Books Forward is celebrating our 25th anniversary this year, and one of the ways we’re celebrating is by showcasing 25 people you should know in the book world. There are many unique roles in the book world, and the many kinds of people who play a part in the community we love.
Today, we’re getting to know Angela Januzzi, campaign projects manager at Bookshop.org. Stay up to date on other industry professionals by reading our Lit Happens blog throughout the year.
A Usual Friday
First, a little bit about Bookshop.org, for those who don’t know! The company’s mission is to help local bookstores thrive in the age of ecommerce. Every purchase on the site financially supports independent bookstores. As a certified B Corp, Bookshop.org gives over 80% of its profit margin to independent bookstores. Our platform aims to give bookstores tools to compete online and financial support to help them maintain their presence in local communities.
So now, onward to a Friday managing ads campaigns for a bookselling digital retail platform!
Before the Workday:
Currently this job is a remote one. However, unlike most “desk jobs” and especially in virtual work, Fridays in my role are the most deadline-essential day of the week. So before the workday, as of spring 2025, I try to have coffee (no one is surprised); do morning meditation/ prayer (usually related to coffee); and depending on season refill my outside bird feeders or birdbaths for backyard feathered friends (who do not know I exist, yet I pretend they love me).
In agile project work such as my role’s, plus since I happen to be a person with mild neurodivergence, these small grounding morning rituals have become key for helping meet both the day’s work goals and also some daily personal ones, too. That said, I also always check Slack and my own client emails by 8:30-9am for any time-sensitive questions. Yes, as I feed small woodland creatures eating from my hand while I sing to them, yes, of course.
First Half of Morning:
My position’s current main responsibilities are booking and pitching paid ads campaigns for promotions to run across Bookshop.org’s channels, identifying continuous improvement of next similar campaigns, as well as helping monitor more complex questions and execution for paid campaigns (internally, inter-departmentally, and externally with clients of more intricate rollouts).
As such “at the end of the funnel,” Friday morning as a pivotal weekly block: It’s the time to both look back at the last week and weeks, as well as ahead to the coming week’s priorities; by late morning sort and alert stakeholders (either internal or external, or both) involved for any outstanding dependencies or approvals before the week is over.
Late Morning:
As many contributors of this blog have noted, another priority at this time of morning: Refilling the coffee. Cool. Glad we’ve covered that.
Next, after that, before lunch it’s critical to check if teammates have any basic questions for deliverables, as well as any larger last-minute outstanding contingency plan needs before the weekend through the early next coming week; or if anyone needs a stand-up call, if easier.
Midday: 
Usually this time involves a forced lunchbreak, in which I remind myself to call my Grandma every Friday afternoon. (At the time of this writing she’s 95 years old!) I also try to enter weekends with some friends and loved-ones checked-on, near or far.
Then at midpoint of the day my Ads/Sales team is fully completing the final versions of asset deploys for the next several days into the coming week, as well as confirming there is no other particular resource planning needed for any specific campaigns before the weekend. While finalizing those processes, it’s time for me to check back on my own client emails or questions, sorting and completing my own remaining campaign bookings if they still need added or adjusted before the week ends!
Early Afternoon:
During this time, I try to update any future pitches to my clients to schedule for early in the coming week. Most dear to me, by the end of day Friday, I want to ensure any correspondence, needed reporting, or booking with my own clients is either completed or given next steps (so they can enjoy the weekend, too)!
Later Afternoon/ Early Evening:
Ideally, by end of business Friday at latest, all production deliverables are approved and confirmed for the coming weekend/ into the early next week. By this time I review all wrap reporting for my own clients if needed for completed campaigns, and/ or prepare reporting to send early the next coming week. Additionally, the end of Friday is a time I try to take to re-review my own sales goals in our dashboards, and note any striking KPIs (internal or external) from that week for possible discussion with team members once back Monday.
And finally, even though we have several project-tracking systems, my to-do list is still my most-beloved resource (haha, but it’s true). Before the end of every day, but especially Friday, I make sure any critical timelines or salient meeting agenda items are noted in my own personal to-do list as well for both the team and myself for the coming day, week, month, and quarter. (Then, come Monday, we do it all over again!)
But to help keep local bookstore businesses thriving, especially in the 21st century, and maybe even beyond that? You can bet we won’t stop doin’ so, as long as we can. 
Angela Januzzi hails from an Ohio steeltown on Lake Erie, made her way to grad school on the East Coast, and eventually stayed, for now, in New York. She’s worked in comms/ PR & marketing/ events/ project management across book publishing, non-profit development, and education sectors. She’s from a lineage of bridge and rail builders, steel workers, ingenious matriarchs, and shoemakers of a 100-year-old local, family footwear store. As a kid her favorite books were about esoterica, nature, and community mobilization: maybe proof (?) we keep the core of who we are as children. After over 15 years in The Big Apple, these days she allegedly lives somewhere between NYC and the Shawangunk Mountains.
Ellen Whitfield is senior publicist at Books Forward, an author publicity and book marketing firm committed to promoting voices from a diverse variety of communities. From book reviews and author events, to social media and digital marketing, we help authors find success and connect with readers.
Interested in what’s possible for your book sales and building readership? Check out our services, tell us your goals, and get a customized publicity campaign tailored just for you.
