2. 1 | P a g e Jacquest, Rights Report
Contents
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... 2
Guadalajara International Book Fair........................................................................................... 3
Spanish-Language Market.......................................................................................................... 4
United States Spanish Publishers......................................................................................... 4
Latin American Publishers ................................................................................................... 5
Melville House List..................................................................................................................... 6
Fiction & Literature ............................................................................................................. 6
The Last Interview Series..................................................................................................... 6
Non-Fiction ......................................................................................................................... 6
Potential meetings..................................................................................................................... 8
Business Deals........................................................................................................................... 9
North American Spanish-language....................................................................................... 9
Latin America ...................................................................................................................... 9
Budget & Schedule .................................................................................................................. 11
Conclusion............................................................................................................................... 13
Appendix 1 | Bibliography ....................................................................................................... 14
Appendix 2 | Publishers to contact .......................................................................................... 15
Appendix 3 | Budget................................................................................................................ 17
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Executive Summary
As a prominent independent book publisher in the United States of America, we at Melville
House have been looking for new opportunities to expand our business and get our books read by a
wider audience. We have already expanded to the United Kingdom, where we have opened a UK
branch of our publishing house to better serve our exceptional British writers, but it’s time that we
reach out to another important market: Spanish-language readers.
I am proposing to attend the Guadalajara International Book Fair in order to sell translation
rights by territory to Spanish-language publishers in the US and Latin America. As will become
obvious later in this report, the Spanish-speaking market is stronger than it has ever been: the
economy is almost completely out of the Great Recession, the number of Hispanics and Latinos living
in the US is growing, and people living in Latin America have better access to education and
technology then they ever have before. It is time we follow in the footsteps of some of the biggest
publishers in the world and emerge into this expanding market.
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Guadalajara International Book Fair
As the largest gathering of Spanish-language publishing in the world, the Guadalajara
International Book Fair (Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara, or FIL) is the place to go to sell
Spanish-language translation rights (About Us, 2016). In 2015, almost 2,000 publishing houses from
44 countries attended FIL to do business and experience the cultural festival that lasts multiple days
(Exhibitors Catalog 2015).
In its 29th
year, FIL will feature more than just business opportunities for companies all over
the world from 29 November to 4 December, but will also host professional speakers, book
presentations, poetry readings, and award presentations. The fair is also open to the public every
day during a designated time, at which point publishers are able to sell products. The Guadalajara
International Book Fair is beneficial for both present and future business transactions.
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Spanish-Language Market
Both in the United States and Latin America, the Spanish-language book market has grown in
recent years, and professionals are predicting further growth both in print and digital sales. There
are two main groups I will target at FIL: U.S. Spanish publishers, and publishers in Latin America with
Mexico being priority.
United States Spanish Publishers
In just four generations, the United States of America will have the largest Spanish-speaking
population in the world (Kan, 2015). Although the Spanish book market has not been as successful as
professionals predicted over the last 10 years, largely due to the economic recession, Hispanic and
Latino citizens in the U.S. have begun spending more freely on items that were previously
considered luxuries, such as consumer books, tablets and e-readers; in fact, studies show that the
Hispanic population in the U.S. are buying e-readers faster than the national population as a whole.
“In 2011, around 1 in 20 Hispanics owned one; in 2012 the number had skyrocketed to 1 in 5”
(Abrams, 2014).
Some of the major publishing houses have already taken note of the potential in the
Spanish-language market. Three of the Big Five publishing companies, HarperCollins, Penguin
Random House and Simon & Schuster, publish the majority of Spanish titles in the U.S. (Risenberg,
2015), and HarperCollins launched two new Spanish imprints in 2015: HarperCollins Español for the
US market and HarperCollins Iberica for Spain and Portugal (Deahl, 2015).
There are 50 million US citizens of Hispanic or Latino descendant, 40 million of which speak
Spanish at home (Anon., 2015), that is at least 40 million potential readers for a Spanish-language
book; furthermore, evidence shows that more families are teaching their children to maintain their
Spanish-speak and reading skills while also learning English (Ahuile, 2015).
