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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/8236
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/8236
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

In general, "First [X] Rights" means "the right to be the first person/entity to do [X]," or "...to publish this piece in format [X]."

"First Electronic Rights" means first **publication** in a digital format. In this context, emailing a copy to your best friend isn't publication, but posting it on a publicly-accessible site (e.g. your blog, or a writers' website) is; publishing as an ebook available on Amazon certainly is. In general, as soon as you post or sell your story in **any** public venue online, you no longer have any First Electronic Rights to sell.

That being said, not having _First_ Electronic Rights doesn't mean you don't have _any_ Electronic Rights - they're just not first anymore. They'll likely still have value, particularly if you can eliminate the "first" source of publication, which lets you provide exclusivity. There's [lots and lots of things you can do with Electronic Rights](http://www.authorsguild.org/services/legal-services/electronic-rights/) - it's so broad, that it's a good idea to negotiate very clearly on specific projects rather than the catch-all "electronic rights."

Note, also, that publishing digitally can also been seen as "taking" other rights, particularly First Serial rights - having published something online can make publishing it in print less attractive; it's no longer the "first" publication of the work.

All this being said, rights are negotiated over, and the precise degree to which you're likely to be able to sell any one right or a combination thereof (and for how much!) depends heavily on your particular piece and situation.

Original score: 3