News for Authors

Up Close and Personal: New Consumer Event Formats

by Sophie McNeill and Milena Schmidt|December, 2014

Traditional consumer events such as book tours and press events have long been an important part of the publishing mix, and continue to be vital in spreading the word about a new book. But Penguin Random House has also been looking for new ways to connect readers directly with their favorite authors—by inviting super-fans to live events that are bold, exciting, and fun.

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Facebook Updates You Should Know About

by Ben Steinberg|December, 2014

Facebook recently announced a number of updates to their site that will impact how you and your fans interact. We summarize the highlights and recommend some actions you might take.

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Making Time for Social Media: An Introduction to Hootsuite [Video]

by Chris Sigfrids|November, 2014

Social media can be time-consuming. At Penguin Random House, we find Hootsuite to be an invaluable tool that makes scheduling social media posts a breeze, while also providing an easy way to break through social media noise, especially on Twitter. The video below gives an in-depth overview of Hootsuite and shows you how to optimize many of its useful features.

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Small World: What’s New in International Sales

by Sophie McNeill|November, 2014

The international sales team sells Penguin Random House books in over 240 countries worldwide. We caught up with international sales executive Chris Dufault to talk about why there is such high overseas demand for American editions of books, the global growth of U.S. popular culture, and what authors can do to help their own international sales.

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9 Ways to Prepare for Your On-Sale Date

by Andrea Bachofen|November, 2014

For debut and seasoned authors alike, the time just before your book’s publication can be simultaneously exciting and nerve-racking. To help with the latter, we asked a few Penguin Random House authors and editors to offer their best advice for authors nearing their publication date.

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How Selling Online is Shaping Cover Design

by Emily Condlin|October, 2014

A great book cover should be striking, memorable, profound, and, most of all, eye-catching. It should pull a reader across a bookstore with a flash of color or a slick effect. But today, designers must think beyond the physical bookstore and consider the digital one as well.

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Book Publishing: Is It a Stable Business?

by Dave Thompson|October, 2014

Two years ago, amid myriad speculations in the media, on blogs, and in internet forums about the looming death of the book business, we were happily surprised to find that these speculations were far from the truth. In fact, the data showed a very stable progression of the industry’s revenue pool.

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Birdwatching: New Twitter Analytics

by Emily Hughes|October, 2014

Twitter recently rolled out a new free analytics platform, which you can reach at analytics.twitter.com/about. Previously, Twitter offered only very basic analytics, but the revamped page offers much improved tools, similar to Facebook Insights.

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Sneak Peeks: The Power of Early Reader Programs

by Emily Condlin|September, 2014

Getting advance copies of books into the hands of book reviewers has been a publishing industry tactic for generations. However, early reader review programs are no longer limited to sending hard-copy galleys to established book reviewers.

Changes to the technological and media landscapes are allowing authors and publishers to get advance copies to previewers faster than ever and, ultimately, reach readers more effectively. Read more

10 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block

by Andrea Bachofen|September, 2014

We asked some of our authors to anonymously share their best ideas on how to beat writer’s block. Read on for inspiration.

(If you would like to contribute to this series, see the note at the end of the article.) Read more