Reprints

From Guidevines

The second appearance of any work of writing, especially by a different publisher or in a different format. This is a common but fuzzy concept, not a sharp-edged legal one.

If, say, a short story or poem appeared in a chapbook or magazine, it might be reprinted in another magazine, or a newsletter, or an anthology. A novel, having gone out of print and reverted to its author, might be reprinted by another book publisher or in electronic format. Paperbacks began as inexpensive reprints of hardbacks decades before the "original paperback" concept.

Some people consider any later printing of the same edition by the same publisher to be a reprint versus the idea of the first edition.

Copyright recognizes a number of alternate formats, with both first and later rights, for example, first English language world electronic periodical rights versus first English language book rights or first Spanish world serialization rights. These would be considered each a first appearance in that format: "reprinting" does not come into it. It is only after selling firsts of some right that you can sell seconds: second English language world electronic periodical rights when the first e-zine disappears or second English language book rights when your original publisher lets your book lapse but someone else thinks there's money in keeping it in print.