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Different Types Of Literary Rights
The Legalities of a Written Work
This article is not for those who are uninterested in publishing your work, whether it be a poem, article or book.
However, for those who do have interest in publication, there are certain rights that you must consider. As the author of your work, you hold all rights to your work after you finish the writing stage. Once you move to the marketing stage and actually find someone willing to publish, you must be aware of the different definitions of rights in the publishing field. Knowledge is power when it comes time to negotiate with a publisher, so this article is designed to arm you with that knowledge so you can make an informed decision.
As a general rule of thumb, the more rights that you sign away, the less control you have over your work and the money that you are paid. It is all well and good to get published. Just be sure you understand the business side of any transaction before signing on the dotted line.
Thoughts on writers' rights
Helpful article regarding rights and contracts
FIRST SERIAL RIGHTS
This offer is to a newspaper or magazine to publish your work for the first time and first time only. Many times the words “North American” precede First Serial to specify a particular geographical location.
This does not mean it cannot be published in some other newspaper or magazine. It simply means that you are promising that the contracted agent will be the first to have you work appear in their publication.
ONE TIME RIGHTS
This is the least-limiting type of rights to be granted. It is often called “simultaneous rights” because you have the freedom to sign a contract with one or more publications for the same work. There are, in fact, no limitations to these rights at all.
For example, if you write an article about preparing for a roadtrip, you could sell it to magazines in all fifty states if you signed one time rights with each publication.
SECOND SERIAL REPRINT RIGHTS
These are rights given to a newspaper or magazine to publish your work after it has already appeared in another source. These are often called “nonexclusive rights” and they mean exactly what they sound like.
ALL RIGHTS
In essence, if you sign an “all rights” contract for one of your pieces, you are signing over all ownership of that work forever. Once you have signed away all rights, you have no ownership or control of that piece of writing, and any monies gained after you have signed away your rights will never find their way to your bank account.
In today’s competitive world, there is very little reason to ever sign all of your rights away. If it is good enough to sell to one publication, it is good enough to sell to another, so avoid at all costs signing away all rights.
ELECTRONIC RIGHTS
This is the new kid on the block with regards to publishing rights, and it refers to a wide range of electronic media including online magazines, interactive games, databases and online anthologies.
If you feel the need to sign away electronic rights, specify exactly which electronic media the contract covers.
SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS
Usually this refers only to books written, and it covers other rights outside of the book publication. For instance, if your book is made into a movie or television series, those would fall under subsidiary rights. Audiotapes, translation rights, and promotional materials like tshirts, mugs and posters would also fit into this category.
Keep in mind that you need to negotiate for a percentage of sales from the licensing of these rights, and you must also specify in the contract who controls the rights, either the author or the publisher.
DRAMATIC, TELEVISION AND MOTION PICTURE RIGHTS
As it appears, these are subsidiary rights, often purchased as a one-year option for a percent of the total price.
For example, after you have written a book, you are approached by a movie producer who is interested in selling your idea to a motion picture company for production. They would sign a one year option with you, meaning they have one year control of your book options, during which time they will try to find a motion picture company willing to make the movie. If, after one year, there is no movie deal, you are free to sll these rights to a new company.
Was this information helpful?
Your First Responsibility Is to Yourself
Writers are….well, writers! By nature they are not marketing experts and they rarely have any legal background. The good news is that you know how to write well enough so that someone is interested in buying your work. The bad news is you need to be aware of legalities so you don’t get taken to the proverbial cleaners.
If you find yourself in the enviable position of having found a publisher interested in you, make sure you understand what you are signing on that contract. If you do not understand the terminology or meaning of your rights, seek counsel before signing away your rights. You worked hard to get to that place. Now it is time to reap the rewards.
2013 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)
Comments
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Freelance writers must be aware of this or suffer the consequences. Thank you Dianna and have a rousing day my friend.
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Hopefully you are right, Daisy. Thank you for sharing this.
Filing this for future reference. As you say, writers must be aware of their rights so they do not lose vuluable content and rewards.
Bill,
Thanks for publishing this very informative article. I'm certain you have helped many of your fellow writers.
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Glimmer, it probably happens far too often. A little knowledge now can save someone a ton of money in the future.
Thank you my friend and have a great weekend.