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Latin American Publishers
Although Brazil is normally the top market for book publishing in Latin America, recent
economic changes have caused publishers to be overly cautious when buying rights for that territory
(Loman, 2015). Because of this, I plan to focus my efforts on selling territorial rights in Mexico, but
will still take meetings for Brazil and other territories to see what publishers are willing to buy.
Latin America has been one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, and Mexico
specifically has been pointed to as one of the best markets to keep track of for the future. Currently,
61% of people aged 12 to 17 are excited about reading, and with a population pyramid – meaning
50% of Mexico’s population is under the age of 25 – and more of Mexico’s young people receiving
better educations, it is clear that this market will stay strong as the population gets older (Page,
2014). A look at Mexico’s bestseller charts shows that there is a particular interest in US and UK
authors such as E. L. James, Veronica Routh and John Green (Page, 2014).
It is obvious that people want books now more than ever in Latin America: the number of
titles being registered for ISBNs went from about 60,000 in the year 2000 to over 194,000 in 2013;
“this means that 539 titles are registered every day” (Anon., 2015).
In terms of the digital book market, Latin America is again an area to pay attention to.
Bookwire, a German ebook distributor, predicts that by 2020, digital book sales will account for 10%-
15% of the entire book market in Latin America (Anon., 2015). Currently digital books only account
for 1% of book sales in Latin America. It’s not just consumers that want digital content, 60% of
purchases bought by libraries and universities will be digital in two to three years (Celaya, 2015).
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Melville House List
Melville House has published substantial literature, thought-provoking commentaries on
society, and humour books great as gifts. A look at reviews of our books shows that our work has
been extremely well received by both critics and readers alike. Our target market, for the most part,
are young readers ranging in age from 18 to early thirties. With the Spanish-speaking market largely
being around the same age, I will be highlighting the following titles at the Guadalajara International
Book Fair, all of which appeal to millennials:
Fiction & Literature
The Mirror Thief, Martin Seay
o Publication: May 2016
o Rights available: world
The Monster’s Daughter, Michelle Pretorious
o Publication: July 2016
o Rights available: world
The Insides, Jeremy Bushnell
o Publication: June 2016
o Rights available: world
Golden Delicious, Christopher Boucher
o Published: April 2016
o Rights available: world
Not on Fire, But Burning, Greg Hrbek
o Published: September 2015
o Rights available: world minus France
Sophia, Michael Bible
o Published: December 2015
o Rights available: world
Fixers, Michael M. Thomas
o Published: February 2016
o Rights available: world
The Last Interview Series
David Bowie
o Publication: November 2016
o Rights available: world
Ernest Hemingway
o Published: December 2015
o Rights available: world
Non-Fiction
The Geography of Madness, Frank Bures
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o Published: April 2016
o Rights available: world
We, Robots, Curtis White
o Published: November 2015
o Rights available: world
Details of the above books and more can be found in our rights guide,
http://pdfs.mhpbooks.com/guide/LondonRightsGuide.pdf, the layout and information of which will
be updated specifically for FIL.
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Potential meetings
I will attempt to contact the following publishing companies to conduct business meetings
for the possible sale of Melville Books’ various product rights:
Simon & Schuster
Scholastic Books
Penguin Random House
HarperCollins
Macmillan
Random House
Penguin Group Usa
Prh Grupo Editorial
Penguin Group Usa
Acantilado
Acapulco, Ediciones
Oceano
Casa Editorial Abismos
Oceano
Salamandra
Blackie Books
All of the above companies publish adult fiction, and some would also be interested in our
non-fiction trade titles. Further details of the companies can be found in Appendix 2.
Many of the larger companies, such as Penguin Random House and HaperCollins, will
distribute to multiple territories in the U.S. and Latin America. The companies in blue will strictly
publish in Mexico. As can be seen from the table in Appendix 2, more research needs to be done to
find the proper contacts for these companies. Every effort has been made to find as much
information on the companies as possible before this report was presented.
