Susan, I just realised, I am scum; I have two chapters of yours, which I will do my very best to sit down with.

Scum, like the scum of someone who just realized she still has a certain writer-lady's prologue?

Man, I'm lame. Will attend to that tonight. Really.

Yeah, I know, hence the ditching.And there's nothing worse than reading one that doesn't make its point, anyway...that's just embarrassing for me when I read that, or see it in a movie, (cough) Tarantino(cough) Sometimes they're brilliant...other times...read a book without pictures, Quentin. There will be another place to write about freakishly babealicious district attorneys if I have to(Another reason why I love Homicide...Ed Danvers not being much to ogle, although ZI might be offended that I would say it that way, but I digress.) Sometimes, I think that kind of stuff adds realism that people see movies that you don't have to make up and it can be a source of...in my case, usually, comedy, but Deb is right about there not being story enough for it in this instance. I just wrote down the first things I thought of.(Maybe that means my brain is a little impoverished...nah, more like junk in a collectible store...everything all piled up together so that somebody's life crisis calls up Sam Waterston. I'm sorry. That doesn't mean I'm gonna write papers about the philosophy of FrankenTim does it? Cause, yikes, if so.)

I have a copyright question. If I submit an essay to a magazine and it actually gets published, would I still have the right to use the same essay as part of a book later?

(I'm dreaming big here.)

I'm pretty sure you can, Kristin. Have you ever looked on the back of the title page of a book of short stories? It has this whole list of "This story originally appeared in so-and-so magazine, blah-di-blah." I imagine it works the same way for essays -> books. I think the main issue if submitting to more than one magazine, because most won't print previously published work.

Also, it makes me smile that you're dreaming big, and I want to buy your book right now.

Oh, Kristin, I really liked that. I keep meaning to tell you then Tangent Girl Strikes Again.

Thanks!

Yep, Sunil, I have seen that, but I wasn't sure if it was something that one had to get permission from those original sources to do or if it can just be done. (Holy convoluted sentence, Batman.)

I'm not sure...

Kristin, I think it depends what rights you sold to the magazine. If you sold all rights, you're out of luck unless they give permission. But if you just sold "first North American serial rights" or similar, you should be good to go.

Hm. This magazine doesn't specify. It just tells me how to submit.

In your cover letter, I believe you can specify that the first North American serial rights are what's being offered. If they quibble, you can reconsider.