- Joined
- Jul 21, 2010
- Messages
- 71
- Reaction score
- 14
I was hired to write a short story for an anthology through a freelancing website. The site's general policy is that pieces contracted through them count as work for hire and the rights belong to the client. I told this client that I wasn't comfortable assigning all rights to them for what they were willing to pay, they agreed and we have a contract saying that rights revert to me 6 months after publication. That part is similar to the usual contracts I sign for more traditionally submitted manuscripts. Unfortunately I didn't think to also ask for the standard clause about when rights revert to me if they never publish my story. (I won't make that mistake again...)
That was about 18 months ago; the anthology was supposed to come out a year ago; it never came out; the prospective publisher's website has been inactive for more than a year and nobody answers their email. And I have become rather attached to that story and would like to try getting it published elsewhere, after some substantial revisions. I'm trying to figure out whether at some point I have the right to do that if the entity with which I have a contract no longer exists. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
That was about 18 months ago; the anthology was supposed to come out a year ago; it never came out; the prospective publisher's website has been inactive for more than a year and nobody answers their email. And I have become rather attached to that story and would like to try getting it published elsewhere, after some substantial revisions. I'm trying to figure out whether at some point I have the right to do that if the entity with which I have a contract no longer exists. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.