Questions about usage licenses, requests and bylines.

[contentwriter]

I submitted my first article today. Thinking positive thoughts! (BTW, I priced it at starting $60 usage license for a 1,200 post. Hopefully that's fair.)

Question 1: Is it okay if I sell for only "Use" and "Full Price"? I really don't see how the "Unique" license can be of use to either the client or myself. If someone buys it unique, they can only use it; they can't edit it. And I can't resell it. It would include my byline, right? But I don't see a need for me to have a byline either. If anything, I think it'd be bad for the buyer.

I would rather sell as either use or full price. If somebody pays me good money, I'd rather they be able to do what they want the article I wrote. On the other hand, if someone buys only for usage, I'd like to keep the right to resell the article.

Does anyone have good experience selling this way?

Question 2: Can I decide to exclude my byline? Or is it added automatically? My concern with adding a byline is I may want to change it later, but there'd be no way to do that for articles already sold. Also I don't see it would help me promote myself, unless I add a link to my portfolio or something.

Question 3: Is there a way to book requests in advance? I'd hate to think multiple writers try to fulfill the same request, and then only one gets accepted.

I've written for other companies before, and what some would do was set a deadline for the request. If the writer fails to submit within that time, it gets sent back to the article pool.

[contentwriter]

Oh, I have an additional question. I think it'd be better to add it here than start a new thread.

I have old articles that I previously published elsewhere. I've deleted those articles from there and want to modify and improve them, and then sell them with "use" license only at CC. I understand that this is allowed. My question is, would this come across as an illegal "rewrite" or "spun" article because I edited the articles first? I don't want to sell my old articles "as is" because I want each one to be unique. Besides I want to update the info too.

Help, please?

[jak]

If you reuse previous work here, it must be obvious that you were the original author, so if it has your name it's fine to offer it for usage rights. If it doesn't have an author name or you used a different one, you could be accused of plagiarism and thrown out. So be warned, and be sure.

I think you can offer whatever rights you want. Out of my nearly 150 sales here, only two of them have been for unique rights, but i like to give custometrs the option.

You don't have to include a byline, but most authors here do, so that customers can abide by the rules. Some authors use different bylines for different types of work. That is useful if you want to develop a name in a niche area.

The public request system here has been set up so that anyone can submitto them and the customers selects what they want. Sometimes requesters buy more than one, even if they say that is what they want. If your article doesn't get chosen, it will sit in your portfolio until someone else snaps it up. Nine times out of 10 that will eventually happen.

All the best.

[SRider]

Hello,

I'm a new writer, what do you mean by $60 usage and $1200 post? How did you arrive at $1200?

[contentwriter]

Hello,

I'm a new writer, what do you mean by $60 usage and $1200 post? How did you arrive at $1200?

Typo. I meant 1,200 words.

Oh, question again to CC writers in the know:

What do I put in "usage" if I just want to sell an article as unique or full rights? The manual says always fill it out. But it doesn't say how much to put in if I don't want to use "usage." Do I put in the same amount as say, unique?

[Lysis]

Best thing to do is put the same price for usage as you do for full rights. That's what most people do.

[contentwriter]

Best thing to do is put the same price for usage as you do for full rights. That's what most people do.

So THAT'S why they have identical prices in many posts!

[Word Gypsy]

Just as a heads up - even if you exclude your byline, the customer might decide to include it anyway. I've had this happen to me several times. Since I included my byline on lots of content, it was easy to find.

Happy writing,
WG

[contentwriter]

Just as a heads up - even if you exclude your byline, the customer might decide to include it anyway. I've had this happen to me several times. Since I included my byline on lots of content, it was easy to find.

Happy writing,
WG

I'm confused. The writer guidelines here https://www.constant-content.com/about/ ... elines.htm says no sig lines, bios or author contact info in the submitted content. I thought this meant we can include a byline and that the buyer will use what's in our CC author profile page. Am I mistaken?

Is it CC just doesn't want an author byline or sig line that has a LINK to our website(s) or email address or other contact info? I haven't included my byline in my pending articles.

If I do include a byline, do I include that in the word count?

[Word Gypsy]

You can use a byline (for example, By First name Last name), but you cannot include anything else. I never included my byline in the word count. Hope that helps. WG

[contentwriter]

Just a name? That... kinda sucks!

But it's okay! I got my first article approved! Woohoo! Now keeping my fingers crossed for sales!

[ScriptMaster]

A key selling point of CC is that all the work accepted here is unique. If you have previously published content, then it is no longer unique, and is unacceptable at CC. You run the risk of having your account closed, even if you have plagiarized or copied your own material. That applies regardless of what type of license you are offering.

[jak]

[quote="ScriptMaster"]A key selling point of CC is that all the work accepted here is unique. If you have previously published content, then it is no longer unique, and is unacceptable at CC. [/quote]

Not quite the case. Previously published work for which you still hold the copyright can be accepted, for usage rights only, provided it clearly originates from you. It must therefore have the same byline that you use here or be on a website or blog attached to your name. With work published online, there is a risk that it could have been stolen and republished under someone else's name, so it's a good idea to Google a paragraph to try and find that out before you submit it here. If you are suspected of plagiarism you will be suspended, and I haven't actually heard of anyone who managed to get that reversed.

[contentwriter]

A key selling point of CC is that all the work accepted here is unique. If you have previously published content, then it is no longer unique, and is unacceptable at CC.

Not quite the case. Previously published work for which you still hold the copyright can be accepted, for usage rights only, provided it clearly originates from you. It must therefore have the same byline that you use here or be on a website or blog attached to your name. With work published online, there is a risk that it could have been stolen and republished under someone else's name, so it's a good idea to Google a paragraph to try and find that out before you submit it here. If you are suspected of plagiarism you will be suspended, and I haven't actually heard of anyone who managed to get that reversed.

Agree with jak here. The writer guidelines clearly state that previously published material CAN be submitted; however they can only be sold under the "Use" license only. And, as jak points out, CC must be able to verify ownership of the article.

It's unfortunate about scrapers and plagiarizers. I know Google is good at telling who the original author of a post is. But I guess CC won't be able or won't make that determination.

I myself have a bunch of insurance articles I want to sell here at CC. Nothing seems to have been copied, but I'm worried anyway. And yes, I will make sure the author bylines are the same if I ever to do that.

[ScriptMaster]

Jak is correct about the rules. My point is this - if you publish work, it will almost certainly be wholly or partially copied, and either uncredited or credited to somebody else. It would be virtually impossible for CC, or anybody else, to know whether your work is the original version. It would be equally difficult for you to prove that you were the original author. By submitting only unique content, you can avoid major problems.