| So what does it take to make a bundle on foreign | | | | importantly, agents know what a book is worth and will |
| rights? I recently spoke with John Penberthy about | | | | negotiate the best deal for you. There are instances of |
| securing foreign rights sales, and he said it really wasn't | | | | publishers working directly with authors, but it's a long |
| that hard. It just takes a dash of persistence, patience, | | | | shot, and publishers know authors are inexperienced in |
| and creativity! Here's my interview with John: 1. What's | | | | negotiating and desperate and so it's highly likely the |
| the most important thing authors should know when | | | | authors didn't get the best deal possible. But you don't |
| pitching their book to a FR person? Make it brief and | | | | hire agents; if they like your book they choose you and |
| succinct. You're pitching via email, agents get a ton of | | | | then work on a commission basis, usually 15% of |
| emails/day and you have to have something that will | | | | advances and subsequent royalties. The author pays |
| be quick and grab their attention. In my case, I wrote a | | | | nothing up front; the publishers only get paid if they |
| brief 2 paragraph letter with a link to my 60 second | | | | produce. Most foreign agents work with a co-agent in |
| trailer. So they could tell very quickly if it was | | | | the author's country, who feed them books to market, |
| something they might be interested in. At the end of | | | | which already have a proven sales track record in the |
| the trailer was a link to my site, where I offered the | | | | author's country. In these cases, the 2 agents usually |
| ebook version for free as a way of generating buzz. | | | | split a 20% commission. In my case it was the reverse |
| Interested agents could then read a few chapters to | | | | -- I marketed my book directly to foreign rights agents |
| see if they wanted to request a hard copy. One thing | | | | and built a track record of rights sales in other |
| that strongly worked in my favor was that you can | | | | countries, which I then used to attract a U.S. agent |
| read my book in 90 minutes. Agents are overwhelmed | | | | who subsequently got me a contract with Sterling |
| with book submissions and loathe the amount of time it | | | | Publishing here in the U.S. 6. How much time can an |
| takes to read them, so 90 minutes was a breath of | | | | author expect to allocate to this process? It's not very |
| fresh air for them. Offering the ebook free was huge | | | | time-consuming. First you research foreign rights |
| because it quickly disseminated the book all over the | | | | agencies on the Internet and put your list together. |
| world and resulted in all kinds of interesting inquiries. | | | | Then you draft your email letter and send it out. I |
| You don't want to do it forever, but when you're | | | | probably haven't spent more than a couple of weeks |
| starting out, it really helps generate buzz and eliminates | | | | on this in total in a year and a half. 7. What are the |
| all risk for prospective buyers. It was instrumental in | | | | things you look for in a foreign rights contract? |
| many of my foreign rights deals. 2. What types of | | | | Because the agent is the intermediary, she usually has |
| books work better for FR? My book, To Bee or Not | | | | a standard contract which she prepares and sends to |
| to Bee, is a spiritual allegory about bees, sort of a | | | | both parties for signatures, so the contracts are |
| next-generation Jonathan Livingston Seagull. People the | | | | generally quite similar. The key factors, of course, are |
| world over have sought more meaning in their lives | | | | the amount of the non-refundable advance and the |
| through spiritual understanding from time immemorial, | | | | royalty rate, generally only 7-8% on foreign rights, |
| so I felt my book had universal appeal. I had the | | | | which should be applied to the retail price. Royalties are |
| illustrations drawn in a Chinese watercolor style in | | | | deducted from the advance and once the advance is |
| order to reflect the story's Eastern approach to | | | | paid back, the publisher makes royalty payments. Most |
| spirituality, which is really taking hold in the West, but | | | | publishers calculate royalties following the end of each |
| also to appeal to the huge Asian market. This has | | | | calendar year, though some do so semi-annually, and |
| worked well as 2 of my contracts are for Korean and | | | | payments are due a quarter later. The contract should |
| Chinese, and I think I'm close in Taiwan and Japan. | | | | have a finite term, usually five years. If the book |
| Each author has to evaluate the extent to which their | | | | proves to be big with good longevity, it can go back on |
| book will appeal to those within 1) the U.S., 2) Europe, 3) | | | | the market at the end of the term for much better |
| Latin America and then 4) Asia. These are the 4 big | | | | terms. One thing that is absolutely critical is that the |
| markets and each is a step removed from the | | | | publisher provide a computerized statement showing |
| previous one. So many books are written specifically | | | | sales, returns, etc. via postal mail to the author for each |
| for Americans because America is the biggest market. | | | | period. If figures are provided any other way (i.e. via |
| You're probably not going to get any foreign deals for | | | | email) it is too easy to fudge them. The language and |
| a cookbook, but I would think computer and Internet | | | | geographic territory licensed should be specified. And |
| books would do well in most countries because | | | | the number of complimentary books provided to the |
