Now that we’ve covered the basics of copyright and fair use, let’s talk about what you can do to protect your copyright and defend your rights if your copyright is infringed.

Note that I have never had copyright infringed, so I am not writing from personal experience. I hope you never have to use this advice, but if you are in the position of having your rights violated, I hope these suggestions from others who have been victimized will be helpful.

• To reduce the risks of having your content stolen, be proactive. Although the copyright symbol is not required, you may want to use it on your Web site, blog, individual posts, and feeds. The notice won’t stop determined content thieves, but it may stop unauthorized use of your content by people who don’t realize that just because it’s on the Internet doesn’t mean it’s in the public domain.
• Be prepared to prove that you are the original author of the work. Since blog posts can be back-dated, the post date is not necessarily proof of when the post was written. Even the dates of comments can be changed, so the dates of comments might not be sufficient evidence in court, either. However, your database file should have the actual date the post was made. If you create posts in your word processor rather than directly in your blog platform, the file on your hard drive will have the date it was created as well as the last date it was modified. For books and other longer works, you may want to mail a hardcopy of the manuscript to yourself. Have the clerk at the Post Office wrap the package in date-stamped tape and don’t open the package until you have to present it in court.
• Monitor your content by searching or using Google Alerts for your articles. Jeanne Dininni found the unauthorized use of her work because she set up a Google alert for a unique phrase in an article. Don’t expect to find your article by searching for the title as the unauthorized user has probably changed the title. You can also use Copyscape to search for duplicate content.
• As soon as you discover that your work has been used without permission, contact the copyright infringer. You may want to start out assuming the infringement was out of ignorance. Describe the work that was used without authorization and explain when and where you originally posted it. Explain what you want the user to do: remove the material immediately, ask for permission, pay for the rights to use the content. Mike Goad describes what he did when he discovered his article - on copyright, no less! - had been used without permission and the successful result.
• Even if you have no objection to a specific use, contacting the user every time there is a copyright infringement helps establish that you are taking steps to protect your copyright. If you end up in court suing someone for copyright infringement, being able to demonstrate that you have not allowed others to use your content without permission will be to your advantage.  
• If the user does not respond to your request and a follow-up message, contact their Web site host. The terms of service of most Web hosting companies allow them to shut down Web site that infringe the copyrights of others. Of course, sometimes, the burden of proof they put on the copyright owner makes the protection they offer more theoretical than practical, but it is a tool to use.

If these steps do not get results, you may decide to pursue legal action, which is beyond the scope of this series. This guide is designed to cover the basics of copyright and give you some ideas to protect your copyright.

More detailed information, including legal remedies, can be found in the following articles and sites:
Articles about Copyright by Mike Goad
Copyright Articles at Research Copyright
Digital Millenium Copyright Act at Google
Do It Yourself Copyright Protection Online by Robert Niles
Internet Copyright Law:  A Rat Pilfered My Web Site Cheese - What Do I Do?by Richard Keyt
Plagiarism Today - site dedicated to content theft, copyright infringement, and plagiarism
Six Steps to Prevent Content Theft and Combat Copyright Infringement by John-Paul
What to Do When Someone Steals Your Content by Lorelle Fossen

Recently, a college professor friend called to ask my advice. One of her students created a PowerPoint presentation for a class project. She wrote the text and used artwork she copied from a Web site to illustrate her presentation. My friend asked if I thought that use of the artwork fell within “fair use” since the student was using the art for a class project and not selling it or even making it publicly available. Absolutely not!

One of biggest misconceptions about copyright may be the idea that copyrighted works can be used if the user doesn’t recognize monetary gain from the use. Copyright gives the author complete control of how the work is used, whether or not the user realizes any value from the use. A blogger who copies a post from another blog and gives the author credit is still infringing copyright because the author no longer has complete control of the work. A student who copies artwork to use as illustrations in a class project is still infringing even if no one but the student and the professor see the project.

The Copyright Office offers a fact sheet on fair use. Criticism, news reporting, research, and teaching are among acceptable uses. However, whether a specific use of copyrighted material is fair use or infringement depends on several factors, including 1) the purpose of the use, 2) the nature of the copyrighted work, 3) the amount of material used in relation to the total work, and 4) the effect of the use on the potential market or value of the work.

There is no standard for fair use. Some institutions and organizations have internal policies, such as ten percent of a copyrighted work can be used for academic purposes. However, those criteria are arbitrary and may not hold up in court. Ten percent of one work may have little effect on the value of the total work, but ten percent of another may have a significant adverse effect on the market.

