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What is Licensed Publishing?
Licensed publishing (also known as brand or tie-in publishing) comprises a substantial and often hidden sector of the industry. An obvious example is in-flight magazines, where an airline hires a media company to produce a glossy magazine with the airline's logo, etc.
In the book world a typical example is the publishing programme that accompanies a popular TV series – anything from EastEnders to Thomas the Tank Engine. Several publishers will bid for the rights to publish books based on the show (called the licence, or property), and the winning publisher will pay the broadcaster a lump sum 'guarantee' which gives them permission to use the TV material in books.
Quite often the publisher will not be dealing directly with the broadcaster, but with a licensing agent hired by the broadcaster. Once the contract is agreed, the publisher and the broadcaster/licensing agent (licensor) work together to produce the books. The amount of input the licensor has varies greatly. Some licensors like to micromanage the publishing programme, while others are happy to bow to the publisher's expertise and let them handle almost everything – the latter approach is, predictably, the one most popular with editors. Either way the licensor has to give their approval before books can actually be printed.
Licensed publishing is often regarded as a safer bet than traditional author fiction, because selling books based on a famous TV series is less of a risk than selling books written by a new author. On the other hand, you still have to pay royalties (to the licensor) and if the TV series is unsucessful, you have no hope of selling your books, no matter how good they are, plus you've lost the up-front guarantee. In any case, licensed publishing is a substantial fragment of the children's market, so much so that many publishers have a dedicated children's tie-in department.
From an editor's perspective, working on licensed properties differs from working on traditional author fiction in two key ways:
• the book will almost certainly not have an author as such – instead the editor will probably write it herself, or sometimes it may be commissioned from a jobbing writer who gets a fee and no royalty;
• the schedules are different – sometimes the book has to be sent to the licensor many times before approval is gained, but on the other hand there is no complicated negotiation with the author over the manuscript.
From a writer's perspective, working on licensed brands is probably not the way to launch yourself as a literary star. It is, however, a relatively uncrowded field and a good place to build publishing credits and practise your craft. Editors are always interested to hear from people who can demonstrate an ability to quickly and reliably fill commissions for brand-appropriate material.
I have 10 years' experience as a writer and editor in the field of licensed publishing. Please contact me if you would like to talk about a commission.
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"We wished we had more projects to give you, because you just did them so well!"
Sue Parish, former Head of Editorial, Egmont Publishing
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