this hub upset me

1. 61

   RNMSNposted 12 years ago

   I need to know if I am way off base here..heres the link to the aforementined hub and my reply...do I need to grovel and beg forgiveness?
   
   http://lauraginn.hubpages.com/hub/Why-C … n-Articles
   
   here is my comment
   
   
   
   
   I see this as unethical
   1)what if someones work is on a site that is 50/50 say for a year eg helium and a person buys an article from helium? the author had no say in the transaction...may get a pittance but no continued revenue..for their original work!
   2) you keep talking of google looking for "original" work yet you condone stealing/albeit you pay 'someone' for another hard work!
   3) this is hypocritical and does no one, especially sites like here at HubPages any good where all of the BEST are working their butts off to get back on top of googles good graces.
   4) you also are implictitly stating you agree/condone/OK this because you did not list any disclaimer at the start/end/middle of your article...
   but wait...whose article...never mind that is petty and places me at the same level...I apologize/strike that last remark.
   well, this comment sounds more fit for the forum and I realize you may be offended by my words and can always choose to delete them I shall tell you right now I am going to post this in the forum along with this article.
   You have the right to publish anything you wish here on HubPages and are even able and encouraged to get a FREE creative commons license to protect your work.
   I have the right to say this smacks of ill intent and I will Not let it pass unnoticed.
   This may be just pennies to some but the majority of authors here and online anywhere write because they have something inside them that compels them to write.
   By stealing that muse, you are offending one and all. Fortunately there are more than three musketeers on HubPages.
   "Fill your hands..."

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   1. 59

      basaltbezelposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      How is it unethical?
      
      ----Here on Hubpages you don't get paid a cent to post your articles but they take 40% of your profits - and even profits aren't guaranteed as many writers know.
      
      ---Selling an article for up front payment means you get $10 today instead of $20 over the next three years.
      
      EACH method pays. In fact some people consider revenue sites more unethical because they not only take a share, but also don't pay you a cent for content which helps THEIR site rank well in Search Engines.

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   2. 86

      kschangposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      If someone wants to sell their article for a one-time fee and let it wear someone else's name, that's their business. However, the problem is most people don't know what to charge and thus ruin the market for the rest of the writers.
      
      In pro-circles, this is known as "ghost-writing". A lot of celebrities don't write their own books. They have it ghost-written by some other guy. Sometimes that other guy gets co-billing on the cover, often times, not.
      
      Usually there isn't much profit in the article writing circles, esp. with all the "content farms" polluting the landscape with crap. If you can get someone else to pay for it, go right ahead.

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2. 60

   Laura Ginnposted 12 years ago

   Hi RNMSN
   
   Your comment has really upset me but I have accepted it as a comment on my hub with the hope of trying to explain things a bit better.
   
   I have been working as a freelance writer for over three years now.  I run a team made up mostly of students and we originally started out writing for clients who ordered specific articles.  Over time I created a website and most of my clients started to find us through there.  Can I just clarify early on that my writers are all very happy with the way I work.  Some of them are even on HubPages and I am sure they would stand by what I say. 
   
   When work for clients was quiet, as a side project I decided to create a webstore of writing work.  This is again all fact based and my writers and I, choose subjects that we like writing about and write sets of articles and place them for sale.  This is exactly the same as when we work for clients with specific instructions except the topics are more fun.
   
   Our pre-written articles are mainly bought by blog and website owners.  Some of the clients that we work for also buy our pre-written articles as it is a quick way for them to get ready made content that suits the niche of their site.  Nothing is stolen from online and I am really gutted that you think so badly of this.
   
   Hub Pages is a great place to write but I'm not sure I want to continue on here any more when my hubs clearly upset people as much as they have you.

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   1. 61

      RNMSNposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Perhaps I am just thin skinned then especially with what is occuring with google
      Obviously you have more experience in online writing than I do and would know better than I what is ethical
      After all if so many people are doing it then it must be OKAY so I stand alone as a minority vote
      I must in the wrong.
      Also if you have so many sites you must be doing very well financially whereas I, in my little corner of the online writing world are far below someone as profitable as yourself
      Please allow this to stand between us and as you say, I am sure many will oppose what I say
      Please do not allow the I feel to be your determning factor on HubPages.
      I am not in any sense of the word as qualified of a wordsmith as yourself.

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      1. 60

         Laura Ginnposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I still don't understand what you mean by:
         
         "After all if so many people are doing it then it must be OKAY so I stand alone as a minority vote"
         
         If so many people are doing what?  Not every website owner can write and so it is my job and other people's to help them create their content.  You wouldn't expect a writer to create their own website if they didn't have the first clue about web design...

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3. 82

   CMHypnoposted 12 years ago

   Don't let the opinion of one hubber put you off writing on HubPages. If HP don't have a problem with the content of your hub, then you are good to go!

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4. 93

   habeeposted 12 years ago

   I must have missed something in the hub. I write content for other people's sites all the time. They tell me what they want, I write it, and they pay me. I don't spin articles - all of it's unique. Are you saying it's unethical to do that?

