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alext262

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Hi All,

I have built up a database for my boss (the writer) of more than 7500 contact details for editors of magazines and trade journals. It's a great resource and has so far helped her get published in about 80 magazines.

Should I somehow market this resource? It seems a shame that only one person gets to use it.

Any thoughts?
 

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1) That information is already out there for anybody to access. If they can't find it online, chances are it's available at a library, especially a college or university library for some of the trade journals.

2) If the database was compiled for her use, you'd probably need permission from her to trade or give it to other people. This could possibly fall under "work for hire", but somebody with more expertise can probably weigh in.

3) Her success is no guarantee that somebody else who uses the database will be able to get articles published. You can have all the contacts necessary but you still need quality material to sell to them.
 
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If you compiled this database for your boss, and she paid you to do so, she probably owns the database, not you, and you have no rights which you could sell.
 

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If you compiled this database for your boss, and she paid you to do so, she probably owns the database, not you, and you have no rights which you could sell.

This,

But also, who will maintain it?

As someone who once worked for a media monitoring service that included media lists that we sold on to clients, they are very hard to keep up-to-date. We had two full-time staff dedicated to it. And considering the focus was primarily on Canadian media, I'm not sure it was even as large as this one was.

If people want to target editors for such things, (including trade journals) there are other services that already provide it. People have reasons for wanting to compile their own (like the author who hired you) but that doesn't mean such services aren't already out there.
 

alext262

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Sorry for the misunderstanding here, the Author in question is my fiancé so there is no conflict of interest.

Yes, indeed the list goes out of date constantly we are always attempting to correct the errors.

What other companies offer such a service? Are they any good? It's difficult to find them with a google search, what would be some good keywords?
 
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Sorry for the misunderstanding here, the Author in question is my fiancé so there is no conflict of interest.
If you were paid to compile the database, it's not yours to share or distribute. Listen to Old Hack:
If you compiled this database for your boss, and she paid you to do so, she probably owns the database, not you, and you have no rights which you could sell.
She's been involved in many facets of the publishing industry for years now. If you want to distribute this information (which, again, is most likely available online just by looking up the journals in question), you would best be served by a written agreement between the two of you. This would protect both your interests as well as hers.
 

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If you were paid to compile the database, it's not yours to share or distribute. Listen to Old Hack:

She's been involved in many facets of the publishing industry for years now. If you want to distribute this information (which, again, is most likely available online just by looking up the journals in question), you would best be served by a written agreement between the two of you. This would protect both your interests as well as hers.
The OP has already stated the author is her fiancé.

One problem with google searches for anything regarding writing opportunities these days is that scamming vanity publishers have paid companies to use black hat SEO techniques, so they appear at the top of google..

There are certain key words that work, but I don't feel comfortable putting them out there, because once the vanity companies catch on to those key words they will use them too. That may sound "tinfoil hat", but unfortunately it is not.
 
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caracy

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Fiance, husband, wife, boss--it really doesn't matter. The resources are already out there and maintained by others. If you spend all your time updating this database, you are taking time away from your writing.

It is an amazing accomplishment, but likely geared to your fiance and would likely not as useful to someone else as you might think. And, as someone else mentioned, relationships change. If you built the database for someone else, really need to get their permission, preferably in writing before broadcasting it.
 
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