Everything Old is New Again: How to Make a Reprint Fresh

I've written before that two of my favorite kinds of money to make are royalty checks and reprints. Why? Because they require no (or next to) work on my part. In the past, I've made as much as $6800 in a year from reselling articles that have already been published. The market for reprints isn't as lucrative as it once was, but I still make several thousand dollars a year offering reprints to smaller, regional, and specialty markets, many of which have purchased stories from me for years. 

One of the reasons I continue to offer reprints is that it's so easy, once I find an appropriate market for them. I've had the greatest success with "evergreen" stories, but even evergreens can do with a trim--or in this case, what I call a tweak. So I'm always willing to update a piece, or rewrite a lead, or "tweak" a story to better fit an editor's needs. 

For example, one of my regular reprint markets recently asked me about reprinting a story I wrote a decade ago. She wanted it framed in a slightly different way. I was fine with reworking it the way she asked, and updated my sources' titles in the meantime--two have new positions (not surprisingly as it's been 10 years), and one has added a PhD to her name, which I included. Total time to do this: 30 minutes. What I'm charging for the reprint: $100. Do the math and you'll see that translates into a $200/hour rate. 

No, you won't get rich selling reprints--most of my markets pay just between $40 and $150 for reprint rights to a story. But the fact that they take little effort to sell--especially if you're willing to take a little time to tweak them--makes them well worth the effort for me. That may be the case for you, too. 

**Coming next post--my latest royalty statement and breakdown. Aspiring book authors will want to read this! 

**Want more advice about making more money as a freelancer in less time? Check out Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition, a freelancing classic that helps both new and experienced writers boost their bottom line, and my latest book,Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: Make Money Ghostwriting Books, Articles, Blogs and More, Second Edition, which shows how to break into the ghostwriting/content marketing field. If you're brand-new to freelancing, I recommend Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets. 

The Best $0.99 You'll Ever Spend--and Six Surprising Things about my Freelance Career

[Want to know about the best $0.99 you'll ever spend? Scroll down to the bottom of this post.] Here's me from 10 years ago, in my old office in our old house; I had just gotten home from a speaking gig. (Please note the Diet Mountain Dew bottle close at hand at hand along with the general office disorganization behind me.) 

I've been thinking a lot about successful freelancers (including six-figure ones) and what sets them apart from writers who are equally talented (if not more talented!) than freelancers who struggle to meet their financial goals. 

One aspect of freelancing that I love is that there is no single path to success. I know successful writers who write books exclusively, and those who have never written a book, choosing to specialize in shorter forms. I know successful writers who specialize in corporate work and those who have no interest in doing it. Same goes for ghostwriting--I know successful writers who do lots of it (like me) and those who do none. I know successful writers whose primary income results from print assignments and those who all but ignore print work for online assignments. I know six-figure writers who have tens of thousands of Twitter followers and those who (gasp) don't even use social media--though I'm willing to bet they'll get on LinkedIn eventually.

My point? Your career is completely individual to you. Sure, you can emulate other writers, and adapt their business model if it works for you. But the bottom line is that the choices you make will determine how much money you make, and how pleased you are with freelancing over all. 

I'm pretty transparent when it comes to my career, whether I'm talking about money or contracts or how I run my business. Still, people have misconceptions about how I work, and what has helped me stay afloat in a demanding field for more than 16 years. Here are five things that may surprise you about my career: 

1. I suck at social media. Seriously. I know writers who get leads and even juicy assignments through Twitter and LinkedIn. Me? Not so much. Yes, I have a listing on LinkedIn, and I have Twitter (@kellyjamesenger) and Facebook accounts. But have I figured out how to make those work for me, freelancing-wise? Nope. It's on my to-do list, but I admit it's not a priority right now. 

2. I take work other writers wouldn't. I posted recently about an assignment I accepted that paid $400 for 650-700 words including photos. A few years ago, I may have just refused the assignment. But as I pointed out in my earlier post, I have solid reasons for saying yes, and since then I've received two more assignments from the market. The per-word rate is relatively low, but my per-hour rate is still close to $100/hour, which is what I try to average on assignments. I also just reached out to a potential reprint client that pays only $40/story. Hardly worth it, right? Well, if this market buys one story from me, that's $40 for about 15 minutes' worth of work. And if the market buys more than one story (which most of my reprint markets wind up doing), my ROI--and my hourly rate--just keeps climbing. 

