Can I use a clip that's on file but not yet published?
I'm querying "Magazine B" that wants at least one clip from a major magazine. The one clip I do have is on file to be published in the spring by "Magazine A." Is there any reason why I couldn't send a word doc or printout of that clip to "Magazine B"? I'm think I could just tell "Magazine B's" editor that it's on file to be published in the spring in "Magazine A." Would the editor of "Magazine A" care that I am disclosing a yet-to-be-published article to an editor? They're not competitors, by the way.
In the same vein, what can I say on my website about articles that are on file but not yet published? Should I hide the name of the magazine, or is it okay to say the name of the magazine that has my article on file? Thanks. agefortyseven
Can I use a clip that's on file but not yet published?
I'm hoping I understand the questions.
When you say "On file" I'm thinking--judging from the context--that it means a piece that's been accepted but not yet published. Also, when you say that you have one piece about to be published, do you mean that you have one piece that's about to be published and that it's being published in a national magazine, and that you have other pieces about to be published but not in a national pub?
I hope the following helps, but I also hope that the piece(s) that were accepted were couched better than your questions.
No, magazine "A" shouldn't care if you show the piece to magazine "B" as a sample of your work.
What you would be sending to "B" would not be a clip, but would be a virgin piece (minus any editing by "A.") This would give "B" a better look at your writing skills--for better or for worse.
Apparently, the pubs you've been submitting to pay on publication. Although pub "A" is national, do you have any history on its turn-around times from acceptance to publication?
Re: Can I use a clip that's on file but not yet published?
Quote:what can I say on my website about articles that are on file but not yet published?
If you mean you have posted your article on your website prior to its being published in the magazine that bought it, you should take the article OFF your website immediately. In all likelihood, the magazine purchased "First North American Serial Rights." However, published on the web is considered "published" -- i.e., the first rights are gone. If the magazine discovers this, they may decline to publish your article, after all, or they may try to renegotiate their contract with you to pay you only for reprint rights.
It is acceptable on your website to list the title of your article (and even possibly a two-sentence summary or abstract of it) and state it's pending publication in (name of magazine). Not a thing wrong with that. You could also add a line that says something like, "check back to read the full article after (date)."
Now, let me help you get ahold of freelancing lingo, so you'll sound like a real pro to future editors.
You don't say, "I have a clip on file to be published." Rather, you say, "I have an accepted article that is pending publication."
That said, I agree that you can send a Word document or whatever to Magazine B and say it's an accepted article pending publication in (date of issue) with Magazine A.
Once the article has been published, subject to any restrictions in your contract with Magazine A, you can publish the clip on the web and state where and when it ran. In fact, I not only do that on my website, but I also offer reprint rights at the bottom of the article. I've sold reprints twice that way. It's not an avalanche of extra income, but then again, I don't have to do any work to get that reprint money, either.
Good luck in your new freelance career. It sounds like you're off to a great start!
Adding
Let me add one idea for you . . .
If you don't have rights returned to you, (meaning the publication bought first rights or one time rights, etc.)
you can often ask the publication's editor (the one you sent the stuff to) and see if they will let you put it on your website. Many will.
Cate
Re: Adding
No, don't show an unpublished piece. Magazine A has the rights to that story (whatever rights they've bought) and should get "first dibs." Showing it to another magazine - especially is it's a possible competitor - takes away their competitive edge. This question has come up among various editors' groups, and most editors say they'd kill a piece if they discovered a writer was showing it around prior to publication.
Unpublished samples
To expand on my previous post...the problem is, the first magazine has the first claim to the piece, and has a right to expect confidentiality about their upcoming content until they publishe the article.
Regarding this question coming up in editors' groups, I recall several times in recent memory that someone asked how editors would feel if they discovered one of their writers had shown an upcoming, not-yet-published article to an editor at another magazine. Virtually all of the editors who weighed in said they wouldn't be happy, and might consider killing the piece.
Editors don't want writers telling the world (or at least a segment of the publishing world) what they have coming up on their slate. Mainly because there's the chance - and this does happen fairly often - that another mag will decide to hurry up and get a similar article in their own mag, thus stealing the thunder of the first mag who originally had the idea.
Mags - especially major national ones - value any competitive edge they can get, and having writers who give other mags a "sneak peek" at upcoming stories can definitely cause a problem. In fact, some of the mags I've written for have clauses in their contracts that specifically prohibit this kind of thing.
