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seanan_mcguireOnce again, people have started asking "Why can't people outside the US buy the e-book edition of X?" (In this case, X = any given work that is unavailable in a specific region. Most often Blackout, since it's new, and "Countdown," since it currently lacks a physical edition, but almost everything has fallen into this category at one point or another.)
The answer is pretty simple.
Basically, when I sign a contract with a publisher, they acquire certain territorial rights. This is distinct from my copyrights, which are always mine and never sold. DAW owns the World rights for Toby and InCryptid. Orbit owns the World English rights for Newsflesh. DAW and Orbit may then sublicense these rights to other publishers in other regions (or territories), which is how you get things like Winterfluch and Feed: Viruszone (German editions of Rosemary and Rue and Feed, respectively).
The pieces I have sold to the Orbit Short Fiction Program ("Apocalypse Scenario #683" and "Countdown") were sold under a contract which, at present, covers only US territorial rights, which means that my publisher can't make those properties available outside the United States right now. They aren't allowed. And buying the rights for every possible market, in every possible region, is not always financially feasible with every work they publish.
It is also not always financially feasible for an author to sell all the rights to their work in every territory to the US publisher. Keeping World rights may mean a lower advance, but when I do retain those rights, I can ultimately earn more for them by selling them directly to foreign publishers. I want you to have and read my books in your preferred format, but I also want to pay my bills, and foreign rights sales enable me to do that reliably.
Orbit is working on making the short fiction pieces available outside the US; if you check the Short Fiction landing page, they note the problem exists, and that they're looking for a solution. Under my most recent contract with them, they now have the right to sell or license English language editions outside the US, which means that you'll hopefully be able to read it soon.
It's mildly annoying that it works this way, just like it sucks when I can't get the British or Australian TV shows I want on the right region format immediately. At the same time, this is how I keep the lights on, and how my publishers keep being able to do what they do.
ETA: This post has been pretty dramatically revised, following some clarification from smarter people than me. So if some of the comments seem to make no sense compared to the content of the entry, that's why. Sorry to confuse!
The answer is pretty simple.
Basically, when I sign a contract with a publisher, they acquire certain territorial rights. This is distinct from my copyrights, which are always mine and never sold. DAW owns the World rights for Toby and InCryptid. Orbit owns the World English rights for Newsflesh. DAW and Orbit may then sublicense these rights to other publishers in other regions (or territories), which is how you get things like Winterfluch and Feed: Viruszone (German editions of Rosemary and Rue and Feed, respectively).
The pieces I have sold to the Orbit Short Fiction Program ("Apocalypse Scenario #683" and "Countdown") were sold under a contract which, at present, covers only US territorial rights, which means that my publisher can't make those properties available outside the United States right now. They aren't allowed. And buying the rights for every possible market, in every possible region, is not always financially feasible with every work they publish.
It is also not always financially feasible for an author to sell all the rights to their work in every territory to the US publisher. Keeping World rights may mean a lower advance, but when I do retain those rights, I can ultimately earn more for them by selling them directly to foreign publishers. I want you to have and read my books in your preferred format, but I also want to pay my bills, and foreign rights sales enable me to do that reliably.
Orbit is working on making the short fiction pieces available outside the US; if you check the Short Fiction landing page, they note the problem exists, and that they're looking for a solution. Under my most recent contract with them, they now have the right to sell or license English language editions outside the US, which means that you'll hopefully be able to read it soon.
It's mildly annoying that it works this way, just like it sucks when I can't get the British or Australian TV shows I want on the right region format immediately. At the same time, this is how I keep the lights on, and how my publishers keep being able to do what they do.
ETA: This post has been pretty dramatically revised, following some clarification from smarter people than me. So if some of the comments seem to make no sense compared to the content of the entry, that's why. Sorry to confuse!
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no subject
Date: 2012-05-10 05:58 pm (UTC)"No more books translated into your local language"
Why would English ebooks affect translations?
If the foreign (English) rights market collapsed, wouldn't that make the global rights worth more? Or doesn't it work that way?
