Permissions, Releases and Contracts Part Two

Permission releases are another form of contracts, although a more informal kind. In them, you are giving permission for the magazine or company to use your work for an agreed-upon sum or reward.

Watch for weird clauses. Know what rights you're giving up, and weigh them against what you're being paid or the prestige of the magazine. There are shady zines that will steal your words for no payment, so watch out.

Photo releases. Sometimes big magazines will want your photo in the bio line, and will ask for a photo release. Make sure these are photos that you or your family took and are not copyrighted photos with a professional photographer. Senior portraits won't qualify most of the time. Choose a good pic of yourself!

Always know your goals. The best situation is when you allow a magazine to publish your story with First North American Rights or minimal rights given, for a large sum of money or prestigious publication. However, you usually have to decide what's most important: getting published, being published again, payment and prestige. Don't be in such a hurry to get published that you make the mistake of selling your work for little profit.

If your story is publishable, you are worth being paid well. Read carefully and keep copies of all your contracts. It's good practice for later life, or so my parents tell me.

Permissions, Releases and Contracts, Pt 1

Negotiating the legalese world of permissions, releases and contracts as a teenager is confusing unless you're a prelaw student or your mom's an contract lawyer. However, there are some simple guidelines that I've found to be useful

Contracts. Contracts state that you are giving up certain rights (such as North American rights, all rights, etc.) to a magazine or e-zine in exchange for an agreed-upon sum. Make sure you know what rights you are giving away. I don't care as much about selling all the rights to my work if I'm being paid and I can't see myself re-using the article in question. Always note the price and date you will be paid.

Negotiating prices. You receive your contract and the payment is $25 less than you thought it would be. Do you email the editor and complain? This depends on how bureaucratic the magazine is. If the editor always responds within 24 hours to your emails and seems eager to work with you, you can bring up the price. However, this is best done before a contract is brought up. These are almost impossible to change if you're working with a major mag.

Negotiating rights. If you're unhappy with the rights you're supposed to be giving away, talk to the editor. Be prepared to wait, be prepared to be frustrated, make sure you know what is important and why it is important. That said, I relax my rights-worries when dealing with big name companies and magazines with good reputations. Be worried when dealing with Small Zine Nobody's Heard Of, and comb that dang contract.