Correspondence From My Pen Pal at Random House

I love getting letters from Random House. They always spice up their communications with such inspiring phrases: "sacred trust," "supply chain," cutting-edge," "market analytics capabilities," and, most stirring of all, "penetration of emerging markets." (Be still my heart!) 

What does this letter actually mean? Nothing, really. For those who like to read between the lines, one could infer that RH/Penguin feels left out of the ebook market. (We don't feel their pain.) Unfortunately for them, Amazon moves faster and more efficiently than traditional publishers. What's more, Amazon has captured the hearts (and market) of self-published authors everywhere.

Run, Markus! Run!

MARKUS DOHLE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER MEMBER OF THE BERTELSMANN MANAGEMENT SE EXECUTIVE BOARD

July 1, 2013

To Our Authors, Today, Random House and Penguin are officially united as Penguin Random House. For us, today is a beginning, and I very much want to reach out to you on our first day as a new company, because it all begins with you: you and the books you write and entrust to us to publish. For us, this is a sacred trust, one that before today Penguin and Random House have honored separately. Now it is a commitment and a privilege that unifies us. Going forward, we will be defined by our mission for publishing with passion the books you write. In our author-focused, publisher-empowered culture, we respect that your most important day-to-day relationship is with your editor and your publishing team, and that will remain untouched at Penguin Random House. Continuity within Penguin Random House will benefit all of us: The continuity of nearly 250 imprints and publishing houses worldwide, which will retain their individual identities and autonomy. The continuity of experienced, knowledgeable global and local leadership teams, drawn from both Penguin and Random House, who will fully support our publishers in realizing their objectives and your vision for your books. The continuity of vigilant protection of your intellectual property and copyrights. Over time, as we gradually begin to integrate our companies, we will learn from one another and evolve to better serve you and your readers. With both businesses performing well, we can take our time with this process, to better understand and analyze the complexity and nuances of these important decisions. One key development I am personally most excited about involves the future investments we will be making on a global scale for growing your readership in all markets. We will be strengthening our supply chain and our support services for physical booksellers while broadening opportunities in the digital arena. We will be developing more cutting-edge marketing tools and programs, further expanding our consumer insights and market analytics capabilities, and continuing to accelerate our penetration of emerging markets worldwide, all of which will allow us to maximize the number of readers we reach on your behalf. The creation of our new company is the strongest possible affirmation of the future of trade publishing, and of the importance of maintaining strong and vibrant publishing companies, with diverse and innovative editorial teams. Our unprecedented alignment of resources and relationships is built on this foundation: the passionate belief that connecting authors and readers is at the heart of all we strive to accomplish together. On behalf of my colleagues, I deeply thank you for the opportunity to publish your books. All my best,