Feb 20 2009
Decision Time – What Rights Do You Need?
The time has come for you to make some decisions. Exactly what rights are you asking for in your permissions request? It’s not good enough to just send out a general request asking for “permission” to use someone else’s material. You must spell out exactly what rights you need.
Although it makes sense to ask for as much as possible, keep in mind that publishers charge fees for rights, and the more rights requested the higher the fee will be.
So, what are your choices? Since I work predominantly with college textbooks, I’ve somewhat narrowed the choices to those listed below. Have I left things out? Yes. But the majority of permissions requests related to books fall into these categories.
Territory
In what territory will your work be distributed? Standard choices are:
U.S., its Territories & Possessions only
U.S., its Territories & Possessions, and Canada
North America (includes all North American countries)
World
Language
English only
English + translation into another language
Only a language other than English
Formats
Electronic NOTE: Electronic rights choices will be reviewed in a separate post.
Print
- Book, fiction (genre)
- Book, non-fiction (genre)
- Textbook (college, high school, middle school, etc.)
- Hardcover, softcover, or spiralbound
- Magazine or Journal
- Dissertation
Editions
All future editions including revisions and ancillaries (I always ask for these rights. If rights are granted for all future editions, then permission won’t have to be asked for in the future.)
This edition only (Smart authors and publishers normally grant permission for this edition only. Then, if there are future editions, permission will have to be obtained again, and another fee paid.
Braille and other non-profit editions for the disabled (Again, I always ask for this. There is usually no fee for this right.)
Every time I start a new project, one of my first steps is to ask the client to spell out exactly what rights are needed for this project. My suggestion? Keep this list in a handy place where you can refer to it easily.
© 2009 Anne Wallingford. All Rights Reserved.
