Lars Eighner's Homepage Writers' Workshop FAQ: Q. I thought $300 was a good payment for reprinting my short story in an anthology. But I heard of someone getting $500 for the right to use his story in a college entrance examination. What should I get for reprint rights?

Q. I thought $300 was a good payment for reprinting my short story in an anthology. But I heard of someone getting $500 for the right to use his story in a college entrance examination. What should I get for reprint rights?

A. Unfortunately yours was about average (or a tad on the good side) for most reprints in most anthologies. Figure what the reasonable advance for the whole anthology might be, divide by the number of stories, figure a lion's share for the compiler who has done the work of putting the book together and selling it, and what you end up with is in this ballpark.

The college exam people are not in the business of giving away money, but they don't have much in the way of competition to force their fees down. They can afford to pay generously for work they use. The anthologist is probably a freelance, just as you are, who in many cases is paying you out of his own pocket but on a limited budget in any event.