My publisher said I may have my rights reverted if I request it. What are some fun things to do with the rights once I have them back? I wouldn't want to try to have this book re-published without significant re-writes.
This is outside the scope of my expertise.
The ONLY thing I've ever done with reverted rights is sell them again, as is.
However, the readership here has a much wider pool of knowledge so let's ask them.
Readers?
5 comments:
I'll be interested in the input from others. It's been on my mind to ask my publisher for the rights to my first three books. I'd love to see them reworked, revised, perhaps offered as a set. But I have no idea if this would be a smart move or not.
I am curious as to other feedback. I have no idea. I would love to know if others have done this and revised and sold again? That would probably appeal to a lot of authors who wish to improve their early work.
I don't have personal experience with this. But I know someone whose series of non-fiction books went out of print. The author requested the rights be reverted, updated the books, and self-published them. They still sell and provide a nice source of income.
I think people who want to do this should figure out whether their topic is an evergreen* and can still appeal to today's readers. And tomorrow's. And next year's.
*"Evergreen" is an editor's term in a rejection of one of my novels. The editor thought it would always be appealing to kids...but still didn't want to take it on.
You don't specify the genre or even if they're fiction or non-fiction, which could well make a difference to the answer.
However, one option is always to republish yourself. Self (or indie) publishing is easier than ever and can be quite profitable. Any number of authors who have either regained their rights or, in the case of some earlier works, never included the digital rights in the original contract, have done this. Many names you might recognize.
Definitely something to look into.
My publisher closed doors due to Covid, so I got all my rights reverted just this year. I've been trying to decide what I want to do, so I feel you O.P.
The press didn't publish the entire series, so something I've considered is tweaking the first book, polishing the second, and finish writing the third and fourth, then self-publishing the series with new covers and added *bonus* material for the first book to build hype.
Adding in new material is always fun, especially if you have a fan base that enjoyed your books and would be willing to purchase again to get the special features. New updated covers with a more focused theme (if it's a series) also seems to be popular and well received. Best of luck!
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