I've said this before, more than once, but something has come to light which makes me think a reminder might be a good idea ...
When offered a publishing contract, whether for short stories, poems, articles or books, it's your responsibility to read it and make sure you understand and agree with the terms before you sign. You need to keep that contract, as a reminder of what has been agreed, both to ensure you comply with it, and you are able to challenge the other party if they don't.
Any rights you give up, whether you sell them or give them away, are gone forever (unless otherwise stated in the contract).
Thank you, Patsy, for continually highlighting these issues. We are living in an age of ever-increasing T&C we seemingly can't be bothered to read and just tick the box: clearly we can't just do that. (Didn't want you to think no one had seen your message yesterday! Nevertheless, duly noted!)
ReplyDeleteCan I just mention that the Society of Authors, the writers' union, offers a free contract-checking service for members. I have not yet used it, but recently encountered a children's author who told me that this service had gained her many thousands of pounds. I'm not sure if the SoA provides this for magazine contracts or only for books.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder Patsy, sometimes its hard to remember these points when you get over excited by an acceptance
ReplyDeleteAvoid the current Prima crime writing competition at all costs!
ReplyDelete@ Marguerite – Some T&Cs are so long and complicated I suspect they're designed to make us give up and just agree! I don't think that's the case with publishing contracts, but they can seem daunting.
ReplyDelete@ Eirin – Thanks for the reminder. The advantage of an organisation like that is they know what's usual and what might be worth trying to negotiate over.
@ Sheelagh – Yes, definitely! It's fine to get excited and celebrate, as long as we then calm down and read the document thoroughly before signing.
@ Sharon – Still taking all rights for all entries, are they?
Yes, they are.
ReplyDeleteThis is a new crime writing story comp in Prima. You have to completer the first section of a story, written by a novelist.
It looks great, and the glossy pages will draw you in, but they take all the rights to every single entry.
It's the same with their normal story comp.