I hit the article reprints jackpot, and here’s how you can too

I hit the reprints jackpot.

After freelancing for years without selling a single reprint, I sold three in the past two weeks.

How I hit the reprints jackpot

Part of it was luck: I wrote about a timely topic for Westways, an AAA regional membership magazine with ties to other regional publications interested in running a story on the subject. Here’s the story:  Car Computers: Who Gets the Data? (Because this is a member-only publication, you might get an auto-redirect to the AAA publication for your area, sorry!)

I did no marketing. Apparently, the Westways editor knows editors at the other regional AAA publications and tipped them off  to my story. They knew what it was and how to contact me to ask to buy second rights.

Part of it was anything but luck. The contract I signed for the story original story was for first North American serial rights, referred to in freelance circles as FNASR. That meant once the article appeared in the publication I sold it to, the rights reverted back to me to use as I please, including selling reprints to other publications.

In this case, those publications came to me. But I could just as easily have contacted them.

Added together, the fees I’ll collect for second rights will almost equal the fee I got for writing the story in the first place. Not bad for sending out a couple invoices.

How you can hit the reprints jackpot too

When it comes to selling reprints, my case is an exception rather than the rule.

To get a more realistic picture of what selling reprints entails, I went to the master. Jan Udlock is a Portland area writer for regional parenting magazines who currently spends most of her time working as a virtual assistant to freelancers, authors, coaches and other entrpreneurs. Udlock has also been my assistant on the past three WordCount Blogathons.

Even though she hasn’t written any new parenting articles since 2012, Udlock still gets checks for reprints she’s sold to regional parenting publications, or RPPs as she refers to them. “I just sold two articles to a newer regional parenting magazine and I’ve been ‘retired’ from writing for 15 months,” Udlock wrote me when I asked her to explain how she does it. “I don’t contact anyone and I’ve sold 1- 3 reprints a month still. Crazy, huh?”

Looking to follow in her footsteps and selling reprints to regional parenting magazines? Here’s her advice:

1. Write an article.

Pick a topic with staying power, something that doesn’t change much from year to year. Udlock has had great luck selling articles on seasonal topics as summer camp, and evergreen topics such as throwing a birthday party. A magazine just bought reprint rights to the first parenting article she did circa 2009: “7 Ways to Encourage Your Child.” That’s legs. Most features for regional parenting magazines are 600 to 900 words.

2. Find markets.

To get RPP editors’ emails, Udlock recommends getting Make Money to Write About Your Kids: Get Published in Parenting and Family Magazines [Fifth Edition] by Kerrie McLoughlin. “It has all of the editor’s emails and names of magazines,” Udlock says. “She has tons of tips on the how-tos.” Other writers who’ve had success selling reprints suggest checking out Writer’s Market for publications that buy reprints.

3. Submit the story.

When Udlock contacts RPPs, she includes a short note introducing herself and summarizing what the story is about, and includes the full article. Here’s an example of a summary:

Take the Party Outside, a 943-word article that encourages your readers to get outside and enjoy family and friends. We all need a little inspiration to throw a party and here it is.

She signs off with a call-to-action, such as: “If you’re interested in purchasing this article, please contact me.” Udlock sends articles to RPP editors as a BCC, and routinely submits articles to 200+ RPPs. Then she waits.

4. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear back right away.

Just because you didn’t hear back, doesn’t mean an editor wasn’t interested. “I sold an article nine months after I sent it out,” Udlock says.

5. After the first sale, contact editors directly.

After Udlock started making sales to specific RPPs, she’d send articles to an editor at their direct email address using their first name. “That way I got to know about 10 editors that I started pitching ideas to.” Udlock says RPPs pay about $100 per assigned article and $30 to $50 for reprints, “but if you have enough of them, it’s a nice income.”

6. Follow up on a regular basis.

After Udlock had 20+ articles published in various RPPs, she distributed an annual list of articles available for reprints to editors she’d worked with, “and I sold a lot,” she says. Editors “would write back and ask to see specific” pieces. The key to getting an in with an RPP editor: “If they know that you include strong sources, meaningful quotes, provide good, clean copy and your piece is practical for parents today,” she says.

7. Don’t worry (too much) about editors stealing your work.

What’s to stop an editor from running a reprint without paying for it? Would it be better to send only a summary and wait for an editor to follow up? Udlock gets questions about this a lot. “Yes, you can send only a blurb but RPP editors are overworked and underpaid and they don’t have time to track down articles.” she says. “If you make it easier on them, they like you as a writer.” To be safe, do a Google search on your byline from time to time to make sure everyone’s on the up and up. “There were a few editors (who) would use my article without contacting me, so I would send them a happy email with an invoice,” Udlock says.

8. Be inspired.

Find out more about how Jan Udlock broke into writing for regional parenting magazines: How I became published & resources.

Find other publications that buy reprints

Aside from auto club membership magazines, and regional parenting publications, what other publications buy reprints? Travel magazines. Newspapers. Reader’s Digest. Find out more here:

• Increase your profits by selling article reprints (Ebyline)
• One article, many checks: Selling reprints and Five good reasons – to sell reprints (Right-Writing and Dollars and Deadlines, Kelly James-Enger)
• Found money: My system for selling article reprints (Make a Living Writing)

Have you made money selling article reprints? Share your story in a comment.

[Flickr photo by by turoczy]