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Author Relations Manager

Reports to

Shadow Mountain Associate Publisher

Location

Deseret Book Corporate Office

Salt Lake City, UT

Start Date

Immediately

Position Type

Full Time; Hybrid

The Opportunity

About Shadow Mountain

Shadow Mountain is a national trade imprint of Deseret Book Company, publishing award-winning fiction and nonfiction for adults, young adults, and middle-grade readers. Our titles regularly appear on the New York Times and national bestseller lists, and our catalog spans mystery and suspense, romance, historical fiction, cookbooks, picture books, and inspirational nonfiction.

Position Summary

Shadow Mountain is seeking an experienced Author Relations Manager to join our team. The position will serve as the primary point of contact between Shadow Mountain and its author roster — from contract signing through post-publication and beyond. Ideal candidates will demonstrate the ability to build trust-based relationships, communicate transparently, relay feedback, advocate for author needs, and bring author insights to campaign development. This role is the author's single point of truth inside the company — if it touches the author, it flows through this position.

Core Responsibilities

Author Onboarding & Relationship Management

• Serve as the primary liaison for all author relations, managing 30+ active relationships.
• Build genuine relationships — understand each author's brand, audience, communication preferences, and career goals.
• Lead a structured welcome process for every new author: set expectations on timelines, key contacts, and how Shadow Mountain's publishing process works.
• Onboard new authors to Shadow Mountain's marketing processes and expectations, including in-person headquarters tours and introductions to the team.
• Within the first 90 days, meet in person with each active author (treating authors to lunch, etc.) to demonstrate a commitment to get to know them.
• New authors should be toured around the headquarters in SLC and other relevant facilities, getting to know the team and "pulling back the curtain" to help them feel a part of the DBC family.

Production-Stage Relay

• Receive regular production status updates (in writing) from Editorial via scheduled meetings or email.
• Communicate production status, milestone progress, and schedule changes to authors proactively.
• Flag delays to authors before they surface elsewhere — honesty and transparency are non-negotiable.
• Coordinate with Editorial to ensure the Author Relations Manager is looped in on cover development before author feedback is solicited.

Contract & Promise Tracking

• Receive a Contract Handoff Summary from Acquisitions within 48 hours of every new contract signing.
• Maintain a running record of all contractual promises, committed budgets, and special commitments made during the acquisition process.
• Ensure campaign plans and marketing execution align with contractual commitments; flag discrepancies to the Associate Publisher.

Cover Feedback Coordination

• Serve as the conduit for all author feedback on cover design: gather author input, funnel it to Editorial/Design, communicate outcomes, and advocate for the author's voice throughout the process.
• Ensure the author feels heard even when design decisions go a different direction — manage expectations with transparency and empathy.

Campaign Strategy Input

• Represent the author's goals, expectations, and brand in all marketing planning sessions.
• Present marketing plans, ad strategies, and launch timelines to authors; gather and incorporate feedback.
• Weigh in on campaigns, launches, and advertising from the author's perspective.
• Ensure campaigns align with contractual commitments and author expectations.

Core 30 Launch Team

• For each title, curate and manage a team of 30 A+ reviewers and influencers (the “Core 30”) who receive early access and serve as launch-window advocates.
• Maintain the Core 30 roster, coordinate early copy distribution, and track reviewer engagement and review posting.
• Coordinate with the Marketing & Publicity Manager, who manages broader influencer outreach beyond the Core 30.

ARC & Finished Copy Distribution

• Own all ARC and finished copy distribution — author copies, reviewer/trade copies, and all platform distribution (Edelweiss, NetGalley, Goodreads).
• Manage all distribution lists, shipping logistics, and tracking.
• Frequent warehouse trips (checking on inventory, shipping out ARCs, press checks on final marketing goods, etc.) are crucial.
• In times of "crisis" (e.g., author doesn't have enough books/materials for a signing) this person would be the primary contact to solve that problem.