Wow - I had no idea there were all of these "rights" associated with writing a book. This is extremely useful for people because I can imagine how easy it is for someone, who doesn't know this info, to sign their rights away. Shared all around!
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Thank you again DDE! It's so nice to have you back with us and I do appreciate you greatly.
Very important and writers must read this hub the information is most helpful and true
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My pleasure, Kathi!
Much appreciated Billy . . .
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Deb, most people don't know the difference in these rights. You are very welcome my friend.
Billy, I had no idea! Thanks so much for this information, so we have something to arm ourselves with. I still have not been published, but with your knowledge that you're imparting, it might be a good thing. Thanks again.
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Heidi, I agree....I do custom content and I sign away all rights and that's fine with me.....that is the general understanding in that type of writing and really that's as it should be.
Thanks for adding that point to the discussion.
This is often a sticky issue when you're hired to write custom content. Often you will be signing away all rights. Sometimes it doesn't matter. If it's custom content for a client, it's irrelevant for anything else. If you think you might want rights to use custom content for yourself, make sure both all rights are clearly defined in your contract with your client.
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chinared, thank you and here's hoping your next contract turns out better for you.
Informative hub, Bill. Bottom line is, I agree contracts are a completely different animal, and should not be signed without legal assistance. My first publishing contract is proof of that... hahaha. Voted up and helpful
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Vicki, that is my hope as well. I would love to hear that many of you got published....I'm rooting for you my friend.
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Mark, the time will come, buddy, and then this will come in handy.
Thanks as always, Mark!
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Faith, for those lucky enough to get published, it is vitally important to know these rights. Let's hope we both have to worry about this soon. :)
Blessings to you my friend
bill
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drbj, kind words my friend and I thank you. I have all these facts inside my brain; might as well share them. :)
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Coffee, it better be one heck of a great contract for anyone to sign away all rights. It's just not necessary in today's world of literature. :) Thank you for the visit my friend.
I just love that we have you to call upon with all things written for he public eye! You o so much research that it is quite mind boggling! Thank you so much, Bill. Hopefully I will be able to get to the stage of needing to use this.
This is very useful and valuable information Bill. I have not gotten to the point of publishing anything other than one "Test" ebook on amazon, however when I do this will be on my mind.
Mark
This is really important legal information you have shared here, Bill!
A lot of writers do not think of all the legalities, but solely concentrate on writing, but writers do need to know such to protect their rights as writers and what is best for them as writers too.
Peace and blessings, Faith Reaper
Important information for any writer, Bill. Thanks for sharing all these facts you have gleaned over time. Your ability as a researcher is only eclipsed by your talent as a writer and teacher. Trust me!
It is very interesting to know these things from you, billybuc. Signing an "All Rights" transaction is putting one's self and his literary work within a danger zone. You get trapped; there is no way out to explore and expand beyond its boundaries.
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Good morning PS. The weather is not lovely this morning but we have gorgeous weather on the way by mid-week, and then we will live up to our claim of being God's Country. :)
Thanks for stopping by my friend. Have a great day.
blessings and .a big hug
bill
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Chitrangada, you are very correct. Most writers are not aware of these things and yet they are so important.
Thank you my friend and blessings to you always.
bill
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Thank you Anna! It really is my pleasure to help other writers who have been so good to me. :)
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Gypsy, if this is helpful then fantastic. I hope you sell many of your beautiful poems. Thank you!
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My pleasure, Martin, and thank you!
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My pleasure, Alicia, and thank you as always for dropping by my Olympia site. :)
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Vinaya, that is why I write these hubs. Most writers do not know this information and it is very important to be armed with this information. Thank you for stopping by on this Sunday.
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vkwok, thank you and hopefully some day you will sell that story of yours and need this advice.
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I think if you have the money, Jackie, it's a good idea to copyright, although as soon as you write something and put your name to it, it is supposedly protected by copyright law....supposedly. :) However, new laws come into effect once you sell your work to a publication.
Anyway, best wishes to you and thank you!
The rights issue is one that anyone who is considering publishing needs to carefully consider. Truthfully I knew of a few of these but not most. You have shared an abundance of important info that we need to keep in mind.Thanks for sharing as usual, Billy.
Have a lovely Sunday out in WA state.
