--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My only regret is that I signed away the…" description: "\"My only regret is that I signed away the world rights and in America they've been far and away my most successful books, but I never saw a cent from an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/jonathan-coe-10154_america_my-only-regret-is-that-i-signed-away-the_2450052.jpg" --- # My only regret is that I signed away the world rights and… ![“My only regret is that I signed away the world rights and in America they've been far and away my most successful books, but I never saw a cent from any of it.” quote by Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/jonathan-coe-10154_america_my-only-regret-is-that-i-signed-away-the_2450052.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/jonathan-coe-10154_america_my-only-regret-is-that-i-signed-away-the_2450052.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b51/jonathan-coe-10154_america_my-only-regret-is-that-i-signed-away-the_2450052.jpg) > “My only regret is that I signed away the world rights and in America they've been far and away my most successful books, but I never saw a cent from any of it.” [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author regrets losing control over his works, highlighting the financial and creative costs of signing away rights. **In simple terms:** Giving up rights can lead to missed earnings and control. Key Takeaway Consider retaining rights or negotiating better terms. Themes publishing rights authorial control financial loss creative ownership Mood cautious analytical Type business legal When to use this quote - book deals - royalty negotiations - self‑publishing - literary estates Key Concepts contract law intellectual property author‑publisher relations Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards can authors use when signing contracts? - How does rights ownership affect creative freedom? A Different Perspective Legal complexities can make rights retention difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Cents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cents/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Regret Signed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret-signed-562416/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Rights America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights-america-254742/) [Saws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saws/) [Signed Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signed-away-562417/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Successful Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful-books-562418/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-rights-253619/) ## Related quotes > [I never really thought I'd be successful. I never though I'd get books published, but this was something completely beyond me. The fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-never-really-thought-i-d-be-successful-i-never-though-i-d-get-books/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [My most successful books, the ones that I feel the strongest about, are the ones that started with a premise that for me was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/my-most-successful-books-the-ones-that-i-feel-the-strongest-about-are/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [Also she signed away the right to self-destruct years ago. The fine print on the birth certificate, her friends call it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-offill/also-she-signed-away-the-right-to-self-destruct-years-ago-the-fine/) [Jenny Offill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-offill/) > [With the cloud, you don't own anything. You already signed it away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-wozniak/with-the-cloud-you-don-t-own-anything-you-already-signed-it-away/) [Steve Wozniak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-wozniak/) > [I did not become successful in my work through embracing or engaging in celebrity culture. I never signed away my privacy in exchange for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-coogan/i-did-not-become-successful-in-my-work-through-embracing-or-engaging/) [Steve Coogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-coogan/) > [Over a three year period, I gave away half of what I had. To be honest, my hands shook as I signed it away.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/over-a-three-year-period-i-gave-away-half-of-what-i-had-to-be-honest/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [“Also she signed away the right to self-destruct years ago. The fine print on the birth certificate, her friend calls it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-offill/also-she-signed-away-the-right-to-self-destruct-years-ago-the-fine-2/) [Jenny Offill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-offill/) > [We have rights in America. In tandem with those rights, we have responsibility. Whatever type of journalist we are, whether it be in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/we-have-rights-in-america-in-tandem-with-those-rights-we-have/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [ I think whoever is the president \[he\] must guard your liberties, must not erode your rights in America. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-think-whoever-is-the-president-he-must-guard-your-liberties-must/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [The truth is, even though we sort of feel like we have equal rights in America, right under the surface there are huge issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/the-truth-is-even-though-we-sort-of-feel-like-we-have-equal-rights-in/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [“The evolution of national unity and equal rights is all about what America represents as a nation today: a manifestation of the historical episodes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-mendis/the-evolution-of-national-unity-and-equal-rights-is-all-about-what/) [Patrick Mendis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-mendis/) > [Only majorities can expand political rights in America's constitutional society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/only-majorities-can-expand-political-rights-in-america-s/) [David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/) > [But, although America cannot be justly charged with violating the rights of Turkey, Turkey nevertheless can be justly charged with violating the rights of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-smith/but-although-america-cannot-be-justly-charged-with-violating-the/) [Gerrit Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-smith/) > [During the 19th-century struggle for women's rights in America, many saw a competition between rights for black people and those for women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-decrow/during-the-19th-century-struggle-for-women-s-rights-in-america-many/) [Karen DeCrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-decrow/) > [The common goal of 22 million Afro-Americans is respect as human beings, the God-given right to be a human being. Our common goal is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/the-common-goal-of-22-million-afro-americans-is-respect-as-human/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) ## More by Jonathan Coe > [I was going to say 'my friend Stuart', but I suppose he's not a friend any more. I seem to have lost a number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/i-was-going-to-say-my-friend-stuart-but-i-suppose-he-s-not-a-friend/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [“The upshot was that she lost her religion - with a vengeance - and walked out on him, taking these three daughters with her.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/the-upshot-was-that-she-lost-her-religion-with-a-vengeance-and-walked/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [The plain fact is that she never really liked me, and never wanted me. 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Ogni giorno andiamo in giro in mezzo alla ressa, corriamo di qua e di là, arrivando quasi a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/le-auto-sono-come-le-persone-ogni-giorno-andiamo-in-giro-in-mezzo/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) [Explore all 60 Jonathan Coe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? 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