The best policy is to ask permission of the copyright holder if there is any doubt that the use is fair use. The author has the complete control over the work and can choose how much or how little to allow to be quoted. Authors can transfer copyright or grant exclusive or non-exclusive rights for any amount of time, for a fee or for free. The author might grant the exclusive right to one publication to publish the work first, then grant to other publications non-exclusive rights to publish the same piece after the first rights period ends.

Most bloggers believe it is fair use to post a brief excerpt with a link to the full article on the author’s blog or Web site fair use. However, the law does not state this. The law states that the four factors listed above be considered to determine whether the use is fair use under the copyright law.

Let’s compare two hpothetical cases of use by those criteria.

Hypothetical Case #1: A blogger posts a brief excerpt of the piece with a link to the complete post:

1. The purpose of the use is likely educational rather than commercial, even though the quote might improve traffic and income. 
2. The copyrighted work (a blog post) is intended to be read online by the public, and a link from another blog would likely increase the number of people who read the article. If the author earns income from advertising or product sales, the opportunity for that income is still there.
3. The excerpt is a small portion of the total work.
4. The use isn’t likely to damage the potential market for the work. In fact, linking to the post could possibly make the work more profitable if the author earns income from advertising.

Hypothetical Case #2: A blogger publishes the complete post, giving the author credit and linking to the author’s blog:

1. The line blurs between educational and commercial use. The material does educate readers, but the blogger posting another writer’s work is likely receiving commercial benefit from advertising.
2. The copyrighted work (a blog post) is intended to be read online by the public, and publishing the material for another audience would likely increase the number of people who read the article. However, if the author earns income from advertising or product sales, the opportunity for that income is lost.
3. The post is the entire work.
4. The use will reduce the value of the work because the author loses the opportunity to earn income from readers.

This is my personal analysis of the two cases. Since the law is unclear, fair use or infringement can be determined only in court. Asking permission prevents any future problems.

Writers will often freely give permission to quote part of an article and link to the complete work, and they may give permission to publish the entire article on another site or in another publication. However, the right to grant or not grant permission belongs to the author and no one else.

What do you think constitutes fair use of a blog post or article? What about books and other long works? Share your thoughts in comments, and be sure to read other comments to carry on the conversation.

Copyright law varies around the world. Since I live in the US and am not familiar with copyright laws in other countries, this post will cover the basics of US copyright law. I’m a writer, not a lawyer, so don’t rely on anything I say if you have a legal issue over copyright.

My goal is just to give a brief overview of how copyright works for materials written and published in the US today. Work written before January 1, 1978 come under an earlier version of the copyright law, which is quite different.

For more information, visit the US Copyright Office online.

1. literary works
2. musical works, including any accompanying words
3. dramatic works, including any accompanying music
4. pantomimes and choreographic works
5. pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
6. motion pictures and other audiovisual works
7. sound recordings
8. architectural works 

You cannot copyright titles, slogans, logos, standard information such as calendars or height and weight charts, ideas, methods, or discoveries. You can copyright descriptions or explanations of methods and other items that cannot themselves be copyrighted. Some items that cannot be copyrighted (such as logos) can be trademarked.

According to the Copyright Office, “Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is ‘created’ when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time.” If you write a poem on a napkin, you have created the work, and it is automatically covered by copyright. You do not have to put the copyright symbol on it. You do not have register it. You do not have to write “copyright” on it.

Of course, if anyone challenges your copyright, you must be able to prove that you created the work. That’s why many writers mail a copy of their manuscript to themselves sealed and date-stamped by the Post Office. The writers keep the unopened package to use as evidence in case their copyright is ever challenged.

Registering a publication with the Copyright Office makes it easier to defend copyright since the registration itself is a public record of the copyright claim and is evidence in your favor if you are ever involved in an infringement lawsuit. Registration is voluntary unless you sue for infringement. You  must register before suing, and the amount of damages you can receive in a court case is greater if you register copyright within three months of publication. Copyright registration makes sense for books and other works that have a large income potential. It isn’t feasible for blog posts and short articles because of the time and expense involved.

“Mandatory deposit” is a stipulation of the copyright law that two copies of all “publications” be deposited with the Copyright Office for the Library of Congress, whether or not the copyright is registered. There are a number of exemptions, but essentially “publications” are works offered for sale to the general public. If you publish an e-book for sale, you are required to provide two copies for the Library of Congress. If you publish an e-book to give away on your Web site, you are not subject to mandatory deposit.

Copyright gives the authors of “original works of authorship” the right to control how their work is used. The author is the person who created the work unless it was work for hire. If the work was written for hire, the employer is considered to be the author and copyright owner.

Copyright extends for the life of the author plus 70 years. Work-for-hire copyright lasts 95 years from creation or 120 years from publication, whichever is shorter.

