Who owns a story?

Authors care a lot about who owns which rights to their stories, and they should. Can you imagine spending years developing a character only to realize you have sold that character to someone else and you can’t write about her any more? Can you imagine having to turn a publisher down because the story they wanted to publish belongs to someone else? This happens a lot, and to some well known authors.

But there is ownership and there is ownership. I sent a story to an anthology early in the year. I never got any response from the publisher and I now have reason to believe the anthology will never come out. So am I free to send it elsewhere? Not on your life. I have to withdraw it from the defunct publication first. They have no legal hold on the story and I could send it anywhere I wanted without having to notify anyone. Good manners and my reputation as a writer keep me from doing this. In time, I will contact the editor of the anthology and respectfully withdraw my story, rewrite it and send it elsewhere.