Rights and Royalty Policy

At Bach & Co., we are committed to publishing carefully selected international titles for children and young adults — because we believe that strong stories from around the world deserve to be available in Danish.

Even in a small market, we see the value of translated books: they broaden perspectives, build bridges across cultures, and introduce young readers to voices they wouldn’t otherwise meet.
But making them available — in well-crafted, high-quality Danish editions — requires a publishing model that reflects today’s realities.

A shifting landscape — and a balanced approach

Over the past decade, the market for translated children’s and YA books in Denmark has changed significantly:

• Sales of translated picture books have declined in both the trade and institutional markets
• Demand for translated middle grade and YA has dropped sharply
• Original-language editions are widely available through international distributors — often cheaper and faster than local editions
• Many young readers are comfortable reading in English

At the same time, the historical model of offering large advances on translated rights — often exceeding the total royalty from the first, second, or even third print run — has become less viable.
In contrast, Danish authors and illustrators typically receive advances equal to half of the expected royalty on the first print run, reflecting a more sustainable and realistic approach.

We believe there is still room for strong international stories to reach Danish readers through thoughtful and well-made translations — if we approach publishing with care, clarity, and commercial realism.

Our approach: realism, fairness, and focus

To publish translated titles responsibly, we work with:

• Realistic advances, aligned with print run size and market expectations
• Slightly higher royalty rates than traditional Danish publishers, in recognition of the creative work behind the book
• A model that enables us to invest time and resources into doing the book justice: from translation and design to outreach and sales support
• It’s a model we believe in — because it’s both fair and forward-looking.

Royalty calculation: Net Receipts

We prefer to base royalty calculations on Net Receipts, rather than Retail Price (ex. VAT).
While RRP or List Price remains a common royalty reference in some markets, retail pricing in Denmark is not fixed, and often plays no meaningful role in how a book is actually sold.

In Denmark:

• Recommended prices may be used in some channels, but do not apply across the board
• In key channels — supermarkets, campaigns, online resellers — books are sold at individually negotiated net prices
• The publisher only controls pricing in limited cases (direct sales, some institutional channels)

In this context, a Retail Price is not a reliable royalty base. We therefore use the following definition:
Publisher’s Net Receipts = the actual amount received from sales, excluding VAT and after trade discounts and returns.

This ensures a transparent, accurate, and channel-agnostic basis for royalty calculation — and one that reflects real income.

Our guiding principles

While every project is different, our royalty and rights policy is built on five consistent principles:

• We base royalties on Net Receipts, because that reflects actual revenue
• We offer realistic advances, based on the initial potential of the project
• We seek to compensate creators fairly when a book performs well
• We believe in trust-based, long-term partnerships
• And we prioritise clarity, respect, and honest dialogue in every agreement

If you’d like to discuss a specific project, or receive examples of how our model works in practice, we’d be happy to talk.