ABSTRACT
Serial rights normally involve the sale of extracts from a work to a magazine or newspaper; they are divided into first and second serial rights. One-shot periodical rights involve granting a licence for a whole work to appear in a single issue of a newspaper or magazine. In all cases, promotion will involve regular liaison with the relevant feature
or literary editors of the newspapers and magazines that acquire such rights. Listings of national newspapers and magazines can be found in the annual publication Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook (Bloomsbury). An approach on a likely title must be made well in advance of publication
of the book itself, since these publications will be buying many months in advance of the issues in which the material will appear and publishers compete to place key spring and autumn titles. The various supplements and feature sections of the Sunday newspapers are filling slots up to one year in advance, while many monthly magazines work at least six months in advance of publication. Editors therefore need information and material together with reliable details of the date of publication of the book. In previous years, the importance of this area for rights sales was highlighted when the London Book Fair first provided opportunities for ‘speed-dating’ between publishers and the literary editors of The Times and the Daily Mail at the 2005 fair. However, at the time of writing, the market for serial rights is still affected by the economic recession and its aftermath – factors include slimmer newspapers, falling circulation, a reduction in book coverage in some newspapers, reduced advertising revenue and the fact that newspapers are investing substantial sums in websites and four-colour printing presses; they have also sought to attract more readers by giveaways of CDs, DVDs, books and posters. Decisions on the purchase of serial rights may be made on the basis of a
copy of the typescript or proofs; if illustrations are to be a major feature, early visual material will also have to be provided. Material on a potential bestseller may have to be supplied in conditions of some secrecy, often under a confidentiality agreement, particularly if there is a danger of a ‘spoiler’ from a rival paper.
