Public Lending Right Program Canada

We are now more than halfway through April. If you are a Canadian author and haven't registered for Canada's Public Lending Right Program you're missing out on an opportunity. (And the deadline is coming fast!)

Public Lending Right is the right of authors to receive payment for free public use of their works in libraries. PLR payments are determined based on the presence of an eligible title in the collections of selected library systems.

This particular program supports Canadian authors being stocked in Canadian libraries.

A random sampling is conducted, the totals are tallied, and eligible authors are paid usually in February of each year for the previous year's results.

Elgible titles include print, eBook, and audiobook.

You have to first register. And you can add titles that go back five years.

But the submission period, each year, is between Feb and May. You have to register by May 1st.

If you've already previously registered, you can (for example), add 2018 published titles in 2019.

You can download the forms from the PLR Canada website.

This year, the PLR Canada cheque I received covered the cost of an all inclusive tropical beach vacation we booked in March.

Apart from various print titles, I also have my ebooks and audiobooks listed in multiple library systems (such as OverDrive) through Kobo Writing Life and Draft2Digital for eBooks and through Findaway Voices for audiobooks.

Here's a short video of me mentioning this recently during a recent London Book Fair Self-Publishing Advice Conference #SelfPubCon2019.

And here is a longer, more detailed one about how the program works. (More of a presentation).

More than 30 countries around the world participate in a similar program. (Sorry US authors, it's not available there yet). Other countries include Australia, the UK, New Zealand.

Public Lending Rights Payment for Canadian Authors

Today I received my annual cheque (or check for Americans) from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Public Lending Rights Commission.

This is me during early to mid February each year

I was among 17,344 Canadian authors to receive payment this year as compensation for free public access to my books through Canada's public libraries.

Last year, for the first time, the PLR Program started to accept eBooks; meaning that authors are now able to register electronic books with the PLR Program.

I registered my eBooks with them last year and, each year, continue to update the new print and ebooks that are published in the previous year. I have been registered with PLR for several years, so my oldest title, One Hand Screaming (published in 2004, more than a dozen years ago) doesn't earn as much per hit, but it still brought in $80.48 in revenue from being found twice in the random sample of 7 libraries.

That $80 might is nothing to sneeze at. Particularly when you look at the fact that, when one of my traditionally published books sell for $24.99 CAD in print, I get $2.00.

I'd have to sell 40 copies of one of my traditionally published print books, or more than 20 units of one of my self-published eBooks at $4.99 CAD to earn that much.

How PLR Payments are Calculated

This year, I received hits from 7 of my published titles. (5 hits from traditionally published titles and 2 hits from self-published titles) This year also represents the largest payout I have received from the PLR Program. Each year the amount has increased. But, of course, the fact that the PLR

The minimum author payout is $50 and the maximum is set at $3,521.  For any payment over $500, the PLR Program will submit a T4A income tax slip.

If you are a Canadian author and haven't registered your books with the PLR Program, the registration period is open between February 15 and May 1st, 2017.

Apologies to any non-Canadian authors out there. This program is only eligible for Canadian authors. One of the other fringe benefits of living in the world's best country.