3. I don't work full-time. I haven't for almost eight years. Today I work about 15 hours/week. I couldn't have done this at the outset of my career; it took me plenty of hours (think 40+) to research potential markets, send query letters and LOIs, and get my career off of the ground. Now that I do more ghostwriting (and typically have a book project on my desk at any given time), I spend less time marketing and more time writing for money--which is how you make money, after all. 

4. I'm lazy. (See number 3.) Well, no, not really. I'm a type A by nature and I like to work. I like to make money. I like making clients happy. I like the satisfaction of supporting myself (and my family) doing something I love, at least most of the time--and I love the freedom freelancing avails me. That means if I can do a pretty good job on a story in, say, five hours, or a stellar job in eight hours, I'll opt for the former. (Shhh...don't tell my clients.) That doesn't mean I don't care about doing good work. I do. But I've found in almost every case, "pretty good" is good enough. That makes me less perfectionistic, more productive (and less stressed) writer. 

5. I'm an extrovert. If you've met me in person, you know this already. One of the most challenging aspects of freelancing for me has always been the isolation. I "reboot" around other people, especially those who make me laugh. Yeah, I go on Facebook but online relationships aren't enough for me. I need IRL friends (both writers and non-writers) to feel connected, stable, and happy. So I've learned to incorporate socializing into my day. No, I won't burn my work hours to get together with a girlfriend, but I'll happily drag my three-year-old along to lunch with a fellow freelancer (or better yet, host at home) or meet up for drinks after work. That's what recharges me and makes me excited about my life--including my career--again. 

6. I have worn the same outfit to the ASJA annual conference no less than five times, over the course of as many years. It's a pair of flat-black pants and a bright pink blouse in a weird polyester fabric that is both flattering and comfortable. One year another writer saw me and complimented me on it. "That is a great color!" she said. I thanked her. The next year, I ran into her again, and we said hello. I saw her look at my shirt, and I laughed. "Yes, it's the same shirt!" The next year, I saw her again...and yes, I was wearing the same shirt. "Same shirt!" I said, pointing. She seemed a little worried by my lack of wardrobe (I hate to shop) but I thought it was hilarious, and vowed to continue wearing the shirt. And I have! So make sure you compliment me if you see me wearing it. :) (And note the shirt in the photo above!) 

Readers, what about you? What about your freelancing career would surprise others in our field? Please share below! :) 

***Yes, it's time for another special offer for my readers. That's where the $0.99 special offer comes in--for a limited time, three of my most popular ebooks on Kindle are priced at only $0.99! For a limited time, you can buy any of these books for less than a buck!: 

• Dollars and Deadlines' 10 Most Popular, Proven Ways to Make Money as a Freelance Writer
• Dollars and Deadlines' Guide to Selling Your First Article
• Dollars and Deadlines' 10 Essential Freelance Templates 

And if you're ready for the whole kit and kaboodle, check out my full-length books, Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets and Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, second edition. If you prefer print (like I do), order directly from ImprovisePress.com. Use the discount code, IMPROVISEPRESS (all caps/no breaks) for 20 percent off of your order!

The Boomerang Effect and How to Make it Work for You

Just as I try not to write one-shot stories, I try not to work with any one-shot clients. (Unless the person turns out to have a high PIA factor...then I become surprisingly busy if he ever contacts me again.)

I've posted before about how to turn a one-shot client into a regular. To my mind, it's not that difficult. Use the golden rule--treat your client or editor the way you'd like to be treated. Make (or better, beat) your deadline. Do what's asked of you, without whining about it. Because after 15+ years of freelancing, I can tell you that once you've done a good job for someone, he or she is much more likely to offer you another assignment--without you even asking for it. It's what I call the Boomerang Effect.

Yet you don't know when the Boomerang Effect will kick in. It might be a month after you turn in an assignment. It might be a year--or more. But I always say yes when a Boomerang client returns to me.

Case in point, last week I took on an assignment for a market I haven't written for in more than a year. The dollar/word rate isn't very high, but I said yes for the following reasons:

1. The topic is one I've written about before, so it won't take any time to get "up to speed" on the subject.
2. The story is a straightforward service piece, the kind I find easy to report and write.
3. The story is one I'll be able to reprint; it has "legs," so to speak.
4. I like the editor--she pays me promptly and is easy to work with.
5. She's a Boomerang! And even if the money is less than I'd like to be paid, I want to maintain my relationship with her.