Next, we’ll talk about what constitutes “fair use” of copyrighted material.

A post by Jeanne Dininni at Writer’s Notes got me thinking about copyright. She had her work posted on a Web site without permission though the site owner gave her credit and a link to her site. Another piece was actually plagiarized. Be sure to read the ongoing conversation in comments as well as Jeanne’s post.

Jeanne differentiates between the unauthorized use and the plagiarism, and I agree they are different. Plagiarism is deliberate theft; unauthorized posting of work with credit and a link is most likely the result of ignorance.

I’ve never had the experience of having my work stolen. As common as unauthorized use of content is, the only reason I can think of that I’ve been spared is because no one has found my work worth copying.

Joking aside, unauthorized use of content is a serious problem - and not just online. Most people are ignorant about copyright. Here are just a few examples from my own experience:

• Several clients have asked me to use something they found online in a document I am preparing for them. In some cases they plan to credit the source; in others, they just want to copy the material without credit. When I tell them the material is copyrighted, they respond, “No, it’s not copyrighted. It’s online.” Many people sincerely believe that if it’s online, it’s in the public domain.
• One client wanted me to include some material from another publication in a manual I was creating for her company. I explained that would be a violation of copyright. “But I wrote it,” she said. This lady is highly ethical and would never think of stealing money or property, but she just didn’t understand that she would stealing the rights of the copyright owner if she used the material she had written as work for hire.
• I even encounter this in editing my church’s newsletter. Just this week, a church member submitted two articles for publication in the newsletter. Both were copyrighted - one was a newspaper column and the other had a copyright notice on the page along with “used by permission.” I explained that the copyright to the newspaper column was probably owned by the newspaper unless the author was a syndicated columnist who owned the rights. And even though the other document said “used by permission,” the permission was granted to the source where the submitter got the material, not to us. Again, this is a man who tries to live out his faith and operates at the highest standard of integrity. Yet out of ignorance, he asked me to violate two different people’s copyrights in our church newsletter.

Even if the person doesn’t know any better and thinks he is giving the writer the ultimate compliment by posting the work, writers need to be diligent and require copyright violators to remove the work. If we allow our work to be used without permission, we are contributing to the deterioration of our rights. We need to protect our work by educating people about copyright.

Writers often have to conduct research for their writing projects, and all of us have to find information we need on a regular basis. A question from a client reminded me of an article I wrote several years ago, Finding the Information You Need — Research Tips for Your Family, Business, or Personal Pursuits.

Research doesn’t have to mean looking through microscopes in laboratories for science projects or reading musty history tomes for term papers. Learn how to find the information you need—whether it’s knowledge critical for your family’s health, intelligence important for the success of your business, facts useful in making buying decisions, or simply lore you want to know. Discover how to evaluate the reliability of the data you gather as well.

In addition to research tips, the article includes a number of resources to make it easier for you to find the information you need.

You’ll find this and more free how-to articles at Your Information Center.

Technorati Tags: research

In this final installment in the freelance writing series, you’ll find lots of advice from freelance writing pros.

Getting Started

How I Launched My Freelance Writing Career - These are the steps that Melissa Donovan followed to start her business.

Make Money from Writing - Debbie Dragon offers freelance writing advice. You have to give your name and e-mail address, and you will receive e-mails that include solicitations for her coaching service along with some good advice.

Going freelance in a down economy - Susan Johnston tells why she chose to start her freelance business during a slow economy and why it might be the best time to go freelance.

Putting a Price on Your Capabilities: How to Set Your Fees as a Freelance Writer - This advice from Debra Jason will help you set your fees for freelance writing.

Building Your Business

Five Paramount Principles for Freelance Writing Success - Bob Younce reminds us that freelance writing is a business and shares five principles essential to success.

Five Step Plan for Setting and Achieving Goals for Your Freelance Writing Career - This plan from Jennifer Mattern gives you an outline to build your business. 

Tips for Slowly Building a Freelance Writing Career - Chris Bibey reminds us that business growth doesn’t have to be fast and furious.

Learn from the Best

Top 10 Blogs for Writers 2007/2008 - The list of winners in Michael Stelzner’s second annual contest includes some blogs not listed elsewhere in this series.

Top 60 Blogs for Freelance Writers - The category divisions in this list of 60 blogs compiled by Chad  will lead to blogs in your specialty.

Promoting Your Business

Why Every Freelance Writer Must Have a Blog - Ashwin explains why freelancers need to have blogs.

Setting up a Website or Blog: My Favorite Resources - Jennifer Mattern and I share only one favorite resource - WordPress - but the resources she recommends may be perfect for your needs.

