Are you missing opportunities to sell foreign rights to your books because you think people in other cultures are different than North Americans?

I thought my book Being the Strong Man a Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom on Being a Man, was for North American men who need to show more leadership in their relationships with womenundefineda trait that I believe many women want in men today.     

I thought men in other countries were different, and thus believed my book wouldn’t have an audience abroad. But after selling translation rights to publishers Japan, Korea, Mexico, Brazil, Poland, Russia, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Serbia, and Nigeria, I realized that while cultures may be different, human nature is similar.     

Here’s how you, too, can sell foreign rights.

1. Prepare an e-mail that sells the book.

Include in the message:

•  successes to date, including sales figures and other rights sales;

•  a short summary of the book and the table of contents;

•  reviews and endorsements of the book;

•  links to the book’s Web site, its page on Amazon.com, and radio and TV coverage;

•  an offer to send a copy of the book and a request for the agent’s mailing address

2. Research foreign rights agents.

Good literary agents know the publishers in their markets.

 •  Consult the list of foreign rights agents in International Literary Market Place, available in the reference section of many libraries.

•  Google “foreign rights agents” and “foreign rights.” Results will include publishers’ Web pages with names and contact information for their foreign rights agents.

•  To find agents who specialize in a certain genre, such as children’s books, go to Web sites of publishers of that genre and look at their list of foreign rights agents.

3. Send agents the e-mail about your book.

When you receive a positive response, send the book with hard copies of reviews and anything else agents can use to sell the book. Most foreign rights agents charge 10 percent commission on the advance and royalties.

4. Support your agents’ efforts.

Send updates on other rights sales, reviews, and other media coverage for the agent to send to publishers.

5. When you get an offer.

Negotiate the contract. Foreign rights contracts usually grant the publisher only the right to publish the book in its language. All other rights, such as serial rights, are usually retained. Ask your agent about withholding tax that is paid to that country’s government. It’s usually 10 to 15 percent. It’s also important to protect yourself by having an attorney review your contract before you sign.

Elliott Katz is the author of Being the Strong Man A Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom on Being a Man. If you have questions, you can contact him at ElliottRKatz@aol.com and via www.AwardPress.com.