Score! When a Publisher Gives Up, It's Time for You to Get Going

Score! Get those rights back! New Paths to Explore
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Guest Blog by Randy Platt

Just because a publisher 'gives up' on a book, does not mean we have to give up. Get a reversion of rights letter from your publisher. This usually includes the original copyright certificate.

The minute your book goes out of print and you get those rights back, start again!
I just sold audio rights to three of my YA novels, considered by the publishers to be dead ducks. Score! Two out of three of those 'dead ducks' have been optioned for feature film. Think of the possibilities IF/WHEN those films get made! I will also look into e-books for Kindle or other handheld reading devices. Foreign rights are a bit more difficult to figure out, but as long as there is print on that page, there is life in that book! And don't forget large print and the Authors Guild's Back In Print program. Score!

Try to get as many copies of your books as you can before your book goes out of print.

How? When doing a book signing, make sure the bookstore orders A LOT of books - far more than you think you can sell, with the understanding that you will buy the unsold copies at their discount, usually forty percent. Why? The books show up as 'sales' on your royalty statement (and you get your royalty percentage), the bookstore does not have to send them back (less work for them and less wear and tear on the books) and you start to build an inventory of books which, after the book goes out of print, you can sell or use as copies to score other deals. And, if you are offered remaindered copies, grab them up! I check my older titles on 'used' book sites every now and then and buy what are obviously remaindered and therefore 'new' copies. Some are still in their shrink wrapped bundles. Score!

Remember, with the release of every subsequent novel, you can breathe life into your older titles and continue to score!
-------From Gues blogger Randall Platt. Her books Honor Bright, The Likes of Me and The Cornerstone will soon be available in audio from Books In Motion. Coming this November are Hellie Jondoe from Texas Tech University Press. So just who is this Hellie Jondoe? A tough street Arab, a seasoned pickpocket and a small girl in big trouble. There’s a time to cut and run and there’s a time to stay and fight - knowing which takes savvy and guts. It also takes heart - all found deep down inside Hellie Jondoe. So you’ve been warned about that Hellie Jondoe - she’s a girl who can pick your pocket, lift your watch and just possibly steal your heart.
Randall Platt writes fiction for adults and young adults and people who don't own up to being either.

-----
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books for writers, The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. Her FRUGAL book for retailers is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. She is also the author of the Amazon Short, "The Great First Impression Book Proposal". Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog.