Model Railroading > Kalmbach Dead Authors Society?

I've noticed that several articles appearing in both Trains and Model Railroader are held and then published after the author has died.  Since Kalmbach pays upon publication, who gets the check?

desertjack Wrote:
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> I've noticed that several articles appearing in
> both Trains and Model Railroader are held and then
> published after the author has died.  Since
> Kalmbach pays upon publication, who gets the
> check?

When Kalmbach buys an article, it pays for it right away, rather than upon publication. At least, that has been my experience: of several articles I have submitted to them, two were paid for but never (so far, at least) published.

 

A friend of mine has been paid for an article submitted to Model Railroader several months ago. It has yet to appear in print. Chris uk.

Agreed, I was paid upon acceptance by MR. It was about 16 months later that it was published. MR/Kalmbach is very professional about how they treat their authors. They let you know up front how things will work, they get the contract to you quickly, the check soon follows.
Some of the other hobby magazines could take a lesson from them.

Regarding the "Dead Author's Society" title, a little tacky way to put it but, we should all keep in mind the demographics of our hobby and be thankful for the material shared for our enjoyment even after the passing of the contributor.

In my experience Kalmbach does indeed pay when they purchase your article rather than upon publication like other magazines. I had one article pulished in MR, time from purchasing the article to publishing it was four or five years.....

Andrew C

I can only hope that the more experienced authors keep writing about what they know...

Thanks for sharing your ideas and techniques...

Dan Boehlke
New Ulm, MN

I noticed the same thing in the last few issues.  I guess I won't submit an article as it appears to be bad luck on ones longevity!!

Kidding,

Peter

This was discussed at the Model Railroader discusson group and the editor got a little sensitive about it. I had material published in a Kalmbach publication some years ago. It sat in their files about 3 years, but I was paid promptly when it was accepted for publication. However,  I had to sign the rights away except for the one time use of other folks' photos. I suppose you might be able to negotiate something different but that my hurt your chances of being published. Kalmbach is a reputable company. But I've heard some folks that submitted material to Carstens did not get paid, even after it was published.... And that was before they started to have financial problems. Others said they had to badger them to get paid. I plan on submitting material to White River Productions and expect better treatment than that.

I havwe submitted pieces to some aviation mags and waited for a log time to get paid AFTER they were pubished...

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

White River was very prompt to pay and easy to work with on a piece I had published in NMRA Magazine in the past year.

Oh, yes, Carstens was the exact opposite of Kalmbach in terms of payment promptness, even before their business started going south (but that only made it worse). While I did eventually get paid for everything I sent them, it was a drawn-out process and it led me to stop sending them material in the mid-2000s. That proved a good decision, because I do have several friends who got stiffed when they went bust.

> I've noticed that several articles appearing in
> both Trains and Model Railroader are held and then
> published after the author has died.  Since
> Kalmbach pays upon publication, who gets the
> check?

The estate.  This isn't anything unusual.

Lighter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > I've noticed that several articles appearing in
> > both Trains and Model Railroader are held and
> then
> > published after the author has died.  Since
> > Kalmbach pays upon publication, who gets the
> > check?
>
> The estate.  This isn't anything unusual.

That would be the case if Kalmbach, in fact, paid AFTER publication.

I don't know what would have happened in the described circumstances with Carstens in their final years, given that by the time they paid, the heirs might have been dead, too.
 

I've only been published in a couple Not-For-Profit Historical Society Magazines. I didn't have to worry about when I would get paid! :-)

Jim

Some of us do a little of that too but make sure you ask for about 10 copies of the magazine so you can give free copies to your friends and associates. It's only fair.

tq-07fan Wrote:
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> I've only been published in a couple
> Not-For-Profit Historical Society Magazines. I
> didn't have to worry about when I would get paid!
> :-)
>
> Jim

When I got published in Model Railroad News before WRP bought them,  I got paid and asked for a dozen copies as well.  The latter was a lot since I had a two-part article.

I would have gotten piad faster if I had filled out the IRS 1099 form faster.  They had to hound me to do it.

Kennedy, In Rochelle, IL right now.