Friday, November 5, 2010

Howzat? A Hat-trick! by Sue Moorcroft

I’ve been so focused on the publication of Want to Know a Secret? (Choc Lit, 1 November 2010, £7.99) that a happy truth has only just dawned on me.

In fact, I have THREE books being published on one day!

This is because the hardback large print version of Starting Over and the softback large print book of what was originally a serial for The People’s Friend, One Summer in Malta (both Magna), also have a publication date of 1 November 2010, too. So, I have a hat-trick.

The synchronicity is completely out of my hands, of course. Choc Lit had decided on the publication date of Want to Know a Secret? ages ago. Equally, they placed my large print rights with Magna ages ago. And I sold the large print rights to One Summer in Malta ages ago. But it has given me a day to be proud of.

For anybody who doesn’t know about subsidiary rights, in publishing, this is a good time to explain that books can come out in many forms: hardback, paperback, trade paperback, audio, large print, all the various ebook formats etc. And that’s before you get to the foreign rights: the US version, the Australian, the South African, and then different languages, too.

Subsidiary rights can really earn you money, because you don’t normally have to do much more work to get a whole new fee. Subsidiary rights can make the difference between an author being able to make a living, or not. So let’s hear it for subsidiary rights sales! Yeahhhh!

And that’s why writers get excited when their publisher or agent goes to a book fair. Because rights get sold.

5 comments:

Jan Jones said...

Happy hat-trick, Sue!

And yes, three cheers for subsidiary rights, God bless them.

Unknown said...

That is amazing: scoring a hat-trick! I guess they give you the book to keep, to celebrate

Sue Moorcroft said...

I have copies of Want to Know a Secret? but am still waiting for the LPs of Starting Over and One Summer in Malta. :-)

Teresa F Morgan said...

Goal!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry! Couldn't resist. So are you up there with the likes of Lineker, Beckham and Rooney?

Gosh, you get me so excited just reading about you :D Well done on your hat trick!

Karen said...

How exciting! I love the cover of your new one :o)