Get to know the Tellwell team! Peek behind the scenes to see what fuels our creativity and teamwork as we bring stories to the world.
Meet Melissa:
Meet Melissa Barker, one of Tellwell’s amazing publishing consultants! Melissa takes us behind the scenes of her day, where she helps authors turn their publishing dreams into reality.
Her day is filled with answering inquiries, guiding authors through their publishing journeys, and ensuring they have all the tools they need for success.
When it’s time for lunch, Melissa enjoys delicious food, breathtaking views, and quality time with friends 🐑. Afterward, she dives back into team collaborations, supports fellow consultants, and tackles tasks that bring authors closer to achieving their goals.
Check out Melissa’s day in the life as a Tellwell publishing consultant here.
Meet Mark:
Say hello to Mark, one of Tellwell’s dynamic Book Marketing Associates! Mark works closely with our Book Marketing Consultants, ensuring our authors receive top-notch creative services. He’s also a key player behind Tellwell’s monthly blogs and newsletters, bringing fresh and engaging content to life.
To stay energized, Mark enjoys a quick run outdoors and a peaceful view before tackling the rest of his tasks. From team check-ins to project updates, Mark keeps the day on track with creativity and care.
Take a peek into Mark’s day in the life at Tellwell here!
Marketing Consultant Ben St. James has worked with hundreds of authors since joining Tellwell just over two years ago. While he can’t read every manuscript in its entirety, he enjoys engaging with the stories and previewing numerous books.
His debut picture book, Guinea Pig Power, has received multiple accolades, including Bronze in the Early Readers (6–8) category of the Reader Views Literary Award, Silver for Juvenile Bedtime Stories, and Bronze for Cover Illustration at the L.A. BookFest, and an Honourable Mention (4th place) in the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards for General Picture Books, among others.
Check out some of the creative promotional materials created for authors by our stellar book marketing team!
The book marketing team at Tellwell delivers a variety of marketing services to authors. Among these services, is the creation of branded designs tailored to suit a wide variety of books. In this blog post, we showcase some of the team’s recent favorite designs, highlighting the details from each project.
For the month of September, we are thrilled to introduce you to Mark, one of our team’s gifted book-marketing associates. In this interview you’ll learn what keeps Mark inspired creatively, what a typical day at Tellwell looks like for him, and how he enjoys spending his free time when he’s not bringing author visions to life!
Tell us a bit about yourself!
Hey there! My name is Mark and I’m one of the book-marketing associates here at Tellwell. I recently celebrated my first work anniversary with the company in July.
My journey in the marketing world began back in 2018. I kicked things off by working in digital marketing for a jewelry brand. After that, I took a detour and worked as a consultant in the government sector. Now, I’m thrilled to be a part of the amazing Tellwell team as a book-marketing associate.
What does a typical day look like for you?
My workday starts with my ritual cup of coffee. With my caffeine fix in hand, I dive into the day ahead. Firstly, I go through emails and over my to-do list, ensuring that no important tasks in my book-marketing projects are missed.
As a book-marketing associate, my role is all about collaboration. I work closely alongside our marketing consultants, offering a helping hand whenever they need it. Whether it’s creating book backgrounders, designing promotional materials, setting up ad campaigns, organizing book blog tours, or tackling various other marketing tasks, I’ve got my hand in the mix.
I also take care of our website section. It’s my responsibility to keep track of website renewals for our authors, providing them with prompt, helpful responses to any website-related queries, and keeping their websites updated.
In a nutshell, my days are a blend of coffee, collaboration/teamwork, and ensuring that our authors’ book-marketing journeys are as seamless as possible.
For July’s Meet the Team we are proud to introduce Trixie Raboy, one of Tellwell’s Book Marketing Associates! Read on to learn more about what Trixie enjoys most about working with our authors, as well as some of the adrenaline-inducing activities she enjoys outside of work!
Hello Trixie!Tell us a little bit about yourself!
Hi, I’m Trixie Raboy! I’m one of Tellwell’s Book Marketing Associates and recently just passed my one year anniversary with Tellwell. I have been working in the marketing industry for around five years now which has included working in the hospitality industry, logistics, and now book publishing.
What does a typical day look like for you at Tellwell?