It is gorgeous this morning in Florida
Angels are on the way to you and your family :) ps
This is a very vital information shared by you. Most of us are not aware of these Literary rights. Thanks for enlightening, with this useful information.
Voted up and shared!
Interesting and well researched hub.
You really should be in some kind of consultancy role, if you are not already.
Thankyou! Anna :)
Voted up. Thanks you Bill for this useful and much needed info. Passing this on.
Thank you for this. Useful Information
This is a very useful hub that I will read many times, Bill. The information is very important. Thank you for sharing it.
Billy,
your hubs on writing are wonderful. There is so much to learn from an experienced and published writer like you.
As a writer, we should know about the rights, otherwise we will be cheated.
Thanks for sharing this useful and informative hub.
A really great hub that looks into the legal stuff with writing. Thanks!
Very interesting and I did not know any of it so thanks. For poems and stories I copyright those through the US online and it is only $35, and can be done with pictures too. I have never read anything about any limit either so I always do collections. I just hear too much of people having their stuff stolen, so if they want to take mine off and make big bucks I can win it in the end, lol.
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LOL...Joe, you had me laughing with the "bitchin' weekend" comment. I am relaxing my friend, and staying away from the computer as much as possible.
A movie in my future? Well wouldn't that be a lovely surprise? I wonder if I could play myself? LOL I probably wouldn't do a good job of it.
Thank you my friend and I do mean friend. I hope you are having a bitchin' weekend as well.
Aloha,
bill
Bill, this was very good information, and I'm with Kathryn in hoping that when I'm asked to sign a contract someday, my mind's eye will be winking at you, thanking you for providing me with great tips about writers' rights. Now, back at you--in the short time I've known you and enjoyed your massive body of work (in a variety of media), I know without a doubt that there's a movie in your future. It may be based on either a book you write, maybe even an autobiography, or perhaps a biography someone writes about you. That is my wish for you because you've done so very much in a relatively short time (approximately fifteen months) to help so many. Anyway, for now, thank you specifically for this hub's valuable information. Continue to have a bitchin' weekend, my friend! Aloha!
Joe
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Theresa, I really hope you do that. What a lovely tribute it would be to her. ;) Thank you dear friend.
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MsDora, it is my pleasure. Thank you once again.
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Annie, I hope you do that some day...truly! :) Thank you!
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Mary, you don't have me fooled. That skull isn't as thick as you would have us believe. :) Thank you my friend and have a great weekend.
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Lizzy, for a small fee I'll be glad to handle your affairs. :)
HI Bill - I don't plan on publishing (except maybe my dissertation),but I do hope to get my Polish grandmother's poetry published so this will be important information to have. :) Thank you, thank you. Theresa
Thanks for this very relevant information. It is vital that we understand these things up front.
I am storing this away just in case ... you never know, I just may decide to go for broke and publish my magnum opus one day!
Thanks, Bill!
Here we have another example of the teacher teaching the students what they need to know. Nice job teacher. I will, of course, need to read this more than once to have all the little nuances sink into my thick skull but as luck would have it I probably will never need the information. However, it is still good to store in my memory banks.
Voted up, useful, interesting and shared.
How 'bout I just send things over to you before I sign them?
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Thank you Lurana! I hope it helps you somewhere down the road.
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Debbie, thank you! I hope you are having a good weekend.
Very useful, pertinent information. Thank you! This is one I'll come back to whenever I get to that point.
More good information.
Thanks for sharing, Bill.
DJ.
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No doubt about it on content writing and I'm fine with that, Sha! I don't like it anyway so I'm fine with not having my name on it. LOL
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That's okay, Paul! Just scared me a bit. OMG, wouldn't it be a laugh and a half having MJ and Suzie in the neighborhood? What a howl that would be. :)
Great information Bill. Fortunately, I maintain all rights to my poetry book. Same with the new site I will be writing for, examiner.com. However, SEO and content writing is rarely the same. You're a ghost behind the scenes and your employer takes all the credit!
Bill.....I've told you....I'm multi-faceted, multi-lingual, multi-talented.(Aw, just SHUT up, Effer!)....I really CAN behave when called for. The only difference for me... is that I'm the one who decides when it's called for.
I 'spose that was a bit "sedate," for me. Sorry if I scared you. I have my serious moments, but they're not my favorite.