Unpublished samples
You deal with insecure editors, mag. Although I don't plan to list what national pubs I've dealt with I can tell you that one story seldom sets the literary world afire, and major editors don't run around like Enron VIPs looking to protect a good, hard-to-come-by, stock tip.
However, I am suprised that Jenna, Frank, Lori, et al have yet to chime in, since you're grossly misleading the questioner.
Re: Unpublished samples
Each editor has their own opinion on this topic, so it's possible the original poster's editor may think it's no big deal. Personally, I wouldn't take the chance.
BTW, I don't mind saying which mags I write for - Family Circle, Parents, Child, Writer's Digest, Penthouse, Pregnancy, Muscle & Fitness, Women's Health & Fitness, Maxim and a bunch of others.
I also serve on the ASJA (American Society of Journalists & Authors) contracts committee, and I can assure you I've seen clauses relating to this issue in the contracts of numerous major mags. In fact, many mags won't even let you show the article to *sources* who are quoted in it prior to publication - let alone other mags.
Bottom line: the original poster has to make their own decision, but why take a chance and start off on the wrong foot with either editor?
Unpublished samples
Mostly, I write humor. That said, In that genre I've never interviewed somebody for a story. However, I recently had a short stint as a reporter for the Long Island Herald. (I'm a vin the process) The only reason I know of for my paper to insist that a "source" not see what I wrote is that it can get into a dispute and upset a deadline. I don't see the connection with the original question.
What this soul was asking was: Is it okay to send a piece out to another pub--a piece that is already dedicated to a pub that accepted it, as a sample of his work.
I've not been published in any of the mags you posted, but I noticed that on some of them the parent company is Gunther & Jahr, and generally, the contracts you receive will not be from Family Circle, etc, but from G&J. I can show you a contract from Times Mirror, which has no such wording. So, I'll show you mine if you show me yours.
LindaF New friend
Posts: 15
(11/22/04 5:55 pm) Reply
I'm with magwriter
I'm with magwriter -- I think it would be bad form to send an unpublished-but-accepted article that I wrote for Family Circle to Woman's Day, Ladies' Home Journal, or any other competing magazine as a clip. Perhaps I'd feel differently if I were sending the clip to, say, Wired or some other obviously noncompeting mag, but that situation has never come up.
--
Co-author of The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success -- www.renegadewriter.com
Re: I'm with magwriter
I agree with magwriter, too. I write for many national magazines, including Woman's Day, Family Circle, Ladies' Home Journal, AARP, and others. It would be a sorry day if one of my editors discovered I'd let another magazine look at an unpublished article (which, by the way, they'd already paid for and owned). Writing is all about relationships, and I'd hate to mess up a relationship with an editor I'd worked hard to build.
A suggestion...
Agefortyseven, I know you're in a tight spot because the editor of Mag B wants a national clip, and your only option is the not-yet-published article from Mag A. But perhaps you could explain to Mag B that you have an article scheduled to run in XX issue of Mag A, but don't have the actual clip available yet. You may actually score points with Mag B by explaining that you can't show the upcoming article because you need to protect Mag A's interests. The editors at Mag B will now be reassured that you will also grant them the same respect, should they assign something to you.
As for your website, I'd suggest including a line to the effect of, "I have articles in upcoming issues of ..." without divulging too many specifics.
Bobbi
aka eraser A fishy character and Mod Squad agent
Posts: 1755
(11/23/04 7:50 am) Reply
Re: A suggestion...
I understand the points being made by magwriter and others but I think the key phrase in agefortyseven's original post was "they're not competitors" (paraphrase).
Unless there's something specifically written in the contract, as magwriter says can sometimes occcur, I see no problem with showing an unpublished clip as a writing sample to a magazine that would have no interest in the content.
I wouldn't show an as-yet unpublished piece for Outdoor Canada to Field and Stream but if I were in agefortyseven's position I'd show it to Parents Digest.
Don't do it!
Listen to magazinewriter - indicate only that you have sold an article to that masthead and that it is pending publication. The editor will not expect to be sent the whole article as a clip. Your reputation with both editors would be shot to pieces. If editors don't like showing stories to sources prior to publication, why should they be any more lenient on writers showing them to other editors?
Please go with the advice magazinewriter has given you. Your reputation as a professional who can be trusted is far too valuable to risk.
> Don't do it?
And what of the integrity of the editors who can't fanthom the position of the writer? Are they that stuck on what they foolishly consider "Intellectual espionage" because they themselves lack any sense of fair play?
Bull s h i t. Most of them know. If writers follow this line they're doomed to lackyhood.
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