A typical day in the life of Laura Austin

Posted 13 May 2013 by Guest blogger

In the run-up to the announcement of the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize 2013 winner this week, we have asked the shortlist to put together some photoblogs of their days at work.

Today is BookMachine's Laura Austin:

We set up BookMachine, as a service for others in publishing, organising events in London, Oxford, New York, Toronto, Barcelona and more. The idea is that if you show up at BookMachine Barcelona, you would get the same warm greeting, as if you were at BookMachine London. We've also built BookMachine.me - a platform that helps people find each other online.

BookMachine is a team effort, and I work on it alongside a full-time job at YUDU Media, so the timing, isn't quite as people might expect!

6.30 BookMachine: Schedule in some social media updates, answer BookMachine emails and read Twitter to see what 's happening.

8.45 YUDU: Get to the office; there's a Berrocca trend at the moment - nothing starts until that first hit of vitamins.

9.00 YUDU: There are calls to make, emails to answer, enquiries to deal with… I work as part of a busy sales team, and mornings involve a flurry of communication with publishers.

12.30 My colleagues might not be willing to bear testament to this, but at lunchtime I have been go to the gym.

13.30 YUDU: After lunch I often have meeting with publishers we are working with. They are based all over the place so this might be at our offices, or often via Skype or Facetime.

15.30 YUDU: We might have a marketing meeting, running through the next event, or planning an online campaign.

19.30 BookMachine: By this time I'm in a bar-type environment for a drink, an event or launch. I try to attend every single publishing related event I can (so lucky I was nominated for KSW, or might have missed one!) - it's a great way to meet with people in the industry.

22.00 BookMachine: Back to check emails, write a blog post or plan an event. Our events are lots of fun; and I might just use this opportunity to invite you to the next one, just click here - hope to meet you there!