Should You Grant Exclusive Publishing Rights? Consider My Experience.

Is it wise to grant a publisher, namely Associated Content, exclusive publishing rights to your work? Read about my experience and decide for yourself. I recently granted Associated Content exclusive publishing rights to an article. That was the one and likely the last time I grant Associated Content or anyone else sole reprint rights to my work.

After reading the article entitled "How Do I Love Life? Let Me Count The Seconds," the Associated Content editors changed its title to "How Do I Love Life? Let Me Count The Ways." Somehow they missed that the article is not about the famous Elizabeth Barrett Browning sonnet its title alludes to, and it appears that the word play with that sonnet's title was wasted on them. The article is not about my personal joys.

Simply the article is about achieving enduring happiness by embracing every second of your life--something I learned from personal challenges and from witnessing the challenges of friends, family, peers and many others who do the exact opposite and dwell in negativity. It was an article that came to me in bed one morning after days of brooding over recent personal losses and failures and my snapping out of my funk with the realization that every second you live holds promise and makes you a second wiser. My mood improved suddenly and dramatically afterward.

If you don't master your life your life will master you. You are a victim only as long as you think you are. You are in the driver's seat. Apparently the Associated Content editors didn't get the article's message.

The Associated Content editors not only changed the article's title, but--worse yet--also retained exclusive publishing rights after informing me the article did not qualify for the higher upfront payment associated with exclusive submissions. Then, why not reject it as an exclusive submission and allow me to retain publishing rights and the title of my choosing? I'm thankful that they at least kept the content intact.

I would surely send nothing further to Associated Content if they had messed with the article's content and meaning. My writings and my music are my children. I want no one to mess with my children but me.

I suspect the title change was made by some Associated Content newbie with questionable reading comprehension. I am not so clueless that I would overlook the original title as the better and obvious choice, and I hope the same goes for Associated Content editors. Here's how little Associated Content regards at least this regular Associated Content author: I've received no response to e-mails to Associated Content requesting that they restore the article's original title.

Is this how Associated Content treats those who grant them exclusive publishing rights? If it is then why grant them exclusive publishing rights? Why not consider the many other online publications available for contributing writers? It appears that Associated Content is giving yours truly a middle-finger salute. Well, then, I'm saluting them in kind.

I'm done e-mailing Associated Content on this. This article--in display-only format--will stay on the site until Associated Content does what I've asked of them. As long as I'm stuck with an irrelevant article title Associated Content will be stuck with the article you've just read.