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BookSmarts Podcast
The BookSmarts Podcast is hosted by Joshua Tallent. Joshua is an acclaimed teacher and guide on the role of data in publishing, and a vocal advocate for high quality book metadata. He serves as the Director of Sales and Education at Firebrand Technologies (www.firebrandtech.com), where his focus is on helping publishers of all sizes learn about, and find solutions to, their workflow and metadata problems.
Joshua can often be found researching odd metadata issues, creating training videos and documentation about Firebrand services, and speaking at conferences about the latest innovations and advances in publishing data and workflow management.
In his spare...
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All Episodes
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Episode 70: Amazon Search, GEO, and Book Discovery with Kadaxis’s Chris Sim
Chris Sim is the founder of Kadaxis, which uses AI and market signals to help publishers understand what readers are looking for and make their books more discoverable in retail search and in AI tools like ChatGPT. The company runs keyword and metadata programs at catalogue scale, with methods refined across hundreds of thousands of titles, and publishes original research on Amazon search and generative engine optimization (GEO). Its clients include several of the largest trade houses. Kadaxis was named BookTech Company of the Year at the FutureBook Awards and shortlisted for a BISG Industry Innovation Award. Chris was previously CTO at Bookish.com, the book discovery venture backed by Penguin, Hachette and Simon & Schuster, where he built its search and recommendation systems and co-authored a patent for a literary recommendation engine. He was later a venture CTO at BCG X, formerly BCG Digital Ventures, where he was recognized as one of the firm's global topic leaders in generative AI. He has spoken at industry conferences, published in industry journals, and contributed to BISG's keywords best-practices standard. On this episode of the BookSmarts Podcast, Chris joins Joshua Tallent to discuss how publishers can optimize their book discovery strategies for both traditional search engines and AI-driven tools. Drawing from Kadaxis’s empirical research on Amazon Search and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), Chris breaks down why over 90% of standard publisher keywords fail to drive exact-match search visibility and explains why natural, search-phrase-based keywords dramatically outperform single-word "tagging." He reveals how Amazon’s "warm start" algorithms leverage book descriptions, cover images, and descriptive metadata to establish comp relationships for new titles before sales data exists, and outlines actionable steps publishers can take to ensure their books are indexed, recommended, and cited as authoritative sources by large language models like ChatGPT. Resources Referenced: https://kadaxis.com/notes/how-books-show-up-in-chatgpt-and-ai-search https://kadaxis.com/notes/should-book-keywords-be-single-words-or-search-phrases.png)
Episode 69: Reader Communities & Discovery Trends with Booktrovert
Tarah Theoret is the Vice President, Community Growth & Engagement for NetGalley and Booktrovert. Bringing over two decades of publishing experience from major trade publishers—including HarperCollins and Penguin Young Readers Group—and holding an MS in Publishing from Pace University, Tarah leads audience expansion and community engagement. In her role, she drives strategic growth across both sites, overseeing community initiatives, partner promotions, and reader-first product features that deepen reader engagement and build lasting community connection. On this episode of the BookSmarts Podcast, Tarah joins Joshua Tallent to discuss Booktrovert, NetGalley's reading lifestyle platform. Tarah gives a behind-the-scenes look at how Booktrovert helps readers track, discover, and celebrate their reading lives through interactive stacks, daily bookish games, and digital "Shelfie" showcases. The conversation explores how publishers and authors—from debut indies to major bestsellers like Abby Jimenez—are leveraging Booktrovert’s sweepstakes, giveaways, and targeted campaigns to build pre-pub buzz, engage loyal fanbases, and drive pre-orders right around launch day. Tarah also shares insights on community growth, top reader genres, and upcoming features planned for the platform. To learn more about Booktrovert and explore how it can support your title marketing strategy, visit BookTrovert.com or follow them on Instagram @booktrovert_com. If you are a NetGalley client, you can also reach out directly to your account representative to discuss campaign options..png)
Episode 68: Navigating Trends, Regulations, and Workflows with Westchester Publishing Services
Tyler Carey has worked in publishing and technology for over 20 years, with a background including work at Wolters-Kluwer and Harris Connect. His roles have included account management, sales, marketing, product development, social media management, and technology consulting. He is an experienced conference speaker, often presenting on the impact of technology on different industries, sharing strategies to adapt emerging technologies into more traditional organizations. In 2017, Tyler was promoted to Chief Revenue Officer, overseeing the company’s sales, marketing, and business development efforts as well as the growing staff supporting those initiatives. On this week’s episode of the BookSmarts Podcast, Tyler discusses the ever-growing complexities of managing publishing workflows in a fast-paced, digital world. He provides a deep dive into the recent influx of industry regulations like ADA Title II, the push to get trend-driven books to market more quickly, and the universal challenge of inbox and time management. The conversation also explores practical tools for organizing the chaos—from Gen AI assistants to analog bullet journals—and the importance of community, mentorship, and mental health resources to combat stress in the publishing industry. To learn more about Westchester Publishing Services and how they help publishers with their editorial and production workflows, visit westchesterpublishingservices.com. You can also connect with Tyler on LinkedIn or catch him in person at upcoming industry events like the IPG Autumn Conference..png)
Episode 67: Merchandising Insights from Books-A-Million’s Kathy Gagliano
Kathy Gagliano is the Executive Vice President of Merchandising at Books-A-Million, America’s second-largest book retailer. Bringing a wealth of experience from major retailers like Parisian, Inc., Federated Department Stores, and Saks, Inc., Kathy joined Books-A-Million in 2007. Today, she helps guide the vision and strategy for the beloved company that started as a humble 1917 street corner newsstand in Florence, Alabama, and has since expanded into over 220 stores across 32 states. On this week’s episode of the BookSmarts Podcast, Kathy sits down to discuss the evolving landscape of physical book retail. We dive into how Books-A-Million is adapting to a rapidly changing consumer demographic and welcoming the massive wave of younger readers fueled by BookTok. Kathy also shares her insights on viewing the bookstore as a real-time cultural barometer and reveals the heart behind their localized, "shop-in-a-shop" community hubs. Finally, we explore the company's current expansion into new markets and offer fantastic, tactical advice on how publishers can better partner with physical retailers to capture today's readers. To learn more about Books-A-Million and follow along with their continued growth, visit booksamillion.com. You can also reach out to Kathy directly at gaglianok@booksamillion.com..png)