News for Authors

BISACs: Cracking the Code

by Andrea Bachofen|May, 2013

BISAC codes are assigned to every title in the marketplace, and publishing teams work hard to assign the right codes—so, what exactly are BISACs and why do they matter? We demystify the process behind BISACs and take a look at some surprising marketplace trends they reveal.

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5 Social Media Platforms You Might Not Know

by Emily Davis, Joe Muscolino, Sarah Cahill, and Milena Schmidt|May, 2013

With new social networks popping up faster than you can say Pinterest, it’s important to know which ones are worth your time and will give you maximum return on investment. By now, you’ve mastered the art of the tweet and figured out the new Facebook Timeline. However, just how much do you know about Google +, Vine, Reddit, and emerging platforms such as Medium and Whisper? Here’s the scoop on these networks, along with some pointers and things to take into consideration before joining the social media bandwagon.

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Authors Rock at SXSW

by Christine Hung, Joe Gallagher, Emily Davis, and Milena Schmidt|April, 2013

This spring marks Random House’s third year participating in South by Southwest (SXSW), the country’s largest digital and interactive conference, which brings together influencers across all industries for nine high-spirited days of creative exchange. SXSW is the perfect venue for Random House to showcase the work of authors and company developments, while learning new and innovative ways to improve capabilities across divisions. The event also provides a unique opportunity to foster the creative and professional growth of our employees.

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Join Our Online Communities!

by Milena Schmidt|April, 2013

Random House is constantly working on new ways to bring together authors and readers. Whether it’s through social media, author engagements, or events such as South by Southwest, our divisions lead the charge in connecting with consumers and generating discussions about books around cultural trends.

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Facebook’s Smarter Search

by Sonia Nash Gupta|April, 2013

In January, Facebook launched their new Graph Search experience, which works with information users themselves have put on Facebook to create more tailored and personal search results. We look at the impact on Facebook users and how to adapt your Page to take advantage of this new functionality.

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Building Support for Breakout Books

by Milena Schmidt and Katherine Fleming|March, 2013

Every year, Random House, Inc.’s imprints publish hundreds of new titles by authors who don’t yet have an established fan base or sales history. Every book is acquired with the expectation of bringing it to the widest audience.

While there is not a single recipe for doing this, we keep analyzing and learning from what has worked before, and finding new ways to apply the success factors to other books. Read more

What I Look for in a Rough Draft

by Andrea Bachofen|March, 2013

Working with an editor is a unique experience that differs for every author. However, from fiction to nonfiction to children’s books, each author/editor relationship has the same goal: to publish the best possible version of every book.

With that in mind, we asked a broad group of Random House editors where they start when they first lay eyes on the rough draft of a book. Read more

Think Mobile

by Sophie McNeill|March, 2013

The most talked-about internet trend of the last year has been the huge growth in mobile browsing, driven by sales of smartphones and tablets. We review some surprising mobile stats and suggest what authors can do to take advantage of this trend.

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Was it a Digital 2012?

by Jeff Weber|February, 2013

The online book market moves so fast that we frequently have to take a step back and reevaluate. In that spirit, I recently reflected on four key trends that we saw in both the eBook and physical book sales numbers for our online accounts last year.

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Discover Reads with BookScout!

February, 2013

There’s a new way for readers to find out about books they’ll love—BookScout! Random House’s new Facebook app encourages conversation about books on the world’s largest social media site and makes it easy to get personalized recommendations. Read more