Digital publishing keeps gaining ground, and Random House has just announced that it will launch three new digital imprints. They will be ALIBI, which will focus on mystery/suspense; HYDRA, which will concentrate on science fiction and fantasy; and FLIRT, which will target the YA and college-age New Adult audience. Random House already has a digital imprint LOVESWEPT, which is meant for romance, and this will also be expanded.
Random House is clearly trying to attract authors to the imprints by assuring them that they will be well taken care of. The press release says that they will be assigned to an “accomplished” editor and “dedicated publicist.” They will also have the “invaluable support” of the marketing and sales teams. In addition, authors will be provided cover designers and “offered the unique advantage of social media tools and training.”
I wonder if Random House’s reputation among authors is so bad that it has to explicitly push perks to find authors. The rest of the release goes on in a similar vein and seems to be targeted at those authors who are considering self-publishing.