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Business Deals
North American Spanish-language publishers and Latin American publishers have different
markets in terms of popular readers and disposable income, so they need different approaches to
selling in those territories. In addition, this is a new venture for Melville House, so I have decided to
be somewhat cautious in my print runs. I will start negotiations with publishers in the different
territories with the following proposals:
North American Spanish-language
Fiction & Literature
5,000 copies on first print run, 10,000 copies on second print run if first is successful
Royalty of 7% on first print run, 9% on second print run
Advance on royalties of 50% on first print run, 70% on second print run
Royalty of 25% on net receipts for ebooks*
Contract valid for 5 years
Non-Fiction and Last Interview Series
3,000 copies on first print run, 8,000 copies on second print run if first is successful
Royalty of 7% on first print run, 9% on second print run
Advance on royalties of 50% on first print run, 70% on second print run
Royalty of 25% on net receipts for ebooks*
Contract valid for 5 years
Example
The Mirror Thief - $29.95
o 5,000 copies at $29.95 = $149,750
o 7% royalties of $149,750 = $10,482.50
o 50% advance on royalties of $10,482.50 = $5,241.25
o Immediate profit = $5,241.25
o Profit on first print run = $10,482.50
Latin America
Fiction & Literature
3,000 copies on first print run, 8,000 copies on second print run if first is successful
Royalty of 7% on first print run, 9% on second print run
Advance on royalties of 50% on first print run, 70% on second print run
Royalty of 25% on net receipts for ebooks*
Contract valid for 3 years
Non-Fiction and Last Interview Series
3,000 copies on first print run, 8,000 copies on second print run if first is successful
Royalty of 7% on first print run, 9% on second print run
Advance on royalties of 50% on first print run, 70% on second print run
Royalty of 25% on net receipts for ebooks*
Contract valid for 3 years
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*Ebook sales to be determined after meeting with and researching the company to make
sure they can handle ebook distribution (Owen, 2014).
Example
The Mirror Thief - $29.95
o 3,000 copies at $29.95 = $89,850
o 7% royalties of $89,850 = $6,289.50
o 50% advance on royalties of $6,289.50 = $3,144.75
o Immediate profit = $3,144.75
o Profit on first print run = $6,289.50
My goal is to make deals for as many individual territories as possible, rather than one
publisher having control of a vast amount of geography. If we are able to make deals on half of the
11 books we are highlighting at FIL, we can stand to make an immediate profit of over $10,000.
I will be cautious when dealing with ebook sales, as some companies do not have the
resources to develop and distribute digital products. Furthermore, it is important to see what their
ebook system is if there is one established, as they may have questionable agreements with third-
party distributors such as Apple iBooks or Google Books (Owen, 2014).
For publishers in Latin America, it may end up being better to ask for a lump sum rather than
advance on royalties, as most countries in Latin America do not have good systems for tracking book
sales and the countries almost all have fixed book prices (Owen, 2014), but this is something I will
bring up in negotiations, as I would like to attempt to make deals with the above offer for maximum
profit.
I lowered the number of fiction print runs in Latin America but kept the number of non-
fiction titles the same, as evidence shows that people in Latin America enjoy reading self-help and
other non-fiction trade titles.
Because the Latin American market is still developing, I made the contract length shorter as
a precaution, in order to give us the chance to reevaluate the market as soon as possible if the
various territories do not develop as well as we hope.
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Budget & Schedule
The following is an estimate of how much each item will cost, which will add up to the total
investment needed to attend the 2016 Guadalajara International Book Fair from 25 November to 4
December (including arriving a day early to set up).
Hotel: $2,160
Flights: $12,000-14,000
Shipping: $1,500
FIL stand, equipped: $5,256
Food: $2,700
Unexpected expenses: $500
Total: $11,736
Details of how these costing estimates were calculated can be found in Appendix 3.
In order to attend the Guadalajara International Book Fair, we need to register by 15 August
in order to obtain the lowest possible rate on stands. We should also begin contacting publishing
companies which we hope to get appointments with by early September, a minimum of 12 weeks
before the fair (Owen, 2014).
We will arrive in Guadalajara on 25 November, a day before the fair opens, in order to
finalize the setup of our stand, per the orders of the organizing committee’s regulations. We will stay
the entire length of the fair so as to avoid any penalties of early dismantle of stalls, and we will fly
out on the last night of FIL, 4 December.
