150 Types of Unusual Investments – The List

104. Publishing Rights – by offering the author a book advance and future royalties, a publishing company can buy the rights to future income generated by the sale of a book.

Because much of what a publishing company does can be easily outsourced (printing, editing, cover design, PR, advertising, consigning inventory to an Amazon warehouse), many authors leave millions on the table between what they sell their publishing rights for and what the book can actually generate after all expenses.

On the other hand, if the publisher pays a guaranteed amount for the book, it is possible that the writer could come out ahead if the book underperforms expectations.