News for Authors

Who are eBook consumers and what are their reading habits? These questions are frequently posed to the Random House Research and Analytics team, and fortunately we have some great sources for understanding this technology-savvy group. One of those resources is data that we acquire through regular surveys of U.S. book consumers, which we can filter to look solely at eBook consumers. This has enabled us to get a good picture of who they are and their attitudes toward books and reading. What emerges is a portrait of the highly engaged reader: avid readers across digital and print formats, and technology “fast-forwards” who are more accessible than ever via both online and offline touch points.

(more…)

With over 100 million registered users, this social network’s star is clearly rising. Instagram can help boost your visibility by allowing fans to go behind the scenes of an author’s life. (more…)

With the rise of new social media platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, and the continued popularity of blogging sites like Tumblr, having great images to share has become increasingly important. Here’s our best selection of simple tips for finding, cropping, resizing, and enabling your photographs to look their best.

(more…)

If you missed some of our great author webinars, do not fear! They are all recorded and available on the Portal. And, just to whet your appetite, here’s some of the advice we heard from experts from Twitter, Goodreads, Tumblr, and the Random House marketing team. (more…)

Search engine optimization (SEO) is that bit of magic that makes web content discoverable, increasing traffic to your website for free. Truly, though, there’s nothing terribly magical about it. In layman’s terms, SEO is about selecting words that people might use when they’re searching for something in particular online. As content creators in the digital space, we can make smart choices about the copy in our headlines and posts, incorporating keywords and terms that are seen as desirable to search engines.

(more…)

One of the core decisions when using Facebook is whether to have a Profile or a Page (or both). Although they function slightly differently, either can work well for an author.

(more…)

In our increasingly digital world, virtual author appearances have become popular with book-loving audiences in libraries, classrooms, book blogs, and book groups. Here are our tips and thoughts on the virtual platforms we have worked with to date in this evolving area.

(more…)

For authors who have the time to post regularly, blogging can be a wonderful way to build a following and engage with readers. One question authors often ask us is “What should I blog about?” While every author is different, these are the key factors we think authors should take into account when deciding what to include in their blogs.

(more…)

MARKUS DOHLE
CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF BERTELSMANN SE & CO. KGaA

October 29, 2012

To Our Authors,

Our most important mission will always be to publish the work you entrust to us for everyone, everywhere, in every format, and on every platform. That mandate is a primary motivation behind Bertelsmann and Pearson, the parent companies of Random House and the Penguin Book group, signing an agreement this week to combine our respective trade book activities. (more…)

MARKUS DOHLE
CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF BERTELSMANN SE & CO. KGaA

 October 29, 2012

To Our Literary Agents,

As you now know, our parent company Bertelsmann today signed an agreement with Pearson to combine Penguin and Random House’s respective trade-book publishing activities. In this new partnership with Penguin, we will be retaining the distinct identities of both companies’ imprints. You and your clients will benefit from an extraordinary breadth of publishing choices, and editorial talents and experience. Our Random House imprint leadership remains endowed with tremendous autonomy and financial resources to decide which books to publish, and how to publish them. We expect this to continue in our new business. (more…)