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Short Story America

FOTSGreg

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The contract clearly states that I retain copyright and the right to publish the story again elsewhere.

After what period of time?

I'm sorry for beating a dead horse, but the original terms I saw stated that the publisher owned the rights in perpetuity fir $100 for publishing on his website.

Some people don't seem to get it that that essentially means no other publisher can (or would) touch it ever. It's locked up. It can't be published anywhere else, ever. Not without giving SSA the right to sue for copyright infringement against anyone who ever did anytime anywhere.

That's a deal breaker in any publishing contract. Most of them state up front how long they own the rights. This one apparently does not. The term "nonexclusive" is not good enough to settle a rights argument in court because it is somewhat vague when blended with the language if the rest of the contract that we have seen.

Please, please, would the publisher please verify the language of the contract in writing and in public here or have a spokesman or attorney do it for him? I think that's a reasonable request.
 

happywritermom

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I don't get what you don't get.
I also don't get why you think he could sue for copyright infringement.
 

happywritermom

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Victoria, I would really like to help, but I don't feel comfortable posting any part of the contract on a public forum.
 

M.R.J. Le Blanc

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It's pretty simple; the rights aren't clarified. It appears, according to the publisher's own wording, that he keeps the right to publish the story forever. Most publishers and mags have a specific period of time in which they keep those rights before they're returned to the author. SSA does not appear to have such wording, which means you cannot resell your work ever.

What's unclear about this publisher is whether if he intends to take first rights forever, it should be clearly stated. If he only takes rights for a specific period of time, it should be stated clearly. It isn't. We're asking for clarification and not getting it. That's the issue here. If SSA owns the right to publish it, technically anyone else who publishes it also is infringing on SSA's rights to the story.
 

dgaughran

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As I said upthread, I have no connection with Short Story America other than being a writer who has entered into an agreement to have my story published. Also, I am not lawyer, nor a publishing rights expert. I don't think it's cool to post the contract, so I will just say what I see the situation as being:

1. They contacted me in September to discuss publishing my story.
2. We talked on the phone.
3. They sent me the contract.
4. I signed it.
5. They published my story.

The basic rights situation, as I understand it, is as follows:

1. They have the right to publish my story on their website as their Story of the Week.
2. After that week, it moves to their 'Contemporary Library'.
3. It shall stay there for evermore for people to read and enjoy.
4. I have the right to republish the story elsewhere (whether anyone else wants to reprint a story that is freely available on the web is another matter, and a right I was happy to concede).
5. They pay me $100, 90 days after publication.

On top of this, they also have the right to anthologise the story. Namely, in a collection, next year, and the collective authors will share a 15% net royalty payment on any profits that are made. They also plan an e-book, and an audiobook, with the stories available as individual mp3 downloads on the website, with the same royalty arrangement above (as for the anthology).

Now, I think that is pretty clear. If anyone has any further questions, I will try and answer them, but I don't know how much more I can say.

Dave
 

happywritermom

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Ditto what he said. You ask for clarification, but it is what it is: forever, nonexclusive rights. There is no time period after which SSA loses the rights. Period. It is not at all unclear. It's just not the norm and not what you want to hear (read).

Those terms will not be acceptable to everyone. So publication in Short Story America is not for everyone.
For me, it works.
I like the idea that the story will always be there for anyone to read. I like the idea that it will be part of a printed anthology that someone might pass on to someone else. I like the idea that it might also become an e-story or an audio short. I like the idea that, however tiny the amount might be, I can continue earning money from the story without doing another thing.

I write short stories as a creative release. I enjoy it and I want others to enjoy my stories as well. I don't want to put a lot of time and energy into reselling an already-published story, regardless of who has the rights. My primary focus is novels. For me, short stories are not work; They are just plain fun.

It's no different than the stories I wrote for the newsaper as a journalist. No, wait. It is. I have no rights to the newspaper stories, though I can use them as clips or significantly rewrite them. I do still retain some rights to the short story I published with SSA.

Again, publication with SSA under these terms is not for everyone and probably not for you, M.R.J. But I believe Mr. Johnston makes his terms perfectly clear and they are acceptable to me.
 

izanobu

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Happywritermom- if you like the idea that you can a) have a story forever online to point people to, b) have a print anthology that someone might buy and c) can earn money forever by not doing another thing, you should really look into putting your stories up on Kindle and Smashwords and Pubit and Createspace etc...