Do you see things as shifting as avid readers grow to prefer ebooks?
(Myself as an example, I really I don't ever need or want a printed novel. Not ever. There's no room in the house, and actually my kindle is more convenient. If I can't have the ebook, then I'll probably get a used copy via Amazon and the author and publisher get nothing. (If I was comfortable with it, many ebooks are available as illegal downloads, which is worse for you guys).)
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Date: 2012-05-10 06:18 pm (UTC)Bob is able to publish his English ebook in France immediately, because he needs no translation services. The percentage of the market that wants to read the book and can read English buys it. This is 40% of Sue's potential market. Now, with a maximum of 60% of her projected market available to her, why would Sue go to the trouble and expense of a translation?
Not all avid readers prefer ebooks, and honestly, that's a question for greater minds than mine. I'm just trying to keep the lights on and feed my cats while living in a very expensive country that doesn't provide me with guaranteed medical care.
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Date: 2012-05-10 06:09 pm (UTC)So it'd be a case of "sell UK Publisher X a year of partnered, shared royalties with US Publisher Y, with an option on the paper rights," say...
Be tricky. There'd be contract-tweedling from three sides (each publisher + author). Be nice for readers, though.
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Date: 2012-05-10 06:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2012-05-10 06:16 pm (UTC)Is it Forbidden Planet?
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Date: 2012-05-10 06:20 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2012-05-10 07:42 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2012-05-11 01:08 pm (UTC)Also from B&N.
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Date: 2012-05-10 08:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-10 09:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-10 08:17 pm (UTC)It's definitely not an ideal situation (it is somewhat helped by my awesome local library).
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Date: 2012-05-10 09:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2012-05-10 09:14 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2012-05-11 02:34 pm (UTC)May 11, 2012 Links and Plugs
Date: 2012-05-10 11:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-11 05:17 am (UTC)I think what people find annoying is that they can export a physical copy easily at a price but can't do the same for an ebook without lying and the difference between lying and downloading a book without paying for it is small.
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Date: 2012-05-11 05:24 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2012-05-11 06:08 am (UTC)Er, I apologise, but can I disagree with that? I don't think this is valid for the non-Anglophone part of the foreign market (ie not the UK/Aus/NZ/CAN...). There is no equivalence between an ebook being available in English and an ebook available in, say, French; because there is a translation that needs to be done from one language to the next. There is some overlap between the reading publics of both; but not as much as you might think, because those who can read in the original English will usually get the English book and not the French one. My ebooks were made available globally, and I sold foreign rights to France as well, and got translated there. I think it's a very different problem to the one you point out before, which is selling your book to an Anglophone country where no translation is needed (and having issues with imports, etc.)
In general, the territory rights is a very outdated model for the small but significant minority among us who read books in the original language (like, say, reading English books in France, or Spanish books in France). As said above, we're a minority, so there is simply no way a French publisher will ever acquire English rights for France, it's too expensive (they'd much rather pay to translate the book in French). This isn't ever rights money that you or I as authors are going to see.
But... as a reader, not being able to buy an English ebook is the equivalent of a slap on the fingers and being told you're doing something wrong, simply because you speak the wrong language within your country. I still find it utter madness that I can buy an imported physical book, but that there is no way to import ebooks?
I simply don't think the territory model is a valid one for niche markets outside the Anglophone world; and in general I think readers of English in foreign countries simply get forgotten out of that equation, which leaves a rather nasty taste in the mouth (talk about encouragement for learning a foreign language...).
(not faulting you for anything, btw! Just mildly annoyed that publishers in general don't recognise that there is a small but growing market of people who prefer their books not to come in translation. It's very... monolingual-centric, as usual)
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Date: 2012-05-11 02:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-11 07:48 am (UTC)And yes, I have it at present :D
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Date: 2012-05-11 02:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-11 09:21 am (UTC)(I've loved all the October Daye books, too, but this was just pure fun and delight)
love
Catherine
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Date: 2012-05-11 02:35 pm (UTC)Interesting posts about writing – w/e May 11th 2012
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