Dear Angela,

I googled myself the other day and discovered that a website posted my article on their website without my knowledge or consent. I contacted the (print) magazine I had written the article for and they have no knowledge of the website and are not affiliated with them. (I have no reason to doubt them as they have been on the up and up with me and a pleasure to deal with.)

Should I send the website an email or a certified snail mail asking them for payment? And in what amount? Since they have done this, my first electronic rights have been stripped away from me. I had this happen once before on a different article (and different website) but because I’m not the best at being agressive, I didn’t pursue the wrongdoing other than to ask them to remove it from their website. Any advice you could give would be so much appreciated.

Thanks as always and I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas.

P.

Definitely send them an invoice for authorized use of your copyrighted material. Read this article first for advice:

Writer Receives $500 for Unauthorized Use of Her Work
https://www.writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/003316_03082006.html