The composition of university press marketing departments varies from publisher to publisher, but most have staff to help coordinate reviews, advertising, conference displays, sales representation, and some event assistance. Each of these efforts intersects with social media promotion, another component of the department’s efforts. A great deal of marketing’s work occurs before the book is published. This work includes providing sales information of comparable titles to advise print run, format, discount, and pricing; creating marketing copy for the catalogue, jacket, and various websites; coordinating and supplying rich metadata to vendors; scheduling advertising; producing title information records for sales reps and conducting sales conferences; printing and mailing the seasonal catalogue; updating the press’s website and supplying excerpts or interior samples of the book to buyers. Depending on the press, the marketing department can also oversee inventory, reprints, course adoptions, and bulk sales. The marketing staff is usually the liaison between the press and the various businesses involved in the marketing and sale of digital editions, including libraries.
—AUPresses Faculty Outreach Committee