Author Training & Coaching

• Coach authors on street teams, social media best practices, and personal marketing — step-by-step guidance for debuts, ongoing guidance for all.
• Maintain and distribute author-facing guides and resources (Book Chat toolkits, event guides, asset libraries).
• Coach authors on social media best practices and support them during launch windows.

Escalation & Conflict Resolution

• Serve as the first responder for all author concerns — manage difficult conversations directly and with empathy.
• Escalate to the Associate Publisher when issues require leadership involvement.
• In all situations, default to honesty and proactive communication.

Cross-Departmental Liaison

• Serve as the author's advocate across Editorial, Design, Production, Sales, Acquisitions, and Marketing.
• Ensure clean handoffs between departments so nothing falls through the cracks.
• Collaborate with Publicity, Events, social media, and Advertising specialists to coordinate author involvement.

Documentation & CRM

• Maintain a shared CRM (Asana-based) with all author communications, promises, decisions, and feedback.
• Ensure every author interaction, commitment, and decision is logged and accessible to authorized team members.

Process Improvement

• Continuously identify broken handoffs, communication gaps, and workflow issues across the publishing process.
• Propose and implement solutions — the goal is to systematically eliminate the cracks that authors fall through.

Budget & Reporting

• Own and manage the author relations budget; track expenses for support activities.
• Report monthly on author engagement, satisfaction trends, and feedback.

Events (Author-Facing Support)

• Attend events as the author-facing representative; manage author logistics on-site.
• Within the 30/60/90 day plan this person is expected to attend at least 2 of each author's events (signings, school visits, book chats) to show visual support.
• Coordinate with the Marketing & Publicity Manager (who owns event planning and execution) on author availability, preferences, and logistical needs.
• Note: Event planning and execution ownership resides with the Marketing & Publicity Manager. This role attends events to support the author relationship, not to manage logistics.

Formalized Handoff Protocols

This role depends on structured information flow. The following handoff protocols are operational requirements of the position:

Handoff Protocol

Acquisitions → Author Relations

Acquisitions delivers a Contract Handoff Summary within 48 hours of signing. Summary includes all contractual promises, committed budgets, special terms, and author expectations discussed during acquisition.

Editorial → Author Relations

Editorial provides written production status updates on a regular cadence (minimum biweekly) via scheduled meetings or email. Editorial loops in Author Relations before soliciting author feedback on covers. Any production delays are communicated to Author Relations immediately — not after the fact.

Author Relations → Marketing

Author Relations communicates author needs, wants, availability, preferences, and strategic input to Marketing. Marketing executes.

Marketing → Author Relations

Marketing flags campaign performance data, publicity opportunities, and any author-facing issues to Author Relations. Author Relations communicates these to the author.

Sales → Author Relations

Sales flags underperforming titles, availability issues, and retail concerns to Author Relations for author communication.

Author Relations → Events (via Marketing)

Author Relations communicates author availability and event preferences to the Marketing & Publicity Manager, who owns event planning and execution.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years in author relations, publishing marketing, talent management, or PR
• Exceptional interpersonal and relationship-building skills
• Highly organized with strong attention to follow-through
• Comfort with conflict resolution and difficult conversations
• Familiarity with publishing workflows (editorial, production, sales) and social media
• Experience with Asana and CRM tools
• Experience with ARC distribution platforms (Edelweiss, NetGalley, Goodreads) preferred
• Bachelor's degree in Communications, Marketing, PR, English, or related field preferred

BENEFITS  

• Excellent medical, dental, and life insurance   

• 401(k) savings plan with company matching funds   

• Company-funded retirement plan   

• Merchandise discount   

• Discounted UTA Eco pass   

• Paid leave and holidays   

• Great work environment

Equal Opportunity

Deseret Book is an equal opportunity employer. We're committed to building an inclusive workplace where every individual is valued, respected, and empowered to do meaningful work. We strongly encourage all qualified candidates to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.