SiteYou Ask, We Answer: Can I Resell an Article That’s in Limbo?
Desiree asks: I have written several pieces that were well received by editors, but seem to be on perpetual hold to be printed. These have not been officially killed, and I was paid in full for each piece. In one case, I was told that the magazine will not be printing a 500 word piece because they decided to print a longer feature that included the same information that was in my short. In another, I was told that due to a section being cut from 10 pages to 6, my piece would be held onto for a future issue…and they’ve been holding onto it for over a year. I am wondering about re-pitching these ideas to other magazines. Is that appropriate in a case where I know the magazine will never print the piece I wrote? Would I ask the editor for permission and double check that it will not run (one of my contracts states I will not write on the subject for a competitor within 6 months of publication)? Or in these situations am I limited to cashing the checks and considering it a clipless assignment? If it is acceptable to try to re-sell either the article or the idea, how do I tactfully go about asking an editor if a piece will ever go to print if they have previously said it is “on hold”?
I would ask the editor in each case: “This article seems to have been on hold for a long time, and I’d love for this topic get out there. Do you plan on running this piece? If not, it it okay if I pitch the idea elsewhere?” A similar thing happened to me with an article I wrote for a magazine that later went out of business. The magazine had bought all rights, but I figured, why does it need the rights to my article if it doesn’t exist? I e-mailed my editor, and he checked and said that I could go ahead and take back the rights to the article, which I went on to sell as a reprint to a different magazine. So it never hurts to ask for the rights back.
If the editor wants to hold onto your story longer, I’d just be happy that I got a check and move on with other ideas and other magazines. [lf]
6 Responses to “You Ask, We Answer: Can I Resell an Article That’s in Limbo?”
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Ann
Said this on January 27th, 2010 at 3:41pm:Linda
Thanks for this post – nowadays this kind of thing is happening more and more.
I wondered why you had to consider your article a reprint. Surely reprint refers to whether or not it has been published and not whether or not you have been paid for it.
If it has never been read by any readers why is it a reprint
Thanks
Ann
LindaFormichelli
Said this on January 28th, 2010 at 8:01pm:Hi, Ann,
In my case, the article *had* been published. The magazine gave me back the rights after they went out of business, so I was able to sell the article as a reprint.
Anon
Said this on February 2nd, 2010 at 5:42pm:It seems to me there should be some reasonable expiry date on not writing for a competitor clauses. It makes sense if they publish on schedule as promised, but if they are delaying indefinitely, then you shouldn’t be held to not writing for competitors – you’re not employed by them and so at a certain point, they can’t really continue to dictate who you can and can’t write for (unless it’s a regular freelance gig, in which case it’s worth your while to stick to the dictates of the clause).
LindaFormichelli
Said this on February 2nd, 2010 at 7:54pm:Good point, Anon…contracts that have that clause usually specify how long after the on-sale date it’s in effect — but what happens if they never run the piece? I would definitely bring it up to the editor after a certain point. They can’t expect you to not write on a similar topic ever again!
Anne Wayman
Said this on February 4th, 2010 at 2:16pm:I’d ask, but if they didn’t answer in 30 days or so I’d offer it to other publications stating to them that you were only offering second or reprint rights… it’s a shame this sort of thing happens… in the future I suspect I wouldn’t wait a year or more, but act after 90 days or 6 months.
Another approach is to really rewrite the articles in question and sell them again… I fine it’s pretty easy to rewrite stuff I’ve already written once. Won’t work in all situations, but more than you might first think.
LindaFormichelli
Said this on February 4th, 2010 at 2:35pm:Thanks for the suggestions, Anne!