Too Many Authors to Call.
Too Little Time to Answer.

A case study on how Total Sync deployed a dual-track AI voice agent system for Novella Publishers to transform author acquisition and client communication at scale.

Agency

Total Sync

Client

Novella Publishers, Inc.

Industry

Book Publishing & Content

Solution

AI Voice Agents - Dual Track

Deployment

10-Week Rollout

Results Window

First 90 Days

Novella Publishers operates in a high-touch industry. Authors expect personalized guidance, clear communication regarding their manuscripts, and timely updates on publishing timelines. However, the publisher was experiencing rapid growth. Their outbound lead generation team was struggling to keep pace with the volume of prospective author inquiries, resulting in slower response times and missed opportunities.

Concurrently, their customer support team was bogged down by routine status check calls from existing clients ("Has my cover design been approved?," "When is my print date?"). This left senior account managers with less time to engage in the high-value, nuanced conversations necessary to close deals and resolve complex editorial concerns. Scaling the human team proportionally was financially unviable and operationally slow.

We deployed a "Dual-Track" AI Voice Agent strategy powered by Total Sync's proprietary Conversational AI engine. Rather than replacing human agents, the AI was positioned to handle the volume-heavy, repetitive tasks, enabling the human team to handle complex relationship management.

Track 1: Outbound Lead Qualification

The first AI agent was trained on Novella's lead qualification parameters. It proactively called prospective authors, engaging them to determine manuscript readiness and budget, seamlessly scheduling qualified leads onto sales calendars.

Track 2: Inbound Status & Support

The second AI agent integrated directly into Novella's CRM. It handled inbound calls from authors, authenticating callers and providing real-time production updates, instantly routing complex/emotional queries to humans.

3x

Increase in outbound call capacity without adding human headcount.

65%

Reduction in lead response time, contacting inquiries within 5 minutes.

41%

Growth in author sign-ups due to faster qualification and seamless scheduling.

43%

Reduction in cost per qualified lead through automated filtering.

"We were initially hesitant that an AI voice would alienate our authors. We were wrong. The AI handled the logistics flawlessly, which meant when my team actually got on the phone, they could focus entirely on the author's creative vision. It didn't replace our personal touch; it protected it."

Novella Publishers
1

We audited 500+ historical call recordings to map the most common conversational branches, identifying precisely where the AI could add value and where human escalation was mandatory.

2

We built the custom voice models, integrated the solution securely with Novella's CRM, and trained the AI on publishing-specific terminology and objection handling.

3

We deployed the outbound agent to 10% of total lead volume, allowing us to tweak the conversational pacing, tone, and interruption handling before a full rollout.

4

Full dual-track deployment across all inbound and outbound channels, with continuous real-time monitoring and weekly optimization sprints.

See a live demonstration of our AI Voice Agents in action.