Question: What’s a “kill fee”?

Kristen King

www.inkthinkerblog.com — Answer: The term “kill fee” refers to the amount of money a magazine pays to a writer when the publication of an accepted article is canceled. Kill fees are typically a percentage of the original price of the article and can vary from publication to publication.

Check out this detailed explanation from the Writer’s Encyclopedia at WritersMarket.com:
Kill fee
A fee paid to a writer who has worked on an assignment that, for some reason, is not published. For example, the editor of a city magazine assigns a writer a 3,500-word article on a local political figure. The next issue of the area’s regional magazine carries an in-depth article on the same politician, and the city magazine editor decides his publication’s article would be too repetitious. The city magazine editor informs the writer, who has already researched and written the story, that the article will not be published after all. The writer then receives a percentage—from 20-50 percent—of the initially agreed-upon price for the manuscript, depending on the publication’s policy.

Terms of the kill fee should be established when the assignment is accepted. If an editor fails to mention a kill fee, the writer should inquire whether such an arrangement is possible. The writer does not ordinarily receive a kill fee unless mention of it is included in the original assignment.

Kill fees are not common. Many magazines do not offer kill fees at all; others offer them only to professional writers with established writing credits. Writer and editor Art Spikol explains: “Look at it from the magazine’s point of view: they end up paying . . . for nothing. The writer, at least, can resell the story elsewhere. . . .”

After receiving the kill fee, the writer may submit the article to other markets for a possible sale. Kill fees are offered to writers on assignment only; they do not apply to unsolicited manuscripts submitted on speculation.

Be sure to include a kill fee clause in your contract or letter of agreement.

Yours ’til the ink wells,
Kristen