Words on the Page

Blowin’ in the Wind

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Where the Streets Have No Name by U2 The rain has just started more steadily, and the wind is beginning to pick up a bit of urgency. All night the stillness was deafening, and somewhere before dusk yesterday the birds seemed to have disappeared from sight and sound. Sandy is arriving….

Away

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: I Feel Lucky by Mary Chapin Carpenter Today is all about time off. I’ve put up the Away message, I’m signing out shortly after this post, and I’m heading out with my hubs to the Martin guitar factory, then home to prepare for two events — the Samhain/Halloween party tomorrow and…

Decompression Days

Posted on by lwidmer

What I’m reading: The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck What’s on the iPod: Unknown Caller by U2 Guess what I did yesterday? I worked, but I was in the car and somewhere else before noon. It felt heavenly to get outside, enjoy the sun, and get some errands done. It was a roof-down day, so…

Success and Your Path To It

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Into the Dark Unknown by Holcombe Waller There’s still time to register! The 8 Top Tax Strategies for Freelancers webinar, being held Thursday, November 8th at 3 PM ET, is just $69.95. For that, you’ll get close to $375 worth of goodies, plus a month’s membership in the 5 Buck Forum! Register…

Writerly Misinformation

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Unbelievable by Diamond Rio Rough day yesterday. It wasn’t that the work was difficult. It was that everything transpired to get in the way. Simple Math: Two client phone calls withing one and a half hours = nothing getting done until noon. Impromptu call from a client = another 30 minutes…

Recovery from Weekends

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Demons by Imagine Dragons Did you ever have a weekend where you were exhausted and happy to sit back down at the computer on Monday? It was a great weekend –I ran a ton of errands on Saturday, cleaned, decorated, weeded the front path and garden, and wore myself out physically….

Serenity Now!

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: I Met Him on a Sunday by Labelle and Laura Nyro There’s still time to register! The 8 Top Tax Strategies for Freelancers webinar, being held Thursday, November 8th at 3 PM ET, is just $69.95. For that, you’ll get close to $375 worth of goodies, plus a month’s membership in…

How Poetry Makes Us Better Business Writers

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Lonely Boy by The Black Keys Is it even possible that I’m digging out from under this pile of work? Really? I’m afraid to say anything for fear one more thing comes in that threatens to stretch today into another 10-hour day. For now, I’m not exhaling – optimism is for…

Business Planning

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Steady, As She Goes by The Raconteurs Done. One project down, two to go. The big one is finished, the next smaller big one (how’s that for adjective overload?) is this morning’s job, and the two smaller ones will come this afternoon. I doubt I’ll finish the bigger of the projects,…

Redistribution & Your Client: What Would You Do?

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: All at Once by The Airborne Toxic Event What a busy day! I worked on one project –one that isn’t quite finished — and I have two waiting in the wings. How bad was it? I was sitting here at 8 pm taking my online courses. Today will be full-on work. I…

Cathy Miller

I think that is going to be as individual as we are. We all have our own set of values. There are certain clients, topics, and practices that don't fit our values.

I hadn't thought about the possibility that the client was unaware of the set-up. I guess I assumed he/she did. It's tough when two different sets of values meet head-on. For example, the client may see it as no problem = those writers chose to accept the terms – while you may see it as exploitation.

In the end, you have to live with yourself. So, my usual advice in this type of situation – listen to your gut.

Devon Ellington

I'd also up the price for the article, since it was going to be used and re-used without pay.

acbrandon

I've had this happen. My contract says that I get additional pay for any work involved on my part. But ultimately it's the company's work. I act as a ghost in that case.

Lori

Cathy, you make some great points. Here's my take: the client's goals and the writer's are different. The client is looking at these articles as publicity, so the free distribution may make sense. The writer is seeing her name going helter-skelter across the Internet without her being able to control where or what they may do to it.

Who's right? Maybe both in this case. For me, I could separate the "creative" side in deference to the marketing side, but my name would have to be removed. For someone else, the entire situation may not sit well at all. Like you said, different for each person.

Devon, my thoughts, too. If it's going into wide distribution with or without my name on it, I'm going to expect more cash for that privilege.

Amanda, thanks for sharing that. I'd love to see a post from you on how this arrangement works and how you handle it. Would that appeal?

Paula

Since it could be widely circulated, I would treat it like a press release. That means no byline, and a slightly higher rate.

The danger comes if/when a less-than-reputable place posts or publishes your work. That's fine if you've been well paid and it can't be traced back to you. But if your name is on it, those sites or publications – some which you might not want to be associated with – are gaining respectability by publishing work from an established writer. If potential clients see your name tied to unsavory publishers or websites, it might cost you in the long run.

Cathy Miller

I totally agree with your suggestion, Lori, to have her name taken off the byline if she has a problem with it (but decides to move ahead with the articles).

There have been times on ghostwritten articles that I wrote where the client changed them so much, I was glad my name wasn't on them. 🙂 For me, however, if I didn't want my name on it because of copy practices or the topic or what have you, I wouldn't do it in the 1st place. But, that's just me.