Unlocking the Potential of Your Backlist

How Indie Publishers Are Using AI to Translate Books

Your backlist holds untapped revenue — and AI-powered translation is making it easier and more affordable than ever to take those titles to a global audience.

Backlist: A Valuable but Underutilised Asset

Every publisher knows the value of their backlist:

• Lower marketing costs
• Existing awareness
• Proven sales history

Yet for most, language barriers keep these books from reaching readers internationally.

Traditional translation is often too expensive and time-consuming for all but the most promising new releases. Midlist and backlist titles rarely make the cut, so hundreds of valuable rights go unused.

That’s changing.

The Backlist Translation Challenge

Publishers face a familiar problem:

They hold translation rights to hundreds of titles.

Some could do well abroad, but not well enough to justify traditional translation fees of $3,000 to $6,000 or more per book.

Internal teams and budgets are focused on new releases, leaving the backlist on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, ebook and digital marketplaces across Europe and Latin America continue to grow — and readers there are looking for new titles.

How AI Changes the Economics

AI-powered book translation is transforming the business model. Where traditional translation can take months and cost thousands of dollars per book, AI can deliver a publishable draft in days — and at a small fraction of the cost. This means midlist and backlist titles can now be viably translated, allowing you to:

• Translate more books

• Test new international markets

• Unlock long-tail sales

• Minimise up-front financial risk

Why Publishers Start with Backlist

That’s why most publishers look to their backlist first when trialling AI translation:

Lower editorial overhead — these books are already edited and proofed.

Clearer rights — they don’t require new licensing or negotiation.

Lower expectations — allowing publishers to test without frontlist pressure.

Quick wins — even modest overseas sales can quickly pay for the translation.

And once the process is working smoothly for your backlist, you can scale the system to support frontlist strategy too.

Why Choose GlobeScribe?

Not all AI translation is the same.

GlobeScribe is:

Optimised for fiction and narrative non-fiction — so voice, tone, and style are preserved.

Built by publishers — we understand what readers, authors and rights-holders care about.

Designed to scale — from self-service for smaller lists to white-label and API options for large publishers.

Focused on quality — translating not just your content but also your metadata and keywords, making your books more discoverable.

Current languages include German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian — with more coming soon.

Ready to Unlock Your Backlist?

Your backlist is too valuable to leave dormant. AI-powered translation is the affordable, low-risk way to grow your international readership and put your backlist to work.

Contact us at GlobeScribe to explore how AI can help you take your books to the world.