Open Letter is Hiring a Marketing Assistant

As mentioned on the most recent podcast, we are searching for a Marketing Assistant to help out with promoting our books to reviewers, booksellers, and individuals. The complete ad is posted below, and available here.

And you have to apply through that link. Open Letter is part of the University of Rochester, so the entire application process has to be done through their systems. If you run into problems or have questions, you can reach out to me at chad.post@rochester.edu, but don’t send me your resume—just upload it into the HRMS system.

Description:

Open Letter Books is seeking a creative, organized, and dynamic Marketing Assistant to work closely with the Publisher on marketing campaigns for all of the press’s titles, along with marketing the press’s brand as a whole. This will include creating press releases, developing marketing plans, working directly with booksellers and book reviewers, crafting weekly newsletters, running the press’s social media platforms, along with other marketing-related tasks. The role requires an incredibly detail-oriented, creative professional capable of strategic thinking and the ability to multitask.

Responsibilities:

Brainstorm, develop, and implement marketing campaigns for the press’s titles and relevant events;

Present the ten annual titles to book review editors and freelance reviewers;

Cultivate relationships with booksellers across the country;

Travel on occasion to meet with booksellers and reviewers, or to attend select trade shows;

Produce a weekly newsletter for readers, booksellers, reviewers, and librarians;

Assist in maintaining the press’s social media presence;

Write press releases for all of the books and other newsworthy events;

Assist in organizing author tours when appropriate;

Help with organizing annual Open Letter gala and other promotional events for the press as a whole;

Ensure that all books are submitted for any and all available prizes and awards;

Add marketing materials to CoreSource and digital review copies to Edelweiss for all of press’s books;

Help in writing jacket copy and other promotional copy, and evaluating potential cover designs;

Assist in supervising summer marketing interns;

Other marketing-related tasks that arise as part of normal publishing activities.

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in Journalism or an area of Arts and Sciences that includes some writing experience; one year of experience in newspaper or magazine writing, either in broad subject areas or in a specialized field (physical sciences, social sciences, etc.); or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Prefer 2+ years of publishing or bookselling experience, with bookstore and nonprofit publishing experience preferred;

Experience with and understanding of general book marketing ideas and trends;

Excellent writing skills, including ability to write in a voice that will appeal to Open Letter’s fan base;

Comfortable presenting in front of large groups and networking with other industry professionals;

Ability to multi-task and complete all projects on deadline;

Appreciation and knowledge of contemporary trends in publishing and book culture is extremely helpful;

Flexibility in taking on new tasks and reprioritizing in a fast and efficient manner is a must;

Knowledge of Open Letter’s past publications, mission, and position in larger publishing world is required;

General interest in international literature and translation preferred.

If you’re interested, you can apply here.