Literary Agent Q&A: Madeleine Milburn, UK | Publishing Perspectives

Over the last five to ten years, how has the digital revolution changed the rights business?

In countries such as the UK and US, it's made a huge difference, as publishers can take greater risks and publish straight to ebook before committing to a print edition. Some of my authors sell far more copies in digital, so it has really helped expand their readership. The digital revolution has created a great platform for publishing authors in territories where they may not have worked before, for instance UK commercial women's fiction in the US. I'm now seeing German and Dutch publishers offer for ebook rights in titles that aren't published in these countries, therefore giving these authors a real opportunity. It's also been great to re-launch authors' backlist titles.