In an ideal world, writing would just be about writing.
I think even studying craft or marketing can be fun. I had some great days editing or rewriting. But those things are, as tiring as they might be, easier because they are mostly, if not entirely, under my control.
I can’t control how many of my pitches will be accepted, but I can control what sort of stories I will be pitching. I can also work on my pitching frequency.
But as writers, we must also need to deal with something annoying, mediocre, or awesome depending on the terms of our agreement: Our rights.
What are rights?
Rights are essentially how much ownership and control you are giving your client or publisher. Do they only own the story only in North America? Do they own it in both print, or online? Do the rights revert back to you after a certain period of time, or they own it forever? Do you have ownership should the story be turned into a movie/play/novel, or did you (un)knowingly relinquish that?
Types of Rights
– First North American Serial Rights: FNASR
It means as it sounds. You’re selling the rights to be published in North America once. After publication, rights are yours again.
– Other rights based on geography
Now, while you no longer have the FNASR after this, you can still sell it to Europe, Australia, the UK, etc.
– Rights based on medium
You can also offer first electronic rights for your piece to be published online.
It’s not necessary to know what right means what right off the bat as long as you don’t sign anything blindly.
– Rights based on time
Sometimes, you write a post for a site, and the guidelines indicate you can republish wherever after 30 days. The time can change depending on the pub, but it is in your best interest to check when/if ever you’ll be allowed to republish.
– Movie/TV/book/etc. rights
Who holds the rights, should the story be adapted to a movie, a TV show, a book? A friend of mine recently got a six-figures non-fiction deal through an article she wrote for a respectable pub. Had the pub bought all rights, this wouldn’t be possible.
This is a great example of a pub that respects writers. She got paid well, and she still got to make more money for her efforts as she deserved.
One right you might want to avoid relinquishing: If you can hold your ground, you should keep reprint rights. You should also avoid signing over all rights forever.
Yes, some pubs really do ask for it. And funnily enough, it is usually the guest post site that doesn’t pay or a pub that pays very little.
It is fine if you can never publish the piece anywhere for a month, even a year. But selling all rights permanently gets you paid only once.
*
Please note that my post is meant to be an introduction and a reminder without being too confusing.
For a thorough list of rights and their definitions, I recommend reading and bookmarking this fantastic article on Writing World: Rights: What They Mean and Why They’re Important.
How to Decide When to Fight for More
– Prominence of publication
– Payment
– Relationship with editors
– Your attachment level to the story
– Other writer’s experiences: positive and negative
All the points above are meant to help you ask and answer this question: “Is it worth it?”
I’d love to be published by Vanity Fair, for instance. So I could see myself giving up a bit more to obtain that byline. It also depends on the paycheck. You may not (and should not) be ready to give up on too many rights if you are offered a couple of hundred bucks. But what if you are getting more zeroes in your paycheck?
Still, only you can decide if it is worth it.
Early in my career, there was a publication in one of my favorite niches. They published from new and experienced writers alike, as long as your pitch and writing were solid. The only problem was they bough all electronic rights permanently. It was all very good when the site was online. I could show it as my portfolio pieces with the comments and shares along with my byline. Even though I save religiously, I haven’t saved all these pieces when they were online. And now I can’t find some of the drafts.
You live, you learn.
In theory, I could resell the pieces to print magazines. But there are few print magazines dedicated to writing and freelancing. Not all of them accept reprints (even though your article was only published online), and each magazine, even if it is in the same niche, operates differently. Some base editorial calendars on themes, so your idea may not match for months – if at all.
It’s your story, your baby, your career and your livelihood.
