Here are some more tips and revenue-generating strategies from the 2010 Nonfiction Writers Conference, a virtual event featuring 17 book-publishing experts. This post covers the amazing opportunities that exist in foreign markets and, as you will see, why it's so important to do your homework as an author entrepreneur.
Bob Erdmann, founder and president of Columbine Communications and Publications, a foreign rights publishing consultancy, started off his program with a definition: Foreign rights is licensing a foreign publisher to reprint a book in English or translate that book into another language, and for that you're paid a royalty arrangement, very similar to author/publisher arrangement.
Before I get into Erdmann's tips, I want to make sure I mention his insight about thinking of your book as the means to a profitable end, not the end itself. Per Erdmann, most successful authors and publishers recognize that publishing is a business, not a hobby. They recognize that their book is a financial asset. And financial assets should be diversified, building as many revenue streams as you can--via bookstores, special sales (bulk copies at high volume) catalogs, educational sales and subsidiary rights (including foreign rights), which could cover 400 countries. According to Erdmann, lots of nonfiction titles are pretty much timeless books, especially if they are self-help, business, personal development, success or parenting books.
Here's a quick cheat sheet, to see if your book is a good candidate for foreign rights deals:
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1. First thing international book publishers look for: Does it travel? They want to see if the content applies to their specific readership or whether it's overly American (Note: increase your chances of landing a lucrative international deal by including internationally savvy content.)
2. The size of the book is important too. International publishers look to reprint books that are under 250 pages. Per Erdmann, keep in mind that Germanic languages expand a book's length once translated; conversely, Asian languages compress a book's length by a third (which is a positive).
3. They are looking for books that are easily translated.
4. International publishers look at the track record of a book, for titles selling 15,000 copies and up (from U.S. sales figures and other countries, as well as book awards, etc.)
5. International publishers consider the age of the book, though the copyright date may not be terribly important as long as content is current.
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