I received a contract for publishing a short story in a Magazine?

Maria Ale Barrios · Jan 24, 2018

Hello everyone,

I need some advice. I'm inexperienced in the world of submitting so I need all the help I can get.

I'm not new to writing but new to submitting, and I got my first piece accepted to an online mag recently that doesn't pay but that I like ( I got three rejections for that piece already, so it's not like it was my first try)

Here's the advice I need: I got another acceptance (yay) in a magazine that is new. It looks great, and the editors are young, talented and overall they seem like lovely people. They were excited about my story and had very nice things to say about it, so that's all I can ask for, right?

Buttt....

They don't pay, but they sent a contract that looks good nothing sketchy except for this: They retain the EXCLUSIVE rights to publish my story (digital mag, podcasts) for six months. SIX MONTHS! That's a long time. Also, if in those six months if they do a podcast out of my short story the clock starts again, and they keep the rights for six more months! I mean, it's great all the things that they're planning to advertise their authors and stuff, but I don't feel comfortable giving the rights for so long. Is this normal? Usually, after publication, rights revert to the author, no?

I'm waiting on four other magazines but they are top literary magazines, and it's unlikely they'll say yes.

Thank you guys in advance.

Anna Iguana · Jan 24, 2018

Are the acceptances for two different pieces? If the two acceptances are for the same piece, most publications require you, as a condition you accepted by submitting under their submission guidelines, to withdraw a piece as soon as it's been accepted elsewhere. That is... the first place that accepts the piece gets the piece.

Six months is not a long time for an exclusive, and exclusives are not uncommon. At this forum, we can't give you specific advice about whether to accept a contract, because that would be legal advice. I'd really encourage you to read some more journals' submission guidelines. Some journals post their contract terms so you can see them before submitting. That can give you more sense of the publishing landscape.

And congratulations on the acceptances!

Aggy B. · Jan 24, 2018

Six months is completely normal. In fact, that's on the short end of print/digital rights. (For a short story usually 18 months is the max and they will likely keep non-exclusive rights for several years if not in perpetuity.)

As Anna pointed out you can't sell the same story to multiple markets at the same time. And once it's been published you can, sometimes, acquire a reprint publication but you have to make certain the market knows it's a reprint. (Some markets will not look at stories that are still available in other magazines or archived online.) Foreign language reprints are a different matter, those are typically non-exclusive.)

Congrats!

Maria Ale Barrios · Jan 24, 2018

Hey, Anna!

Sorry, that wasn't clear. The two acceptances are not of the same piece, and they are in two different magazines. The first one didn't send a contract, and the rights revert to me after publication.

Yeah, sure, that makes sense. Six months is not uncommon? Okay, that makes me feel better.

Thanks for the advice

Maria Ale Barrios · Jan 24, 2018

Hey, Aggy,

Thanks for the advice! Is not the same story

I was just weirded out by the contract the second magazine sent and the six months thing, but now that you girls say it's normal it all makes a little more sense.

MaeZe · Jan 24, 2018

The two stories I had published had similar contracts. Keep in mind though that once you've published a short story, even though your rights are returned, "already published" is usually a barrier to additional publishing anyway.

But in my case, that's fine. It's not like I expected my little short stories to have a huge marketable value in the future. I'm onto writing more stuff. :Thumbs:

mafiaking1936 · Jan 27, 2018

I've managed to sell a couple things as reprints, and usually the time between submission and publications is long enough that there's no problem. When I submit reprints I add language in the cover letter like "the period of exclusivity for this piece ends on XXX, after which all rights revert to me." It's usually 3 or 6 months, sometimes a year.

Polenth · Feb 6, 2018

Something to watch for in contracts with exclusives is what happens if they fail to publish it. You want a rights reversion that happens if they fail to publish within a certain time. This time might be quite long (it could be a few years, for example). But it gives you a way out if they crumble before you get published.

I'd be cautious of the exclusive being extended if they publish it in a different format. What they're doing here is making it so they can have an exclusive for a whole year, but in a way that makes it seem like they're only asking for six months. Most places that have paid me have been in the 3-6 month mark, with no options for them to extend the exclusive time. So they're asking for a long time and not giving you a firm date for when the rights revert, which is a lot when you're doing them a favour. It's one of those things that isn't a complete dealbreaker, but I'd personally rather have a fixed exclusive time agree with no strings attached.

Remember that if it isn't in the contract, they're under no obligation to do it (that includes promised advertising and the like). If it is in the contract, they could do it (such as holding the story for a year by timing the second release to fall at the end of the six months).

Motley · Feb 6, 2018

Congratulations!

In the few I've had published, exclusive for 6 months to a year was pretty common.
I created a calendar for myself with rights reversion dates on them so I can make use of those reprints.

I received a contract for publishing a short story in a Magazine?

Maria Ale Barrios

Anna Iguana

reading all the things

Aggy B.

Not as sweet as you think

Maria Ale Barrios

Maria Ale Barrios

MaeZe

mafiaking1936

Nihil debetur. Nihil debens.

Polenth

Mushroom

Motley

New kid, be gentle!