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| Issue #73 (vol 8, #4): published by The American Society Of Journalists And Authors
November 29, 2001 The American Society of Journalists and Authors encourages reproduction and distribution of this document for the benefit of freelance writers. Reprint or post as many items as you wish, but please credit ASJA for the information and don't change the content.
CONTENTS:
* Speakers available on contract matters ********************** Does your writing group have questions or concerns about contracts in the post-Tasini world? ASJA's Contracts Committee has assembled a crack team of knowledgeable members throughout the country willing and able to address your group on contract matters large and small. Addressing challenges like work-made-for-hire, indemnity clauses, making unfair contracts palatable, and negotiating strategies, we can give your members the kind of nitty-gritty, on-the-ground information they need to protect their rights and improve their bottom lines. For information, e-mail us at contracts@asja.org. ********************** Newspaper contracts are almost universally atrocious. Yet, occasionally a ray of good news shines through the gloom. A friend of a friend reports that the San Diego Union-Tribune (Copley) recently offered one freelancer who refused to sign the paper's restrictive contract a 60% pay increase if she would sign away electronic rights. Their previous attitude was, basically, take it or leave it. This writer reportedly continues to refuse to sign, however, asking for a time limit on how long the U-T could run her work electronically. But the tale illustrates how even the most "non-negotiable" contracts suddenly become more fluid when editors find it in their best interest to be so. ********************** Freelancers who already do -- or would like to -- contribute to Smithsonian (Smithsonian Institution) should be aware that the magazine has instituted a work-made-for-hire contract for its shorter "The Mall" pieces. Writers of longer pieces still get the magazine's standard (and fair) contract. The editor's somewhat convoluted explanation is that these pieces are short, they're about the Institution, there's not much resale value in them and the mag may want to post them on their web site. Of course, once the WMFH genie is out of the bottle, there's no telling where it'll end up. Indeed, some book reviewers are reportedly also being asked to accept the restrictive agreement. Smithsonian freelancers are advised to follow the lead of their Ski and Skiing colleagues and protest long and loud over the erosion of your rights. (See CW #72, www.asja.org/cw/cwfiles/cw010820.php.) ********************** The Robb Report (Luxury Media) has agreed to cross out the work-made-for-hire clause in its standard contract for a writer who refused to roll over. This means the writer not only retains ownership (i.e. copyright) to the work he created, but that he'll also retain whatever profits are earned from the licensing of secondary rights to the piece. The writer also successfully neutered the contract's warranty and indemnification clauses by inserting the simple phrases explained on ASJA's web site. See www.asja.org/pubtips/indem01.php. Luxury Media writers should keep that in mind the next time they're presented with a work-made-for-hire agreement. ********************** Chicago Magazine (Primedia) is another publication willing to bend for writers who don't. We've been sent a contract that, under Grant of Rights, states that the article being assigned is a work-made-for-hire. This means that ownership of the piece would transfer to the publisher for no additional money, other than the original agreed-to fee in the contract. A second contract, dated one week after the first and sent out only after the writer objected, is still far from perfect -- grabbing, as it does, certain electronic rights. But all reprint, serial and film rights are retained by the author, in addition to the copyright. ********************** The two preceding items illustrate the importance of keeping ASJA's Contracts Committee informed on any and all negotiations you do with publishers. Please fax before and after copies to our fax number dedictated to contracts: 415-532-1324. Black-out any personal information you feel uncomfortable sharing (name, Social Security number, etc.). We're interested only in collecting information such as rights granted, warranty and indemnification, fees, etc. We'll never reveal any identifiable information to others. In a related vein, the Contracts Committee is collecting before-and-after contracts from Primedia titles to determine how flexible the company's editors are allowed to be when dealing with writers. Fax them to us at 415-532-1324. And again, the advice about blacking-out any personal information still stands. A complete list of Primedia's extensive stable of titles can be found at www.primedia.com. ********************** Mark Your Calenders for the 2002 ASJA Annual Writers Conference! MOVING FORWARD: Expand Your Writing and Selling Success April 13 and 14, 2002 Grand Hyatt Hotel 42nd and Grand Central Station New York, NY 10017 Attend the premier conference for nonfiction writers and gain valuable insights into improving your writing life and increasing your income from books, magazines, the Web, business projects, scripts, newspapers and more! Panels and workshops feature editors from leading periodicals and book publishers, agents, writing field specialists, online experts, marketing mavens, media producers and award-winning writers. On Saturday, April 13 -- the main conference day -- meet editors from W.W. Norton, Crown, Broadway Books, Hyperion Books, Simon and Schuster, The New Yorker, Harper's, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Marie Claire and many others. The 25 panel sessions range from selling to specific magazine markets and publishing your first book to earning a six-figure income as a writer and making the switch from staff to freelance. Optional intensive writing workshops, held on Sunday, April 14, provide in-depth exploration of four key writing skills: book proposals, essays, article queries and memoirs/autobiography. Visit www.asja.org/calendar/wcmain.php to sign up now for our free email newsletter. We'll send you updates about the Conference. April 12 (Friday): ASJA Annual Members-Only Meeting. April 13 (Saturday): Annual Writers Conference (open to all) April 14 (Sunday): Intensive Writing Workshops (open to all) TO ASJA MEMBERS AND OTHERS who send contracts, information and scuttlebutt in strict confidence: Thanks. Without your help we couldn't do what we do. Inquiries from all are welcome. |
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