reprints
McGill said:
Hi, I was just wondering what anyone's experience has been trying to sell a story that has all ready been published ,a second time, (once the rights have been returned to you). Is it a more difficult than selling first rights? Does that fact that it has all ready been published elsewhere affect the price an editor will pay for it. I'm talking about magazine pieces. Any input will be appreciated. Thanks!
Almost all magazines pay less for reprints than for first rights, but you may receive more for a reprint, depending on where the story was published the first time.
Selling reprints is only more difficult in th esense that many magazines do not take reprints. For those that do, however, have a story that has already been published can be an advantage.
It should not, however, be a matter of having rights returned to you. You should never sell all rights, or any rights that you want returned. Sell first rights, along with non-exclusive reprint rights only. You should always keep reprint rights for yourself. This is often where the most money is in the long term.