By saying yes to this assignment, I'll keep this client in my stable of regulars--and hopefully shorten the time for the Boomerang Effect to kick in next time.

Boomerang clients cut your marketing time, and make it easier to meet your income goals because you spend less time pitching potential clients. So treat every new client as a potential Boomerang. After you finish an assignment, pitch another idea. Forward her a study or relevant news release you think she'd interested in. Stay on her radar by getting your name in front of her, and you're likely to experience the Boomerang Effect yourself.

**Of course to get a Boomerang, you have to complete that initial assignment. If you're a new freelancer, check out my ebook, Dollars and Deadlines' Guide to Selling your First Article. It walks you through a 10-step process to get your first clip and collect your first freelance check.

Write for reasons other than money? Say whaaaaaaat?

Take a look at the tagline of my blog and you'll see the words, "helping nonfiction freelancers make more money in less time." That's been my primary platform for the last decade, and I now have a stack of books, articles, blog posts, and ebooks on the subject. So the subject of this blog post may come as a surprise, even a shock. 


I do write for reasons other than money. I always have. 


And I'm not alone. Most freelancers started out writing because they simply loved to write. Most did not envision successful careers as self-employed scribes from the outset. Yet sometimes we freelancers think that writing has to be all about the money, all of the time. That's wrong. Even if you're serious about your writing career, and about being paid for your words, I can give you at least five reasons to write that aren't all about the money:  


1. It's personally satisfying. I know, you can't pay your bills with personal satisfaction. But sometimes you want to write for yourself, not for an editor or for a client. You have something to say, and saying it well--in your unique, inimitable voice--gratifies you in a way that a check may not. (Although checks are always awesome.) That's my major reason for continuing to write fiction--and I'll be announcing a new novel later this month!  


2. It builds your platform. Platform is deserving of its own post, but in short, it's considered your ability to sell a book to readers. Platform is more than your name and reputation--it's your "reach" as well. The more you write, the more readers you have, the more people know who you are (and like, enjoy, or find useful what you write), the bigger your platform becomes. And if you want to be an author (regardless of whether you purse traditional publishers, POD, or ebooks), a platform is essential.  


3. You can make a difference. Words matter. What you write can make a difference in someone's life. I've posted before about publishing essays, and I can tell you that my personal essays provoke more "reader mail" than anything I write other than my novels. Maybe a reader who's never really thought about it will realize that expecting a baby through adoption is just as exciting as expecting a baby through pregnancy, or recognize how painful infertility can be. Or maybe not. I like to feel that my words may make at least one person see the world a little differently.  


4. A little money can turn into more money. One of my first sales as a new freelancer was a 1,000-word piece that I sold to a magazine for a whopping $100. But once it had been published, I resold that story several times,  once for $300 and once for $225. Another essay I originally wrote for just $50 has been reprinted five times, for between $35 and $75 each. Evergreen pieces often have legs and turn into multiple checks. And even small checks add up. 


5. You're just getting started. As a new writer, your goal is to get published, and get paid (at least eventually) for your work. Who cares if your first stories are for tiny checks? I wrote feature-length articles for as little as $25 or $35 for the local newspaper, but I was learning the ropes, improving my interviewing and writing skills, and slowly progressing toward my first goal of making $10,000 that year. 


So don't beat yourself up if you write for (gasp!) reasons other than purely financial. I do too.  Remember that every article, every clip, every check--no matter how small--helps you build a successful freelance career. 


***My new line of ebooks, all branded with the Dollars and Deadlines name, are geared toward new freelancers. I take the same approach with them that I do with this blog--I give practical, proven strategies and plenty of examples to help you achieve your writing goals. So far the most popular has been Dollars and Deadlines' Guide to Selling your First Article, but Dollars and Deadlines 10 Essential Freelance Templates is also selling well. Please check them out, and recommend them to your would-be-freelancing friends.  

Portrait of an Evergreen--or, What Topics Have the Most Resale Potential?

I was surprised that according to this year's Freelance Income Survey, a mere 3 percent of freelancers produce income by selling reprints (or more accurately, licensing reprint rights to articles they own). That's a mistake to me for several reasons. No, reprints won't make me rich--usually I sell them to markets that pay as little as $35 to as much as $300/story. Yet I try to retain rights to my articles for several reasons: 

1. It takes little effort to sell reprints once I've found a potential market. These days, most of my reprint sales come from markets I've sold to before. For example, earlier this month, an editor contacted me asking if I had a story about a particular topic she was planning to cover. I did, and sent it to her. She bought it--for $100. My total time? About five minutes. 
2. Reprints continue to build my platform. As a book author and ghostwriter, the more people who know who I am and what I do, the better--whether that's an editor I sell work to, or the people who read her publication. 
3. Reprints are fun! The checks may be small but they add up--and getting mileage out of a story I wrote more than a decade before is gratifying. They're not true passive income (there is some work involved) but they're pretty close to "free" money. 

