My 2020 Year in Review

First off, I’m relieved to finally draw the curtains on 2020 and head into brighter days in the new year. For being aesthetically pleasing with its numerical symmetry, 2020 has proved anything but pleasant. What a dumpster-fire of a year this has been, but I’m optimistic for what 2021 holds!

My 2019 Year in Review

Another year, another opportunity to reflect on favorite moments and memorable reads! These are my highlights:

Notable Reads:

My 2018 Year in Review

We’re a few months in to 2019, but I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the year behind us and plan for the months that remain in the year ahead. I usually like to make this post in January, but sometimes life has other ideas. Good thing there’s never a bad time for reflection and self-improvement! 😉

Notable Reads:

My 2017 Year in Review

It’s that time of year again – no, I don’t mean back-to-school (though that’s a valid point). It’s time to reflect on last year’s adventures and plan for the coming year! Here are some of my highlights:

Notable Reads:

Holiday Giveaway

To celebrate the holiday season and ring in the New Year, I’m giving away an autographed copy of my debut, The Kiss of Death. This quick read will

Teachers, Simplify Your Lesson Plan: The Story Behind My Educator Guide

This summer, I placed the finishing touches on my website’s new Education tab. It focuses on assisting teachers, both as an author and public speaker.

Are you an English, history, biology, or art teacher? I have created an educational supplement to facilitate learning in your classroom!

Sarah Mondello’s Publicity Portfolio for Dream Employer: Penguin Random House

In May 2016, I generated this portfolio in JMC 123: Public Relations Writing, a journalism course at Drake University led by Dr. Matthew Thornton. The objective was to develop tactics for your dream employer, so I chose Penguin Random House. In this portfolio, I have combined research and written communication with graphic design elements that speak to a variety of external and internal audiences, from booksellers and readers to employees of Penguin Random House. Together, these elements make up 13 PR tactics that exercise AP Style. To culminate the course, Dr. Thornton mailed the portfolio to Penguin Random House on my behalf.

Tactics:

• Stakeholder & Investor Relations
  • CEO Letter to Shareholders for Annual Report
•  Research
  • Message Platform
  • Issue Brief
  • Infographic
• Internal Communication
  • Employee Newsletter Article
  • Email Announcement
• Consumer Relations
  • Magazine Article
• Media Relations
  • Press Release
• Graphic Design
  • Print Newsletter
  • Digital Newsletter
  • Magazine Cover Redesign
  • Event Poster
  • Bookmark

Overview:

These tactics cover a breadth of communication styles. For example, I conducted a study on the print and digital prices of 100 YA Penguin Random House novels sold on Amazon. This original research infused my issue brief and an accompanying infographic which demonstrates my findings at a glance. I then adapted the findings for an employee newsletter article to be distributed via an email announcement I crafted.

On the publicity side, I chose a prominent client, international bestselling author Richelle Mead, most known for her YA urban fantasy Vampire Academy series and spin-off series Bloodlines. I devised several tactics for her promotional campaign. These include a magazine article spread geared toward readers (which addresses a consumer topic that’s current on social media), as well as an event poster featuring a Midwest tour and a bookmark to brand both of her series. A fantasy world of twelve books can be a mouthful to recall, so the bookmark allows both devoted fans and first-time readers to retain the most important facts: cover recognition, series synopses, and order of titles. Also on the design side, I developed a newsletter featuring popular and new YA releases from Penguin Random House, adapting it for both mail and email recipients. I then selected a magazine cover from Writer’s Digest featuring YA contemporary romance author Sarah Dessen and gave it a makeover.

After studying annual reports from Bertelsmann, I focused on only one division of the German multinational mass media corporation, Penguin Random House, and devised a letter from CEO Markus Dohle to shareholders accordingly. This letter serves to spotlight major accomplishments over the past year and ongoing trends in a clever and compelling way. It also affirms stakeholder confidence in the organization and its future.

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Thanks for stopping by my PR portfolio for Penguin Random House! Please contact me directly for an updated cover letter, resume, or references.

~ Sarah

My 2016 Year in Review

As 2016 comes to a close, I thought I’d try something new. No, I don’t mean a New Year’s Resolution. I think this one is a bit more attainable. The best way to plan for the future is to recap the past, right? So here’s a few highlights

Author Event on the Historic Woodstock Square July 23

Hi, friends!

Mark your calendars! I have some exciting news to share.

I’m going to be speaking at a quaint independent bookstore in Woodstock on Saturday, July 23rd at noon. I’ll share how I navigated the publishing industry at a young age with a presentation at

An Author Walks into a Bookstore: How I Got My Book into Barnes & Noble

I strolled along the shore of the Michigan peninsula – Mackinaw City, to be exact – waiting to board the boat to Mackinac Island for the first time since I was an infant. I had just bitten into the juiciest burger when my phone buzzed.

It was the manager of Barnes & Noble in Crystal Lake, Illinois.

To say I wasn’t expecting it is an understatement.