Agricultural, historical, metaphysical and sociopolitical articles for rent

Why pay to reprint an article when you can rent a continually updated one?

See below for reprint rights-fees

Free use of articles regarding current social issues (i.e. smoking laws) could be made available. For permission email allen@matrixbookstore.com

Note: You may freely link to any article on this website... see our full list of articles

artist rendition of a typewriter

Have you ever featured an article which, if you knew your readers wouldn’t tire of it, you’d like to keep running it? Perhaps it was an article which really characterized the theme of your website or magazine... one which really heralds (to the world) your ideal. Well, one reason you wouldn’t keep running it over and over again is because it becomes no longer ‘fresh material’. Your existing customers would soon quit buying your magazine and probably quit visiting your website if the material never changed.

Yet, you’d still like to keep running a great article, or a couple of great ones… otherwise to drop them would be like removing a Claude Monet from your living room or covering up a Remington. You feel forced to always run something new however, even those of lesser quality, even if they don’t 'fit-in' quite as well.

The reason? Due to the public’s insatiable appetite for new information, the 'unread' attracts the most attention. It is only because it is unread however... but being unread doesn’t make it better. Yet, the unread is what sells. As a result, quality articles are shoved aside for new information. Worthwhile and highly interesting information, believed already digested by the public, is subsequently benched like a star quarterback. To remove an outstanding article would be heartbreaking... almost like the act of defacing a yacht or sandblasting a Jaguar.

Well, there is a solution… rent-a-article™.

Publishing an old but updated article

While usually the value of a magazine or website article is short-lived, exhausted after having been in circulation a few weeks, it is largely because it is time-sensitive in one sense or another. News articles are especially time-sensitive… no one wants to read old news. However, insofar as an informational-type article is concerned, one highly interesting, and even though it can grow stale after awhile (if in print repeatedly), it retains a ‘cyclical value’ nonetheless. In other words, even without having been updated, the article would be of interest to the next generation of readers and to those who simply missed reading it before. Actually, since the 'next generation' is continually emerging each day, and not on any given day, month or year, the timeframe of this 'cycle' is rather arbitrary. At any rate... why let a cycle dictate your publishing schedule when an updated article might be available?

Yet, articles worth running again and again are rare. They would be historical articles mainly but many informational-type articles can endure, even theoretical articles endure… you can probably recall some great ones you’ve read before. Now, however, they’re just old articles gathering dust, and have become, in effect, historical artifacts themselves. So, in another sense, that is also time-sensitive. For example, even if there was a very interesting article about something Daniel Boone did in 1815… seldom does one want to reprint this article if it was written 10-20 years ago. If it was updated however, that’s a different story… not only would it solve a publisher’s ‘freshness’ concerns, but even for the same people who read the article before, if they knew it had been updated, would probably enjoy reading it again.

Updating is the way to refresh an old article. A good article could be repeatedly published and still attract readers if the text is ‘repackaged’ periodically.

Plagiarizing?

But who does the ‘repackaging’? Well, anyone could but it’s difficult to repackage someone else’s copyrighted article. To avoid plagiarizing, every sentence would need to be rephrased and reordered. If you didn’t rework the article enough it could amount to a copyright violation. Actually, it’s easier just to steal the idea and completely rewrite it yourself from scratch. There is nothing illegal or unethical about stealing the general idea for an article. Still, it would take time and effort to write it.

On the other hand, for the original author, repackaging is a simple matter… requiring just a little editing or rephrasing. Provided, of course, the author is still alive (as is A.O. Kime). Depending on what the author decided it needed, he/she might only revise a sentence or two or just a paragraph… if only to explain something better. As an author’s writing skills improve over the years, and they should after all, the article can become increasingly interesting.

A periodically updated article therefore makes it continually ‘fresh’ and can actually improve over time. So, if you liked an article… you shouldn’t be stuck with just that original version, but instead have at your disposal updated versions.

Durable articles made immortal

As said, websites and magazines are usually topical so there would be many cases whereby you’d like to feature an article either constantly, frequently or periodically. After all, information on some subjects can hold everlasting interest. Aside from the durability of these historical articles, there is also everlasting interest in theoretical concepts as well. Articles on spiritual matters also endure. But for the reasons stated, it is a lot better to have those great articles made current periodically.

So... why not just get reprint rights each time the article is updated? Well, you could… if you knew if and when it was updated. That means you’d have to check periodically… only to waste time checking if it hasn't been. With our "rent-a-article™" system, we can save you the trouble because we’ll let you know.

Normally however, an updated article usually (customarily) means it has also been re-titled. If it has been re-titled, then in essence it becomes another article involving another reprint fee. With our rent-a-article™ system, there would be no reprint fees.

In essence, what our rent-a-article™ concept means is that you’ll get a reminder each time an A.O. Kime article is updated. And it’s our job to remind you each time… that is, as long as you want to be reminded. We could remind you by email or through an RSS feed.

Absorption rate and perception

Any article can be improved upon because not all deficiencies are recognized initially. Despite one's best efforts, some things escape notice and not just editing mistakes. I'm talking more about the essence of the article. Not until weeks or months later can it best be polished. A sentence could be better phrased or perhaps an entire paragraph could use some restructuring. Secondly, it is a chance for any factual mistakes to be corrected and to insert newly found information. And thirdly, the original perspective (the story angle) might need some adjustment. After all, there are countless angles in which to attack a subject and each has a different effect on the degree of absorption and the perception it leaves.