Time at the fair will be split between arranged business meetings and informal browsing of
booths for potential networking opportunities. The time spent outside of meetings can be just as
important as the meetings themselves, especially when attending the fair for the first time (Owen,
2014). November 28-30 will be the main days for meetings, as the fair is closed to the general public
on these days during business hours.
We will attempt to attend any seminars and cultural events that are taking place, again to
take advantage of any networking opportunities possible. Because the fair is open to the public,
13. Jacquest, Rights Report P a g e | 12
however, it is of extreme importance to always keep one employee stationed at the stall at all times,
so we will be unable to attend meetings or events at the same time.
14. 13 | P a g e Jacquest, Rights Report
Conclusion
Although the investment needed to attend the Guadalajara International Book Fair may
seem high, the profit we stand to make by attending the fair far outweighs the cost. I feel the
Spanish-language market is very important for Melville House to break into because of its rising
opportunities, and attending FIL 2016 is the best way to do that.
Of course I would be happy to discuss this report in further detail if needed, but in order to
make the most of our time in Guadalajara, we should finalize our plans as soon as possible.
Word count: 2,450
15. Jacquest, Rights Report P a g e | 14
Appendix 1 | Bibliography
About Us, 2016. Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara, [online] Available at:
https://www.fil.com.mx/ingles/i_info/i_info_somos.asp. [Accessed 13 March 2016].
Abrams, D., 2014. E-Readers Create Boom in US Spanish-Language Books. Publishing Perspectives,
[online] 13 January. Available at: http://publishingperspectives.com/2014/01/e-readers-create-
boom-in-us-spanish-language-books/#.Vyo6uPkrLIV. [Accessed 22 April 2016].
Ahuile, L., 2015. Spanish-Language Books: Looking for Answers in a Growing Market. Publishers
Weekly, [online] Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-
industry-news/article/67383-spanish-language-books-looking-for-answers-in-a-growing-
market.html. [Accessed 20 April 2015].
Celaya, J., Digital evolution in the Spanish-Language Publishing Market. Publishers Weekly, [online]
24 April. Available at; <http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-
topic/digital/devices/article/66403-digital-evolution-in-the-spanish-markets.html> [Accessed 22
April].
Deahl, R., 2015. HC Expands Spanish-Language Publishing Efforts. Publishers Weekly, [online]
Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/international-book-
news/article/65803-hc-expands-spanishing-language-publishing-efforts.html. [Accessed 22 April
2016].
Exhibitors Catalog 2015, 2016. Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara, [online] Available at:
https://www.fil.com.mx/ingles/i_exp/i_cata_expositor.asp. [Accessed 13 March 2016].
Kan, E., 2015. Spanish Publishers Frustrated By Lack of English Translations. Publishing Perspectives,
[online] 3 April. Available at: http://publishingperspectives.com/2015/04/spanish-publishers-
frustrated-by-lack-of-english-translations/#.Vyo1cfkrLIV. [Accessed 4 April 2016].
Loman, P., 2015. What Happened to Brazil’s Booming Book Business? Publishing Persepctives,
[online] 14 May. Available at: http://publishingperspectives.com/2015/05/what-happened-to-book-
publishing-in-brazil/#.Vy3VHvmDGko. [Accessed 30 April, 2016].
Owen, L., 2014. Selling Rights. 7th
ed. London: Routledge.
Page, B., 2014. Young Mexicans set to drive reading surge. The Bookseller, 15 December. Available
at: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/young-mexicans-set-drive-reading-surge. [Accessed 22
April].
Anon, 2015. Latin American Digital Markets to Rise 10-15% by 2020. Publishing Perspectives, [online]
Available at: http://publishingperspectives.com/2015/04/latin-american-digital-markets-to-rise-10-
15-by-2020/#.Vy3a6fmDGkp. [Accessed 22 April 2016].
Risenberg, E., 2015. The Changing Fortunes of U.S. Spanish-Language Publishing: Spanish Publishing
2015. Publishers Weekly, [online] Available at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/new-
titles/adult-announcements/article/66320-the-changing-fortunes-of-u-s-spanish-language-
publishing-spanish-publishing-2015.html. [Accessed 14 April 2016].
