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Publishing Your Work: Author Rights Retention

Information and tools necessary to help you negotiate rights with publishers to insure the most wide and open access to your scholarship.

Follow these steps before signing a publication contract

  • If you still need convincing, watch the Author's Rights Video from SPARC (below)
  • Research potentialjournal and book publisher's policies at Sherpa/RoMEO to identify those friendly to open access and institutional repositories
  • Read your contract carefully, and if necessary, include the Addendum (below) to retain those rights you want to preserve.
  • Check with your liaison librarian at any point. We are happy to answer questions and help with your publication process.

Why Care?

Authors' Rights Video from SPARC

Copyright Addendum to retain some rights

1. Complete the addendum.
2. Print a copy of the addendum and attach it to your publishing agreement.
3. Note in a cover letter to your publisher that you have included an addendum to the agreement.
4. Mail the addendum with your publishing agreement and a cover letter to your publisher.

Example Addendums to publishing agreements

Publisher's Copyright Policies

Search this site for a journal you are considering publishing in to find out whether it supports open access and/or self archiving in local repositories.