Fableby FREETEXT

China Entry Desk · Mainland China

Decide which book to test in mainland China.

Written, evidence-backed market and publishing research for overseas publishers and rights teams. Fable helps you choose what to test, understand why, and define the next decision—without adding a meeting to your calendar.

Email a title brief Compare services

Primary buyers: overseas publishers and rights teams. Professionally established authors with a commercially ready title are considered secondarily.

01

One title or up to six depending on the decision in front of you.

02

Two business days to ten calendar days after activation and complete inputs.

03

Written-only delivery with no call, workshop, or real-time presentation included.

What you are buying

Decision support before you spend on China execution.

Fable is designed for a real mainland-China decision expected within the next 3–12 months: whether to test one title, how to prioritise it, or which titles in a catalogue deserve attention first.

It is research and editorial decision support. It is not a promise of a buyer, licence, publishing agreement, book number, approval, distribution, sales, or revenue.

Three fixed scopes

Choose the smallest decision you need.

Delivery begins after the contract is active or cleared payment is received, required inputs are submitted, and Fable confirms they are complete.

Early screenUSD 149

China Fit Snapshot

Is there enough evidence to test this title’s mainland-China opportunity now?

  • One title
  • 1–2 page written Snapshot
  • Three relevant market signals
  • Three material risks or unknowns
  • Preliminary test / hold / decline recommendation
Delivery2 business days

The USD 149 fee may be credited once to an accepted Sprint for the same client, title, and decision question through the same sales route within seven calendar days after Snapshot delivery. On Upwork, the client accepts and funds a USD 351 platform follow-on contract; on an approved direct route, the USD 351 balance must clear through the finance-verified company route. Platform and payment charges are separate.

Order this Snapshot on Upwork
Title decisionUSD 500

China Publishing Opportunity Sprint

Founding validation rate for the first three qualifying paid Sprint projects accepted by Fable.

Should this specific book be prioritised for mainland China—and what should you test next?

  • One title
  • 8–12 page China Opportunity Decision Report
  • 5–8 comparable-title or market signals
  • 8–12 target organisations with fit rationale
  • English–Chinese rights pitch sheet
  • 30-day China action plan
Delivery7 calendar days

Includes one consolidated set of up to five written questions within five calendar days after delivery. The organisation shortlist contains research leads, not introductions or evidence of acquisition interest.

Order this Sprint on Upwork
Catalogue priorityUSD 1,500

China Catalogue Triage

Which titles in this catalogue should receive mainland-China attention first, and why?

  • Up to six identified titles
  • Standardised scorecard and ranking
  • Readiness and rights-gap review
  • Top-two priority recommendation
  • Concise analysis of the first-ranked title
Delivery10 calendar days

Catalogue Triage is not six full Sprints. Full title-level Sprint work, a seventh title, or replacement titles after scope freeze require a separate quote.

Order this Triage on Upwork

Fully asynchronous

Start with one decision brief.

  1. 01

    Send the essentials

    Your organisation and role; title or catalogue size; synopsis or catalogue summary; current mainland-China Simplified Chinese rights statement; and the decision you expect to make, with timing.

  2. 02

    Fable qualifies and routes

    We confirm buyer fit, materials, decision question, timing, client-stated rights position, the smallest suitable scope, availability, and payment instructions in writing.

  3. 03

    Receive a bounded written decision

    The delivery distinguishes evidence from inference and flags unresolved gaps. New titles, markets, audiences, research lanes, deliverables, or execution requests are new scope.

Materials rule: send only material you are authorised to share. Fable records your rights statement but does not independently certify ownership or availability.

Fable does not provide free title-specific market conclusions, organisation lists, or execution strategy during qualification.

Scope and rights discipline

Clear boundaries before payment.

Fable provides bounded market, publishing, and editorial research. The client remains responsible for rights, materials, decisions, contracts, regulatory review, counterparties, and execution.

Not included

Legal or rights clearance

No legal, tax, regulatory, import, content-review, contract, censorship-clearance, or independent rights-certification advice.

Not included

Representation or outreach

No rights agency, brokerage, buyer introductions, submissions, follow-up, negotiation, acquisition, or deal management.

Not included

Publishing execution

No full-book translation or localisation, copyediting, design, production, printing, distribution, paid media, warehousing, or fulfilment.

Not for sale

Museum scans or digital assets

China Entry Desk does not sell, sublicense, transfer, or deliver high-resolution museum scans, raw cultural-asset files, artwork files, standalone image rights, or digital-library access.

Separate and invitation-only

The Producer Track is not a paid-service upgrade.

FREETEXT is not a licensed mainland-China publishing house. Separately from these advisory products, FREETEXT may decide to work as a project developer or producer with a licensed publisher responsible for formal publishing and approval.

Any such project requires independent internal assessment, rights and partner review, a separate written agreement, and separate commercial terms. Buying research cannot purchase, improve, influence, or guarantee a production decision, recommendation, introduction, licence, or publication result.

One title. One decision. In writing.

Tell us what China decision you need to make.

fable@freetext.run