Writing for Hire

[alanajoli]

John Scalzi recently posted something I read with great sadness: Dragon magazine is unfortunately buying all rights for fiction, rather than paying 3-6 cents per word and first rights (or similar). That effectively makes it work-for-hire. I don't have any problems with work-for-hire, as a rule, but I'll only do work-for-hire fiction if I'm working in someone else's world. If I'm already using their IP, then it makes some degree of sense to me that they retain the rights.

I have discovered, however, that this is not always in the writer's best interest. I don't suspect Dragon (the new digital WotC published version, not the Paizo print version, which ended) will change their minds about this, which is a shame as I'd love to be published there. And knowing that there are others out there with similar magazine tastes, I figured I'd spread the heads up. The conversation on Scalzi's blog is really interesting as well.

Comments

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure who the fiction for Dragon was ever really marketed toward (aside from specifically gamers rather than general fantasy readers)--but he's looking at the fiction part like a fiction market. And if you're creating your own unique material, I'm inclined to think he's right--work-for-hire isn't the best option. If I'm writing in WotC IP, that's a different story.

I also find it irritating that the small but vocal people irritated with fiction could get it removed. With an online magazine, it's not like you have to click the fiction links if you don't want to.

[matt-m-mcelroy.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. If eDragon does have fiction under these terms, folks should not sell original work to them. If they want to write Forgotten Realms or Eberron those terms are not too bad...

I don't think Scalzi ever considered that. But it seems to be a moot point now.

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we'll have to see what happens. I'm kind of hoping that some of my WotC insiders who are mutual lj friends will have some input. ;)

[bccreations.livejournal.com]

Forgotten Realms fiction is guarded like Fort Knox. They're not soliciting work in the realms or any of their other properties and their own blurb says so. They're looking for fresh ideas. That's innuendo for "send us your stuff."

And everyone seems to be focusing on his comments on pay, but the only thing people should worry about are rights. Unless I'm writing in Greyhawk, Faerun, or Eberron, they can't have my rights. Period.

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the pay didn't seem terribly objectionable to me. It's not high end, but a heck of a lot of lit mags don't pay any better than that. So the rights issue is really the stopping block.

But if they're not going to publish fiction anyway, it's a rather moot point! We'll just have to wait and see. :)

[dmoonfire.livejournal.com]

Heh, it's amazing how the vocal get things removed or changed.

But, it could also be a focus, kind of a "oh yeah, what about fiction? we used to have that, right?" kind of response that the online stuff has.

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

I mean to get over to the forums to bring it up sometime today... ;)