I work a night shift at Tellwell to ensure my client availability for those located around the globe. I start my day at 11pm with my mandatory cup of coffee, and then review my to-do list and check my emails and messages. My responsibilities include book-marketing services along with creating content for Tellwell’s social media, so I typically alternate days between social media content creation and book-marketing deliverables for our authors.
What is your favourite part about working at Tellwell?
I actually have three favourite things about working at Tellwell!
For starters, the people I work with are simply amazing. It really is wonderful to work with people who are so supportive, collaborative, and easy to get along with. I of course have to make a special mention of my partner-in-crime, also an amazing Book Marketing Associate, Mark Mionda, who’s so enjoyable to work with.
My second favourite aspect is the ability to work from home. For someone who lives further from our office, it’s very convenient to complete most days from the comfort of my home office. Occasionally, our team meets up at the office to check in with each other which is a great opportunity to connect with everyone in person.
And lastly, the overall experience of working with Tellwell has been nothing short of enjoyable. In just one year of working as part of our marketing team, I have accumulated a wide range of experience and enhanced my pre-existing skillset. I love the fact that I get to work on different projects that allow me to continue to develop my skills and knowledge!
As an author, you may already be aware that the hard work of writing a great book is just the beginning, and promoting it effectively can be quite a real challenge.
This is where Lesley Morrison, a book-marketing consultant for Tellwell, can help you! With years of experience working with authors, Lesley knows how to develop marketing strategies that work and can assist you in standing out in a competitive market. In this meet-the-team interview, we will chat with Lesley about the art of book marketing and how you can use her expertise to promote your book.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background? How did you become interested in book-marketing consulting?
As a published author, I realized the importance of knowing how to market a book in a saturated and competitive market. Having some insider knowledge prompted me to find ways I could help others on the same literary journey and overcome the same challenges I faced.
What does a typical day in the life of a book-marketing consultant look like? Can you walk us through your daily routine?
My day always starts with emails! I like to ensure no one is left hanging for answers. Typically I prioritize tasks that will have the greatest impact for authors in getting marketing underway. I keep close communication with my authors to let them know where things are at, and to get feedback on services I am working on if necessary. I save the most creative tasking (like promotional material design) for the evening when I do my best visual work.
Our book-marketing team is made up of skilled professionals who are passionate about helping authors showcase their projects through a variety of personalized services, ranging from bespoke marketing strategies and attention-grabbing press releases to engaging social media content and graphic-design assistance. We chatted with Ben St. James to learn more about how he serves his authors and what he enjoys most about the work he produces.
What inspired you to join the Tellwell team as a book marketer?
It seemed like a great fit. I had been working with indie artists and authors and wanted to do more of that! The timing was incredible, as I had just returned to Canada and finished up a contract that required similar competencies.
What do you enjoy the most about your work with Tellwell?
I enjoy the variety of activities I get to be involved in. It’s rewarding working with such a great group of people and collaborating on projects for the blog and newsletter, certain marketing activities that require a team effort, and one-on-one work with our talented authors. Because we work with so many unique authors, no duties are ever quite the same—it’s always new.
For me, just getting the book published was a success. Would I love to sell a million copies, too? Of course! But that wasn’t my goal going into it. I wanted to help as many people as possible.
Serena Holmes, author, The Accidental Entrepreneur
2022, here we are! How are you all doing? Rested and energized for a new year, we hope. However, if you’re more so in the mind state of, What? A new year! Where do I begin? What do I focus on? know that you aren’t alone. Take a breath. You’re doing your best.
One of the best ways to get out of a funk is to take a page of advice from someone who’s been in a similar situation and managed to work their way out of it. Take Serena Holmes, for example. Serena is the author of The Accidental Entrepreneur: Turning Tragedy into Triumph to Embrace my Destiny in Entrepreneurship. Serena doesn’t just offer advice and inspiration for growing entrepreneurs based on her success and accomplishments, she gives readers a look at what it took to get there, including the hardships she faced growing up.
In a 4/5 star review from IndieReader, C. S. Holmes said, “THE ACCIDENTAL ENTREPRENEUR by Serena Holmes is an introspective, hopeful self-help tome offering detailed facts and figures regarding one woman’s journey towards creating a self-sufficient, self-actualized life.” If you’re looking for a book to inspire and motivate you, this is it! Moreover, when we asked Serena if we could feature her as Tellwell’s January Author of the Month, she agreed to not only answer our questions, but to share the lessons she learned from self-publishing, so that other authors could benefit. Find out about her self-publishing tips and how she’s used media mentions and online marketing to build a following of over 14 thousand on social media!
