Graduate Students of Kasetsart University

commissioned material but, as activity increases, the need for content may outstrip the publisher's
established circle of authors, so the door is open for others to submit material for consideration.
The majority of unsolicited submissions come from previously unpublished authors. Such
manuscripts must go through the slush pile, which acquisitions editors sift through to identify
manuscripts of sufficient quality or revenue potential to be referred to the editorial staff. Authors
who are represented by a literary agent are more likely to succeed with major publishers.
Publishers thrive only when they are able to produce and sell books that match the needs of the
target readers.
2. Acceptance/negotiation Once a work is accepted; the commissioning editors
negotiate the purchase of intellectual property (IP) rights and agree royalty rates.
3. The authors of traditional printed materials sell exclusive territorial IP rights that
match the list of states in which distribution is proposed (i.e. the rights match the legal systems
under which copyright protections can be enforced). In the case of books, the publisher must also
agree on the intended formats of publication-mass market paperback, trade paperback and
hardback are the most common options.
3.1. The situation is slightly more complex if electronic formatting is to be used.
Where distribution is to be by CD-R or other physical media, there is no reason to treat this form
differently from a hard-copy format and a territorial copyright is an acceptable approach. But the
possibility of internet download without the ability to restrict physical distribution within national
boundaries presents legal problems that are usually solved by selling language/translation rights
rather than territorial rights. Thus, internet access across the European Union is relatively open
because of the laws forbidding discrimination based on nationality, but the fact of publication in,
say, French, limits the target market to those who read French.
3.2. Having agreed on the scope of the publication and the formats, the parties
must then agree royalty rates, i.e. the percentage of the gross retail price that will be paid to the
author. This is a difficult risk management exercise because the publisher must estimate the
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