Thanks for this interesting article and for sharing your thoughts. I used to work in Rights at Hachette Childrens and for Penguin Random House and am always surprised that authors don't seem to realise what a huge difference sub rights income can make to whether your book is considered profitable by a publisher or not...
I can indeed! So any sub rights income that is made by the Rights team helps earn out your advance much faster. Each head contract with a publisher will show the sub rights that an author has agreed for them to have. It will also show the percentage of money that the author will get from each sale. It's the job of the Rights team to exploit as many of these rights as possible. In practice this can mean anything from translation rights (where books are licensed to foreign publishers), audio rights, large prints to film rights etc depending on what rights the publisher has. All money made from these deals is split between the author (income goes against your advance along with royalties and helps earn it out much faster) and the publisher which increases their profits. Good rights sales can mean that the author starts receiving royalties much quicker and the publisher will consider a book more successful because it has earned out and made them a profit too. I've seen this happen even when UK sales are average. I hope that helps! x
I’d add to this for anyone who isn’t aware that sometimes these come from your agent’s negotiations, not your publisher (eg my publisher currently has some English rights to my book so translation deals come through my agent). I also agree that this can significantly boost earnings, even if your advance is low and you don’t sell tens of thousands of books!
I read Elle Griffin's article yesterday, so was particularly interested to see your thoughts on it. Totally agree with what you say, and nothing in the original article came as much of a shock. I have friends who are published by the Big 5 and are very unhappy with their marketing etc. Too few people, and too much to do!
I had my fingers burned with a traditional, indie publisher, so think I'll stick with self-publishing for now... at least I'm in control...
Great post, Katie! Very useful to get a British perspective – I think sometimes the Americans forget that we don't all live there and that other countries have industries that look a little different.
Thanks also for the shout out! Glad you liked that piece!
Absolutely free things publishers could do. Onboard their authors with realistic expectations and perhaps a buddy author. Be open about their own hopes and expectations. Grown-up relationships with clear communication. Just say, "we're disappointed with retail takeup of the title" if that's the truth. Not free but cheap. When text agreed, pay the author.
More transparency would definitely be so beneficial for everyone. I think so many people working in publishing don't like the idea of letting anyone down, and they also don't like conflict, so they don't have those conversations, but I really think that for most people, it would make everyone's life much easier?
A sensible (and UK-based) evaluation of what’s going well and not so well in trad publishing. As someone who absolutely relies on it (because Lit Fic is a not a viable self-publishing thing, and relies very hard on being eligible for prize shortlists and getting mainstream media reviews) I am heartened by this sober (and industry-insider) assessment.
Great post as usual! I'm always so shocked how little celebs/influencers promote their books but when you consider than one brand deal could make more than a year of book royalties I suppose it makes sense
Thanks for this interesting article and for sharing your thoughts. I used to work in Rights at Hachette Childrens and for Penguin Random House and am always surprised that authors don't seem to realise what a huge difference sub rights income can make to whether your book is considered profitable by a publisher or not...
This is such a great point! Can you write a tiny bit about this here so that someone coming to the comments can find out more?
I can indeed! So any sub rights income that is made by the Rights team helps earn out your advance much faster. Each head contract with a publisher will show the sub rights that an author has agreed for them to have. It will also show the percentage of money that the author will get from each sale. It's the job of the Rights team to exploit as many of these rights as possible. In practice this can mean anything from translation rights (where books are licensed to foreign publishers), audio rights, large prints to film rights etc depending on what rights the publisher has. All money made from these deals is split between the author (income goes against your advance along with royalties and helps earn it out much faster) and the publisher which increases their profits. Good rights sales can mean that the author starts receiving royalties much quicker and the publisher will consider a book more successful because it has earned out and made them a profit too. I've seen this happen even when UK sales are average. I hope that helps! x
This is such useful context thank you! Rights teams are the quiet superstars of publishing.
I’d add to this for anyone who isn’t aware that sometimes these come from your agent’s negotiations, not your publisher (eg my publisher currently has some English rights to my book so translation deals come through my agent). I also agree that this can significantly boost earnings, even if your advance is low and you don’t sell tens of thousands of books!
I read Elle Griffin's article yesterday, so was particularly interested to see your thoughts on it. Totally agree with what you say, and nothing in the original article came as much of a shock. I have friends who are published by the Big 5 and are very unhappy with their marketing etc. Too few people, and too much to do!
I had my fingers burned with a traditional, indie publisher, so think I'll stick with self-publishing for now... at least I'm in control...
Great post, Katie! Very useful to get a British perspective – I think sometimes the Americans forget that we don't all live there and that other countries have industries that look a little different.
Thanks also for the shout out! Glad you liked that piece!
Absolutely free things publishers could do. Onboard their authors with realistic expectations and perhaps a buddy author. Be open about their own hopes and expectations. Grown-up relationships with clear communication. Just say, "we're disappointed with retail takeup of the title" if that's the truth. Not free but cheap. When text agreed, pay the author.
More transparency would definitely be so beneficial for everyone. I think so many people working in publishing don't like the idea of letting anyone down, and they also don't like conflict, so they don't have those conversations, but I really think that for most people, it would make everyone's life much easier?
A sensible (and UK-based) evaluation of what’s going well and not so well in trad publishing. As someone who absolutely relies on it (because Lit Fic is a not a viable self-publishing thing, and relies very hard on being eligible for prize shortlists and getting mainstream media reviews) I am heartened by this sober (and industry-insider) assessment.
Very sensible points, all! “Fancy gambling” really says it all 😂
😂
Great post as usual! I'm always so shocked how little celebs/influencers promote their books but when you consider than one brand deal could make more than a year of book royalties I suppose it makes sense
100%. It's small fry to them!
Great article, Katie. Good to see the UK perspective. Thanks.
Great piece, thank you Katie x