How to Make a Living With Your Writing: Publish globally
Many authors dream of seeing their book in a physical bookstore in their area. While that is one definition of success, there is a much bigger global market of readers out there who might want your book.
Is your book available in English?
English is the most international language, and it’s spoken — and read — in almost every country on earth.
For example, there are more English speakers in India, Pakistan, Nigeria, or the Philippines than there are in the UK, and many of these are educated, middle-class readers who might want your book. With mobile penetration increasing every year, and more readers on mobile apps, the opportunities for discovery and book sales continue to rise.
Back in 2012, I had only sold books in English in 6 countries, rising to 49 in 2015, and 162 by early 2021. Most independent authors make the bulk of their income from the US, UK, Australia and Canada, but the percentage of income from other countries is rising, and will continue to do so as other digital markets mature, accelerated by the pandemic.
How do you know if you have particular international rights to your work?
The traditional publishing industry is divided into territories, and most agents and publishers will have a primary area, for example, North America or UK Commonwealth, while they may also partner with agents and publishers for foreign rights licensing in other territories and languages. Your contract will specify licensing by territory, language, and format as well as length of time and other terms.
If you have a traditional publishing deal for some of those formats or territories, you might also be able to self-publish in other countries or in other formats or languages and make more from your intellectual property.
Independent authors who retain all their rights can publish in 190 countries for ebooks and a smaller number with other formats through the main platforms, most of which cover multiple languages. Some indie authors also work with agents and publishers for foreign rights licensing, as covered in section 1.1.
Did you sign a contract for your book or other written work with an agent or publisher? If yes, find your contract and check which formats and languages you licensed for which territories.
If you’re an independent author, have you signed any kind of exclusivity agreement, for example, KDP Select for ebooks or ACX, for exclusive terms? If you work with an author services company, you should also check your contract.
If you’re like me, and generally publish wide with every book and every format, then you’re good to go!
Are your books available in as many countries as possible on as many stores as possible in as many formats as possible?
We live in an increasingly digital market where a reader on the other side of the world could hear about your book through a podcast interview or a social media post or an online article. If a reader can hear about your book, then they should also be able to buy it or borrow it from the library or download it as part of their subscription service.
Readers are generally wonderful and they want to support authors and creators, but if your book is not available easily and legally in their country, then readers may resort to piracy, or they may just forget about you and read a book that is available.
If you publish wide, as covered in section 1.4 on self-publishing, your books can be available in 190 countries for ebooks, and many of those for print-on-demand and audiobooks, with more opportunities for distribution arriving all the time.
Make sure your pricing is appropriate. Check other books in your genre on the country stores and set local pricing in your self-publishing dashboard on the various services. Reedsy has a free course on pricing books for an international market if you’re unclear on how to do this.
Are your books available in libraries in ebook, audiobook, and print?
The pandemic accelerated the adoption of ebooks and audiobooks in libraries, and independent authors can offer great value through the cost-per-checkout model. Your books are free to the reader and you still get paid. It’s a win-win! Some countries, like the UK and Canada, also have licensing and collection services which provide extra revenue, covered further in section 2.11.
Libraries use various services by territory, for example, Overdrive reaches readers across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
You can reach libraries with your ebooks through Draft2Digital, Smashwords, and PublishDrive, and also Overdrive specifically through Kobo Writing Life. You can reach libraries with your audiobooks through Findaway Voices, and if your print books are available through Ingram Spark, they will be available in library catalogs.
For more on libraries, check out An Author’s Guide to Working with Libraries and Bookstores by Mark Leslie Lefebvre.
License to publishers in foreign languages and/or other territories
If you’re traditionally published and have licensed foreign rights, your agent or publisher will manage that side of things.
Independent authors can also license foreign rights and many successful indies are approached by publishing companies looking to license books, while others work with agents to specifically license foreign rights.
For example, children’s author, Karen Inglis, licensed her book, The Secret Lake, to publishers in Russia, Turkey, Albania, the Czech Republic, China, Iran, and Ukraine. All approached her after the book’s success on Amazon in English, which she drove with Amazon Ads. She has also self-published the book in German.
The Alliance of Independent Authors recommends guiding principles for rights licensing including: Understand the contract, capitalize on as many rights as possible, limit the term, territory and formats, do your research, and strategize your sales efforts.
Self-publishing in translation
You can self-publish in translation and if you’re bilingual, this can be a great way to expand your income streams, especially as new language markets emerge.
As Ricardo Fayet from Reedsy noted on Written Word Media in January 2021, “One thing the pandemic has greatly developed is the eBook market in European countries that were previously viewed as extremely traditional in their book-buying habits. Whatever the evolution of the pandemic, I can only see this trend further developing. I’d recommend going for the German market first, but I feel the French, Italian and Spanish ones will be catching up quickly.”
Artificial Intelligence tools like Deepl.com can help with generating the first draft, especially for non-fiction books, but you will still need to work with an editor and proofreader to ensure your book is a quality product. I have three non-fiction books in German created through this method, with more on the way. I use Amazon auto-ads for marketing, and the books remain profitable. You can find more details at TheCreativePenn.com/AIGerman.
Award-winning paranormal romance author Nadine Mutas says, “Translation sales make up more than half of my income. I don’t license my foreign rights, but I publish translations myself. I hire translators (German, Italian, and French) and then manage the publication direct on the retailers as I do my English books.”
This is definitely an advanced option for authors who have the time and budget to spend on quality translation and marketing. You can find translators through the Reedsy Marketplace and also through professional translation associations such as the International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters, or the Institute of Translation and Interpreting.
How do you market your books globally?
Almost all online content marketing is international. If you write an article online, or do a podcast interview, or use social media, people all over the world can find your words. For example, my Creative Penn Podcast has been downloaded in 223 countries.
You can also use country-specific paid advertising. Amazon has advertising options for eight countries at the time of writing, accessible from the KDP Dashboard. Kobo Writing Life has regular promotions by territory and BookBub offers international pay-per-click advertising. Facebook Ads can be targeted by country as well as interests, reading devices, and stores, and there are many other options emerging as digital markets expand.
Questions:
• Are your books available globally in English in ebook, paperback, and audiobook (if appropriate)?
• How can you expand your distribution to more global markets?
• Are you interested in foreign rights licensing? Would self-publishing in translation work for your author business?
• What are your next steps to take this further?
• How could you market your books to a global audience?
Resources:
• Selective Rights Licensing: Sell your Book Rights at Home and Abroad — Orna Ross and Helen Sedwick
• An Author’s Guide to Working with Libraries and Bookstores — Mark Leslie Lefebvre
• Wide for the Win: Strategies to Sell Globally via Multiple Platforms and Forge Your Own Path to Success — Mark Leslie Lefebvre
• Self-publishing in Translation: Adventures with AI and German — TheCreativePenn.com/AIGerman
• Interview with Karen Inglis on her success with children’s books — SelfPublishingFormula.com/episode-239
• Ultimate Guide to Rights Licensing from the Alliance of Independent Authors — SelfPublishingAdvice.org/rights-licensing-for-indie-authors
• International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters — www.iapti.org
• Institute of Translation and Interpreting — www.iti.org.uk
• Reedsy Marketplace for translators — www.TheCreativePenn.com/reedsy
• Reedsy free course on international pricing — www.TheCreativePenn.com/internationalpricing
