Designing books—covers, jackets, and interiors—is a collaborative effort. The staff reviews the book and meets with the editor and marketing department to create a visual-packaging direction and oversee its implementation to both represent the book's essence and attract the target audience.

When a book proposal is received, the editor decides whether or not to pursue it for acquisition. An editor works with the author to turn the manuscript into a finished book. They negotiate contracts, edit the books for content, structure and on a line-by-line basis, and collaborate with internal departments on how to package, market, and publicize the book. Editors need to know what’s trending, what can sell to which target market, and what’s a fit with their particular imprints.

The Managing Editorial department is responsible for the in-house editorial process of making manuscripts into bound books after acquisition. The department is responsible for maintaining and modifying the production schedules, hiring and overseeing the work of freelancers (typesetters, copy editors, proofreaders), and proofreading and routing jackets and manuscripts.

Marketing touches all aspects of publishing and bookselling. The Marketing department develops and implements creative marketing campaigns including advertising, social media, and bookstore displays.  Marketers work closely with sales to learn what’s happening in the market and to help them promote and share their enthusiasm about books and writers.

Publicity professionals generate exposure and “buzz” for new books and are the biggest advocates of the titles to the media.  Publicists pitch newspapers, television, radio stations, websites and bloggers with the hope the press will review our titles and feature stories about forthcoming books and authors.  Publicists also help create social media outreach, author tours, author signings, readings, and other events.

Our sales team manages Penguin Random House’s relationship with the community of booksellers around the globe.  The sales team works to make sure that our books are available to readers in every place where books are sold: supermarkets, malls, bookstores, and online. The objective is to make books available for consumers and make sure they are well displayed and promoted wherever they are.

The Audio group creates aural versions of books, either in-house or at a studio. Daily functions of the department include negotiating performer agreements, commissioning music, managing studio and talent invoicing, and evaluating new reading and music talent for future projects.  They must also stay current on technology as new versions of downloadable audio files become available.

The Contracts department manages the process of drafting a book contract and all of the other products for which the company acquires rights. They negotiate the fine points with the author or other proprietors. After the contracts are signed, the contracts department communicates with various internal departments about the details contained in each contract that may affect their business or authors.

These teams are responsible for maintaining, developing, and producing Internet sites for the various publishing imprints, authors, and categories.  Digital-development departments are responsible for planning, prioritizing, and implementing new web initiatives (including author interviews, marketing campaigns, special promotions, online features, etc) for titles and corporate communications.

Our Digital Production department is responsible for the creation of all types of eBooks, including fixed layout and enhanced eBooks equipped with video and audio clips.  The department liaises with vendors, converts titles into various electronic formats, and makes corrections to existing eBook files.

Finance is involved with everything that has a financial impact on the company, including sales forecasting, cost of goods, production, inventory, and the balance sheet for a title, imprint, or division. Finance liaises with every other department regarding corporate perspective, policies, and systems.

Penguin Random House is the premier provider of distribution services in the publishing industry. Our two national fulfillment centers are located in Crawfordsville, Indiana and Westminster, Maryland.  These fulfillment centers receive, store, pick, pack, and ship out on average more than 1.2 million books daily to customers around the world.

The Human Resources department partners with all divisions and departments to ensure the health and well being of their employees through benefits administration, rewards and recognition, the facilitation of company-wide events, and the recruitment of new employees and career development of ongoing co-workers. They also act as a liaison between the employee and the employer.

Penguin Random House depends on technology for virtually every aspect of the company. Our IT professionals build and support the applications, infrastructure and networks that empower the business. We value talent who work in an agile environment and are invested in supporting a culture of entrepreneurship.

The Production department oversees the pre-press and manufacturing process from manuscript to bound book. The team works with outside printers, book manufacturers, and other vendors to produce our books within the desired timeframe and budget.

The various groups within Publishing Operations secure raw materials for printing traditional books, manage relationships with key vendors to ensure that our books are of a high quality and produced on schedule, and forecast inventory levels to determine when and how many books need to be reprinted.

The respective Subsidiary Rights departments for each of our publishing divisions handles the licensing of any rights of the original book in both domestic and foreign markets: translations, magazine excerpts, audio editions, and book club inclusion are some examples. Their main responsibility is to negotiate contracts with licensees to maximize revenue and publishing opportunities for the author and the company.  Subsidiary Rights is often referred to as a mix of marketing, publicity, and sales.