However, not every article has reprint potential. First, if you haven't retained rights to your work, you can't resell it. And a quick glance through my reprint sales reveals that my biggest reprint sellers have all been "evergreens,"what editors call stories with timeless appeal. 

For example, my piece on how to talk to your future spouse about money has sold eight times to a variety of regional bridal magazines, and it's easy to see why. The topic--talking about money--is one that will affect every newlywed couple, and the advice about it isn't likely to change much over the years. However, another bridal piece on the latest trends in wedding videography has never resold--because it was outdated pretty quickly after it was published. 

To give you an idea of what evergreen topics include, take a look at some of my biggest reprint topics and where they've sold:  

• How to read body language (women's magazines, both U.S. and international pubs)
• How to avoid gaining weight over the holidays (women's and fitness magazines)
• An essay on the benefits of having an open adoption (parenting magazines--this piece often appears in November, National Adoption Month)
• How to avoid legal problems as you plan your wedding (bridal magazines)
• How to get along with your future in-laws (bridal magazines) 
• How to walk off extra pounds (women's and parenting magazines)
• Easy ways to eat better (women's magazines) 

I define an "evergreen" as a story that's always of interest to a publication's readers and on a topic about which information doesn't change rapidly. So, for example, a parenting magazine will always publish articles on children's health. A piece on helping your kids avoid getting colds? Evergreen. A piece on new medications to treat childhood asthma? Not evergreen--or at least not for very long.

Thinking, "well, that's great, but what about pieces that are quickly outdated?" Here's the thing--you can always update articles to improve their reprint potential. So, when I recently resold a piece on the importance of sleep for good health, I updated some statistics and tweaked the lead to make it appeal to the publication's readers. That's what I call a "tweak." It's a reprint, yes, but with a little extra work. And I often find that a little extra work turns into a check--and a new market. That's work the extra effort. 

So if you don't write evergreens, consider it. And when you do, make sure you retain the rights to your work. Getting paid once for a story is great. Getting paid for it two, three, four times or even more is even better, I promise. 

***I'm going to keep spreading the word about my new series of ebooks, all branded with the Dollars and Deadlines name. They're geared toward new freelancers and take the same approach I do with this blog--practical, proven strategies to help you achieve your writing goals. So far the most popular has been Dollars and Deadlines' Guide to Selling your First Article, but Dollars and Deadlines 10 Essential Freelance Templates is also selling well. Please recommend them to your friends! 

Straight Talk about Money: What One Freelancer Made in 2011

How was 2011 for you, income-wise? Longtime readers of the blog will recall that I do an annual income survey for full-time freelancers, and the latest one is live. Please take the time (it should take less than five minutes!) to fill it out, and ask other freelancers to do the same. I'll report on results in a future post. (You can read more about the 2010 income survey results and the 2009 income survey results here.)

I can tell you that 2011 was a rough year for me. For the first time in more than a decade, I failed to meet my income goal of $60,000. Instead I grossed $51,818--and next post I'll explain why. For now, let's look at where my money came from. 

• The majority, about $26,750, came from book income--primarily advances for books I wrote under my own name, and for ghostwriting/coauthoring for clients. This included work I did for a book packager, work for private clients, and the small advance to update a book I coauthored.
• Another $2,842 came from royalties from traditionally published books, POD books, and ebooks. Royalties are my favorite kind of money to make, and a reason I continue to promote books like Goodbye Byline. Every time someone buys a copy, I make (a little) money. 
• I made another $600 or so from "hand-sales" at writers' conferences and other speaking gigs. No, it's not a lot of money but people often want to buy your book after they've seen you speak, so if you're an author, you should plan to carry along a box of books whenever you do a public event. 
• From speaking gigs, I netted another $5,150. This included speaking at writers' conferences, libraries, and other events. This isn't as much as I've made in other years, but it's better than what I made from speaking in 2010.
• I also sold another $3,556 worth of reprints. Again, this isn't a huge amount of money, but the work involved is minimal, and another source of "free" money.
• The rest of my income came from writing articles and consulting (primarily for would-be authors who need help considering their book publishing options). 

