Legal Rights In Gay Publishing

There are several kinds of rights a gay publication may buy:

First North American Serial Rights

The newspaper or magazine has the right to publish this piece for the first time in any periodical. All other rights belong to the writer.

One-Time Rights

The publication buys the nonexclusive right to publish the piece once. The writer can sell the same article to other publications simultaneously.

Second Serial Rights (or Reprint Rights)

Also nonexclusive. Gives the publication the right to reprint an article that has appeared elsewhere.

Electronic Rights

Covers CD-ROMs, e-zines, website content, games, etc. Get in writing which electronic rights are specified--

First Electronic Rights, archiving rights, etc. Most publications ask for the right to archive "indefinitely." You can try to negotiate for a fixed term (i.e., archiving rights for six months).

All Rights

Pretty self-explanatory. You can never sell this piece to anyone else again. Try to avoid this one. Most publications ask for First Serial Rights.

Work-For-Hire Rights

The publication has come up with the idea and assigned it to you, and they will own it, lock, stock, and barrel. They own the copyright and don't even have to give you credit. It may be sliced, diced, repackaged, re-sold, etc., and you won't have any claim to it beyond what you were originally paid.

TV/Motion Picture Rights

Also self-explanatory. Almost always exclusive.

Recycling Your Big Gay Romance Novel Ideas

This is the bread and butter of gay freelance writing. Its also called re-slanting. Once youve got the Big Idea, dont waste it by only using it once. Use the information youve gathered and come up with off-shoot ideas. Slant it to appeal to different markets.

Youre afraid because of the issue of rights that we just discussed, right? (No pun intended.) Well, you have nothing to fear, provided the new article is sufficiently different in content and intended audience. If youve managed to sell your article to a major national magazine, it is considered poor form to try to sell a re-slanted version to another national magazine.

However, as a gay fiction author if you´re dealing with regional, specialized, or small publications, there should be very little overlap of intended audience. Therefore, an editor from Alabama Aristocrats would probably never know if you sold a re-slanted version of your piece to Guitarists Today. Even if they did know, they almost certainly would not care.

It is standard and accepted practice for gay novels, for the simple reason that it is darn difficult to make a living as a writer. If you have the choice between making $100 for selling your piece to one small publication, or making $1000 by selling altered versions to eight different small publications, which would you choose?

Re-slanting an essay is easy, since youve already done the bulk of the research. Scrounge up a few new quotes, and use the information you left out of the first article. Focus it on the new desired market.
For example, I could sell an article about the health benefits of meditation to a fitness magazine. A few alterations, and that same article becomes Religions Encouraging Meditation for my local newspapers Society pages. Then it becomes Meditation Makes You Smarter for the college market. Then, Meditate Your Stress Away for a working womans magazine. And I didnt even mention all those new age/holistic publications. What a field day!

With just a few more questions posed to your trusted experts on gay literature, you´ve got a whole new essay. And, look! Youre becoming an expert yourself. This is how you begin to find your niche :a few specific gay fiction subjects that you feel comfortable writing about. Ah, soon those journalists will be coming to YOU with their questions.

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