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You are probably giving them all your rights when you do it last minute.
Newspapers copyright their individual papers. You'll see freelance stuff a lot of time listed as "special to." It's been my experience that a publication assumes all rights in the absence of other things, and they'd win on that given it's the industry standard.
I helped launch many publications. At my last two, the publisher was insisting I get the writers to sign a contract selling all rights because he'd heard that's how it's done. He was from a direct mail background, so it was seriously, just reading to him. I drew up a contract that went the opposite way, and he wasn't thrilled with me, but I wasn't backing down. My writers would have READILY given all rights, no problem. And in most cases, they wouldn't want to try and sell it again, so it didn't matter. I've never understood that. To kill yourself for $50, then not be able to do anything with it again. From the publisher's point of view, I had to show him over and over that he would never use this stuff again, so why not give some goodwill to people. Bottom line, which made him mad, I told him he didn't pay enough to ask that of people.
For my end of it, I was totally contract (not employee). I OWNED everything I wrote always.
As for the magazines, I'm working on reprint stuff now during lunch. I wrote for a bunch of business publications for a decade or more. Along the way, I found an in-house (company magazine) that bought articles that had been published. I literally photocopied some articles, put them in an evelope and sent them off. I got a check for a few hundred dollars with each package. It wasn't a ton, but it made no money for me sitting in the drawer either.
Kim
posted by
terpgirl30
on July 1, 2005 at 9:42 AM
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copyright
Investigation through the Library of Congress indicates if a piece is written for hire, ie in the case of writing for a magazine: The copyrights remain that of the writer until which time that payment is made. At that point it reverts to the magazine. They become the owners of the writing.I can only presume the same holds true of photos. A photogragher friend says she always makes them let her retain rights to her work, in the event of need. In this way, she is paid each time the photo is used, rather than just the once. She may be on to something
posted by
stpwriter1
on June 30, 2005 at 4:16 PM
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Dances,
Don't we all?
posted by
RAME
on June 29, 2005 at 12:12 PM
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