Get your book rights back and relaunch your backlist

This guide is for traditionally published UK authors, and the heirs of authors, whose books have gone quiet: out of print, barely selling, or kept technically available as an ebook or print-on-demand while earning almost nothing. Rights left with an inactive publisher can sit unused for decades, while a reverted book can be reissued, sold for translation or audio, or bundled with new work. You will audit what you granted, build the evidence, ask in the right order and form, negotiate what you can reuse, and relaunch without breaching anyone's rights. At the end you will have a written reversion letter, a rights register for the book and a relaunch plan.

What is inside

• Full step-by-step method8 detailed steps with decision points
• Ready-to-use templatesInformal reversion request · Formal notice under the reversion clause · Rights register for one book
• Timed action plan7 stages from “Week 1” to “Months 6–9”
• Costly mistakes to avoid4 traps and what to do instead
• Complete checklist12 items to tick off
• Insider tips and fixes4 tips and 4 common problems solved

Step by step

1. Gather the contract and every later change

   Find the original publishing agreement plus any side letters, amendments, option or ebook addenda, and emails in which you agreed new formats; publishers often added ebook or audio rights years after signing. If you had an agent, ask them for their file copy and the most recent royalty statements; if the agency has closed, ask the publisher's contracts department directly for a copy. If you are an heir, you will also need proof that you now own the copyright, such as the will, grant of probate or letters of administration and any assent. Make a one-page rights register listing every right granted (print formats, ebook, audio, translation, film and TV, serial, territories), the date, and whether each has been sublicensed. You cannot ask for something back until you know exactly what you gave.