One of my summer projects was to create a foreign rights guide for my agency. I'm pleased to say that it is now complete -- with entire days to spare before Labor Day! You can view and download it here.
As a solo agent I do not have a separate rights department in-house. However, I still want to actively support my authors in exploiting subsidiary rights to their works, such as translations or English language editions published abroad. Not every book has the "legs" to travel internationally. For books that do have international appeal though, subsidiary rights deals are valuable because they diversify and expand revenue streams, and build the authors' reputations.
This rights guide gives foreign publishers, foreign rights agents, and book scouts a catalogue of the books I have sold. It contains a description of each book, an author bio, praise from prominent individuals or published reviews, book specifications, and, importantly, who to contact to inquire about rights. Over the coming weeks I will be working to establish relationships with "co-agents" who understand the publishing landscape in particular territories. This guide will help in that endeavor.
If you happen to need a graphic designer, particularly for a catalogue-like project, I can recommend a terrific one in the U.K. His background is in book publishing, and he was very easy to work with. Just reach out for a recommendation!
Finally, for fun, here are the two cover images I was deciding between. I ultimately chose the billowing/crumpled paper, but I still like the conceit of a deep dive into a hidden world. Perhaps for 2022!
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