When hiring a writer...

...to whom the articles belong to? I hired a new writer, but she wants all her articles on my website to be credited to her. Is this the normal thing to do? I told her I'd help her put her writing experience on her resume (she's a student writer), but I really don't want the articles to be credited to anyone (ghostwriting).

 

They are both possible, but demand a different pay rate.

You should have discussed this prior to agreeing to the writing.

 

If you want full ownership of the articles then you need to stipulate such when asking for someone to write on your behalf. Lots of newer writers want some sort of attribution in order to build up their portfolio. Perhaps you can come to some common ground agreement: her name on the articles with an "exclusive to your website" designation.

 

is there a way for her to get that attribution other than having her name all over my site?

 

You could have her place her name in the author's resource box at the end of the article. Other than that, you may have to pay her big bucks for original, no resellable work.

 

It isn't unusual for a writer to request that his/her name be on the article. That's how writers get their name out and they take pride seeing their name on an article.

You can either off ghostwriting or other alternatives but it may cost you a bit more.

 

isn't that still going to have her name all over my site? i wonder if i can put up a credits page, where i just say "these articles were written by XXX".

 

Instead of pushing away, why not pull her in? How about make her a 'member of the staff'? Instead of saying she is a freelance writer, why not offer her to be the 'specialist' for your site? Then her attrib box would say "Ms. X is the regular contributing writer for <your site>. Besides a contributor to <your site> she also dabbles with other peoples stuff ... etc etc.

 

This would give a nice boost to the community feeling of your site also.

 

that's a brilliant idea! that way she gets a prominent "about me" page and i get to keep my articles credit-free!

 

Thats a very awesome idea!

 

Even if you bring her on staff it is very possible she'll want some little line saying the article is by her. I don't see what the problem is with adding a simple 'by author name' to each article.

Infact, not having a author's name, I believe, hurts you more than helps you in most cases.

If you want a ghost writer then hire them as a ghost writer and ALWAYS have a written / signed contract which says so.

You get what you pay for.

When I write for free or low pay I always insist that I have my name and a link to my author's site on the online article. Hell, even one of the print magazines I work for adds my website at the end of my article. In exchange I give free publicity for them by mentioning them (and giving a front page free ad) on my site, but also my diary and blog. As well as mentioning them and even advertising them while I'm out doing book tours and such.

When you try to screw a writer, you're probably just screwing yourself.

My opinion.

 

You also spelled misspelled incorrectly... ;-)

I have successfully had writers contribute exclusive articles to one of my sites in exchange for promoting the heck out of them. I get the articles, they get the promotion, and we both win.

 

#$^#&$*#!!!!

Yes, you were right. (sigh) I need to stop being lazy and run my online posts through spellcheck. :/

I'm glad you back me up on my thoughts.

It is always a win win situation when done right.

 

you've got a good point there.

but i need to establish credibility on my site, it's brand new. letting your visitors know that you outsource articles to someone else just won't make them trust you (what..? you can't even bother to communicate to us by yourself). as for the print magazine you mentioned, they are an already established magazine, so it doesn't really matter. if my visitors know and trust me alreayd, i don't think it matters if i have the author's name.

anyway magazines do publish writer's contributions, it's a magazine, so the question of credibility doesn't really exist, for a magazine at least.

anyway i talked to the writer, she was okay with not having her name on it. she said she just wrote that in the draft contract that we have yet to signed because i did not mention anything about copyright ownership. i gave her the option of a special 'about me' page though, and she was quite happy about it.

so yeah, contract looks fine now.

 

As long as it is in a contract, and everyone is happy....then its all good!