Rights, Royalties & Contracts
The Frankfurt Book Fair
Frankfurt Book Fair, October 12th to 16th 2011
Several years ago I remember heading to the London Book Fair – a city I knew pretty well and one where I could, at least, speak the language! That said, I still found it pretty daunting stepping into the Earl’s Court Exhibition centre which was roughly the size of two football pitches. How could there be that many publishers, how could there be so many tens of thousands of titles?
Fast forward a couple of years and I was feeling pretty good about myself as I managed to negotiate arriving in Frankfurt and found the discreetly advertised shuttle bus direct to the Fair. My initial confidence evaporated instantly when I stepped out into Hall 8 of the Frankfurt Book Fair. One terminal in a complex of ten - think Heathrow meets O’Hare - and everyone looked like they had somewhere to be and knew just how to get there, except me.
Fortunately, and conveniently, the Publishing Ireland was there, and still is, a landmark, lifeline and pit stop with friendly faces and experienced veterans who quickly orientate you and indicate the shortcuts that can make all the difference. Now, several fairs later, I was surprised when my friends at Writing.ie asked if I might write something on Frankfurt – I am not sure of my pedigree or my insights but hopefully one or two of the notes and thoughts below might help you if you are going – or thinking about it in the future. (I have to thank my colleagues in Publishing Scotland whose ‘notes on a book fair’ really helped me with this piece.)
The Indian Book Market
The publishing world has been in a state of flux for a number of years. Technological advances such as increased internet speeds and portable storage have been two of the factors that have seen a decline in print book sales since the turn of the millennium, along with changing markets and increased competition for our disposable income.
The introduction of eBooks has shown that a growing readers market still exists but this opened the industry up to the problems of piracy. And the decline has been prevalent almost worldwide, with a notable exception. India. Not only has their economy and publishing market arrested the decline, it has flourished in recent years. India is now the sixth largest book producer in the world and the third largest producer of English language books, with their market currently valued at £1.6 billion.
There are several intersecting factors that have led to the huge growth in the Indian publishing market. Most notable have been advances in education. As standards of reading and writing improved, particularly of English, so too did the demand for books (India is in the unique position of having a demand for books that far outweighs the supply). In India, there are 550 million people in the 15-30 age group, the demographic with the most book buyers. Increasing literacy has created a ‘home’ market for Indian writers, in both English and regional languages, that is far more lucrative and secure than the international market.
International Rights; Selling Your Book Abroad
International rights are simply all publishing rights outside of the author’s home territory, including both English language rights and translation rights.
When and author or their agent makes a deal with a publisher, it can be for a variety of rights:
World Rights – grants rights to the publisher for the entire world in all languages
World English language rights – grants rights to a publisher for the entire world just in English
Specific territory rights – grants rights, typically in the language of the territory, for the specific territory.
The publisher or agent will determine, based on the offer and the potential for other offers, which of these makes the most sense for the author. If World Rights are granted, it becomes the publisher’s responsibility to pursue all rights sales, through the publisher’s own rights department. The bigger the publisher, the bigger their foreign rights department. If specific territorial rights are granted, that responsibility remains with the agent or author, which is often the case with smaller and mid-size publishers.
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