I’m hoping to get a short story published in an American magazine, or elsewhere as there doesn’t seem to be many magazines who publish them in Australia. I’m unfamiliar with the copyright laws there, and was wondering if, after the print run of the story, I’d be able to publish it again in another mag. Or, would I have ’sold’ the story exclusively to them?
This site will give you complete information on U.S. copyright law:
http://www.copyright.gov/
Most magazines acquire the right to publish your story once, and possibly the right to republish it in some future anthology of stories from their pages. You retain all other rights, including the right to submit the story for publication elsewhere. (Of course, when submitting a previously published story, you have to inform the editors that it has been published before.) Magazines usually publish (in print or on their websites) their submission guidelines, so you can find out the details of each individual magazine’s policies.
Generally, from what I understand, there’s a time limit on the amount of time a magazine has exclusive rights to a story. Unless otherwise stated, though. In general, it’s best to read the submission guidelines and maybe contact the publisher to ask about copyright laws before giving them your story in it’s entirety.