Protecting Yourself on Writing Sites

There are many writing sites out there; the image above doesn't begin to encompass the field. Most 'writing' sites are  NOT what they seem. A large number of 'online writing' sites are merely advertisement handbills in which your prose is placed to decorate the ads.

Writing sites charge advertisers for posting their ads. You get a tiny fraction of this payment, and must depend on the honesty of those sites for an accounting.

Obviously, you could get 1000 hits, the site claim you got 100. Where the site may pay you 3c for every 1000 hits, you don't know how much the advertiser is paying the site for those 1000 hits.

You start from a position of weakness. As far as the site is concerned, you are not writer, you simply supply the 'wallpaper' on which the Ads are hung, and are given whatever pittance seems right to the owners of the site.

Secondly comes the issue of Copyright. Some writing sites claim you retain the copyright to your work, yet don't allow you to remove your articles.  Others claim to have bought the rights for some pitifully low figure. 

Thirdly, some allow you to write about what you want while others give you assignments and demand you write about what they want.

Fourthly, some have one sided policies which put you in a position of weakness at all times. You lose your basic right to be heard when you can't complain or will be 'punished'.

Fifthly, some writing sites have 'secret' agendas where they push particular views and use your work as a screen to hide their core purpose.

What do you do to protect yourself?

Have a  copy of your own work posted on your Blog. You can find a list of Blog sites by a simple Google.  Post your work there first.

It can be averred that your Blog is your workspace where you perfect your article before publishing.  Hence there can be no question about the 'original' nature of your work, especially when you do not publicise it.  Hence your Blog is your online Bank of articles.  Each article on its own page, pre-posting on a writing site.

Secondly, understand that when you write a factual article there's just so much you can do with the facts. If you are writing about Pirates in the Caribbean, so are hundreds of other people. Your article is unique because your point of view is unique.

The names of the Pirates, their ships, the years can't change. how you put them together can and does. Hence you can write five different original articles based on the same facts. I can write five different articles based on the same facts, this is because the facts can't change, only the interpretations can, how you place them in the article can.

It is not plagiarism. Plagiarism is when you copy this article and put your name on it. If you copy portions of this article and begin with; "Qeyler wrote; "..... " the quotes give the attribution so you are not copying my work, any more than you would be plagiarising Shakespeare if you used one of his sonnets with attribution to set the tone of your article.

Hence, if you've written about Pirates of the Caribbean on Factoidz and then decide to use the facts to write a different article here, it would not be plagiarism or else every single person in the world would be banned from writing about Pirates of the Caribbean because in 1876 someone wrote a book called "Pirates of the Caribbean."

The most often told lie; "I have read and agree to your terms of service." 

How many of you have even glanced at the TOS; terms of service or TOU; terms of use before clicking that 'I agree?'

Right.

Many writing sites give themselves absolute authority and you none.  Hence if you had read the TOS you'd have seen that this is the kind of one sided contract that begs a lawsuit.  For very often you have given up virtually all your rights.

Read carefully. The words you are looking for are 'Copyright' and provisions which basically state that you have no rights.

Do Not Join These Sites.

They will often pay a pittance for your work and then syndicate it all over the world and make the bag.  You have nothing to say nothing to get.  

Too many writing sites treat writers as dime a dozen day labourers who should be happy to see their name in print. 

Until the first lawsuit, this is going to be the situation if you allow it.

On sites, such as Factoidz, you have no rights. They will take your work, publish it,  and will pay you well, at  first to gain more work.

They will promote you to 'Staff' writer, and once you have made about one hundred posts, arbitrarily drop your status to writer. When you remonstrate, your are descended to 'Member' so that you can not even see how much revenue your work is gathering and are NOT PAID for your own work.

You have no recourse, save lawsuit to stop them from using your work and NOT paying you.

Of course, since your work in in your Bank, and that copy  predates the item on their site, you immediately begin publicising your work; Stumble, Digg, Reddit,  link it on Message Boards, etc. Factoidz would have no recourse, although, of course, they would be raking in your revenue which they use to pay other writers.

This is how they can afford to pay more than other sites.

Writing sites as Helium which demand you write about what they want you to write about should be avoided.

Firstly, you will be doing unpaid work. There is a difference between you deciding to write about growing roses and you having to do a few hours of research to write an article about growing roses.

Secondly, they play a competition game where you and a batch of others write articles of their choosing and then they select the article they will publish, meaning you've done two hours or more free work that is in the garbage.

If they do select your work they pay a pittance for it, then make thousands.

Firstly, read the Terms of Service. See exactly what you get and what you lose.

Secondly, as said before, create your Bank. In this way, any site which attempts to capture your work is plagiarising your Blog.

There are, as of this mornings Google, 42M hits to 'Online Writing', hence there is no shortage.

Some sites, i.e. Triond and Bukisa pay very little but you retain the rights to your work. You can post anything you want on Triond.  Bukisa is more selective. When you decide to edit or remove an article you have the right, (just as you do here).

Join sites which do not tamper with your copyright, allow you to delete and edit as you desire.