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Introducing the Director of RM Marketing Services

RM Marketing Services was set up in 2014 to share the skills, knowledge and expertise acquired from decades in the book publishing business, a majority of which was spent in senior management roles. Working with thousands of publishers locally and internationally while managing publisher relations and distribution for a major book distributor and library supplier, Rachael could see what was missing in the market — an outsourcing solution and consulting service for publishers, distributors, library vendors and anyone in the industry who needs help with sales, marketing and distribution. Read more about her.
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​​​My name is Rachael McDiarmid. I have been in the Australasian book trade since 1990, starting my career at Pergamon Press working on such riveting products as Modern Power Station Practice*, educational resources, science books and textbooks. I have a strong leaning towards professional and scholarly resources, and I'm known for my love of all things academic.

I've worked in a variety of marketing roles - from product management to senior marketing management, digital marketing and social media. I've worked in sales.  And I've worked in senior management.

I managed a distribution business (Inbooks) for over 10 years representing around 100 presses to the ANZ book trade, primarily prestigious university presses like Harvard, Yale, California, as well as scholarly publishers like Rowman & Littlefield, select trade publishers, specialist heritage and library presses.

In library supply and book distribution I've worked with hundreds of suppliers, and thousands of publishers, and know what it's like to be a customer and trading partner, locally and internationally. 

I've worked on both sides of the fence - 11 years as a customer (representing the largest single account in the region at the time for trade and academic publishers) and the rest in publishing (with the majority spent in digital, professional, academic & scholarly publishing). I think everyone should do a stint in both.

I've worked in multiple channels - B2B, B2C, with the bulk being in the retail and library markets. (I think libraries rock.) I also love direct selling and marketing and enjoy discovering special sales opportunities for niche books. Not every book has a retail audience.

I've worked with print and digital content - my ebook career started in 2003 (working with Etitle and then partnering with EBL for library supply) but I was selling CD-ROMs and databases in the mid 1990s. Recently I worked with ANZ libraries to launch and sell a number of digital platforms covering multiple disciplines which I enjoyed immensely. 

I've been a successful publisher relations manager because my first mentor told me never to burn any bridges in this industry. I've been lucky enough to travel the world, attending Frankfurt, BEA, London Book Fairs annually for over a decade. I worked with great publisher relations teams at Blackwell and then YBP and Baker & Taylor.  The retail President of the latter once told me that "every publisher has its own story". It's true. You just need to figure it out. Then you know how to work with them. 

I've had some of the best mentors in the book industry and enjoy mentoring others as a result.

I was also a senior manager on the Nielsen joint venture with James Bennett and have a great regard for bibliographic data. Just please don't ask me to decipher ONIX. I had a team to do that.

I'm known for my honest and professional approach. And my approach to customer service. Customers always come first.

I live in Sydney but my favourite place in the world to visit is Venice. I try and get there every 2-3 years. You can read my Venice blog here. 

*don't knock it. Sold a lot of copies back in the day :) 

For recommendations and endorsements please go to LinkedIn


OUR CLIENTS

Recommendations

There are few aspects of the publishing industry that Rachael McDiarmid hasn’t thought about in her career in books and publishing. I had the benefit of her insights as a colleague at Frankfurt Book Fair over a number of years, and trusted her to give me advice about our interest in finding meaningful direct contact with libraries and schools, an entirely new area for UWA Publishing. I would have followed up with additional small projects at the time had Rachael not moved into a new position in publishing. Back out in her own right again, I thoroughly recommend her for her insights and intelligent analysis. Rachael is trustworthy and smart, and thus a great asset to those of us working in the publishing trade."

Professor Terri-ann White
(Former) Director, UWA Publishing

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