Hi Leigh,
Thanks for your kind words. I am assuming you are an Australian writer, since you make mention of the ABN – the Australian Business Number required for all businesses in that country.
So, with this in mind, let me offer you the following advice:
With respect to the copyright status of your articles written for a corporate magazine – that’s a difficult call to make. Who owns the copyright depends on what arrangement you have made with the magazine. Generally speaking, a freelancer offers certain rights (eg First World Rights – which grants the publication the right to publish the article first in the world). This is usually negotiated up-front. Consequently, if you wish to sell the article again, you would make it known to prospective publications that it has already been published in X Magazine on a certain date, and you are now offering the Second World Rights, for example.
Alternatively, the copyright may be owned by the magazine – which means you have no right to sell the article anywhere else, without their permission. Again, it all depends on what you negotiated initially, or what terms you agreed upon.
I think it’s best to clarify that, in writing, with the corporate magazine. And, if you are unhappy with the current arrangement (ie assuming this magazine owns the copyright), then you can always negotiate differently with future articles you write for it. In addition, you may like to request permission from the magazine the right to sell the previously-published articles to other media (I would, of course, recommend you only approach media which are not in direct competition with this magazine).
To answer your other question on the matter - yes, generally speaking, if you sufficiently rework an article, you can ‘re-sell’ it to different publications. The rule of thumb regarding copyright is: You can not copyright an idea, only the expression of that idea.
One final point on selling rights: You do not have to negotiate World rights – you can, for example, offer State or National rights, depending on the distribution of the publication. In other words, if the corporate magazine you are writing for, is only distributed in one state – it would be wise to only offer them State or Regional rights. If it’s a national publication, it’s best to offer them National instead of World rights. Also, when you are negotiating rights, take into account the Internet. If you allow a publication the right to reproduce the article online, you may be limiting the potential for selling the article into other overseas markets.
As I said, the best place to begin is to approach the magazine first and confirm your copyright status.
With regard to your query on commercial writing – yes, there are many different communications styles, formats and mediums – far too many to discuss in this forum. The short answer is to purchase one of my books which explains each of them in great detail. You can learn more about them by visiting
http://www.michaelmeanwell.com
So which book is right for you?
The short answer is . . . I now have two books in print - ‘The Enterprising Writer’ and ‘The Wealthy Writer’ – which effectively cover the same terrain. ‘Enterprising’ was written for and published in Australia – so it is better suited to Australasian writers with local references and terms. ‘Wealthy’ was written for and published in the United States – so it is more suited to North American writers and other scribes. It includes US terms and references as well as new material.
I trust this answers our queries, Leigh. Please feel free to let me know if I can help further.
regards
Michael
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Michael Meanwell
michael@michaelmeanwell.com
Author of:
~ The Wealthy Writer
~ The Enterprising Writer
~ Writers on Writing
~ Quote Unquote
Author's Official Website:
http://www.michaelmeanwell.com
Writers' Resources:
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http://www.thewealthywriter.com
http://www.meanwellstore.com
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http://network54.com/Hide/Forum/72583