What to do.. Magazine lost my images...

I have a problem and hope someone can give me an answer. Two years ago, I submitted a written article and 11 original transparencies, to a well known magazine. I kept waiting for a letter indicating publication or refusal. I received nothing. About a year ago I started called the Editor and asking about my article and transparencies. I have gotten nothing but excuses, "Must have misplaced them", "we changed personnel and are still looking for them", "I have been busy and haven't hard time to look" and the last one was "We must have lost them, but I will look again and get back to you". It has been over a month and no contact from the magazine. I sent them with a delivery memo, and a self-addressed stamped return mailer, so they could send my submission back. I also got a Return Receipt, showing they were signed for. After the last conversation, I sent the editor a copy of my Delivery Memo, a copy of the mailing receipt and a copy of the Return Receipt indicating the signature of the person accepting the submission..My delivery memo outlined compensation for lost or damaged transparencies.

My question is... what is my next step??? Should I pursue this with an attorney and what are my chances of getting any compensation..??

Thanks for your help..

Dave

Did they ask you to send in the transparencies and article for consideration? Was there guidleines from the magazine about submissions?

If you sent them blindly I'm surprised you got an answer at all, the magazine is not responsible for those type of submissions and if they get lose it's usually tough luck. By blindly I mean you just sent it in and hoped, that they didn't have a submission process and you weren't asked to send them in. Most magazines or other publications will always say they will not be able to return submissions, even with a SASE just because of the reasons you mentioned. When there's a lot of personel changes stuff gets lost, especially if it was never in print and something they "want" to hang onto.

One of the magazines Ive shot for has had a lot of changes in personel and a lot has gotten lost from prints to emails and everything in between. One guy leaves, forgets to do something, another comes in and thinks its pointless to have, bam, gone.

If they asked you for the submission and said everything will be returned plus take full responsibility of all submissions then you'd have a case. But in most instances with stuff like that they never will do that, least I've never seen it. But I guess that depends on what pub it was.

I think that you are probably SOL. Most places tell you to not send in original transparencies or negatives. I never parted with my originals for this very reason and anything that I submitted was always a copy. Not the end of the world if they lose a copy.

As stated above I think the only recourse you may have is if they asked you to submit and then I would check their terms and conditions very carefully to see if anywhere they mention what their liability is with respect to originals. You seemed to leave it quite awhile before you started to follow up on this which just exponentially multiplies the chances that it will go missing. In most cases I would think that any article would either be rejected or accepted within a month of them receiving them.

In these days of corporate restructuring and relocation he may very well be telling you the truth about staff changes. That does not make it any easier to digest the fact that you have lost your originals. If I understand you correctly you put a condition on your delivery which provided for compensation in the event of lost work. I think that the only person that could tell you if this would stand the test of being enforceable would be a lawyer which is where I would take this if you feel strongly enough about it.