Is Your Book a Good Fit for DropCap Marketplace? 4 Essential Questions to Ask Before Signing Up
Every author dreams of seeing their work translated into different languages around the world, but the truth is that there are a lot of factors at play that authors need to know before they jump into the world of selling foreign rights for their books.
We strongly suggest considering these four questions to help you determine if your book is a good fit if you are considering listing your title as part of our exclusive marketplace.
1) Will it travel?
There is a saying in the publishing world when it comes to determining whether or not a book is a good fit for the global market: Will it travel?
In other words, are the messages and themes universal?
Are there geographical or cultural factors that might not be relevant to an international book buyer?
Allison Olson, DropCap Rights Agent
“Themes around how to run a business, having a winning mindset, and teaching empathy, kindness, and compassion are often universally relevant. Anything specific to a certain region of the world (say, a cookbook focused on flavors of the Midwest), would be less desirable to a foreign rights buyer.”
An End to Arguing: 101 Valuable Lessons for All Relationships, by Linda and Charlie Bloom, is a great example of a book with universal appeal. It has been licensed in Chinese with the help of DropCap.
2) Are my cover and book blurb the most polished they can be?
Everyone knows the old adage about never judging a book by its cover, but we’re here to tell you that our rights buyers—just like all of your potential readers—are judging your work first and foremost by its first impression.
Monica Meehan, DropCap Rights Agent
“International literary agents and editors are looking for a book that grabs their attention immediately. A professionally designed cover and solid book blurb are some of the most important ways an author can help get their books noticed and considered for a translation rights contract.”
The stunning illustrations for Mommy Ever After, by Rebecca Fox Starr, surely helped it attract attention in the overseas market. DropCap has helped license this title in Romanian and Portuguese.
3) Does my author platform showcase my book’s successes as well as my authority as a subject matter expert?
Foreign rights buyers interested in your work are going to go straight to Google to learn more about you and your book.
This means that it is crucial that your website, Amazon Author Central profile, and social media accounts (if applicable) are an accurate and professional representation of who you are.
I Can Say No, by Jenny Simmons, is published by the National Center for Youth Issues. The author travels extensively performing and teaching students and adults how to cultivate a life of hope, resiliency and creativity. DropCap has helped this title secure four translation rights contracts, including Japanese and Arabic.
4) Have I achieved domestic success?
One of the best ways for our foreign rights buyers to know if a book is going to be successful in their geography is to see that the book has achieved domestic success first.
This means that all of the work you are doing to boost sales for your book is going to be an important factor in how it does in DropCap’s exclusive foreign rights marketplace.
International book buyers are often cross referencing titles they see in our marketplace to Amazon. Instant Karma: The Day It Happened, by David Michie, is a #1 Bestseller in Metaphysical Fiction and has secured 14 translation rights contracts with the help of the team at DropCap.
Your DropCap Marketplace listing includes access to our amazing resource library where you can learn more about how translation rights work, what to expect, and our tricks and tools from our proprietary software to help you create a marketing plan that will get your book noticed at home and overseas.
Are you ready to elevate YOUR book to the global stage? Signup for DropCap Marketplace now →
Keep Reading:
