Negotiating with journal publishers about intellectual property of the paper?
I would not try to negotiate author rights before the paper is accepted, for two reasons.  First, from the point of view of the editor and the publisher, it is premature and may be a waste of time (since, statistically at least, your paper has a significant chance of being rejected).  Second, this negotiation could, in principle, influence the decision about whether to accept your paper (though of course it shouldn't).

Instead, educate yourself on what the publisher will allow, beforehand.  Use the Sherpa/RoMEO database to know what rights a publisher will allow you, before you choose where to submit.  If you choose a journal that already allows you the rights you want, then you will avoid the problem altogether.

Finally, after acceptance use the SPARC addendum to assert the rights you intend to retain.

For one story of negotiations where I didn't follow my own advice -- but things turned out fairly well -- see this blog post.