| computer people all speak the same language. Each | | | | author should be specified. The agent's commission |
| author needs to assess the universality of her book's | | | | should be identified. One other important thing, for my |
| appeal. 3. What should be included in the FR packet? | | | | book at least, was to limit rights to book publishing only. |
| Once I would get email replies from interested agents I | | | | My vision is to see To Bee or Not to Bee made into a |
| would send them just 2 things -- the book and a | | | | digitally animated film and so I always retained |
| detailed cover letter explaining the book, its uniqueness | | | | audio-visual rights. 8. You're dealing with a bunch of |
| and market appeal, and its track record. For example, | | | | strangers in foreign countries. Once you've got a |
| my book is a strong gift book -- we're averaging | | | | contract, what about getting paid? For the advance |
| nearly 5 books sold per customer through our website | | | | you've got leverage because you don't email the |
| -- so I always made sure to mention this and the fact | | | | manuscript file until you get the advance. But for |
| that To Bee or Not to Bee is a perennial gift book that | | | | royalties, once the advance is paid back it can be |
| would be in print for decades. Multiple sales and | | | | dicey, depending upon the quality of the agents and |
| longevity definitely grab the attention of prospective | | | | size of the publishers you're working with. My Italian, |
| publishers. A zillion new books are published each year | | | | Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese contracts were |
| and publishers are always looking for something new | | | | secured by established agencies with large publishers. |
| and different, so I would encourage people to explain | | | | They provide computerized sales reports and are |
| why their book is new and different. As foreign rights | | | | very legit. Publishers in Asia and Eastern Europe can |
| sales grew, I always mentioned the previous translation | | | | be more problematic, depending on their size and |
| rights I had sold and the names of the publishers (to | | | | reputation. Many of these countries have only recently |
| add credibility). 4. How long does it take for a foreign | | | | signed the international copyright agreements and |
| rights deal to happen? It really varies. My first deal, | | | | some of the more marginal publishers still don't feel |
| Korean, was signed within a month of sending the | | | | they need to comply with them. And even if the |
| agent the book and the book was published 3 months | | | | publisher does comply, they send the money to the |
| after that. This is lightning speed in the publishing world. | | | | agent, who is supposed to send it on to you, so there's |
| My second deal, Italian, took about 2 months because | | | | an extra layer of opportunity for graft. They know that |
| the agent took it to the Frankfurt Book Fair, by far the | | | | you have no leverage; who's going to spend |
| largest book fair in the world, which happened soon | | | | thousands of dollars hiring lawyers in a country |
| after she received the book. I was lucky to have | | | | halfway around the world unless there are clearly |
| these deals happen so quickly, but 1-2 months is | | | | large royalties at stake (and royalty rates for most |
| abnormally fast. My third and fourth deals, Spanish and | | | | foreign deals are notoriously low, typically 7-8%)? The |
| Portuguese, took about 6 months, again at a book fair. | | | | only leverage you have is if you have an American |
| By the time these editions are released, 1 1/2 years will | | | | co-agent involved because the foreign co-agent's |
| have elapsed. In general, the publishing world moves at | | | | reputation is at stake among the international agent |
| a snail's pace so you have to be patient. My latest | | | | community. Even then, many American co-agents |
| deal, Chinese, also took over 6 months. But other | | | | expect only to receive their share of the advance and |
| agents have been working other countries for over a | | | | spend little if any effort to collect royalties unless they |
| year and still have no publisher prospects. Some | | | | are substantial. The moral of the story -- the larger and |
| publishers sit on books forever. Once To Bee or Not | | | | more established the agency and publisher, the better |
| to Bee is re-released by Sterling Publishing in the | | | | chance you have of getting paid. John Penberthy is the |
| English-speaking world this fall and establishes a sales | | | | author of To Bee or Not to Bee. He has sold rights to |
| track record, I plan on doing another email blitz to | | | | his book in Korean, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, |
| foreign rights agents in all the countries for which rights | | | | Slovenian, and Chinese. His foreign rights deals have |
| haven't been sold and apprising them of this new | | | | totaled $40,000. View the trailer, read Chapters 1-3 and |
| information. Hopefully this will generate a new round of | | | | send free ecards at |
| rights sales. 5. Should authors hire someone to | | | | Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author |
| negotiate for them? I'm a strong believer in literary | | | | Marketing Experts, Inc., is a book marketing and media |
| agents. Publishers rely on them to sort through all the | | | | relations expert whose company has developed some |
| riff-raff and know that books sent to them by good | | | | of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. |
| agents are worth their time considering. But most | | | | |