ASK AN EDITOR
Somebody Just Grabbed One of My Medium Stories and Posted it on Their Blog
Now What?
A few years ago I published this story on Medium:
The good news is that one reader loved my story so much they reposted it to their own blog.
The bad news is that they didn’t ask my permission to run my work on their blog. They just took it.
They did attribute the story to me and provided a link to my Medium profile — but they didn’t give me a byline at the beginning of the piece, as I would have required had they asked. Instead that attribution appeared at the end of the piece.
And, of course, they didn’t pay me.
Stop, thief!
How to proceed?
Normally, an editor will ask permission before they run my work. In fact, they’re legally obligated to do this.
When they do, I usually require payment.
Sometimes I’ll waive my usual reprint fee. Giving me a byline and linking to the piece as it appears on Medium can enough. That depends upon factors like what their site is like, how many followers they have and whether I’ve already been paid for the work.
The terms and conditions under which an editor can run your work is something a writer learns how to negotiate.
But this editor didn’t give me the opportunity to negotiate. They just took what they wanted and hoped I wouldn’t notice.
Little did they know I have Google Alerts! If my name appears online, I’m going to find out about it.
You Can’t Pay the Rent with Extra Eyeballs
How do editors usually justify grabbing a writer’s work and running with it?
“This is exposure!” they’ll tell you. “Extra eyeballs! My posting your story on my blog will bring you lots of new readers!”
Yes, editor, and it might also bring you lots of new readers! And I see that you’ve monetized your site, which is to say that you’ve got stuff for sale on your site, so you may even make money from running my work. Don’t I deserve some of that coin?
But that’s not even the point. The point is that it’s not okay for you to just take what is mine.
Roz Returns to the Rodeo
So what happens next?
I’ve been a pro writer for decades. Which means? I’ve been to this rodeo before. I know what my rights are, and what happens next is that I enforce them.
I contact the editor of that blog and ask them to either obtain my permission to run my work or take it off the site.
Sometimes this works out very well. Once it resulted in a $4,000 payment.
Other times? Not so much.
How will this editor respond? Will they apologize and send me a fat check? Will they apologize and offer to run the piece in the form I usually require — with a byline upfront and a link to the piece as it appears on Medium? Will they keep the piece up and dare me to sue them? (I’m a retired lawyer, so I know exactly how to do that.)
I’ll keep you posted. Stay tuned…
(Writers! Have you ever had your own work grabbed and reposted without your permission? What did you do about it? Please share your experience in the Comments section.)
Writing Coach and editor-for-hire Roz Warren, who writes for everyone from the Funny Times to the New York Times, can help you improve and publish your work. Drop her a line at [email protected]. (That’s Ros with an “s,” not a “z.”)
