Tech this out...

We only have to look at the recent demise of Comet, HMV and Blockbusters to realise that the high street has nowhere near the power of times gone by thanks to a heady mix of archaic business-models and the speed of technological advances.

But things change and we have to evolve. Markets open up and markets close but technology continues to rumble on regardless, helping or hindering (or a bit of both) all that it comes into contact with. Thanks to technology every industry has changed and is changing. Publishing is no different. You only have to look at how many people have eReaders, how many eBooks are being bought and downloaded on a daily basis to realise how prominent digital revenues have become for publishers and authors. The pace at which this is happening is staggering really taking into account the sales of eBooks only a few years ago. And especially when you consider that most authors’ contracts didn’t even include an eBook clause as little as five to 10 years ago.

It’s a fact that technology has changed the way publishers and authors reach their market but the question remains - how many are still battling it rather than fully embracing it? The answer is probably far too many. And another prudent question to ask is does the industry fully appreciate or understand its capabilities? Conversely the answer is now probably not enough, and this is particularly apparent when it comes to the thorny topic of rights and royalties.

Having said that, recent reports have suggested that author of bestselling memoir Touching the Void, mountaineer Joe Simpson, has dumped his 'bullying' publisher and set up his own digital publisher after refusing to reach an agreement with Random House over eBook royalties.

Average royalties on physical books are said to range between 10 and 15%, with publishers offering up to 25% for eBooks. The issue has long been an inflammatory one for authors, who believe that as distribution and warehousing costs are lower for eBooks, they should receive up to 50% of royalties.This is a debate that will inevitably continue for some time.

Now, there’s no pointing of fingers at either party in the who is right and wrong stakes in the aforementioned story, although it is good to see this issue being brought into the public domain and for authors to be made aware of such agreements. And it serves to reiterate just how clear authors have to be in their contract with publishers, not to mention how important it is to know how they stand in regards to their rights across the board.

In retrospect, maybe we have been too harsh on attitudes to technology within this article. So, let’s clarify that many within the industry as well as the author community are recognising its value when it comes to engaging with their readership and the sales process, especially in the marketing of books whether eBooks or printed. But - again there always seems to be that dreaded but - it’s also prudent to raise the point that despite these positives, is technology being used to successfully explore new markets and new territories? Erm, we believe the answer to currently be no, at least not to its full potential.

The reality is that there are huge opportunities for authors to both increase readerships and make money from potential advances and on-going royalties in foreign territories. Historically, rights business has been conducted through personal and business relationships but technology has again come to the rescue to help break down some of these boundaries for rights holders. Of course an integral component in this has been the launch of IPR License which is the first global and digital platform for trading international book rights. We like to think of ourselves as eBay meets LinkedIn. A publisher can list their rights to maximise their range of titles and authors can showcase their work to potential publishers whilst also managing the process of selling translation and subsidiary rights themselves.

Technology is certainly helping to simplify the rights process to help make the different markets of the world more accessible and with publishers and authors signing up to the platform on a daily we have great expectations for 2013 and through utilising technology correctly so should you.

If you would like to know more about our offerings then please visit www.iprlicense.com or drop us a line here.

-- Scott Philipson