Book Expo America, Book Translations and Foreign Rights

ByPhyllis Zimbler Miller

For self-published authors, Book Expo America may have been most relevant in the areas of book translations and foreign rights. These two areas can be a gift of opportunities for self-published authors.

First, let’s consider book translations:

While our books on Amazon are sold on Amazon country sites in their English versions, what about having these books available in the native languages of those country sites?

I spoke with Silvia Mas and Arantxa Mellado of www.thespanishdigitallink.com about having my ebooks translated into Spanish ebooks. What’s especially interesting is that these two women described a standard Spanish for translation that makes these ebooks more user friendly for Spanish readers around the globe.

I am definitely interested in pursuing this opportunity because it could open my ebooks to a much larger audience.

Second, foreign rights:

Selling foreign rights to Spanish-speaking countries, for example, may appear to make the future need for ebook translations unnecessary. If you sell foreign rights, then presumably these books will be translated as part of the deal. (But will you really sell foreign rights to all Spanish-speaking countries?)

The question here is: If you are a self-published author, how do you sell foreign rights?

One new option is www.PubMatch.com — partnered with Publishers Weekly. The site plans to introduce new features this fall. I will definitely be checking out this option.

Finally, a word about the success of the Booksicals/Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf booth at BEA to promote the launch of the MASTER DAVEY AND THE MAGIC TEA HOUSE project. (I attended BEA as the marketing consultant for Booksicals.)

All the members of the project team thought the exhibiting at BEA went well. Many, many people enjoyed sampling the Blue Tiger herbal blend created to accompany the children’s picture book.

And even if you did not attend BEA, you can take advantage of the free ebook download offers for BEA at www.booksicals.com/expo

© 2013 Miller Mosaic LLC

Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of fiction and nonfiction books/ebooks, including TOP TIPS FOR HOW TO PUBLISH AND MARKET YOUR BOOK IN THE AGE OF AMAZON and the romantic suspense spy story CIA FALL GUY.

Click here to visit her Amazon author page at www.amazon.com/author/phylliszimblermiller

She also has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is the co-founder of the online marketing company www.MillerMosaicLLC.com

3 Comments

  1. There is a big advantage when you keep your rights instead of selling them to a foreign publisher: you keep the control of your books too. You control the translation (a bad translation can destroy your sales and reputation), the cover design, the publicity, the social media and the publishing times, as well as the distribution. And you earn more money.
    The Spanish Digital Link (TSDL) can help you in all these matters —not only in the translation— because we are experts in the Spanish markets and could be the local middlemen you need

  2. Thanks, Arantxa, for adding this important information to my post. For example, until you mentioned it, I hadn’t thought about the risk of a bad translation.

    Very much appreciate your input.
    Phyllis

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