SELF-SYNDICATION,
THE HOLY GRAIL
Do I resell my National Post column? Yes I do, in bits and pieces. I have a few editors from newspapers outside Canada that I deal with regularly. If I write something for the Post that I think they will like, I send it along to them. Sometimes they pick it up.
Given what I get paid at the Post, I need to resell in order to live my ultra-luxurious lifestyle (i.e. eating occasionally).
Other, more disciplined (and wealthier) writers do this in a more focused manner, sending of the same piece (yes, EXACTLY the same piece) to scores of papers. That is the smart thing to do.
The newspapers editors know that it has appeared somewhere else and (unless it is the NYT or LAT) usually don't care. They can't afford to as they usually pay $125 to $250 a piece… obviously not enough to cover expenses.
Their only concern is if it has appeared in a competing newspaper. As the States has hundreds of major cities, there are hundreds of non-competing markets.
Some writers feel that with media conglomeration, the markets are shrinking (that is certainly the case in Canada); others feel there is still room to 'self-syndicate'.
For more, below is an excerpt from an on-line debate between professional travel writers (I didn't contribute. I was too busy sending out pieces).
DEBATE ON MULTI-MARKETING FOR NEWSPAPERS
Many new
writers overlook the benefits of multi-marketing for newspapers. Any one
newspaper may offer a discouragingly low fee for a story -- maybe $100
or $200. But in the U.S. and Canada, most newspapers are regional; ergo,
you can sell the same piece to other markets in a different circulation
area. For that reason, I avoid writing stories that involve any kind of
a time factor -- festivals on certain dates, etc.
___
With all
due respect, I'm afraid that I have to disagree with X's well-intentioned
description of selling travel articles and photos to newspapers. In the
early 1990's, it was possible to use the "spray gun" approach that X advocates
when submitting material on spec.
However, most
large daily newspapers have now been gobbled up by huge chains. Instead
of selling your article to one newspaper, you end up giving it (literally)
to every other paper in the chain.
For
instance, in Canada most of the large urban dailies now belong to the
Southam Newspaper conglomerate. I used to be able to peddle my stories
to each publication individually and make a decent secondary income. These
days I have to sell my story (including photos) to the entire Southam
chain and am paid only 5 or 10 percent of the original compensation each
time the feature is picked up by another one of their papers.
The situation
is at least as bad in the US, and it will probably get worse in both countries
as the few remaining independent papers get bought up. Also, in my experience,
only the very large dailies (such as The LA Times and The Toronto Star)
pay for photos individually. Most buy pictures as part of the "package,"
thereby getting them virtually for free. Add to this witches' brew, draconian,
non-negotiable contracts and there is good reason for pessimism.
___
I believe
the situation is much worse in Canada than in the U.S. Generally speaking,
the only Canadian papers I sell to are two Toronto papers, and neither
of these has ever passed on my articles to another paper. (I do sell very
occasionally to one Vancouver paper, and in that case a sister paper once
did pick up one piece for a ridiculously small extra fee.)
The newspapers
I've sold to in U.S. have not handed the story to another paper, with
one exception: One piece in the Rocky Mountain News also ended up in the
Boulder Camera, also owned by the News, for no extra payment. I don't
offer any more stories to the RMN.
The papers
to which I sell have in virtually all cases paid extra for the photos
to go with the stories. One exception to that is the Vancouver paper,
but I've known the editor personally for several years, understand the
problems, and am willing to go an extra mile in that case.
Yes, things
are tough these days and they may get worse, and it's been a few years
since I've sold a piece a dozen times. But meanwhile, multiple marketing
still works for me and, I believe, several other travel writers who turn
out interesting copy and who are willing to keep complete and accurate
lists, etc.
___
Multiple marketing still works for me too, but on a much more limited scale than it did a few years ago. Most of my sales are to publications in the USA since the market in Canada (where I live) is very small in comparison. I guess we write for different newspapers. Personally, I haven't found the situation any better south of the 49th parallel. Hungry chains such as Hearst and the New York Times have gobbled up or "branded" many of the American papers that I contribute to. A number of travel editors that I used to work with have left their jobs rather than deal with hassles created by the unfair contracts they had to force on freelancers. Hope I didn't sound like I was criticizing your sound advice for would-be travel journalists. It's a newsprint jungle out there, but there is still some light filtering through the trees.
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• Random Advice from Professionals
• Self-Syndicating, The Holy Grail
• On The Road E-Practicalities
• All-Purpose Bad Travel Story