Even though books (both my own and those for clients) constitute most of my freelance income, you can see that I have other ways of making money, too. I've found a diversified approach works best for me, and helps me make money in a limited number of hours. Next post I'll tell you what I did wrong in 2010, and explain more about why having a variety of work helps you produce more money overall. 

**Didn't take the 2011 income survey yet? Please do it now, and ask others to do the same! Thank you! :)  

Setting your Freelance Goals for 2012

          This is my favorite day of the year. To me, January 1 represents promise, potential, possibility. It's also when I set my goals for the year, and I suggest you do the same for your career. 

           Consider the Past           

           To look forward, however, you first must look back. At the end of each year, I review what types of writing work I performed, for whom, and how much money I made as a result. I also add up the amount I made from selling reprints and from speaking engagements so I know how much I’m making from both activities, and I look for trends, both good and bad.

Another issue to explore is how you spent your time last year. Look at when projects were assigned and when you turned them in. Are you turning around your profiles quickly but spending too much time on shorter, lower-paying pieces? Are those heavily-researched business articles really worth spending so much energy on? Remember that it’s not how much you make for a particular project—it’s what your hourly rate turns out to be.

            Finally, how diversified were you this year? Were you working for only a handful of clients or for dozens? (The former may be unavoidable if much of your work is writing books, which take much longer than articles.) Did you have lots of short, lower-paying assignments or did you focus more on bigger projects or feature stories? Does your income come from a variety of sources or only a few?

Consider the Future

So, now you know where your money came from. The next question is how much you want to make this year—and what kind of work you want to perform to make it. Should you focus your efforts in a particular area or would you rather try something new? Are you feeling burned out and want to switch gears—and try writing fiction, for example, instead of essays? Consider too how much time you can dedicate to “projects of the heart” compared to the work that pays your bills.

After you’ve set an annual income goal, determine how you’ll get there. How many hours must you write to earn that income? If you’re freelancing fulltime, the answer may be as many as necessary. Having a daily financial goal can help keep you on track. If your goal is to make $30,000 a year from freelancing, that averages to $2,500 a month or $125 a day (with four weeks off during the year.) In other words, if you can average that amount of income 240 days a year, you can make $30,000 this year. Make sense? 

Strive for a Balance  

By setting monthly, weekly or daily financial targets, you’ll be on your way to achieving your overall financial goal this year. But remember that your writing career isn’t only about the money. Your goals may also include non-financial ones like spending more time writing fiction or developing a stronger voice. (One of my goals this year is to finish my latest novel, which has been languishing for months.) 

That's why I suggest you build writing time into your schedule for projects that don’t produce income (at least not yet) but are important to you for other reasons. (Need a boost? Check out Kelly Stone's 90-day writing challenge that launches tomorrow.) Even though I write for a living, I give myself time to write for myself as well. After all, if you only focus on the bottom line and continually take work that bores or frustrates you, you’ll be likely to become bored and frustrated with your career as well. 

Instead, strive for a balance between the money you want to make and the work you want to do—and both you and your bank account will be better off in 2012. 

** Want to publish a book but aren't sure which route (i.e., traditional publishing, print-on-demand, e-publishing, or self-publishing) is right for you? Check out my Writer's Digest webinar on Thursday, January 5. You'll learn about your book publishing options today, and their pros and cons. 

Eight Ways to Make More Money as a Freelancer

If you're familiar with my work, you already know that I believe writers fall into two camps: those who write because they simply love to write, and those who want to make money for their work, or who write for money.

There’s nothing wrong with launching a freelance career because you love to write. But that's enough to sustain a successful full-time freelance career. And if you want to succeed as a freelancer, you must think about-and talk about--money.

Yet I find that many writers are afraid to talk money, or (mistakenly) think that you can’t make a good living as a freelancer. That’s simply not true. But if you're a new freelancer and you want to make real money as a writer, you have to start thinking about money—and possibly changing your mindset as well.

Use these eight strategies to start thinking (and acting) like a writer who deserves to and plans on getting paid. To make money as a writer, you should:

• Submit your work to markets that pay. This sounds obvious, but if you want to get paid for your work, you must find someone to buy it. If you only submit to nonpaying markets, you won’t make any cash.

