Rights to my own work

Umgowa

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If a writer gets several pieces published in different magazines over a period of time, what are the implications if he wants to publish these pieces in a compendium of all his best works? Do the magazines have the right to say "Sorry, you have no right to use this article anymore . . . We published it and it is now ours"????
 

Umgowa

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What do your contracts say?

I'm expecting my first contract in the mail soon and I want to be prepared. So I can't answer your question. From what I'm reading in Writer's Market, many outlets say they "buy one time rights". That sounds like the best deal to me . . . But even after this post, I had to go figure this out for myself. I'd love it if someone would tell me things like this.
 

tlbodine

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It really depends on the magazine and the terms of the contract. Usually they'll buy first-time rights for print or electric or both. So, say, if you sell it to their online magazine and they buy the print rights as well, they get the first chance to put it in print. You could republish it online, but not in print until they do because they own 1st rights.

Some magazines buy rights for a certain amount of time, like a year. And some places buy ALL of your rights. Like I was reading the guidelines for Highlights for Children and they buy all rights including copyright -- they buy it, it's 100% theirs.

So nobody can really tell you what to expect without knowing where you're sending your stuff and what the contract will say. A lot of times the rights that they're buying will be listed in the guidelines so you'll know in advance what you're getting into.
 

Umgowa

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It really depends on the magazine and the terms of the contract. Usually they'll buy first-time rights for print or electric or both. So, say, if you sell it to their online magazine and they buy the print rights as well, they get the first chance to put it in print. You could republish it online, but not in print until they do because they own 1st rights.

Some magazines buy rights for a certain amount of time, like a year. And some places buy ALL of your rights. Like I was reading the guidelines for Highlights for Children and they buy all rights including copyright -- they buy it, it's 100% theirs.

So nobody can really tell you what to expect without knowing where you're sending your stuff and what the contract will say. A lot of times the rights that they're buying will be listed in the guidelines so you'll know in advance what you're getting into.

Let me put words in your mouth . . Most all freelancers look for and like best a magazine that only buys "one-time or first rights." This allows the writer to use the material again after publication. Most Freelancers are reluctant to give up all rights because then the piece they worked so hard on is forever gone. They can no longer use it or lay claim to it.

This is what I'm looking for. What I just wrote above. Is there anyone who can confirm the validity or lack of validity to the above words I've created out of thin air? Thank you.
 

tlbodine

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With fiction, I know that is certainly true. I'm honestly not positive if freelancers feel the same way about articles. I suspect it depends a bit on what kind of article you're writing.

But that said, there's certainly nothing wrong with seeking out only publications that buy one-time rights.
 

Arisa81

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Yup, it all depends on the magazine. They all buy different rights. Sometimes the guidelines will say. You can ask. When I don't know, I ask.
 

ameliawrites

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My .02 on rights

Hi! I haven't posted in forever, but did want to give another point of view. I of course would love to keep all of my work. But to be honest, if I sell a piece, I say goodbye to it. If I want to write it again, I do ~shrug~. There are dozens of ways to say the same story.

That is not to say that I give up my words for cheap...but I don't let that keep me from writing and writing some more.

Just a thought..

Amy J
 

WeaselFire

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I have always sold first rights (or one-time rights if the article warrants), sometimes limited to country. I've never been asked for more, though I have occasionally been asked for reprint rights at no cost.

I used to do a lot of submissions to local/regional markets with one-time rights, often limited to a local area. I'd sometimes get as many as 20 or so Sunday magazines to publish an article. At $5-10 an article per magazine/paper, I was rolling in money. :)

Jeff