Fab Freelance Writing Blog

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

“All rights” deals are usually known as “work done for hire.” If you sign an All Rights deal, the copyright transfers to the company which paid you. That’s the complete copyright, now and forever, in all media. You give up all rights.

Since you’re giving up all rights, you deserve to be recompensed for this. If you want to be a well-paid professional writer, you’ll look on All Rights deals with zero enthusiasm.

Here’s a rule of thumb which is easy to remember and which will keep you out of trouble: refuse All Rights deals to all publications which sell advertising, and to all book publishers.

Publications which want All Rights are just greedy. You’ll often find your work repurposed, and popping up in many unexpected places. Trust me on this, it will NOT feel good. You’ll know you’ve been gypped, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

There are some venues in which All Rights deals are expected. All Rights/ Work Done For Hire deal are common in copywriting, for example, and you’re paid accordingly. Once you’ve written the Web sales page, the newsletter, the brochure or whatever, and have been paid in full, all copyright transfers to the buyer.

When you’re not writing copy, steer clear of All Rights. As “Dragon Magazine Wants to Own Your Ass, Cheap” points out when discussing a publication which wants All Rights for a pittance:

Mind you, it’s win-win for Dragon, and its various corporate owners (Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro), since they’re getting viable intellectual property for very literally next to nothing with no risk of having to share revenues later. Brilliant! Somewhere an Hasbro IP lawyer has gotten his wings. Good for him. Bad for the writer.

Technorati Tags: freelance writing, writers, rights, copyright, all rights

Want to make more income from an article for a print or Web publication? You can, when you add value.

You can add value in many ways. Consider:

* A sidebar or two. Sidebars give additional information. For example, if you’re writing an article about dieting, you could add a sidebar about debunked diets;

* Photographs. These can be photos you’ve taken, or photos you’ve sourced. If you source the photos from a stock photography library, make sure you can pass on the rights to the publication;

* A quiz. Editors love quizzes, because readers enjoy them;

* Additional resources - books, movies, Web sites, etc to give readers more information about the article’s topic.

Important tip - clear your value-adds with your editor

Before you go to the trouble of value-adding, suggest the additional material to your editor. If she says yes, ask how much extra the publication will pay. Make sure that your agreement covers the payment for your value-adds.

Technorati Tags: freelance writing, articles, sidebars, photographs

I’m a huge fan of many 37Signals’ products, and subscribe to a couple of them, so I was very interested in trying out the new HighRise Web app.

At first I thought that since I was up to my neck in PIMs, phones and Web apps, HighRise wouldn’t meet my needs. Well, I eat my words. I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks, and have discontinued using a couple of diary apps. Steve Rubel has a great overview of what HighRise is and does:

Micro Persuasion: Highrise Set to Rock the Contact Management Biz

I’m using the HighRise solo version, which suits me at the moment. It’s not cheap, but considering what it does, it’s not expensive either.

Disclosure - I have no connection with the company, just appreciate the product.

Technorati Tags: software, freelance, time management, writing, freelance writing