Writing and publishing books can be so much more than simply put a print and ebook out. As indie authors, you have rights to your intellectual property, and you can, to quote The Creative Penn, “exploit” them.
Orna Ross said on The Creative Penn that “indie authors can sell rights themselves. The book is just a starting point.”
Here are a few rights to consider selling (either on your own or via an agent):
- Short stories (serials, anthologies)
- Audio (for a breakdown on how to make audiobooks, sign up for my free Ebook Publishing Resources and Tips)
- Foreign language (see Joanna Penn’s “Book Rights And Licensing: An International Overview For Authors” for an excellent overview of international markets)
- Multimedia projects
- Film and TV rights (as advocated on ALLi)
For even more on rights authors have, as well as resources on how to sell them, see “It’s Not Just One Book. Your Rights And How To Exploit Them.” For details on what to look for in a publishing contract, read “The Nuts and Bolts of Publishing Contracts.”
Last, one way to help protect rights is to register for copyright. For $35, you can register online at copyright.gov. If you want to take it one step further, you can register your book with the Library of Congress. For details on how to do that, check out “Library of Congress, Cataloging Data, and Bowker, Oh My…”
Got any other tips on indie author rights? Please share in the comments!
