You can sell foreign rights for your book

Are you missing opportunities to sell foreign rights for books because you think people in other cultures are different than North Americans? Elliott Katz thought his book, Being the Strong Man a Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom on Being a Man, was for North American men who need to show more leadership in their relationships with women – a trait that many women want in men today. (This may explain why many women won’t “settle” and why women give this book to men to help make them into Mr. Right.)

Katz thought men in other countries were different. Latin America were where the machismo image of a strong, powerful male originated. Japan was the land of the Geisha. Eastern European had traditional roles. But after selling translation rights to publishers in Japan, Korea, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, Poland, Russia, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Serbia and Latvia, he realized that while cultures may be different, human nature is similar.

Here’s how you too can sell foreign rights.

1. Prepare an email that sells the book and include:
– successes to date, including sales figures and other rights sales;
– a short summary of the book and the table of contents;
– reviews and endorsements of the book;
– links to the book’s Web site, its page on Amazon.com, and radio and TV coverage;
Offer to send a reading copy of the book and ask for mailing address.

2. Research foreign rights agents.  Good literary agents know the publishers in their markets.
–  Display the book at international book fairs which agents attend – such as BookExpo America, Frankfurt, London and Beijing.
– Consult the list of foreign rights agents in  International Literary Market Place,  available in the reference section of many libraries.
– Google “foreign rights agents” and “foreign rights.” Results will include publishers’ Web pages with names and contact information for their foreign rights agents.
– To find agents who specialize in a certain genre, such as children’s books, go to web sites of  publishers of that genre and look at their list of foreign rights agents.

3. Send agents the email about your book. When you receive a positive response, send the book with hard copies of reviews and anything else agents can use to sell the book.  Most foreign rights agents charge 10 per cent commission on the advance and royalties.

4. Support your agents’ efforts: Send updates on other rights sales, reviews and other media coverage for the agent to send to publishers.

5. When you get an offer: Negotiate the contract. Foreign rights contracts usually grant the publisher only the right to publish the book in its language. All other rights, such as serial rights, are usually retained. Ask your agent about withholding tax that is paid to that country’s government. It’s usually 10 to 15 per cent.

Elliott Katz is the author of Being the Strong Man a Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom on Being a Man. If you have questions, you can contact him at  ElliottRKatz@aol.com and via www.AwardPress.com.