Question about the rights of authors

lottpaul

Hi everyone - total newbie to here and apologies if this is not the appropriate forum - mods feel free to move or delete.

A friend has for years submitted little prayers/thoughts to a religious magazine but didn't realise they had been published in a book. She is wondering if she has any rights/entitlements, from monetary to even a little "thank you" in the book itself?
Unfortunately she doesn't seem to have kept any records of what she sent or acknowledgements from the magazine for the prayers so I presume she shouldn't get her hopes up.

Sorry if that's a bit vague but it's the general gist of the situation.

Thanks for reading.

Das Kitty

It's likely that in the terms and conditions for submitting the little stories / thoughts there was a statement about publishing and republishing rights to cover the magazine's bum.

Bad form of them not to include the names, IMO, but I'd almost guarantee they have themselves covered.

If they're still accepting these submissions, you can take a look at the magazine or site to see what's there under the terms and conditions.

EileenG

And an illustration of why it's a good idea to clarify terms, even if it's just a case of giving your name on the published piece, and stating your rights. Generally, the less you get paid, the more rights you retain, but you need to get this spelled out upfront.