posted
At the risk of sounding like an idiot, what does it mean when a publisher says they want to buy all rights to a work?
Does it mean you can't let one publisher buy it, then turn right around and sell it to a different publisher? Seems idiotic for novels, but maybe there are people who actually try to do that.
Does it mean the publisher decides who gets to do the movie, the audiobook, if the story gets put online, etc. without consulting the author?
And how does this relate to royalties and merchandise?
Most importantly, is there a website you guys recommend that talks about the rights of an author and which he/she should sell or not sell? That way, I don't have to distract y'all from arguing about critiques and rising up against the tyrannical nobility.
posted
I do understand that when it comes time to sign a contract for a novel, you need to have an agent on your side to trudge through the legalise. It will not read as simple as "all rights." In fact, the way I understand it, you should hold back the following rights when it comes to a book: foriegn langauge rights and movie rights. Most other things, such as worldwide english language rights, audiobook rights, and right to make copies for the blind and visually impaired (which the NLS..national library service..will take whether you give it to them or not as held up recently in a court of law), are commonplace to give to a publisher. At least, this is what OSC said at his boot camp. I do not intend to sign anything on a project so time consumig as a novel without an agent and possibly a lawyer telling me what's what.
Posts: 3567 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Thanks all. I'm asking because I'm considering sending a novel I wrote to Wizards of the Coast (the link is in Markets for our Writing). I'm hesitating because they state they want all rights.
I'm also hesitating because I've seen their editing lately, but that's a different issue and probably not germaine to this new imprint.
posted
"All rights" generally means what it sounds like: they are buying all rights you have in the work. So, for example, they -- not you -- control the rights to write a sequel, make a movie, create a game, use the characters in other works, etc.
These kind of contracts are common for writers who are writing in someone else's created world. (i.e., Star Trek novels, D&D novels, etc.)
For original novels, such contracts are pretty rare, and so you have to weigh whether it's worth signing away all rights in order to get published. I know some people who have been published by Wizards of the Coast, and they seem pretty happy with it, but I think they were writing works in shared universes, not their own.
posted
It has been my experience that most, if not all, contests like this one insist on full rights of all entries. One reason is because they want to publish the piece in their own way for the contest, not so much for using it again in another format. Most writers consider the honor of being selected and the accompanying publicity as a nice trade off for rights. However, if you are that sure your story has a chance to be published through another medium than a contest, don't use it for the contest. It's kinda like going gambling in Vegas. Only venture what you can afford to venture. If you win, you're ahead of the game. If you lose, you haven't lost that much. I suggest you go for the contest with the idea that your submission is for the contest only. Give it your best shot. Write every word like it is your last, and WIN the blasted contest! Many writers do get their initial "break" through such contests. Especially prestigious ones. Such a coup looks realllll good on a query letter. Good luck to you!
Posts: 142 | Registered: Jan 2005
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When a publisher wants all rights, they're basically buying the book for the next fifty years, or at least fifty years from the last time they exercise their rights. The only thing you get is cash, and your name on the cover.
[This message has been edited by Netstorm2k (edited January 31, 2005).]
posted
Wizards of the Coast say they want all book rights, which is not the same thing as all rights.
They need English language book rights to publish the book in English, for example. I don't know if "all book rights" includes things like electronic rights, but it would be a good idea to ask that the rights be itemized in the contract before signing it.
posted
I don't think running away is called for. I'm not suggesting you should sign away your rights to just anybody. We're talking CONTESTS here. What I'm trying to say is, if you are so sold that your piece is worth publishing elsewhere, it really doesn't belong in a contest. Go ahead and get it published elsewhere. Contests are meant to showcase a writer and allow that writer to "get out there" with a short, brilliant, select piece. Believe it or not, promoters of legitimate contests* are NOT after the idea of cheating an author or making a killing off extended publications of their work. They just want good submissions so their reputation as a contest will grow and people will buy their anthology. Most understand if they start pulling tricks that will make authors mad, they will quickly lose their ability to attract real talent as word gets around.
My point is, contests are a different animal than other forms of publishing and you have to think of them that way. There are many reasons to enter good contests, all of them in your favor. But I say again, don't submit something you have hopes to take to another audience. What you submit to a contest should be specifically for that contest, not something you intend to recycle in another forum. That way, if you win, you win. You don't have more on the table than you can afford to lose. If you do lose, you haven't lost your shirt ( or in this case, your magnus opus). *As in everything, there are a few "bad" contests out there. Just know what you're getting into before you submit.
[This message has been edited by Rocklover (edited February 01, 2005).]
posted
Rocklover, I'm confused. What you're saying doesn't make an ounce of sense to me. This contest, as you put it, seems to me to be more of a call for submissions where the publisher is garunteeing that they will find one new author to promote. By entering the contest, nothing has been signed away. If they end up wanting the book, they will end up sending out a contract for it. There is no cash prize, merely publication. Why wouldn't a new author want to try a book out at a venue that is currently welcoming submissions from new authors when it is ever so hard to be taken seriously by established publishers in general? This isn't a scam like Publish America, this is a legitimate publishing company that wants to launch a book from a new author. In fact, I just double checked to make sure I wasn't missing anything and I don't see anywhere that it says you're agreeing to anything at all by submitting to the contest, which is where I'd be wary. If I was agreeing to something before they'd picked my entry I'd wonder if they were up to something, but all the rights they wish to buy happen at the end of the contest when they pick their winner and they aren't asking for money to enter, either...so what is there to lose?
Thanks for clarifying the new *book* rights think, Kathleen. I have to admit, I was getting a little nervous. I don't know what that means for sequels and the like (I'd insist upon it being spelled out before I signed) but I didn't want to make a sequel of the novel I'm trying to get ready anyway.
posted
Sorry Christine. I wasn't on the same track. I was thinking of contests in terms of short stories, not whole books. The situation you describe was not what I was imagining. My point, which I am apparently not making very well, is that you don't have to be afraid to enter a contest because they want the rights to the story (as in short story). You enter such with the understanding that you are willing to give away your rights for the sake of exposure of your work. That's all.
Posts: 142 | Registered: Jan 2005
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