Linda Duggins (photo) is the Director of Multicultural Publicity at Hachette Book Club. We talked with her about her advertising and PR efforts to attract Hispanic readers.
Portada: We understand you Market publicize Hachette Books to Hispanics? Can you explain how you do that?
Linda Duggins: "We reach out to a cross section of general market and multicultural media outlets by sending out galley copies (advanced readers copies) and sometimes manuscripts and e-galleys. Our focus is to cultivate diverse voices/authors within the Latina/Latino community to be able share with all readers. The majority of the titles we publish are English only. Our efforts are not just directed to the Latino/Hispanic market. We have advertised with companies as diverse as Batanga.com, Latina Magazine, ReadingGroupGuides.com, New York Times Book Review and others. We also reach out to all via Facebook and Twitter."
Portada: What media are most receptive to your PR?
Linda Duggins: "It really does vary. Latina Magazine has been receptive as has Good Housekeeping Magazine, Romantic Times Magazine, Soy Fashionista, SiTV, Romantic Times Magazine, CNN as well as https://www.aarp.org/viva/book_coverage/ also expressed interest. We have been able to garner reviews in some of the Spanish language media as well."
Portada: When you do advertising, what is your typical medium?
Linda Duggins: "Print and online is what we typically secure when the budget allows for it."
Portada: Did you ever think about doing a book club for Hispanic readers? Do you have a general market book club?
Linda Duggins: "Fortunately we work with Las Comadres National Book Club to promote our authors and get the word out about upcoming titles. Hachette does not have a book club for Hispanic readers nor a general market book club. We do provide information on setting up book clubs across the board as well as reading group guides to assist those readers looking for more guidance during their book discussion. We also conduct book discussions online via bookblogs for some of our imprints."
Portada: What % of Hachette authors is Hispanic?
Linda Duggins: "We do not generally define our authors as one ethnic group or another. We do designate titles that may be of interest to not only the general market but to other markets as well. For example Leila Cobo author of Tell Me Something True would appeal to music lovers and book lovers as well as readers across the board who might be interested in reading her work because she is a Latina."
Portada: Could you describe the general offering Hachette Books?
Linda Duggins: "Hachette Book Group is a leading US trade publisher headquartered in New York, and owned by Hachette Livre, the second largest publisher in the world. In one year, HBG publishes approximately 650 adult books, 150 young adult and children’s books, and 100 audio book titles. In 2009, the company had a record 130 books on the New York Times bestseller list, with 24 of them ranked #1. HBG also provides a wide range of custom distribution, fulfillment and sales services to third party publishers including Harry N. Abrams, Amazing People Club, Chronicle Books, Filipacchi Publishing, Gildan Media, Guinness World Records, Hachette UK, InnovativeKids, Marvel, Octopus Books, Oxmoor House, Peterson’s, Phaidon Press, Time Inc. Home Entertainment, an Windblown Media."
Linda A. Duggins is the Director of Multicultural Publicity at Hachette Book Group. As Co-founder of the Harlem Book Fair, she has helped to create a nationally recognized venue that promotes literacy and literary expressions with writers of the Diaspora. Linda is on the Board of Directors of the National Book Club Conference, based in Atlanta, GA, whose mission is to advance literacy and knowledge through reading and dialogue. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Antigua & Barbuda International Literary Festival, held in Antigua, as well as the Board of Directors of the Queensbridge Scholarship Fund, serving college bound students in the Queensbridge and Ravenswood housing developments in the New York City area. Iris Gomez, Kimberla Lawson Roby, Raul Ramos and Jacqueline E. Luckett are among the many great authors represented by Duggins at Hachette.
