HOLD ON TO YOUR RIGHTS by Pam White

Today, publishers and editors are doing their best to maximize their investment in writers. For writers this means that the contract you are likely to be offered will not be in your favor. Publishers are requiring that writers give up more rights for the same money. New writers, in particular, are the big losers since they have less experience in negotiating contracts and less influence when they do try to get the contract changed.

Being the loser means that your stream of income from multiple sources for one article will dry up with one take-all-rights contract. This is how it works. That amazing article on cleaning octopus for cooking has been bought by Seafood Gourmet magazine. The publisher only signs contracts for all rights. You figure that there aren't that many markets to resell this article to and you have bills to pay, so you agree.

You get the one check, and lose the right to use your article for any other purpose. You cannot sell it to an anthology, or post it on your website. Ten years from today, you still cannot sell or use that article in anyway.

The publisher, on the other hand, will now be able to publish the article in his magazine, then post it on the internet. Next year, your article plus recipes will appear in the annual Best of Seafood Gourmet Recipes, and the publisher can actually sell it to an anthology or another magazine. And yes, the publisher would keep the paycheck. Now think of the extra money you would have earned if you had been able to sell it to that anthology, or a second magazine as a reprint.

To protect yourself, watch out for the following language in your contracts: *Work for Hire: When you sign a work for hire contract, the writing you've done for the publisher becomes the property of the publisher. The publisher owns the copyright to your work and can use or sell this piece of writing as often and wherever she wishes. The publisher could put her or anyone else's name on the byline if she so desires. This contract effectively shuts off any income from this work beyond the one-time fee.

*All Rights: This means that you have sold all rights to the publisher. This has become a part of doing business with magazines and newspapers today, much more than in the past, because writers were asking for additional fees to allow their work to be archived online or included in special sections or issues. Now publishers ask for all rights so they can use the piece as they see fit at some time down the road without paying extra. Again, the writer loses the income he deserves for each time his piece is published in print or online.

*All Rights for All Media that Exist Now or Will Exist in the Future: This is the newest clause in contracts. As technology develops, new ways to distribute written works will be created. This allows the publisher to be able to turn your piece into a movie, book, longer article, digital recording...you name it, your work can be published and distributed that way. All without you earning any additional income from it.

While all of the above are good business for the publisher, they are not good for writers. Don't feel stuck. Don't accept untenable terms in contracts.

What you want to find in your contracts: *FNASR: First North American Serial Rights means that the publisher is the first to publish your piece in a periodical. The terms will also state how long you must wait before selling it to another periodical. This might mean you can resell it one month after the original publication or three years later. It also means that if the publisher wants to put it on the magazine's website or in an anthology or compilation book, the writer will be paid each time, according to new, separately negotiated contracts.

*First Rights, One-time Rights: These also presume that you will resell the piece at some future time, and allow you the benefit of multiple streams of income from one piece of writing. This is good for the writer.

When faced with the All Rights or Work for Hire, try to negotiate a better deal. Push for more money (a lot more money) or a contract that gives the publisher limited rights in some way. You can agree not to resell your piece to a direct competitor or to another print publication (this would keep your options open to digital or online sales). And you always have the right to say "no, thanks," if you are in a position to take such a stand.

Another place to turn for help when you are unhappy with the terms of the contract presented to you is the National Writers Union at www.nwu.org .

About the Author

About the Author: Get a free copy of Ten Tips Editors Want You to Know when you subscribe to the no-cost, bi-weekly ezine, Food Writing at www.food-writing.com . Publisher Pamela White is the author of Make Money as a Food Writer in Six Lessons available at amazon.com .