HeroicStories: Free Print Syndication

Free Print Syndication

Have we lost our minds?! No. Are we serious? Yes: after thinking about it long and hard, we have decided not to charge print publications for running HeroicStories as a feature.

Designed from the start as a newspaper column (one of the reasons we strictly enforce a 500-word limit), you can run as many as two HeroicStories per week. (If you run fewer, you choose which you want to run.)

Why would we do this? We have had an astounding reaction to this series. (See, for instance, these reader comments.) We think it's an incredibly powerful feature, and we want to spread the word as widely and as fast as possible. We anticipate that it will continue to be free, too -- we have no plans to charge later, so this is not a way to get you "hooked" so that we can gouge you later.

This service is intended for print publications only. If you're simply looking to read the stories, please see this page.

What is HeroicStories?

HeroicStories are true tales of people going out of their way to help others. They're not usually stories of life-and-death struggles to save lives (see samples here and recent examples here). The 400-500 word stories are submitted by readers, and professionally edited before release.

We expected that HeroicStories would be very popular. We wildly underestimated the reaction. To prove the concept, we put it on the Internet as a free subscription feature. Our flagship weekly column, This is True, launched the same way in 1994, took four months to grow to 10,000 subscribers. HeroicStories reached the 10,000 subscriber mark 12 days after launch. Readers in more than 100 countries subscribe. This Internet distribution will continue unchanged. (For details about This is True please click here -- this page will open in a new window.)

Terms of Use

You may not simply lift the Internet feed for your use. Please review the requirements below. If you agree to them, contact us (see below) to make arrangements for the print feed.

Only print publications may participate. Electronic use is prohibited, including web sites, other e-mail publications, and data base storage.
One-time use only. No archiving, electronic or print, is allowed. No "best-of" installments, periodic compilations, or other re-use is acceptable.
You agree to abide by the expiration date shown on the agreement letter.
You agree not to edit stories in such a way as to change their character or flavor. The author's byline, and the story title, must always be used as-is. Translation to other languages is acceptable so long as a good faith effort to maintain the stories' character and style is maintained.
You must take the feed by e-mail.
No payment is required. However, we require two things in exchange for your use:
- You must send us at least one tear sheet per month (HeroicStories, PO Box 55213, Seattle, WA 98155 USA), or more frequently if we request, and
- You must include a "footer" with each story that reads, "Copyright [year] HeroicStories.com. To submit a story or to order book compiling previous stories, see www.HeroicStories.com online".
These terms may be amended by us with 60 days' notice to participating publications, except in the case of your not following these terms, in which case we reserve the right to terminate your participation immediately.
We reserve the right to limit or prohibit the participation of any publication for any reason, or to require a sample copy of your publication prior to approval.

If these terms are acceptable to you, please fill out the contact form here. We will send you a letter with the above terms, which must be signed and returned before you may begin to run HeroicStories.

Thank you for your interest in HeroicStories.

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Copyright © 2007 by HeroicStories.com, All Rights Reserved worldwide.
May not be copied, stored or redistributed without prior, written permission.
"HeroicStories" is a trademark of HeroicStories. Site maintained by Acorn Heads.

http://www.HeroicStories.com/column.html
last updated: May 2005