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]

Oh, for the love of a patron! Dan Simmons (I think--it was either him or Neal Stephenson) at one point wrote a great essay on being a Dante writer vs. being a Beowulf writer (one writing for the academy/patron, one writing for the masses). There are days when I would so totally leap into the Dante category! That's why I keep trolling the grants listings, I suppose... ;)