We are often asked how an author can get their book published in English, to reach a wider global readership. Karen Christensen fielded the question several times on her May 2025 trip to China, and wrote the following explanation.
How to have your book published in English
To have a book published in English, or another language, the starting point is your own publisher and the contract you have signed. Generally, the publisher will hold world rights and is responsible for finding, when feasible, international publishers who will license translation rights. This is their responsibility, not the author’s, in most cases. Some publishers are active in foreign markets and have a staff devoted to it (often called the International Department). Other publishers do very little. In either case, it’s a good idea for the author to ask questions, and encourage them to try to license the book.
The author can do some research to help the foreign rights staff.
- Write a list of 3-5 potential audiences for the book. (Students in X departments; policy makers of a certain type; readers interested in Y; and so on.) Choose the most important one and focus on it.
- Research similar books in English using Amazon or similar book site. Make a list of the publishers’ names as this will be helpful to your publisher. Then go to their websites to get contact information for the International Department or Rights Department. (Note: your publisher may also have contact information.)
- Prepare a precis of the book in English. You can use jacket and other marketing text, but add something about why the book would be valuable to English-language readers. If you can, translate a sample of several pages from the book. Have both texts reviewed by a native-English speaker. These samples will be very helpful to your publisher’s rights staff.
Of course you might contact the foreign publishers directly, but be prepared to receive no answer. These staffs tend to be small, perhaps only one person, and they may have established relationships with foreign rights agencies and thus be unable to respond to individual authors.
When a foreign publisher licenses a book for translation, they usually pay a small advance (in the hundreds or low thousands), which is split between the pubisher and the author in a percentage that should be spelled out in the original contract under Subsidiary Rights.
Selling an English-language title for translation into other languages
Of course there are many academic and other authors keen to see their books pubished in Chinese, and in other languages. We’ll include below a link to one of the best sources we know. The information for non-English writers is also relevant, because in all cases it is iimportant to check your pubishing contract, and to work with your publisher whenever possible.
Selling rights independently to a single title is not impossible, but it is rare. And while there are many established foreign rights firms, there are also shady operations, so it’s important to get references and other verification. And not to pay any prospective agent – their income should always be a percentage of sales.
Berkshire works with agencies as well as directly with publishers. If you are an author, it’s ideal to work with the foreign rights person at your publishing house. Here’s some advice: “Literary Agents Discuss Foreign Rights and the International Book Market, February 18, 2025.”
Read about Berkshire’s many titles in translation at this page.