Author Toolkit
Welcome to the Duke University Press Author Toolkit, a resource for all of our book authors that will demystify the publishing process. We look forward to collaborating with you to present your work to the widest possible audience.
For every book we publish, our Marketing team crafts a promotion plan tailored to the target audience. Our marketing strategy includes the following:
Our Promotional Efforts
Your Expertise. We’ll send you our Marketing Questionnaire (MQ), a form that helps us gather your information, expertise, and contacts to most effectively market your book.
Metadata. Our marketing team ensures that your book’s metadata—including title, subtitle, price, publication date, ISBN, keywords, and subject categories—is optimized and provided to our selling and distribution partners. By optimizing titles, subtitles, keywords, descriptions, and image alt text, we enhance your book's online visibility and discoverability.
Book Page. Your book will have a dedicated page on our website. This page acts as the main storefront for your book, and will be updated with any reviews, articles, and relevant interviews promoting your book.
Catalog. We’ll announce your book in our seasonal catalog, which is shared with our sales reps, retailers, select media contacts, journal editors, customers, and subscribers.
Distribution. We’ll share your book with our sales reps and distributors, who will help circulate it through various outlets, including online retailers and bookstores.
Book Flier. Once your book is ready for pre-order, our team will provide a promotional book flier for you to use for announcements and events. This flier will have information about ordering your book, and will include a unique discount for your book to share with friends and colleagues.
Book Sample. A few months ahead of publication, we’ll post the introduction to your book for free on our website, and promote it on our social media. This short sample generates interest and boosts pre-order sales, while also acting as a great tool for course adoption. Please feel free to share with your networks.
Email Campaigns. Around your publication date, we’ll spotlight your book in our email campaigns that go out to subject-specific subscribers.
Direct Academic Marketing. Additional email and direct marketing for your book to libraries and to other scholars as a potential book for course use. Information regarding desk and exam copies can be found here.
Book Awards. Our Awards Coordinator will submit your book for up to five relevant awards, and we will help promote any wins.
Conferences. We’ll feature your book at relevant academic meetings where we exhibit, and promote it with unique conference discounts.
Reviews. Our publicity team will create a targeted review list for your book and send digital or physical review copies to relevant media and review outlets.
Blog Features. We’ll feature your book on relevant blog posts, and work with you to create new content promoting your book, such as guest posts, playlists, or Q&As. We are also happy to accept ideas for future posts—please feel free to reach out to us!
Social Media. We’ll promote your book and author events on our social channels, as relevant.
Supporting Your Promotions. Please keep us updated on any events related to your book’s publication. We’ll help you promote book events, media coverage, and reviews.
Your Promotions Team
Each member of our Books Marketing team works diligently to help your book find its audience.
- Cameron Ludwick, Associate Director, Books Marketing & Sales | cameron.ludwick@duke.edu
- Jes Malitoris, Exhibits Manager | jes.malitoris@duke.edu
- Christopher Robinson, Associate Books Marketing Manager | christopher.robinson@duke.edu
- Chad Royal, Marketing Assistant | chad.royal@duke.edu
- Olivia Schmitz, Books Marketing Designer & Awards Coordinator | olivia.schmitz@duke.edu
- Laura Sell, Books Marketing Manager | lsell@duke.edu
- Lee Willoughby Harris, Books Marketing Metadata, Digital Systems, and Direct Marketing Manager | hlwillou@duke.edu
Marketing Questionnaire
Our Marketing Questionnaire (MQ) is a comprehensive form that helps us gather essential details for promoting your book effectively.
Events
Book events and launches are a great way to promote and celebrate your work! While we are happy to help you promote your events on our social media sites and blog, we cannot set up events for you and cannot monetarily support them. Click here for a guide on setting up book events. A template email for contacting a store’s event team can be found here.
Social Media
DUP maintains an active social media presence that we use to spotlight your book where possible. We announce new releases, sales, book samples, open access works, and more to our thousands of followers across various platforms. In addition, we share mentions of you and your book, including reviews, awards, events, and recommendations from readers.
If you actively use social media, we encourage you to talk about your book and its contents. Be sure to tag us when you do—we want to share your book with our audiences!
For those less comfortable with social media, here are a few quick suggestions for other ways you can electronically promote your book:
Add a link to your email signature. Place your book's title, cover scan, and web link in your email signature.
Share with listservs. Announce the publication of your book on any academic listservs you subscribe to. Note that most of these listservs allow authors to post as long as you don't include sales information like price. The best announcement is a one sentence description followed by a link to the website.
Share your book’s introduction. We post an introduction or first chapter from each of our books on our website as a way for people to sample the content before buying. Please feel free to share this link with friends or colleagues or to post it on your personal website.
Keep us updated. Keep us posted about what you're doing so we can cross promote your book on our blog and social media pages!