Recycling

Ritergal · Jan 12, 2009

I've heard that once an item or story is published on the net, in an eZine or on a web page (your own or someone else'), or a site like eZine Articles, it is dead for print submission. Does anyone have any firm advice on this? How about revisions of the material? What are the ethics and format for mentioning this in a cover letter?

Thanks a bunch!

Clair Dickson · Jan 12, 2009

Once it appears in some public form it's published. I believe if it's SERIOUS revised/rewritten, so that it no longer appears to be the same thing, it can be reprinted as original.

Otherwise, it's a reprint.

Some places take reprints-- and some may take a reprint if you pull the web version (if you can do so.)

Mayntz · Jan 13, 2009

For some publications, it doesn't matter if its been published online or not. You'd need to check with their guidelines and reprint policies for specific magazines and other print publications.

DeleyanLee · Jan 13, 2009

Posting it on the web so that anyone can access (which is why AW's crit forums are members only and password protected) it is first publication rights, which is pretty much the most valuable rights an author has to sell. It's not that it's "dead to print submission" at all--it's just that many print publishers don't want to pay to print something that's available for nothing on the web.

Ritergal · Jan 13, 2009

Thanks all. You confirmed my hunch.

Recycling

Ritergal

Clair Dickson

A dark core to every cloud

Mayntz

DeleyanLee

Writing Anarchist

Ritergal