Raising funds for self publishing/copyright

[LloB1]

I am thinking of ways to raise funds for a novel that i have written in order for it to be self published. I know this may sound odd, and I don't know if its been done before, but I am thinking of giving up a percentage of my copyright - say 5% - for a financial investment. What I wanted to know is what would the 5% copyright ownership entitle the would be investor to. Would this be international rights, film rights, etc. Would this 5% ownership make it hard for me to obtain a publishing deal for the self published book, from a publishing house, which I eventually want it to do.
Would I have more control over things because I own 95%?
I know something like this has been done in the music industry where artists have sold lines in their songs and raised money to produce and distribute their music.
If anyone has any answers they would be much appreciated, thanks.

[John Jarrold]

I must admit that I've never heard of anyone doing this, sorry. I do know that joint copyright can sometimes be a problem, when the copyright holders fall out...

[Hawkshaw_245]

Personally, I'd never surrender part of my copyright to someone who did not participate in the creation of the original work.

I suggest looking up 'self-publishing', and factor those figures into your budget.

You could self-publish, and print whatever numbers of books you need.

[I, Brian]

Originally Posted by LloB1

I am thinking of ways to raise funds for a novel that i have written in order for it to be self published. I know this may sound odd, and I don't know if its been done before, but I am thinking of giving up a percentage of my copyright - say 5% - for a financial investment. What I wanted to know is what would the 5% copyright ownership entitle the would be investor to. Would this be international rights, film rights, etc. Would this 5% ownership make it hard for me to obtain a publishing deal for the self published book, from a publishing house, which I eventually want it to do.
Would I have more control over things because I own 95%?
I know something like this has been done in the music industry where artists have sold lines in their songs and raised money to produce and distribute their music.
If anyone has any answers they would be much appreciated, thanks.

From a business point of view, I'd expect an investor to not simply demand a larger percentage of rights, but also demand that you are both publishable quality and also have a solid marketing plan behind you.

They are also going to need to ask why you are going the self-published route - and your answer is going to have to be because you have a very saleable product with solid distribution channels in place, and that this decision is made in order to maximise on already promising revenues.

If you simply find being accepted by traditional publishers too difficult and see self-publishing as an easy alternative, with no real marketing plan behind you, then you have very little of benefit to sell to a potential investor.

If you did push ahead, though, be warned that people in business are usually used to haggling, often aggressively. Watch Dragon's Den if you don't believe me. If you did offer a book for investment, expect that 5% to become either 25% minimum with the option to own all rights in order to sell it themselves in the event of your falling below agreed sales targets.

To be honest, it all sounds like you're trying to find the easy way out of hard work - you aren't considering publishing by traditional publishers, and you have such little faith in your own writing that you won't make the effort to secure your own publishing funds. That's not meant to sound harsh, it's meant to sound like business.

[StevenSavile]

Originally Posted by LloB1

Would this 5% ownership make it hard for me to obtain a publishing deal for the self published book, from a publishing house, which I eventually want it to do.

More problems would arise, immediately, from the fact that you had previously self-published the book. But, that aside -you want to raise money? Get a job, set aside a percentage, say 150 quid a month, and in a year you've got the money stashed for a good 2,000 copy hardcover print run, which is more than you'll likely ever succeed in handselling. Get a small business loan from the bank to launch your own publishing imprint. All of these things are more appealing - best yet, forget the notion of self publishing and submit the manuscript to agents, in the hope of securing representation.

Talk to me like I am a potential investor - why should I be interested in owning a measley 5% of your words when I could invest in the publication in a more traditional route, launching an imprint of my own, giving YOU 5% and creaming off the rest of any monies raised, outside printing and distro costs, for myself?