How much does it cost to use RightsWord?

We offer three plans: Free (evaluation with 20 publishers, no fees), Solo at $99 (700+ publishers, no commission — keep 100%), and Premium at $199 (1,500+ publishers, dedicated agent, 20% commission on deals, with the $199 credited back from your first commissions).

How is this different from just uploading to Amazon?

Amazon is self-publishing where you handle everything. We connect you with traditional publishers who pay advances, handle translation, printing, marketing, and distribution in their market. You get a dedicated publishing house in each country.

What kind of books can I submit?

Fiction and non-fiction in all genres. Your book should be completed and you must hold the translation/foreign rights - meaning you're self-published, or your publisher granted you these rights.

What happens after a publisher makes an offer?

We handle the entire negotiation - advances, royalty rates, rights duration, territory scope. Once you accept, the contract is signed and the publisher pays the advance.

What do publishers handle after buying rights?

Everything: translation, editing, cover design, printing, marketing, and distribution. You don't invest any money - you simply receive royalty payments. Truly passive income.

How long does it typically take to get a deal?

Some authors receive offers within weeks, others take several months. Your book stays active indefinitely, and we continuously match it with new publishers joining our network.

Is my manuscript safe on the platform?

Publishers only see your synopsis and sample initially. Full manuscripts are shared only with seriously interested publishers under confidentiality terms.

Can I use RightsWord if I already have a literary agent?

If your agent handles foreign rights, work through them. But many agents focus on domestic markets - if you hold your foreign rights, we can complement your existing representation.

Do I need a literary agent to use RightsWord?

No. RightsWord was built specifically for authors who don't have foreign rights representation. We work directly with independent and self-published authors - no agent required. If you do have an agent, we can complement their domestic focus with international outreach.

Can I submit a book that's already on Amazon?

Absolutely. Most of our authors are self-published on Amazon or other platforms. As long as you hold your translation and foreign rights (which self-published authors automatically do), you're eligible. Having existing sales data actually strengthens your pitch to international publishers.

How much do translation rights typically pay?

Advances typically range from $500 to $5,000 per language deal, with ongoing royalties of 7%-12% on every copy sold. Premium authors with strong sales records or high-demand genres can command higher advances. Multiple deals across different countries create compounding passive income.

What genres sell best internationally?

Thrillers, romance, literary fiction, self-help, and business books tend to have the strongest international demand. However, every genre has markets - children's books do exceptionally well in certain regions, and niche non-fiction can find dedicated publishers. We evaluate each book's global potential individually.

What countries buy the most translation rights?

Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Brazil are among the largest markets for translation rights. Asian markets like China, Japan, and Korea are rapidly growing. Eastern European countries like Poland and the Czech Republic are also very active buyers. Our network covers 50+ countries across all continents.

Translation Rights vs Foreign Rights: The Difference Explained

The words "translation rights", "foreign rights", and "subsidiary rights" get used interchangeably in publishing conversations. They are not the same thing. The distinction does not matter much in casual talk, but it matters a great deal when you are reading a contract clause that grants one of them and not the others.

Subsidiary rights: the umbrella term

Subsidiary rights are everything that is not the primary edition. If you sell a US trade paperback to a US publisher, the trade paperback is the primary right. Subsidiary rights include:

Foreign language rights (translation)
Foreign English-language territories (UK, Commonwealth)
Audio rights
Film, TV, and dramatic adaptation rights
Book club rights
Serial rights (newspaper or magazine excerpts)
Large-print rights
Merchandising rights

"Subsidiary rights" is the broadest category. When a contract says the publisher controls subsidiary rights, they are claiming all of the above unless specific items are carved out.

Foreign rights: a subset of subsidiary rights

Foreign rights covers any edition outside your primary territory. This includes:

Translation rights: The right to translate and publish the book in another language.
English-language foreign territory rights: The right to publish the same English text in another English-speaking market. A US author whose contract grants "US rights only" still owns the right to sell a UK edition to a British publisher in the same English language.

So translation rights are a subset of foreign rights, and foreign rights are a subset of subsidiary rights.

Translation rights: the narrowest term

Translation rights are exactly what they sound like: the right to translate the book into a specific language and publish that translation. They are almost always sold one language at a time and one territory at a time.

A real deal usually reads something like:

"Author grants Publisher the exclusive right to translate and publish the Work in the German language, throughout the territory of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, for a term of five years from first publication."

Notice how narrow that is. The same author is free to sell French translation rights to a different publisher the same week. They can sell Spanish (Spain) to one house and Spanish (Latin America) to another. Each language-and-territory combination is its own deal.

Why the distinction matters at contract time

Many traditional publishing contracts grant the original publisher control of all subsidiary rights or all foreign rights as part of the main deal. If you sign this away in your primary contract, you have lost the ability to sell translation rights yourself. The publisher will sell them on your behalf and split the income, typically 50/50 or 60/40 to the author.

For self-published authors this is rarely an issue because there is no primary contract carving anything out.

For authors signed to a small press or hybrid publisher, this is the single most important clause to read carefully:

Did the contract grant translation rights to the publisher? If yes, you cannot sell them.
Did it grant all subsidiary rights? Same answer.
Did it grant English-language rights only? Then translation rights are still yours.
Did it grant world rights in all languages? Then everything is theirs.

The cleanest contract structure for an author

If you have any leverage, push for the narrowest possible grant in your primary contract:

One language (typically English)
One territory (e.g. North America, or US only)
One edition format, or a clearly defined set (print + ebook is common; carve out audio if you can)

Everything else stays with you, including translation rights for every other language. You can then sell those rights separately, either yourself or through a rights agent who specializes in foreign sales.

A quick mental model

Think of your book as a bundle of separable rights, like a music album that can be sold by song, by region, by format. The default in self-publishing is that you own the entire bundle. Every contract you sign carves a piece off. Read carefully which pieces you are giving up, because once they are out of your hands, getting them back requires either patience (waiting for the term to expire) or money (buying them back).

Translation Rights vs Foreign Rights: What's the Difference?