News for Authors

What Our Editors Look for on an Opening Page

by Phil Stamper-Halpin|July, 2016

While titles, covers, and marketing copy are all important ways to attract a reader to your book, the first page of the book itself has an equally critical role: it offers readers a glimpse of your writing style and the story that follows. Read more

The Best Suggestion I Ever Got From My Editor

by Andrea Bachofen|August, 2014

We asked some authors to share the best advice they have ever received from their Penguin Random House editors.

Below, we explore the evergreen topic of the best editorial advice you have received. Next month, we’ll explore the question “How do you overcome writer’s block?” Submit your answers for inclusion here. Read more

Receiving the “Enormous Envelope”

by Anna Quindlen|May, 2014

Award-winning author Anna Quindlen describes the start of the editing process with Kate Medina, in this touching tribute to the special relationship between author and editor. (Adapted from a speech Anna gave introducing Kate as the recipient  of the 2014 Poets & Writers Editor’s Award.)

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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