Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: geeky
  • Music: The Devil's Carnival, "Grace for Sale."

Why can't I buy ebook X outside of the US? Revisiting the territory question.

Once 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!
Tags: common questions, living in the future, technology
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  • 62 comments

zornhau

May 10 2012, 17:58:14 UTC 5 years ago

Interesting post. Some questions if I may...

"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).)

seanan_mcguire

May 10 2012, 18:18:12 UTC 5 years ago

Say Bob and Sue both publish in France. Bob publishes English-language ebooks; Sue publishes French translations, both physical and electronic. Both Bob and Sue know that ebooks are the future, and that due to readers like yourself embracing the new digital world, that's where the long-term profit is.

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.

zornhau

5 years ago

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scorbet

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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archangelbeth

May 10 2012, 18:09:56 UTC 5 years ago

It is a shame that, for the english-customer territories, there's not a way for publishers to have limited-duration "halfsies" deals of some kind, for ebooks -- i.e., something that gives the author the advance/royalties needed to pay the bills, something that gives the original pixel-producer a cut, and something that gives the partner-publisher a cut without necessarily having to produce a dead-trees book immediately. (I know a small press which often produces PDFs first, and only produces dead-trees versions of those PDFs after the PDF has essentially paid for its print run.)

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.

seanan_mcguire

May 10 2012, 18:19:09 UTC 5 years ago

Maybe, maybe not; see my Bob and Sue parable above. I think it would begin the process of killing translations. And you have no idea how badly I want UK editions of my books. I don't want the US edition shoved into their market; I want a UK edition.

archangelbeth

5 years ago

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dewline

5 years ago

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spectralbovine

May 10 2012, 18:16:38 UTC 5 years ago Edited:  May 10 2012, 18:16:52 UTC

(In the UK, you can get Feed at Waterstones, and Toby at Forbidden Planet. Guess which has a higher random browser rate?)
Is it Forbidden Planet?

seanan_mcguire

May 10 2012, 18:20:01 UTC 5 years ago

I love you, doofus.

shadowkitty

May 10 2012, 19:03:35 UTC 5 years ago

That's odd, I definitely got a Toby book at Waterstones.

seanan_mcguire

May 10 2012, 19:10:39 UTC 5 years ago

Really? That's brilliant!

shadowkitty

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

May 10 2012, 19:51:14 UTC 5 years ago

...huh.

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almeda

5 years ago

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hippypaul

May 10 2012, 20:16:05 UTC 5 years ago

Very kind of you to take the time to explain it so clearly. I continue to await May 22 as well.

seanan_mcguire

May 10 2012, 21:16:24 UTC 5 years ago

Happy to help.

anna_en_route

May 10 2012, 20:17:22 UTC 5 years ago

*sigh* New Zealand's got the worst of both worlds no local publishers (we piggy-back off Australia) and books are naturally import expensive (I can buy a new audiobook off audible for the same price as a paperback that's been out for a year and hardbacks can top $50).

It's definitely not an ideal situation (it is somewhat helped by my awesome local library).

seanan_mcguire

May 10 2012, 21:16:39 UTC 5 years ago

It's the one reason I could never live in New Zealand. I would go mad.

anna_en_route

5 years ago

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thebluerose

5 years ago

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ladyphoenixia

5 years ago

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yellowblackhaze

5 years ago

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thiefofcamorr

5 years ago

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yellowblackhaze

5 years ago

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ladyphoenixia

5 years ago

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ironed_orchid

5 years ago

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dragonsally

5 years ago

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Cx Tiara Transience

5 years ago

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msss

5 years ago

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lauredhel

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

May 10 2012, 21:16:53 UTC 5 years ago

I have nothing to do with the delayed release; you'd need to ask Orbit.

idancewithlife

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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moth2fic

May 10 2012, 21:21:01 UTC 5 years ago

Thanks for the nice clear explanation which makes more sense than other attempts at explanation I have seen! I shall just have to keep on buying the print editions of your books and justify the build-up of paper by remembering it keeps your cats fed. *g*

seanan_mcguire

May 11 2012, 14:33:04 UTC 5 years ago

To make it less clear, I've edited the entry. :P Sorry, but thank you!

m_barnette

May 10 2012, 21:45:26 UTC 5 years ago Edited:  May 10 2012, 21:45:57 UTC

Something a lot of the small e-only publishers do is buy 'Worldwide English language' rights. Since most ebooks they pick up won't ever see translations--though a few of them are making their books available for Spanish speakers--it makes sense. I have readers all over the world with my English only ebooks. I still own the rights to have the works translated into other languages, btw, and with a number of my e-only publishers, I still hold the print rights.

seanan_mcguire

May 11 2012, 14:33:24 UTC 5 years ago

Good to know!

serge_lj

May 10 2012, 22:18:33 UTC 5 years ago

I've uploaded the VLC software on my laptop and it allows me to watch anything from any region. I connect my laptop to the TV and voila!

seanan_mcguire

May 11 2012, 14:34:01 UTC 5 years ago

Neat!

May 11, 2012 Links and Plugs

livejournal

May 10 2012, 23:42:31 UTC 5 years ago

User charlesatan referenced to your post from May 11, 2012 Links and Plugs saying: [...] an McGuire on Why can't I buy ebook X outside of the US? Revisiting the territory question [...]

mrs_norris_mous

May 11 2012, 05:17:25 UTC 5 years ago

"Once again, people have started asking "Why can't people outside the US buy the e-book edition of X?" "

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.

anna_en_route

May 11 2012, 05:24:46 UTC 5 years ago

Money actually changes hands in the case of lying (money that would never otherwise change hands if your local market is too small to ever be worth opening).

mrs_norris_mous

5 years ago

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anna_en_route

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

May 11 2012, 14:35:35 UTC 5 years ago

You have very good points. Thank you.

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seanan_mcguire

May 11 2012, 14:35:48 UTC 5 years ago

Awesome!

17catherines

May 11 2012, 09:21:55 UTC 5 years ago

On a completely unrelated note, I read Discount Armageddon today, and absolutely loved it! I can tell it's going to be one of my go-to reads when I'm feeling tired or down.

(I've loved all the October Daye books, too, but this was just pure fun and delight)

love

Catherine

seanan_mcguire

May 11 2012, 14:35:59 UTC 5 years ago

Yay!

Interesting posts about writing – w/e May 11th 2012

livejournal

May 11 2012, 15:26:40 UTC 5 years ago

User jongibbs referenced to your post from Interesting posts about writing – w/e May 11th 2012 saying: [...] amusing) posts about writing from the last week : Why can't I buy ebook X outside of the US? [...]

ladymurmur

May 11 2012, 17:34:17 UTC 5 years ago

FWIW - I have submitted a note to Orbit through their website politely inquiring about the paper/ebook release date discrepancy. If I get a response, I will share.

celclark

May 11 2012, 17:43:04 UTC 5 years ago

I also did that but no response yet

seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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celclark

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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