• Actually submit your work! I’m amazed at the number of writers who are diligently committed to their craft, yet are afraid to send in work. Will you be rejected? Yes! Every writer, no matter how talented, has his or her work turned down. But you must overcome that fear to start making money as a freelancer.

• Ask about pay. Most markets, whether print or online, now keep writers’ guidelines online. If you don’t see any, don’t be afraid to send a quick email to the editor or webmaster asking about rates. You won’t know if you don’t ask.

• Present yourself as a writer who gets paid. When I submit work to potential reprint markets, I say something like, “Please let me know if you’re interested in purchasing reprint rights to this story.” Note my language—I don’t ask if the editor is interested in reprinting the story (she might think I just want the exposure), but if she’s interested in paying for that right.

• Track your income. If you want to make money, you should be keeping track of how much you’re making, and from what markets. It also means following up on outstanding invoices, if necessary. Don’t forget to keep track of your business expenses as well, so you can deduct them from your gross income at the end of the year.

• Write what sells. This is possibly the most important tip of all. I’m a twice-published novelist and still entertain visions of being able to write fiction fulltime. But I can’t--unless I can figure out how to live on, say $7,500 a year, my advance for each. So instead I write nonfiction articles and books about health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness because there are plenty of markets looking for that kind of work, and those markets pay well. I also ghostwrite and coauthor books for clients in those fields because there's a demand for this kind of work.

• Gather information. To market your work, you must know what markets are buying, and what they're paying. Keep up on markets through sources like Writer's Digest, Writing for Dollars, and PublishersMarketplace, and submit your work to them.

• “Just say no”—to writing for free. It’s one thing if you have a blog to showcase your writing and hopefully attract future clients. But when you write for markets that don’t pay (or pay in “exposure”), you’re devaluing your own work as well as that of other writers. I suggest you say no thanks to writing for free in favor of paying markets. You—and your bank account—will benefit.

Double-Dip Technique #5: Think Reprints from the Outset

Happy Monday, readers! Last post I talked about TEA, a simple, effective method of asking for more money. Today we're back to double-dipping, one of my favorite subjects. You already know how I love reslanting and selling reprints, but there's another double-dip technique I use to maximize my work time.

Reprints aren't just an afterthought for me; instead, I think about reprints from the outset. In other words, when I pitch an idea to a magazine, I'm already lining up potential reprint markets in my mind--and as soon as reprint rights revert to me, I send that piece out to my other markets.

Let me give you an example. I have a handful of reprint markets that purchase stories on women's health, lifestyle, fitness, nutrition, and wellness topics. When I write an article on one of those topics (for a market with a writer-friendly topic), I make a note to offer the piece to my regulars as soon as it's available. So after I wrote a story on how to reduce your risk of breast cancer for a woman's mag for $500 and it ran, I turned around and sold it as a reprint to two different overseas women's magazines ($150 and $300 each); to a small custom magazine ($75); to a regional parenting magazine ($150); to another regional parenting magazine ($50); and to a regional woman's magazine ($80) within the next three months. And the story is still selling to other reprint markets as well.

Get the idea? Don't just treat reprints as an afterthought. Think about potential reprint markets beforehand--as you pitch, and as you write--and you'll make more money for your original pieces as well. That's double-dip technique number 5.

Working efficiently and making more money has been my focus as a freelancer for more than a decade. If you want to learn more about how I do it, read more of my blog. Or check out Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, or Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create your own Writing Specialty and Make More Money. (Notice a theme here?)

Get Contract-Savvy: Three Ways to Retain Reprint Rights

Earlier this week, I gave you five good reasons to sell reprints. But to sell reprints, you must own the rights to your work. I've written before about how to negotiate more writer-friendly contracts, but let's focus specifically on how to retain reprint rights. Here are three options to consider:

1. If you're presented with an all-rights contract, ask if the magazine has another version you can sign instead. Many national magazines have more than one "standard" contract--one which requests all rights, and a more writer-friendly one which lets you retain some rights to your work. Sometimes simply asking will get you the better one.

2. If an all-rights contract is offered, ask if you can change it to something more writer-friendly. I've had success changing all rights to first N.A. serial rights and nonexclusive web rights, which lets me resell the work to other print publications.

3. If your editor insists on an all-rights contract, ask if you can retain nonexclusive reprint rights. This was the only option I had when writing web stories for a giant corporation with an ironclad all-rights contract. While my editor wanted all rights, he was willing to let me amend the contract to let me retain nonexclusive reprint rights to my work. That simple change has meant thousands of dollars in income from print magazines that purchase reprints; the editors there don't care that a story appeared online several years ago.