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   1. 60

      Laura Ginnposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      This is what I don't understand.  I write for two reasons - one because I love it (mostly fiction and hubs based around what I enjoy reading) and two - to make a living.  I really don't understand why what I am doing is unethical.  I write content to people's specifications and I write content for website owners to buy.  I'm so gutted someone thinks so badly of me!

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      1. 61

         RNMSNposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         but your hub did not make that clear..it reads like an advocate for PLR...I do not see anything in your hub about you writing then selling your own work...after all that is what all of us do...but your hub Choose Pre-Written Hubs does not say all tht you have said here
         I will say I am sorry for not speaking directly to you in the first place and getting a clearer answer and I apologize to everyone here as well...please read Laura Ginn, her articles are very well written

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            Uninvited Writerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Well, your heart was in the right place...

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         2. 60

            Laura Ginnposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Thank you for the apology.  I will make some edits to the article to make it clearer.

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   2. 0

      EmpressFelicityposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      If it is, then I must be a very bad person too
      
      I must admit, the online writing game (which I've only started getting into seriously) is a fascinating tool for discovering one's own ethical limits.  I was offered some article spinning work a while back and I felt I couldn't in all conscience take it on - there's quite enough dreck on the internet as it is! I suppose I'll never make it big as an internet marketer

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      1. 60

         Laura Ginnposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Lol as must most of us stay at home workers   I know what you mean - as for my ethics I believe that money isn't everything.  I don't like spun articles unless the employer can prove the original was written by him - as using a person's work that they took hours to write to create 30 variations of it within minutes isn't fair in my opinion.
         
         I charge high(ish) rates but work my butt off with research, writing and editing.  I also pay my writers well and they do an awesome job too.  Gotta say it really is a dream job, but with comments like the OP's it doesn't take much to knock a girl down!  I suggest checking out Elance for writing jobs - there are some great employers on that site :-)

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         1. 0

            EmpressFelicityposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Already on Elance - there are a lot of "peanut farmers" but a few good jobs/clients as well.
            
            If you ever need someone to write stuff with a science-y slant, by all means get in touch via my HP profile.

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5. 0

   EmpressFelicityposted 12 years ago

   To the OP: I genuinely can't understand what your problem is? The business that the lady runs isn't like HP; AFAICT it's more like Constant Content where the articles aren't visible to the general public/search engines until someone has bought them and uploaded them to their own site.

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   1. 60

      Laura Ginnposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Felicity - that is exactly what my business is.  You can explain it better than me :-)

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6. 80

   Uninvited Writerposted 12 years ago

   Add me to those who don't believe you are doing anything wrong.
   
   I also write for a couple of places that tell me what to write and pay me. Many businesses hire companies to provide them with content. As far as I know that is what freelance writing is.
   
   I draw the line at essay writing sites or ones that want spun articles.

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7. 59

   MelissaBarrettposted 12 years ago

   I too write content for a couple of websites.  I don't spin, my articles are all original and I spend hours a day doing real research to write them.  I'm not sure what the ethical problem is. 
   I thought that's what writers do.

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   1. 60

      Hollie Thomasposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I'm not sure what the problem is either. That's what writing articles for upfront pay is mostly. Someone wants an article, you research and write it. They own the rights to it. Even the author cannot produce it again elsewhere. No spinning just original content.

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8. 60

   youtrillposted 12 years ago

   Thanks for sharing most useful information

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9. 87

   IzzyMposted 12 years ago

   I think the OP may have misread the hub.
   There is nothing unethical in it, in fact it is an excellent hub, so keep on writing Laura!

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10. 71

    R.S. Hutchinsonposted 12 years ago

    It looks like the OP misunderstood the hub. I think he must have thought the author was saying "it's ok to go take someone elses work that has already been written" 
    
    I think the misundertanding comes from two places in the hub - The title: "Why Choose Pre Written Articles" (the grammar side of me won't say anything..aghem). The title alone could be taken as "Why it's a good idea to take an article from somewhere you found on HP or online and use it as your own"
    
    And the second place I belive the misunderstanding could have come from, "This is a much better option for anybody that does not have the time to be writing their own content..." This sentence of course, if interpreted as "stealing" is surely taken out of context.
    
    So to answer the OP... I believe you misunderstood the article. The author is saying "it's a good idea to hire someone to write  your articles [pre-written] for your blog or website"
    She isn't saying, "It's a good idea if you're a blog owner to surf the internet and take pre-written articles and use as your own"
    
    Case solved. $1200 please. (or twix bars)

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    1. 61

       RNMSNposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       thank you R s hutchinson for reading the hub. I have apologized and am glad someone saw where I could have made the connection
       Again laura Ginn I apologize/I did not see where your hub was heading
       Again I apologize habee, uninvited writer, Izzy and others for reading it too literally.

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          habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Good for you! Wish everything was that easy to solve! lol

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