SiteYou Ask, We Answer: Selling Reprints
Sarah asks: I’m wondering how reprints are viewed by editors today. For example, I had something published on a storyblog (not my own). I would now like to submit the same essay to hard copy magazines. I can’t find anything mentioned about reprints in the writers’ guidelines for these publications. Should I mention that it was previously published (I assume so), or should I find out before even submitting whether a given publication will even consider it?
Trying to sell reprints of your work is a great idea…something I should get off my lazy butt and do more often. If a magazine you’re interested in doesn’t mention reprints in their guidelines, I would either e-mail or call the editor and ask, or just e-mail in the whole piece, specifying in your cover letter that you’re selling reprint rights to article X. (I say “selling” so that the editor knows you’re not offering the piece for free.) This indicates that the article has already been published somewhere else. Good luck!
Readers, do you sell a lot of reprints? Please share your advice in the Comments! [lf]
10 Responses to “You Ask, We Answer: Selling Reprints”
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Misti Sandefur
Said this on January 9th, 2008 at 1:39am:I’ve sold quite a few reprints and do as you said, “Send a cover letter with the article specifying that I’m selling the reprint rights to X article.” In the cover letter, I also mention the name of the last publication it was published in as well as the date of publication. I let them know this because some editors won’t buy reprints until their so old — six months, for example.
If the guidelines do not tell me whether or not they buy reprints, I check what rights they buy. If it says they buy First North American rights or First Rights, then I can pretty much guess they don’t buy reprints.
Hope this added advice helps your readers.
Blessings,
Misti Sandefur, Novelist/Freelance Writer
http://www.mistisandefur.com/
Susan J.
Said this on January 9th, 2008 at 10:41am:I’ve sold a handful of reprints and would definitely like to sell more. I recently tried to sell a reprint of an essay and mentioned the name of the pub where it originally appeared in my email, thinking the editor of this other magazine would be impressed. Instead, she wrote back saying “we can’t consider content from X pub - sorry!” This begs the question, do you need to say WHERE it ran upfront or just say you’re trying to sell a reprint?
Amy
Said this on January 9th, 2008 at 10:55am:Good information to have! On a related note, I wrote a piece for a regional pet publication last year. By the time it made it to publication, it had been so chopped up and edited that it was barely recognizable as my original work. If I were to update the piece slightly, maybe throw in one new source, could I re-sell it as an original article, or would it still qualify as a re-print? In the end I’d have two articles on the same subject, but that really looked nothing alike.
John Hewitt
Said this on January 9th, 2008 at 11:36am:I’ve had many of the articles on my site reprinted in small magazines, but it isn’t exactly a big income generator.
LindaFormichelli
Said this on January 9th, 2008 at 10:14pm:Misti, good point about mentioning what magazine the article originally appeared in and when; Susan, I recommend this as well since most magazines won’t want to run an article that appeared in what they consider a competing pub.
Amy, that’s a hard call. I’ve read different estimates as to how much of an article you need to change for it to be considered a new article. To me, if you add a new source or two, don’t reuse quotes (find new ones from your interview transcripts), and sell it to a non-competing magazine, it could be considered new.
Dallas McCoy
Said this on January 10th, 2008 at 7:15am:Hope you don’t mind if I comment on something you don’t ask for. I have been writing for years, and as yet, I find no mention of the classification for what I write. For example, I give answers to questions that have mysteries for centuries. A u. s. senator had a son commit suicide. He was in agony and went about putting in a law that would work on preventing suicides. Either he got the law through or it’s not effective. Why wasn’t it effective? Mostly because he didn’t know the prime source of suicide and when I tried to tell him, all I got was silence. This is only a little of what I write, and when I call publishers to ask for help inb formatting or assembling, all I get is a hangup. When I write, no answer. My writings don’t enthuse religious orders. One reason is. I call all religious orders phony, and worshippers of a false God. I then give reasxoning and logic as to why I say such things. I tell legislators why their laws for the most part as very instrumental in leading into the desstruction of this world as a habitat for mankind. The list goes on and on. Anything I have ever read in publications such as yours have hothing about reality writers. Would you consider such? Whether you do or not, would you please give me an answer, or at least talk to me about what I have?
Dallas McCoy
Said this on January 10th, 2008 at 7:18am:WOW, seems you always have ways to shut down anything that has meaning.
Dallas McCoy
Said this on January 10th, 2008 at 7:19am:Sorry, didn’t understand what you meant by moderation.
HisGirlFriday
Said this on January 10th, 2008 at 10:56am:Amy and Linda - this is exactly the question I wanted to post! I had a story that was edited beyond recognition in one magazine. I think I’m going to email some other mags and attach my original version (which I think is much better) and indicate that another pub ran it, then maybe indicate I can include the version ran by the other pub? Sound good?
re; reprints - what do you expect regarding payment? I got $1 a word for the original piece.
LindaFormichelli
Said this on January 10th, 2008 at 11:39am:HisGirlFriday, I don’t know…that sounds confusing to me. I wouldn’t include both versions. Maybe just sell the version that already ran as a reprint? Or you could send your original version and mention that a slightly altered version of the article ran in magazine X.
As for pay, in my experience the magazine will let you know what they pay for reprints. The most I’ve ever received is half the amount I was paid for first rights (and that was when the original magazine reprinted the article in a sister pub).