Hey, I do write for markets that insist on purchasing all rights, and won't let me retain anything. But I always try to negotiate a better contract--worst case scenario, the editor says "no." I've found it never hurts to ask.

Five Good Reasons--to Sell Reprints

According to my survey of fulltime freelancers earlier this year, only 2 percent of respondents are selling reprints to their work. I find that surprising and hope to convert some of the other 98 percent.

Sure, many writers say that selling reprints isn't worth the time or effort. I say, think again--and consider these five excellent reasons to jump on the reprint train:

1. Great per-hour rate. Let me give you an example--I have a local magazine that buys a reprint from me four times a year. She emails me, asking if I have something relevant, I send her the story, and she sends me a check. Total time invested? Maybe 15 minutes. Payoff? $75. That's a $300/hour rate...not bad at all.
2. Bigger platform. I've sold reprints to markets throughout the country, which helps build my platform both as a writer as a fitness/health expert. (In addition to freelancing, I'm an ACE-certified personal trainer and public speaker on topics including healthy habits and stress management, so I want my name "out there" as much as possible. And the bigger my platform, the better chance I have of selling my next book to a publisher, too.)
3. More book sales. When I sell a reprint about a health topic, I include a bionote ("Kelly James-Enger is the author of books including Small Changes, Big Results: A 12-Week Action Plan to a Better Life, with Ellie Krieger, R.D.). If it's a piece on infertility or parenting, I'll mention my book, The Belated Baby, which is for parents who experienced infertility. Not every reprint market will provide a bionote, but when they do, I get some free publicity.
4. More assignments. I just finished two original articles for a reprint market after the editor asked me if I was willing to write new pieces for her. The per-word rate wasn't as high as I'm paid by national magazines, but each story only took a few interviews and several hours to write, which made it worthwhile. And editors coming to me with work means I spend less time marketing.
5. Multiple sales--and free money. Sure, reprint markets may not pay that much--I have steady markets that pay only $35 or $50 for one-time reprint rights per story. Paltry, right? But almost all of those "low-paying" markets buy more than one story from me, often at once. One regional women's magazine requested about twenty stories from me earlier this year. I sent them in several batches so she could select the ones she wanted to use. So far, she's purchased eight of them, for a total of $520--and I haven't had to do any more work. I just find a check in the mail for $60 or $70 every month or so. That kind of "free" money is my favorite kind to get.

Of course to sell reprints, you need to retain reprint rights to your work. Next post, we'll talk about how to negotiate more writer-friendly contracts.

My two favorite kinds of money to make? That's easy...royalty and reprint checks. Collecting royalties means that one of my books has “earned out,” or made back its advance, and that I’m now actually making money every time someone buys a copy. Yeah! But reprint sales run a close second because I love getting paid more than once for an article.

Last year, I made $6800 from selling reprint rights to articles. Yet I've found most writers ignore reprint possibilities. Sure, most reprint markets don’t pay that well, but the work involved is minimal…and marketing reprints takes little mental effort. I’m going to make it easy for you by giving you a simple, five-step process to follow to sell your stories more than once:

Step 1: Negotiate Better Contracts

When I started freelancing fulltime 13+ years ago, contracts were more writer-friendly. Now more publishers than ever want all rights to your work, which precludes you from reselling that story—forever. (You can always write about the topic again for a new market, but that's an entirely new piece, not a reprint of your original piece. That's what I call a "reslant," and I'll talk about those in another post.)

When you sign an all-rights contract, you’re done as far as reprints go. Even contracts that aren’t all-rights may contain exclusivity provisions which preclude you from selling reprint rights for a certain time period, for example, or to a certain type of magazine. So you’ve got to read your contracts closely…and negotiate better ones when you can.

Even when an all-rights contract is forced on me, I always try to add a provision that lets me retain nonexclusive reprint rights to my work; I've had even the most demanding publishers agree (albeit grudgingly) to that. Sure, the publisher is still going to do whatever it wants with my work for no extra money—but at least I'm free to resell it on my own if I want to. And I do!

Step 2: Locate Reprint Markets

This is the big time suck when it comes to selling reprints. Just who is going to buy them? Start with a market guide like Writer's Market, but don’t stop there. Publication directories like The Standard Periodical Directory list thousands of markets, divided into subject categories, that may be possible markets. I’ve had the best luck selling to regional parenting, regional health, regional bridal, and regional women’s magazines. (Notice a trend? Smaller-circulation magazines are more likley to buy reprints than their national counterparts.)