If you insist, I will never send you a sedate comment again.
OH! and I agree with you 100% about MJ...(babycakes).....isn't he positively amazing? and don't you wish he lived next door? He AND our cute SuzyHQ!!
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MJ, I think you are made for Hollywood. Looking at the crap that they produce lately, you would be an industry leader, heads and shoulders above the rest. :) You could have your own reality show....The Car Guru....you could have grease monkeys battling each other with wrenches, winner take all. A Battle Royal in a wire cage....it would have a great following no matter which country is showed in. Think about the royalties my friend.
Give Suzie a hug for me. As for Coco.....I think we both know who runs the household.
Thanks for the laugh my friend.
bill
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Thank you for the kind words, Janine. It's just the teacher in me screaming to get out. LOL I hope you have a peaceful weekend without too much drama. :)
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Paula, that was a bit sedate for you. LOL I had to check to make sure that you wrote it.
Thank you! I do think this is very important for anyone thinking about publishing. For the casual writer, not important at all. :)
I appreciate you stopping by my friend. I hope you have an enjoyable weekend in western NY.
I agree that you are truly becoming a pro at this and seriously you should look into going to business doing this. Seriously, so much wonderful information here and thank you for it. I have voted, shared and pinned to refer back to and truly appreciate it. Have a great weekend!! :)
bill....Wow! Extremely useful and informative, to say nothing of absolutely necessary. A bow of gratitude to you. There is NO way, your average person, OR writer can be familiar with what you share, here. What's more, you have made it quite clear that any writer contemplating being "published"....must practically commit this to memory. (I am definitely printing this up to keep with my notebook of "Vital Info."
I thank you! As ALWAYS, wonderful work!........UP++
Hi Sir Bill
Just when you thought it was safe to scribble again, I'm back. Yoh, down here that's right, it's me the short guy that's kicking your shins.
So let's get started and highlight the discrimination in this article. Yep I said discrimination and in this world of all things PC though between us we know that's BS how can you whiter on about all things right when I've been all things left all my life. It's a little unfair, no not me the article.
It would be my worst nightmare to get the call from a publisher. I mean someone who would actually want to license scribbles from me. They would have to be on more drugs than me.
I was getting excited about the "All Rights" section in your article thinking bloody great I can sign everything over and then I'm not responsible for the impending lawsuits or the crap I wrote. Then you dash all hopes of an easy path to the light by saying I can't have the money. I mean Sir Bill isn't there any justice.
Thankfully at the end you redeemed yourself and mentioned Hollywood. Thank goodness there is light and hope in the depths of despair. A Blockbuster movie, inspired by my ramblings, and the sort of people and corporation's who love nothing better than brown envelope deals and paying people like me to disappear back into the closet and never be heard of again. Just the way I like it. Bring it on and plenty of it.
I mean I've already left one country on advice so there's plenty more countries that I could leave.
About the "responsible to me" line. You know that I'm responsible for Suzie first and then Coco so you'll have to take that one up with her and you know she is well fit for explaining things so good luck.
BTW: Thanks for confirming what I've been saying all along about me not being a writer or trying to be. You say writers don't have a legal background and since I have a fairly comprehensive one then I can't be writer. I know surprising isn't it?
Another great article and invaluable advice from someone who has been there and got several T-shirts.
Wishing you and Bev and great weekend.
MJ
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Thanks Kathryn! Hopefully this will prevent some writers from making some costly mistakes.
I appreciate you visiting this weekend. Have a great day, Kathryn.
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Thank you Susan! I appreciate you stopping by.
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Thank you manatita.....and I'm thinking of doing exactly that. :)
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Carol, I'm glad you did your research and took care of those rights. Hopefully this hub will arm some other writers with enough information to protect themselves.
Thank you my friend and enjoy your weekend.
This is a lot of useful information that I hope to need in the future. Thanks for sharing this with us! I'm sure the terms can get awfully confusing.
Saving and pinning for future use. Thanks Bill
Well said, Bill.
You are becoming a pro. Why not set up business.
When I had my last book published I did check on rights..And I have all rights including ebook, downloads etc. Good thing to share here for those who are not aware. Putting in my writing pin section..which should be called the BIllyBuc Pin Department.
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