SiteYou Ask, We Answer: Can I write on the same topic for two mags?
Dinsa asks: I have an FOB idea (a short science news story) that I think will fit right into two magazines — one American one that buys First North American Rights, while the other one from Down Under likes to have All Rights. So, basically, I am planning to submit the pitch simultaneously to both. It’s a short news piece, so there’s no room for slants, honestly. What worries me is this: If both the magazines like it, could I get away with turning in different text (different interviews, different experts etc) to both? Of course, the angle will be similar.
There are a few things to consider:
- What do the magazines’ contracts stipulate in terms of non-compete? Does one of them stipulate that you not write about the same topic for a competing magazine, for any other magazine, for a certain amount of time after publication, etc.? (And if it does, by the way, this is something you want to try to negotiate out of the contract because it hampers your ability to make a living selling your ideas.)
- Do the magazines compete? Since they’re in different countries, my first guess would be no…but you never know. While you can sell the same idea to two different markets if you write them differently, using different sources, etc., you may be burning bridges if they’re competing magazines. For example, Discover and Scientific American would probably not be happy if you wrote on the same bit of breaking news for each of them.
- Can you really write the news piece in two different ways? If it’s based on a particular study done by a particular researcher, for example, it may be difficult to find another expert source who can talk about the study.
- Can you query? If you write up two different FOBs to send to the two magazines, you’re doing a lot of work up-front that may not sell. If you query, you can wait until you get a response from one or both of them to decide how to handle the situation. Why worry about writing two FOBs if you don’t have to?
Renegade readers, have you ever been in a situation where you wrote an FOB on the same topic for two different magazines? What happened? Do you have any additional advice? Post it in the comments!
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3 Responses to “You Ask, We Answer: Can I write on the same topic for two mags?”
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Chloe
Said this on July 30th, 2007 at 8:01pm:I come from the land Down Under (hee hee!) and I would argue that the mags probably do compete - the local market is miserably small and we have a lot of international mags on the stands.
Asking for All Rights is a bit rude, though.
Melissa Barton
Said this on July 31st, 2007 at 12:26pm:Under the circumstances, I’m not sure that it would be worth the effort to try to come up with two different takes on a short news item; I’d probably go for the magazine that paid better (since reselling a news item is unlikely).
That said–a lot of times with science news, it’s good to get a perspective from a researcher not connected with the study, so that can be a point of difference (if the field is big enough).
piper
Said this on August 1st, 2007 at 8:33pm:In my experience, it’s hard to predict what an editor will consider “competition,” even when it comes to two very different spins on a somewhat similar topic.
If I were you and wanted to do a simultaneous query, I’d offer FNASR and FASR up front - regardless of that “All Rights” preference…
I mean, who *wouldn’t* “like” to have All Rights? Doesn’t mean we have to offer ‘em!