How these rights are assigned depends on the publishingagreement. Authors typically grant to their publisher: hardcoverrights, paperback rights and translation rights. They may retainelectronic reprint rights and book club rights, but this is notalways the case. Again, it depends on both the publisher andauthor’s intended distribution of the work. There may or may notbe third-party licensing options available.

What to Look For

As an information marketer, you want to find a work availablefor third-party licensing. Specifically, you should look forsubsidiary electronic reprint rights. Start with small,specialized publishers first. You’ll face less bureaucracy andyou’re also much more likely to acquire contact with theoriginal author for direct negotiation.

It should be noted that some publishers require continuallicensing fees from third-party sales. When you acquireelectronic reprints rights, you do not necessarily get a “oneoff” license to reprint the same way you do in the internetmarketing world. Many publishers classify one time fee rightsacquisition as “Direct Marketing Rights”. Yet, those rightsextend only to tangible books. You’ll need to negotiate aspecial case if you want to avoid perpetual licensing fees,assuming the publisher holds the subsidiary rights. However, ifthe author retains those rights, you may be able to work out ajoint venture.

Who to Talk To

Typically, your first contact will be with the publisher. Visitthe publisher’s website and look for the contact information forthe “Subsidiary Rights Department” (This is the commondepartment name. In some cases, you may need to search forvariations like “Rights and Acquisition” or “Acquisition andLicensing”).

In other cases, authors may negotiate rights through theiragents or their publisher may outsource licensing issues tothird-party agencies. Again, the publisher should be able todirect you in either case.

Resources to Get You Started

Subsidiary licensing does involve more negotiation and morelegal responsibility than an average resale rights venture.Ultimately, you may need to hire an attorney to assist incontract negotiations on third party rights. Meanwhile,familiarize yourself with these resources for comprehensiveinformation on rights acquisition as it pertains to thepublishing industry:

PubLaw – a legal perspective

Writer’s Services – an author’s perspective

Communication Creativity – a marketer’s perspective (educationalvideo tape)

About the author:John Calder is the owner/editor of The Ezine Dot Net. SubscribeToday and get real information YOU can use to help build youronline business today! http://www.TheEzine.Net RSS feeds areavailable.

(You may reprint this article in full in your newsletter and/orweb site)