Serena, tell us a bit about yourself.
Where do I begin? I just celebrated my fortieth birthday. I am a proud mama to a gorgeous two-year-old girl named Sienna, and a happy wife. I became a mom pretty late in life, since I was focused on my career throughout most of my twenties and thirties.
I have had my own brand-experience agency called Tigris Events for the past eighteen years, and also obtained my real estate license this past year. Before COVID, I loved to travel but am fortunate to have a family cottage to get away to when I have some downtime.
What inspired you to write The Accidental Entrepreneur?
Running your own business can be a lot like riding a roller coaster. There are plenty of ups, downs, and learning curves, especially since you have to figure out most things for yourself. I had a lot of crazy things happen throughout my childhood that I believe helped give me the foundation to be successful as an entrepreneur. Between those experiences and those I gained during my time as a business owner, I felt compelled to write and publish a book about it to help others on the same path.
What was it like opening up about the vulnerable parts of your journey as an entrepreneur, and why did you feel they were important to include in your book?
Opening up in this way was extremely nerve-wracking. I was worried about upsetting some people, but in no way was I trying to do that. The experiences were what they were, and for those that I included in the book, I felt it was important to add context for readers and detail the kinds of lessons that were learned along the way.
Advice from Doug Allan, Tellwell’s September author of the month and author of A Fighting Chance: The High School Finance Education Everyone Deserves
Doug Allan, accountant and author of A Fighting Chance: The High School Finance Education Everyone Deserves
Vancouver-based author and accountant Doug Allan believes financial literacy is fundamental to success and should be part of our high school education system. To help parents fill that educational gap, he wrote A Fighting Chance: The High School Finance Education Everyone Deserves. Allan’s book was released in early 2021, selling hundreds of copies, and earning thousands in book royalties.
He has had some notable moments which includes appearing in The Globe and Mail, CTV News, The North Shore News and the MapleMoney podcast. He was also asked to speak at various high schools in his region on money topics he covers in his book.
The Tellwell author highlights a special moment chatting with David Chilton of The Wealthy Barber. Read more to learn the key steps Allan took to ensure his book’s success.
What inspired you to write Fighting Chance?
As a CPA, CA and a parent of two young children, financial education is near and dear to me. Over my career in finance, I have accumulated an immense amount of knowledge which I have, in turn, applied to my personal finances. Without the benefit of a financial education, most people do not have the opportunity to properly learn how to manage their money. The unfair advantage I have gained, as it relates to managing my personal finances, over those without formal financial education and experience inspired me to write down my knowledge as the book I wished I was given as a teenager.
What do you hope readers will get out of it?
I am hopeful that readers can learn one or two things within the pages of the book that gets them excited about their finances and the opportunities which are out there. I don’t expect everyone to finish the book and instantly be a financial expert, but if certain foundational lessons like the time value of money can be absorbed, readers will be much better prepared to manage their money. After reading my book, it is my hope that readers will advance to more complex financial topics and continue to learn.
In your book, you state that governments and school boards are failing our children by setting them up for financial failure once they enter the workforce. What steps would you like to see schools take to better educate youth about making and managing money?
Whether you are published, in the process, or only just thinking about it – here are some tips & tricks for all children’s authors.
1 . YOUR AUTHOR BRAND
Your author brand gives your readers insight into who you are! Creating something that showcases your personality is key. As a children’s author, you may also want to show off a bit more of your goofy side!
Here are a few things to keep in mind when creating your author brand:
Make it eye-catching and fun!
GET PLAYFUL
Use a fun background or bright colors
Don’t be afraid to make a silly face
Let your personality shine through – both in your photo and bio
2 . YOUR COMMUNITY
The average buyer’s age of children’s books is between 30 and 44.
Females make up more than 70% of these buyers. They are also more likely to discuss and recommend a book they and their kids enjoyed. In fact, buyers of children’s books are more easily influenced by the recommendations of family and friends than any other book category. For this reason, it is really important to build a loyal community of parents and teachers that enjoy and support your book.
Consider building an ambassador program or launch team! Also, get involved in your local community and make time to meet your readers.
Meet your readers!
Pursue classroom visits
Join children’s book festivals
Participate in library events such as a read-along!
