Rights and Copyright

Using unlicensed material can be okay at the festival level. The trouble comes when you make money off of it.

What is the average option price short stories are optioned for? Just to get an estimate of what I should be offering/accepting. Where else can I do research about these confidential matters?

If there’s a book you can’t afford to option yourself, it’s worth trying to get someone to option it for you.

Having the rights shouldn’t necessarily be your first concern.