You can earn money forever off those, without giving the rights away forever to someone else (and you'll earn 70%+ of gross, not a part of 15% of net, which will likely be nothing ever). (It might take you 5 years to earn 100 dollars off the story instead of 90 days, but in 10 years you'd have earned 200, instead of 100 and nothing again ever). And then if an opportunity came up to resell the story to an anthology or reprint, you'd have full control and could take it down or do whatever was needed instead of having handed that control over to another person.
Just a thought :) (and I'm pointing this out not really for happywritermom, she seems happy with her decision with SSA and already signed that contract. But for those who might be reading this who are like her, maybe this will give them some alternate thoughts/ideas :) )
 

dgaughran

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Happywritermom- if you like the idea that you can a) have a story forever online to point people to, b) have a print anthology that someone might buy and c) can earn money forever by not doing another thing, you should really look into putting your stories up on Kindle and Smashwords and Pubit and Createspace etc...

You can earn money forever off those, without giving the rights away forever to someone else (and you'll earn 70%+ of gross, not a part of 15% of net, which will likely be nothing ever). (It might take you 5 years to earn 100 dollars off the story instead of 90 days, but in 10 years you'd have earned 200, instead of 100 and nothing again ever). And then if an opportunity came up to resell the story to an anthology or reprint, you'd have full control and could take it down or do whatever was needed instead of having handed that control over to another person.

But you are not comparing like with like. If I just put my story up on Kindle or whatever, no-one may ever read it. Putting it up on Short Story America gets me an audience, and a publishing credit. And, it's not just $100 payment. There are also potential royalties from audiobook sales, e-book sales, mp3 sales, and anthology sales. And these could, in theory, make money forever.

So yes, the royalty rates are lower than putting it up yourself on Kindle or whatever, but the readership is probably much, much higher. And more than anything, I just want my story to be read. The money is a nice bonus.
 

seaaircarol

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Payment 90 days after publication? Absent any other issues, that would be a deal-breaker for me.

This seems a long time to me.

I don't have a lot of experience with publishing short stories, but I've been published by Woman's World twice. I was paid before my story appeared. Of course, I guess this was considered payment on acceptance.

But even for payment at or after publication, 90 days seems a long time.

Has anyone mentioned how long it took from acceptance for their story to be published?
 

dgaughran

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Has anyone mentioned how long it took from acceptance for their story to be published?

Approximately three weeks after I submitted my story, I was emailed by the editor indicating he wished to publish it. We spoke on the phone that evening. The next morning we went back and forth by email a few times clarifying various issues with regard to the terms, and dealing with some editorial issues with the story. The story was published the following day.
 

dgaughran

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But even for payment at or after publication, 90 days seems a long time.

Quicker payment may be standard, but no payment at all is far more common. This is a new venture, begun in January, and I believe they will break even in a few months, which is quite impressive. I am happier to have delayed payment rather than no payment at all (this story is a reprint, the first time it was published, there was no payment). I would speculate that delayed payment makes things a little easier for the business, but I have no idea if that is based on fact, or if there are other factors involved.
 

seaaircarol

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That's great that you didn't have to wait long to have your story published, David. And congratulations.
 

M.R.J. Le Blanc

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The basic rights situation, as I understand it, is as follows:

1. They have the right to publish my story on their website as their Story of the Week.
2. After that week, it moves to their 'Contemporary Library'.
3. It shall stay there for evermore for people to read and enjoy.
4. I have the right to republish the story elsewhere (whether anyone else wants to reprint a story that is freely available on the web is another matter, and a right I was happy to concede).
5. They pay me $100, 90 days after publication.

The thing is (and someone more experienced can correct me if I'm wrong) is this is a contradiction. If you sell your rights to SSA, you no longer have them. Which means you can't republish the story elsewhere because you don't have those rights. This is why it's so imperative to be clear on rights and terms. You've sold eprint, print, etc to SSA; they're gone now. You'll never get them back because the contract keeps them forever. So how do you sell something you don't have the rights to sell? Very simply you don't. You can't. And that's why no other publication will buy the story. You have no rights to sell. Again Victoria or someone can correct me if I'm wrong.
 

dgaughran

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I really don't know how many different ways I can say the same thing.