So, if you liked one of A.O. Kime’s articles on a particular subject and would like to feature it continually, frequently or even occasionally, while at the same time also be assured you’re running the latest version, then our rent-a-article™ system is for you.

Nothing is surrendered either. Renting an article gives you the exact same reprinting rights as we would offer otherwise (standard re-print rights)… the only difference being is that you would always have access to the most current version at no additional charge.

While there may only be a few factual changes in a historical article over time, or rare a change is ever necessary for a recipe, or rare instructions on how to hotwire a Mercedes would change, except for making those types of articles clearer and more interesting, metaphysical concepts are a different matter. Metaphysical and spiritual concepts are ever-changing… and subject to dozens of ways to express them. And since only a few pieces of the spiritual puzzle are known to date (by anyone), new revelations can appear at any time. In other words, it is a fluid understanding man has about the spirit world and it would behoove editors to cover this subject today because, for some reason, the interest in spiritual matters is uncharacteristically high.

Metaphysical semantics

For articles based largely upon a spiritual perspective, updating is even more important. This is not limiting however... a spiritual point-of-view exists for many subjects, even politics. Interestingly, the reason everyone has difficulty expressing a spiritual perspective, especially in a straight-forward fashion, is because languages are not adequately structured for the task. Words simply don’t exist to adequately express most spiritual matters and none whatsoever exist to explain sensory experiences. For example, it's impossible to explain to someone the smell of a flower or the sound of a saxophone. For ages, it’s been a problem for semanticists. There is some hope for explaining metaphysical and spiritual matters in the future however but until then, creative ways must be utilized and new ways are often found by A.O. Kime.

Renting an article by A.O. Kime is therefore the perfect way to keep his articles up-to-date. It is to stay current with his latest metaphysical and spiritual thoughts. The idea to ‘rent an article’ came about because A.O. Kime often revises his articles and, understandably, wants only the latest version in circulation. After all, articles reflect on the author.

Article revisions... to be or not to be?

So, is there an additional charge to reprint these revisions?

Once you’ve paid for reprint rights (see below) for a particular article then there would be no charge whatsoever to reprint any subsequent revisions. It should be understood however revisions won’t be ‘scheduled’ or done just to make the article ‘look fresh’. There must be a more practical reason for a revision and sometimes a revision may only seldom occur. On the average however, A.O. Kime revises an article 2-3 times a year.

While you’d probably rather see an article updated weekly, or at least monthly, and while indeed that would make the concept of ‘renting’ seem even more practical, changes just wouldn’t be substantial enough to warrant it. The primary upside for ‘renting’ is that the latest revision comes at no additional cost. Just how often or how long you run that article is your business.

Note: Any of A.O. Kime’s free-to-reprint articles might also be periodically revised and will, of course, remain free under the same original conditions (websites only). For these, one must request to be on the 'update list'. All you'll need to do is contact allen@matrixbookstore.com and ask.

Snubbing tradition

Historically in the media, and even today, generally articles on a particular subject are not re-worked but instead are completely rewritten… that’s just how it’s done. Yet there are instances whereby an article should not be rewritten but instead reworked. To wit… for some subjects to completely rewrite an article is like building another car from scratch whereas to rework an article is like fine-tuning the existing model. Fine-tuning can make the end product only better. It is especially apropos for concepts and theories… often hard to explain. For these subjects, the author should not feel compelled to find new ways to explain them each time. Often, finding just one way is difficult enough. Anyway, the legacy of a writer should be their final thoughts on a subject… not 86 different thoughts strewn about since the Truman administration. That of course necessitates that all articles have a date attached… as part of the title.

Since most authors only write about a single thing once, and never go back to edit it for republication, there would be no reason to ‘rent it’. And even if they did write about the same thing more than once, generally they would completely rewrite the article and re-title it. Having a new title also makes the concept of ‘renting’ unworkable. Conversely, renting is the perfect solution for articles written by A.O. Kime.

To further improve upon this ‘system’, we are identifying them by edition and date… for example “Muse of Greek Mythology (3rd edition - October 2004) by A.O. Kime".

Reprint rights - fees

Pricing and how to order our existing (prewritten) articles

It’s easy to begin featuring articles by A.O. Kime… simply:

Select those you want from our list of articles (note: some are free)
Tell us which ones you want by emailing allen@matrixbookstore.com
Our reply email will contain your articles plus the amount due ($39.95 each) and will serve as authorization to reprint
Minutes later you'll receive a PayPal generated bill (with credit card payment options). If this billing method is new to you, see PayPal's overview-demo of an email bill. Or, you can just send us a check (or money order).

Once that is done, you’ll then be automatically alerted as to any updates which you may reprint at no additional charge. Or, if your website budget doesn’t allow for it, you can always link to any article for free.

See A.O. Kime Writing Service for more information and other options

Notice: The following trademarks belong to A.O. Kime Enterprises:

A.O. Kime™
AO Kime™
rent-a-article™

Last modified: 02/01/12