—Podcasts, Blog Book Tours, Book Trailers, BookTok. Kristen was just as helpful in steering me ...
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Rita M.

Rita M.

Apr, 2025

Kristen was the perfect coach to help me establish an author platform and craft my first set of posts on Facebook and Instagram. Based on our initial discussion, she developed a great strategy for my project. It showed that she had listened to me and responded to my concerns. Starting from my cu...
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Rodney D.

Rodney D.

Mar, 2025

Kristen was a pleasure to work with, thorough, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, was able to define my work better than I could. Pure joy.

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