No question. Just wanted to hear some free flowing thoughts on the subject. Like or don't like? Good experiences or bad? Whatever you have to say on the subject of doing Works for Hire.
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
Can you be more specific? I have worked as an independent consultant for decades, and it takes a particular skill set and attitude just to survive, let alone prosper.
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
I think I also need a little bit of expansion on exactly what you are referring to. Do you mean freelance writing?
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
"Work for hire" is a term used to refer to writing that is done for someone else and, depending on the terms of the contract, that someone else usually owns part or all of the copyright to the writing.
I believe that tie-in fiction (STAR WARS novels, for example) are published under a kind of "work for hire" arrangement.
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
Would that also encompass novels based on screenplays? How about ghost writing for famous people?
Assuming those are also included, I haven't done any of it, so I don't have any actual basis of comparison. I don't think there is anything wrong with it, but unless I'm mistaken it seems to be a considerable amount of work that yields less profit to the writer. On the other hand, as with ghost writing, if the famous person is famous enough, the popularity of the book can make up for the lower percentage of profit, and it might be okay. If I was ever asked to do one, I probably would, but I would have to have a passion for the subject matter. If it is something that doesn't resonate with me I won't do it.
Posted by Josh Leone (Member # 2365) on :
Fair enough. More specific.
First, some clarification. A true Work for Hire means the writer gets a one time payment and has no rights to the work at all. If the buyer wants to, he/she can slap their own name on it and call it his/hers. Work for Hire is the ultimate surrender of rights. Most publishers don't enforce the full Work for Hire concept and offer contracts saying the writer will always have their name on the piece. But if it is a full-on Work for Hire, the piece is gone and can be published, altered, reprinted, clipped, and anything else without even a phone call to the original writer.
Places where full WoH usually applies? -Ghost Writing -Company Manuals -Rewrite updates of older books from deceased authors
Places where partial WoH applies? (Name credit is given but the copyright is still surrendered) -Writing for established story-lines (Buffy, Star Trek, Law & Order, etc.)
That's really it for Works for Hire. The next step is the specification of right releases ranging from Exclusive World-Wide Rights on down.
Josh Leone
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
I don't think that it's fundamentally different from doing any other sort of labor for hire. You're doing something that you otherwise wouldn't have done because someone is paying you to do it. I don't have a problem with it, but at the same time I don't feel particularly attracted to the idea. I prefer to treat writing as an art, even though I concentrate a lot of my attention on the craft. Doing it for hire uses the craft, but it doesn't feel like art to me.