Chickensoup for the soul - copyright question

Yes, you are granting them the rights to reproduce you story in print. You need to read the form and find out what the terms say. Is it a one time grant? Is is print, electronic, audio, or anything and everything they can think of? Is is US rights or world rights?

Whenever submitting you work for publication, always know what rights you are granting and if you will be restricting that work from other possible uses.

Generally, publications do not purchase "copyright". There are other "rights", including First Publication Rights, First North American Publication Rights, Electronic Rights, etc., which are generally what legitimate publications purchase. And the "Chicken Soup" franchise most certainly is a legitimate publication outlet. Check the language of your contract.

As an aside, does there exist a "Chicken Soup for Jewish Mothers" publication?

caw

Upcoming titles: http://www.chickensoup.com/form.asp?cid=possible_books

No Jewish Moms listed.

GreenAvenue, if they accept your story, you'll receive a contract specifying rights purchased. If you are not happy with the contract, don't sign it. That's all there is to it.

I've written for a similar book, and the copyright issue was spelled out in the contract I received from the publisher. It may be similar with Chicken Soup for the Soul books.

Unless things have changed, I heard years ago that the Chicken Soup for the Soul contracts were draconian and did not offer much anything for the writer other than a small initial check. For that reason I know several NF writers who turned them down.