#SYPConf20: A department insight on… Sales

Posted on November 10, 2020 in London

After completing her joint-honours undergraduate degree of English and History at the University of Aberdeen, Alice Hamilton-Cox went on to get her masters in Publishing Studies from the University of Stirling. She joined Sandstone Press in 2018 and is now their Sales Executive, where she builds and maintains relationships with booksellers, reps and distributors. You can find her on Twitter @AliceR31.

What was your journey into the publishing industry?

I studied my undergraduate degree (MA) in English and History at the University of Aberdeen. Following that I got my master’s degree (MLitt) in Publishing Studies from the University of Stirling. I did three internships, a four-day unpaid one with Luath, a three-month (two days a week) expenses paid one with Canongate in their campaigns department, and a three-month (full-time) fully paid one with Sandstone Press in sales. The first two I did before I graduated and the third after. I interviewed for and was offered the job of Sales Support Administrator with Sandstone Press after my internship.

What is your current role?

Sales Executive with Sandstone Press

How has your job changed during COVID19?

The main day-to-day change has been working from home, which Sandstone Press has been doing since March. In the initial lockdown when everything was closed, we also had to amp up our online presence, and started a web shop. Travelling has, of course, ceased, but with meetings and pitching sessions moving online there have been more opportunities to get our books in front of booksellers.

Please discuss which departments you work closely with, and what you work together on?

Sandstone Press is a small independent publisher with only five full-time staff members plus one part-time. The nature of small publishers means that I work closely with all my colleagues. However, my job in sales mostly interlinks with marketing and publicity. We both need to know what’s happening in our respective departments to maximise sales and visibility for our books.

Briefly discuss a project you feel proud to have worked on:

Our title Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi (tr. Marilyn Booth) won the Man Booker International Prize 2019. This was an extremely exciting time at Sandstone Press. Celestial Bodies is the first book by an Omani woman to be translated into English and we are proud to be the publisher to bring it to a UK audience and for it to get the praise it so richly deserves.

This win also opened up further export opportunities for us with new reps coming on board in the Middle East and the Far East. It’s fantastic to see our books reaching so many readers around the world.

Please discuss any difficulties you face in your role:

The ongoing COVID situation has certainly thrown a few spanners into the mix, not just in UK selling, but worldwide for export. At the moment the greatest difficulty would be another lockdown that would see bookshops having to close their doors again. However, there are always challenges that come with selling and finding new ways to support bookselling and connect with readers is one of the things I love about this job – there’s never a dull day.