is 4.5 work years (2,000 hours per year) to process a single years’ worth of statements! While the
calculated estimate may not be true for all, it is directionally correct and a quantifiable validation of the
pain our rights professionals face every day.
At BISG, we know that when the publishing process is messy, standards are a great solution. Over the last
year, a BISG Rights Committee working group has researched and outlined a set of best practices and
proposed standards related to royalty reporting and contract payment paperwork. Many stakeholders
have come together, including the agenting community (Pamela Malpas and Marianne Merola) the
international co-agent side (Sebastian Ritscher) and publishing rights managers and experts in the U.S.
and the U.K. (Helen Monroe, O’Reilly Book, Clare Hodder, Rights2Gether). You can find our ideas and
proposed standards in the two pages that follow this article.
Our plan is to continue the discussion, widening the circle of engaged advocates for the solution to
include additional members of the rights holder communities, as well as to receive input from publishers
around the world who ‘license in’ translation rights and are responsible for distributing royalty
statements. As we continue to refine our list and outline the process, we’re aiming to find participants
on all sides who will begin to adopt and practice these standards. The ripple effect of improvements in
this segment of our communication will be a continuing process but the rewards are clear: less time
wrangling data, more time with actionable insights, and deeper conversations about good books and
good business.
In order to continue the conversation around this solution, BISG and the Frankfurt Buchmesse Rights and
LitAg teams will host a meeting in Frankfurt on Friday, October 17, 2025, from 11:00AM-12:00PM in
Conference Room Encounter (Hall 5.0). We invite all international rights professionals to join us in
becoming part of the solution, especially at this stage, where comments and input across the spectrum
will help improve the eventual standard we recommend to the industry. Click here to register to attend.
We look forward to meeting you there!
--end--
calculated estimate may not be true for all, it is directionally correct and a quantifiable validation of the
pain our rights professionals face every day.
At BISG, we know that when the publishing process is messy, standards are a great solution. Over the last
year, a BISG Rights Committee working group has researched and outlined a set of best practices and
proposed standards related to royalty reporting and contract payment paperwork. Many stakeholders
have come together, including the agenting community (Pamela Malpas and Marianne Merola) the
international co-agent side (Sebastian Ritscher) and publishing rights managers and experts in the U.S.
and the U.K. (Helen Monroe, O’Reilly Book, Clare Hodder, Rights2Gether). You can find our ideas and
proposed standards in the two pages that follow this article.
Our plan is to continue the discussion, widening the circle of engaged advocates for the solution to
include additional members of the rights holder communities, as well as to receive input from publishers
around the world who ‘license in’ translation rights and are responsible for distributing royalty
statements. As we continue to refine our list and outline the process, we’re aiming to find participants
on all sides who will begin to adopt and practice these standards. The ripple effect of improvements in
this segment of our communication will be a continuing process but the rewards are clear: less time
wrangling data, more time with actionable insights, and deeper conversations about good books and
good business.
In order to continue the conversation around this solution, BISG and the Frankfurt Buchmesse Rights and
LitAg teams will host a meeting in Frankfurt on Friday, October 17, 2025, from 11:00AM-12:00PM in
Conference Room Encounter (Hall 5.0). We invite all international rights professionals to join us in
becoming part of the solution, especially at this stage, where comments and input across the spectrum
will help improve the eventual standard we recommend to the industry. Click here to register to attend.
We look forward to meeting you there!
--end--