In a deal to bring the popular Rainbow Magic series to e-books, the series creator, HIT Entertainment, has struck an exclusive digital rights agreement with RosettaBooks to release Kindle editions of current and future titles in the line. Rainbow Magic, which was introduced by HIT in the U.K. in 2003, is published by Scholastic in the U.S. and, through this arrangement, Scholastic will remain the exclusive print publisher of the titles in the U.S.
Rosetta has already released a number of Rainbow Magic backlist titles--there are 73 books in the series now available in the Kindle store--and future Rainbow Magic digital editions will be planned so that Rosetta releases the digital edition to coincide with the U.S. print release from Scholastic.
The series, which is intended for girls five-to-nine, encompasses over 80 titles and follows the adventure of two friends, Kristy and Rachel. According to Rosetta, the line has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, and over six million in the U.S. alone. The e-rights deal for Rosetta marks the digital publisher's first foray into children's books.
When asked whether Rosetta offered a more enticing royalty rate to prompt HIT to split the print and e-rights, Rosatta CEO Arthur Klebanoff said he could not discuss the specifics of the deal but noted that his company's standard royalty schedule is more attractive than the big publishers. He noted that it's "50% of net receipts to 2,500 copies and 60% thereafter is public." He added that "the standard large publisher’s e-book offer is 25% of net receipts."
