Where the Growth Is

Moving a Publishing Business Abroad■CensorshipA different country might have led to more fruitful internationalgrowth for my business, as censorship prevents all buta handful of private publishers from operating in China. Mostpublishers here are affiliated with the Chinese government.Censorship also impacts Internet access. Since I can’t accessmy own company’s WordPress Web site if I use a standardChinese Internet connection, I use BlackLogic, a VPN servicethat costs $100 a year, registers you anonymously, andshows your computer as being in a censorship-free country.This gives me access to WordPress, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook,Netflix, Skype, and so on. In countries where you willhave a weaker Internet connection, you might have troublefinding an unlimited Internet provider, or only find one withrates at around $500 a month for 100 GB.MoneyThe English-speaking skilled labor force is small; shippingcosts are high; there is no centralized publishing tracking system;and your new bank account might not have the transactiondescriptions you are used to in the United States. Transactionsmay read simply as debits and credits.There is a lot of credit and debit card theft in China andother developing countries. In fact, my U.S. PNC bank cardnumber was stolen and used several times with online storesbefore I closed that account and was left with only one U.S.debit card. To avoid theft-related losses, banks have a highlycomplex online shopping system. The Bank of China givesout an electronic password that changes every minute and aPIN that must be texted to your phone in Chinese every timeyou shop online.Avoid shopping online, in general. My expedited packagesarrived from TMall.com covered in a thick layer of dust twoweeks later at five different curbside dropoff points, and hadmajor defects, including loose screws in a bike and poweroutage-causingtechnology in an oven. Also, expect defectiveproducts from online and physical stores. A knife I bought atWalMart collapsed in half onto my finger and split my nail,nearly cutting my finger in half.ContractsContractual negotiations and disputes are likely to be complicatedby international moves. Contract Law of the People’s Republic ofChina was renewed and strengthened in 1999 and 2008 by thePeople’s Congress, and yet some institutions in China still feel thatcontractual agreements are fluid and can be changed.For example, I was offered and signed a contract to earn220,000 RMB per year, but my actual incoming salary turnedout to be 156,000 RMB. Upon appealing this matter, I wasoffered an official apology, but I have not yet won the promisedinitial salary. To fight this dispute with the STU administration,I have to use Google Translate. If this matter goesto court, and no court-appointed translators are available, I’llhave to use Google Translate even in my pro se legal appeals.Censorship impacts Internetaccess, including access to myown company’s Web site.Putting Things in PerspectiveAs I struggled through one of the varied illnesses that I havedeveloped in China (allergies, food poisoning, vision trouble,and colds), my translator asked, “If you have publishingbusiness, why you come to China?” I gave him a long lectureabout ambition, about the American tenure system, about theacademic publishing industry, and about the urge to eventuallymake enough money to be secure enough not to need totake extreme risks like going to China to get ahead. He staredblankly. I’m not sure if he understood much of what I wassaying. As an English professor, maybe I should have realizedthis, and given him a simpler answer. Sometimes, I do stuffjust to write interesting stories about it. ■Anna Faktorovich, the founder and director of the Anaphora Literary Press, teaches collegeEnglish and has won the MLA Bibliography and Brown University Research Fellowships. Twoof her books are forthcoming from McFarland: Rebellion Novel Genre and Formulaic WritingWithin Genres. To learn more: anaphoraliterary.com; pennsylvaniajournal@gmail.com.Experience: 35+ years as a publisher and attorney.Providing legal services to the publishing industry.Practice areas include all aspects of publishing including: contracts,copyright and trademark matters, licensing of rights and acquisitions.Sponsor of The Publishing Law Center® www.publaw.comLloyd L. Rich, P.C.1163 Vine Street, Denver, CO 80206Tel: (303) 388-5215 • E-Mail: rich@publishingattorney.comLloyd_Rich_Ad_3.5x2.5_CMYK.indd 11/19/12 1:04 PMVisit the IBPA Website at www.ibpa-online.org | 39