Selling Rights Short Course
The short course will be delivered live by the tutors and reading material will be circulated to attendees in advance of the course. As well as presentations and discussions this course will involve two group exercises. Delegates are expected to participate throughout the course and should therefore ensure that their microphone (and ideally video) are working.
The sale of rights is crucial to the activities of literary agencies and publishing houses, and can be a major factor in building an author’s career and maintaining author loyalty. For publishers, the sale of rights can also have a major influence on the overall publishing decision and on their profitability.
Here at the IES we are pleased to announce that we will be hosting this short course aimed at staff handling rights for literary agencies and publishing houses. It will cover the rationale for selling rights as well as the practicalities – checking control of the rights and maintaining an accurate database of submissions and sales, as well as key activities such as researching particular markets, identifying potential licensees and building personal contacts at book fairs and on sales trips.
The course will address a range of different rights categories, from English language deals in the UK and abroad, translation rights, serial rights to newspapers and magazines as well as non-print rights such as radio and audio rights, film and television rights and merchandising. It will cover the rationale for coedition versus licence deals, and offer practical advice on how to achieve the best deal and finalise appropriate licence contracts. The final session will cover electronic publishing and will aim to distinguish between arrangements which are sales channels to market, and those which are true electronic licensing deals.
Your tutors Juliet Pickering (Blake Friedmann), Lynette Owen (Freelance Copyright and Rights Consultant) and Diane Spivey (Publishing Rights and Contracts Consultant) have a wide range of experience in different sectors of the book industry.
Course Information
Course Fees
£325
Course Structure
Thursday 7 November | 2-5.30pm
Friday 8 November | 2-5.30pm
Monday 11 November | 2-5.30pm
Tuesday 12 November | 2-5.30pm
Location
The November course will be held online via zoom.
Course Enquiries
If you have any enquiries relating to this short course, please contact the IES Events Office: iesevents@sas.ac.uk
Course Tutors
Feedback
Feedback from previous attendees
"I would definitely recommend the course to others especially to those early in a career in rights."
- Delegate/ILA
"Very high quality of speakers. I really liked the different point of view in all the sections."
Foreign Rights Assistant/Octopus Books
"The speakers were very engaging and well informed."
Rights Assistant/PanMacmillan
"It has been interesting to get more info about the academic publishing company point of view."
Rights Assistant/ Taylor & Francis
"The format was ideal – having 3 people with different perspectives gave a broad picture of the Rights Selling world."
Delegate/Klopotek
"Very interesting to hear about some day-to-day things in rights from the agent’s point of view."
Rights Assistant/Little, Brown
"It is very comprehensive. Great to hear from very experienced professionals. I liked the relaxed, although always professional tone."
Delegate/Conville & Walsh
"Very informative and helpful."
Rights Assistant/Ebury Publishing
"The speakers had a range of experience, which was very helpful and provided a balanced approach."
Delegate/Society of Authors
"It's great to look at topics that you haven't ever covered, and gain a better understanding of rights generally."
Delegate/Macmillan
"It was good to cover contracts and do the homework exercise - made you think 'outside the box'."
Delegate/O’Reilly Media
"The speakers were fantastic!"
Delegate/Hurst publishing
"So good to hear not just information but the stories and experiences of 3 industry professionals from different backgrounds and viewpoints."
Delegate/Society of Authors
"Very good speakers; good range of perspectives; good handouts; interesting content; thorough."
Delegate/Egmont Publishing
"Very good and approachable speakers provided good advice on publishing careers generally."
Delegate/Trade Publisher
"The first session was most useful because it is unusual to get an overview of rights when you are thrown straight in."
Delegate/Literary Agency