Publishing Rights and Ownership, Help!

[kelley]

If a magazine says they have publishing rights and I retain ownership of that article, what does that mean? Does that mean I can still have that article published elsewhere? What if I wanted to use that article in a self-published book, can I still do that since I have ownership? I am not exactly sure what my options are. Anyone got some expertise for me? It would greatly help, thanks!

[RedBaron]

If a magazine says they have publishing rights and I retain ownership of that article, what does that mean? Does that mean I can still have that article published elsewhere? What if I wanted to use that article in a self-published book, can I still do that since I have ownership? I am not exactly sure what my options are. Anyone got some expertise for me? It would greatly help, thanks!

If I remember correctly, I believe that publishing rights means you allow them to publish it and that you still own all other rights to it. They may ask you to wait a period of time before publishing it somewhere else, though. I had that with one article I submitted. The owner simply asked I wait so many months before putting it anywhere else.

You can use it in your self-published work.

The only time you can't is when you sell all rights to another person/business. For example, if I ghost write something, once I'm paid for it, I have no rights to use that material ever again. If you sell complete rights to someone for something you submit, that's it, they own it.

[kelley]

Thanks! That is helpful.

[lish1936]

To add to Shari's comment, I suggest you find out from the magazine what they mean by "Publishing Rights." This is a very broad term that includes several types of publication rights. It's so easy to get involved without know the specifics.

Here's a link that describes publishing rights in some detail. It's a good idea to know them.

http://freelancewrite.about.com/od/lega ... rights.htm

Blessings,

Lillian

[Sparrow]

I echo that you need to know what kind of "publishing rights" they have. If they have only "first rights" then you can do whatever you want with the article later. If you want to publish it again with another magazine or traditional publisher then you'd have to let them know that you're offering second rights, but if you self publish you can do anything you want with it.

But if they are asking for "all publishing rights" then it means you retain authorship but don't have the right to re-use it anywhere without their permission.