hubber paying for freelancers to write hubs

1. 60

   LaMamaLoliposted 12 years ago

   Not sure what to do about this, so just thought I would post it here and ask if anyone knows best thing to do. which may be nothing...
   A few minutes ago I saw a job posted on freelancer.co.uk where the person was requesting someone write 4 hubpages - and thats the word used - about whatever topics of interest to them, and said that more would probably be required. This is the only site I know that has hubpages, so I assumed it was for here.
   That's wrong surely??

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      Sally's Troveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      No, it's not wrong. It's just a way of doing business. I've been approached many times to write on HP to promote someone else's enterprise. I've never agreed to do that, but some might.

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      Dale Hydeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I had not thought of that, but I reckon it is fair game as long as you "own" the material outright and that person does not sell it a second time, down the road, to someone on another site who publishes it and you then have duplicate content.

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   Cagsilposted 12 years ago

   It isn't the first time I have heard about a hubber paying someone else to write hubs. From what I understand, there were several hubbers who paid other people to write specific hubs. Even heard of HubPages themselves paying Hubber to write specific hubs as well.

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      Sally's Troveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      You are being so kind...this happens all the time. And, yes, in the "old days" HP paid people to write for them.

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         Cagsilposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Being kind?
         
         I thought I was just answering a question.

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            Sally's Troveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            I admire your grace.

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               Cagsilposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Now I have grace too? Wow!

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3. 60

   LaMamaLoliposted 12 years ago

   oh. so it's an ok thing to do then? Didn't realise that. I assumed that only original work could be posted on here and that you had to be the author of that original work. I guess you don't. Learn something new every day! That makes me a bit sad though...

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   1. 81

      Sally's Troveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Please don't go to where you went about original work. If someone contracts with you to write an original hub under their account, then the assumption is that it will be an original work. No, you don't have to be the author of that original work to claim it as your own (you can pay someone to do that for you), but the work must be original. If you write for someone else's HubPage account, then you need to know what rights you retain or relinquish.

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      WriteAngledposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      It is original work if it is not copied from elsewhere. Why should there be a problem with this? It is a straightforward business transaction. The client is either gambling that the topic will eventually make more than he will pay the writer or else is using the hubs to promote another site or service of his. The writer prefers to sacrifice the potential of long-term passive income for an upfront payment in ready money. Writing hubs isn't like doing homework or exams!

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         Sally's Troveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, better said than I said. Although I'm not sure about the reference to homework or exams.

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            WriteAngledposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            I mentioned homework and exams, because those are two situations where the person doing them is supposed to do all the work themselves

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               Sally's Troveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               So right you are. Missed that!

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         LaMamaLoliposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I guess so. Not going to argue. I'm a bit naive I guess. I would automatically assume that you had written all the hubs attributed to your name, as I would with any hubber.  What you and Sally are saying is that is not necessarily the case. I guess there is nothing wrong with that. It just didn't cross my mind!

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            Sally's Troveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Welcome to the online writing and marketing world where truth may be stranger than fiction.

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4. 83

   IzzyMposted 12 years ago

   It's also true that some people are great at promotion, but not so good at doing the actual writing, or perhaps don't even have the time to do the writing.
   
   I'm quite sure most websites are populated with articles written by freelancers, so it's just the same.

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   1. 81

      Sally's Troveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I agree...HP is no different in this regard. It's a place like any other to capitalize on. That this is some special kind of writers' community is in the mind of some Hubbers. This is a site to be milked for all it's worth.

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5. 77

   psycheskinnerposted 12 years ago

   As long as they acquire full and exclusive rights to the material, I see no problem with it.

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6. 84

   Healthy Pursuitsposted 12 years ago

   Do you mean - pant, pant - I could have had someone ELSE doing this writing? Rats! I've been trying to get 50 hubs out, and, tortoise that I am, it feels all uphill. Where have I been that I didn't know this?

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7. 59

   feenixposted 12 years ago

   I am not going to name any names, but because I am fairly familiar with the writing game, I can tell that some of the "big time contributors" to HubPages have "ghost writers" doing all the work for them.
   
   Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It is what could be described as good-old ingenuity and industriousness.

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8. 0

   Arlene V. Pomaposted 12 years ago

   A Hubber approached me last year and named a few of my Hubs that "his friend" wanted to use.  His friend was setting up an online magazine, but didn't have it set up just yet.  I had a list of questions, including payment and if I would own the rights after publication, but the only thing that he could tell me was that I should follow up.  I didn't go after the offer or do a thing about it because I wasn't interested.  So where was his friend in all of this?  Have not heard from him or his "friend" since.

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   habeeposted 12 years ago

   I've written all of my hubs, and I've been paid to write hubs for others, as well. I've never seen anything in the TOS against such practice.

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    sofsposted 12 years ago

    In IB I have seen some writers making offers to write for others on the forums.. There are points for the number of articles you submit and it seems to be a common practice with some writers there to buy their articles.. legal and accepted.

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    Writer Foxposted 12 years ago

    When writers are contracted for writing assignments, it is most often under a "work for hire" copyright agreement, wherein the employer pays for the work and owns the copyright.  The owner may do whatever he wishes with the work, e.g. publish under the owner's name, publish under someone else's name, resell to a third party, etc.  This is perfectly legal and is done everyday.  (Ghost writers make their livings writing books for others.)  More often, however, I see posts looking for a HubPages writer to write something that will link back to a specific sight. Has anyone else seen postings like that?

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