16. 15 | P a g e Jacquest, Rights Report
Appendix 2 | Publishers to contact
Imprint Publisher
Attended
FIL in the
past?
Contacts Email
Relevant
publishing
categories
Atria Books
Simon &
Schuster
Yes Lisa Keim, Sara Browne
AtriaRights@Simo
nandSchuster.com
fiction
Scholastic En
Espanol
Scholastic
Books
Yes NA NA fiction
Penguin
Random
House Grupo
Editorial
Penguin
Random
House
Yes
Robert Banchik, Jesus Grajeda, Cristobal
Pera Roman
andrea.hernandez
@penguinrandom
house.com
fiction, trade
non-fiction,
entertainment
Harpercollins
Mexico
Harpercollins Yes
Diana Servin, Berenice Rojas Barron,
Larry Downs
celia.martinez@h
arpercollins.com
fiction, trade
non-fiction,
entertainment
Henry Holt &
Company
Macmillan Yes NA NA fiction
Vintage Books
Usa
Random
House
Yes NA NA fiction
Philomel
Books
Penguin
Group Usa
Yes NA NA fiction
Alfaguara
Prh Grupo
Editorial
Yes
Roberto Banchik, Jesus Grajeda, Ricardo
Cayuela
andrea.hernandez
@penguinrandom
house.com
literature,
fiction,
poetry,
theater
Viking Books
Penguin
Group Usa
Yes NA NA fiction
17. Jacquest, Rights Report P a g e | 16
Acantilado Yes
Ramon Cifuentes Nava, Luis Nunez
Becerril, Ramon Cifuentes Perex
colofon@prodigy.
net.mx
fiction
Acapulco,
Ediciones
Yes
Selva Hernandez, Ursula Trevino,
Vanessa Lopez
info@edicionesac
apulco
fiction
Arkano Books Oceano Yes
Rogelio Villarreal Cueva, Lazaro Cruz
Salinas, Pablo Martinez Losada
lcruz@oceano.co
m.mx
fiction,
entertainment
Casa
Editorial
Abismos
Yes Sidharta Ochoa, Claudia Moreno Rivera
abismoseditorial
@gmail.com
fiction
Oceano Ambar Oceano Yes
Rogelio Villarreal Cueva, Lazaro Cruz
Salinas, Pablo Martinez Losada
lcruz@oceano.co
m.mx
fiction,
entertainment
Salamandra Yes
Rogelio Villarreal Cueva, Lazaro Cruz
Salinas, Pablo Martinez Losada
lcruz@oceano.co
m.mx
fiction,
entertainment
Blackie
Books
Yes
Ramon Cifuentes Nava, Luis Nunez
Becerril, Ramon Cifuentes Perex
colofon@prodigy.
net.mx
fiction
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Appendix 3 | Budget
Hotel: Staybridge Suites Guadalajara Expo
o 1,370 pesos = about $80 per room per night
o $80 room x 8 days/nights x 2 people = $1,280
o Site: https://www.fil.com.mx/ingles/i_viajes/i_hoteles_nego.asp accessed 28 April
Shipping: UPS
o 100 books = $1,500
o Site: https://wwwapps.ups.com/fctc/processweightlimit accessed 30 April
o The majority of these will be for sale to the general public; I would like to take more
if the budget allows
Flight: American Airlines
o Newark Airport to Guadlajara = $600-700
o $600-700 x 2 people = $1,200-$1,400
o Site: Google Flights, accessed 28 April
o Make note that we have time to continue searching for possible cheaper flights
Stand: Equipped 18m(squared) x 36m(squared)
o $5,256
o Site: https://www.fil.com.mx/ingles/i_exp/i_quiero_ser.asp accessed 28 April
o See below for details of cost and diagram of FIL equipped stand
Misc. costs
o Food = $100 x 9 days x 2 people = $1,800
o Unexpected expenses = $500
TOTAL: $11,736
Prices and payment dates for stands at FIL 2016