Step 3: Maximize your Sales

Here's the thing: I don't try to sell one story to one market at a time. It's not worth it. But because I specialize in health, fitness, nutrition, and psychology topics (though I do cover other subjects occasionally), I’ve created a master list of work that lists several hundred stories, organized by category. Then when I contact an editor, I include the categories I think she would most likely be interested in. (If I’m not sure, I send the entire list.)

As a result, I often sell more than one story at a time, even to a new reprint client. Better still, the size and scope of my list means that editors think of me when they’re looking for a piece on a particular topic. (Last month, an editor from an overseas publication contacted me to see if I had a piece on organic food. I did, and it sold for $300 U.S. Not bad for about 15 minutes’ worth of work.)

I do customize my initial contact letter to fit the magazine I'm pitching. Here's a sample letter to a regional bridal magazine:

Dear Ms. Smith:

I’m a full-time freelance journalist whose work has appeared in more than 50 national magazines including BRIDE’S, Bridal Guide, For the Bride, Wedding Bells, Fitness, Fit, Shape, Redbook, Woman’s Day, Family Circle, and Marie Claire. Over the past decade, I’ve developed an inventory of “evergreen” bridal stories which I offer to regional bridal markets like yours that looking for well-written, informative articles for their readers. Currently I have stories on the following topics available (approximate word count is shown as well):

“50 Health and Fitness Tips for Brides” 1,865 words
[rest of 20+ story list with titles and word counts is included]

Please let me know if you’d like to see any of my work or are interested in purchasing one-time reprint rights to any stories. And keep in mind that I’m always happy to rework a piece so it better meets the needs of your readers.

Thank you very much for your time; I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
Kelly James-Enger
[contact info]


Note that I highlight the benefits of buying reprint stories to the editor—she can acquire well-written, informative articles at a reasonable price. Note too that I say "purchase reprint rights," so it's clear that I expect to be paid for the articles. (Some magazines offer to print the stories "for the exposure" rather than for money. Um, people die from exposure. I prefer the latter.) Finally, I specifically mention "one-time reprint rights" so the editor knows that this article has appeared before—and that she is only purchasing the right to reprint it once.

Step 4: Make your Editor Happy

One of the reasons that I’ve had success selling reprints is that I try to always keep the editor’s needs in mind. What do I want? To sell a story as many times as possible and make even more money. What does my editor want? A story that will benefit and appeal to her readers. That’s why I often “tweak” my reprints.

For example, I had a weight-loss piece that had originally run in a women’s magazine. By rewriting the lead (so it was about feeling beautiful as you slip into your dream gown the morning of your wedding instead of feeling confident in a swimsuit this summer) and making a few small changes throughout the piece, it became aimed at engaged women in their 20s and 30s, not moms who were struggling with leftover baby fat. The idea is to give your editor a piece that appears custom-made for her market—being willing to take that extra step (which only takes a few minutes) makes me much more likely to make a reprint sale. It makes me more valuable to my editor, too.

Step 5: Keep in Touch

It’s much easier to sell to an editor or market that has bought from you before than to constantly search out new markets. Every three months or so, I update my master list, making a note of the newest additions, and send it off along with a brief email to editors who have purchased from me in the past. The hour I spend doing so always results in a few more sales, and keeps my name in front of clients.

For example, I have an editor at a regional magazine that has been buying reprints from me since 2000. She only pays me $75/story, but in the last decade, she’s bought more than $2,000 worth of work from me. She emails when she’s looking for something in particular and it’s win-win—she gets a well-written, informative piece for her readers, and I get some extra cash.

As long as your story topic is still relevant and the information it contains still accurate (I do confirm the latter before I send a story out), you can resell the same piece as many times as you like. My “best-sellers” have included a story on avoiding legal problems as you plan your wedding (sold nine times so far), a piece on reducing your risk of breast cancer (sold eight times so far), and a story on why women should date shy guys (sold six times so far…good news for all those conversationally-challenged men!). I married one, so I know what I'm talking about.

If you write for specialized markets or on esoteric subjects, you may not have as much success with reprints. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore the opportunity they present. Developing reprint markets that will buy stories from you on a regular basis is an easy way to boost your bottom line without the time and hassle of researching and writing new stories—making more money in less time.