I have the right to reprint the story. Whether someone else will want to print it or not is another matter. It's not that important to me anyway. More important was getting it reprinted at all (this sale was a reprint itself). It doesn't bother me whether I can reprint it now for a third time, but my reading is that I can.

Your argument seems to be that no-one will want to because the website will continue to show the story. That might be true, but also, might not be true. I can't predict what demand my stories will have in the future. But I am glad that they are keeping the story up on the website, more exposure for me.

Everything is a trade-off. You are warning that the future reprint sales of my story may be affected by them permanently displaying my story. I am glad that they are. Some potential loss in market-value for possible future reprints of the story versus increased exposure.

Easy choice for me.
 

eqb

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So how do you sell something you don't have the rights to sell? Very simply you don't. You can't. And that's why no other publication will buy the story. You have no rights to sell. Again Victoria or someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

As long as the contract asks for *nonexclusive* rights, then yes, you do have the right to sell the story again. The reprint market would have to be okay with the story's continued presence on the web, of course.
 

izanobu

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What eqb says is true, with non-exclusive rights, you can resell the story (if a market would take it).

Of course, you could also take the story and put it up on Kindle/Smashwords etc after you sell it to SSA (since the non-exclusive won't prevent you from selling it yourself). Of course, it's unlikely that anyone would pay for a story already freely available, but if it were included in your own collection, at least there's a chance you'd earn some money on it again.

For me, personally, 100 dollars isn't enough to give even non-exclusive forever permissions to someone. There are many better paying markets (with more exposure) that don't ask for that. It all depends on what your aim as a writer is, in the end and what feels comfortable for you.
 

victoriastrauss

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The thing is (and someone more experienced can correct me if I'm wrong) is this is a contradiction. If you sell your rights to SSA, you no longer have them. Which means you can't republish the story elsewhere because you don't have those rights. This is why it's so imperative to be clear on rights and terms. You've sold eprint, print, etc to SSA; they're gone now. You'll never get them back because the contract keeps them forever. So how do you sell something you don't have the rights to sell? Very simply you don't. You can't. And that's why no other publication will buy the story. You have no rights to sell. Again Victoria or someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

Without the exact contract language, everything is speculation.

That being said: If a grant of rights is nonexclusive, it can extend for whatever period of time the publisher chooses--including perpetuity--and the writer will still have the right to sell the story elsewhere (assuming he or she can find a publication that wants to re-publish a story that is still in circulation).

From what everyone has said, it does appear that nonexclusivity is the intent of SSA's contract.

However--and this is the point I've been trying to make--unless the contract actually says so, that intent isn't completely clear. This could present a problem somewhere down the road if the writer wants to re-publish--not with SSA, which obviously doesn't mind, but with another publisher, which might not feel that the rights situation was clear enough for it to make an offer.

This kind of contract nitpicking may seem trivial in the flush of acceptance--especially when the publisher seems open and accessible and provides verbal assurances--but if disputes and problems arise later on, writers will discover--to their dismay--how extremely non-trivial it can be.

- Victoria
 

dgaughran

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Hi,

I just wanted to let anyone know that is interested that I received my check for my story, so if anyone was worried about that end not being kosher, it is. Also, the anthology of all of the Stories of The Week from 2010 will be available for pre-order soon, details to follow as I get them.

Dave
 

Chris P

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Good grief, I've had a story with them for 843 days! I'd forgotten about it, actually. Duotrope says they don't send rejection notices, which would have been nice to know, oh, maybe 600 days ago!

At least they allow sim subs, but it would be nice to know how long was long enough to know it was rejected. Their website only says they are currently closed for submissions.
 
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843 days? Wow.

For what it's worth, here's what I think the rejection letter looks like:

Dear [author]:

Congratulations! Your story, "[redacted]," was selected for Honorable Mention in the Short Story America Prize competition. Kudos! I look forward to considering the story for possible publication in the coming year by Short Story America, and will be in touch in the coming months. Cheers, and well done!

All the best,
That was in October 2012. Follow-up emails went unanswered.

I've gone ahead and started subbing the story in question elsewhere.