5 Tips for Marketing Your Freelance Writing Business -  Colin Galbraith offers marketing advice for freelancers.

10 Ways to Promote Your Freelance Writing  - These tips from Michelle Vranizan Rafter are covered in other articles listed here but are organized into a single neat list. 

Ways to Market and Promote Yourself and Your Writing - Look through this collection of articles at About.com: Freelance Writing for articles of interest to you.

Paying Taxes as a Freelancer (added 6/4/08 as a result of a question in comments from Renae):

Taxes and Freelancing - Tax professional William Perez gives advice on taxes in a series of five articles

If you’re a beginning freelance writer, I hope you have found this series helpful. If you’re an experience freelancer, please share your advice or links to other resources in comments.

Technorati Tags: freelance writing

 You’ve decided to start a freelance writing business and have considered the kind of writing and the niche(s) you want to pursue.

If you’re like most freelancers, you’ll probably work from home. Although you won’t need to do many of the items in setting up a self-publishing company, you may want to review the list for things that apply, such as getting a business checking account and phone line and setting up a bookkeeping system.

You’ll also need to determine your freelance writing rates. You will find excellent advice on setting rates on some of the sites mentioned in Parts 1 and 2 of this series. When you’re new to freelance writing, you can’t expect to charge the same as someone with many years of experience. However, you need to determine what you’re worth and charge accordingly.

You’re eager to get started … but where do you find jobs? Remember, you can find work both offline and online.

If you want to write for publications such as magazines, Writers Market is a valuable resource, though it does require a subscription.  I recommend the online edition as it is continually updated, and the print edition is published only once a year.

Tips for finding freelance writing jobs offline:

• Use your contacts and let everyone in your circle of influence know about your new business. You might be surprised to learn that someone you know works for a company looking for a freelance writer.
• Let the people you do business with know you’re a freelance writer. Your vet or the dry cleaner may be planning a brochure or an ad campaign.
• Network in your community. The next person you meet at your local civic group could become your best client.
• Volunteer for organizations and causes you believe in. Although I don’t usually recommend writers give their work away, I advocate pro bono writing for charities you support. You are likely to meet people who can help you build your business - either by hiring you themselves or by referring you to others, and you can use the work you’ve done as clips for paying jobs. And you’re contributing to a worthy cause while you build your business.
• Advertise in free or inexpensive venues - a classified ad in your neighborhood newspaper, flyers on public bulletin boards, or a listing on craigslist.
• Cold call businesses in your niche. You can make contacts by telephone, letter, or e-mail. Few people enjoy cold calling, but some writers find it effective in finding unadvertised work. Keep the contact brief and professional. Be prepared for a lot of rejection but remember that every “no” is just one step closer to a “yes.”

Resources for finding freelance jobs:

Note: not every site will be appropriate for every writer. Visit the various sites and see which ones post jobs appropriate for your specialty, niche, and skill set.

6 Ways to Find Writing Markets - creative ideas for sources of writing markets

All Freelance Writing Jobs - job board and regular freelance job listings

Freelance Writing.com - jobs posted online and in a weekly newsletter

Freelance Writing Jobs - daily job postings and plenty of excellent advice for freelancers

The Golden Pencil - jobs posted several times a week

Life of a Writer - jobs posted weekly

Poewar: Writer’s Resource Center - jobs by state and jobs by category

Sunoasis - job board for writing and journalism jobs with a special section for freelance jobs

Top 10 Freelance Writing Job Sites and 10 More Freelance Writing Job Sites - Listings of job sites (some of which are included elsewhere on this list plus several that are not)

Worldwide Freelance Writer - databases of markets categorized by topic; free database has fewer and lower-paying markets than subscription database

Writer’s Weekly - freelance writing e-zine with new jobs and markets listed weekly

Writing Career - career site for writers with a section for freelance jobs

You can also look into some of the bidding job sites. However, I haven’t used any of these sites in years; my experience with them was not favorable; and I’ve heard a lot of negative reports about the very low prices of most jobs offered. If you’re just starting out in business, give them a try if you choose and make up your own mind. Concentrate on free listings, though, and beware of paying high fees just to access jobs that may or may not be suitable for you.

Strategies for success in finding freelance projects:

Establish a “looking for freelance work” routine. Market yourself even when you have plenty of work.

Build long-term client relationships. Spend less time marketing and more time earning with repeat business.

Where are your favorite places to find freelance writing gigs? Please share with us in comments.

Technorati Tags: freelance writing jobs

You want to become a freelance writer - but what kind? And do you want to limit your freelance business to writing?

You can be a generalist or specialize in a specific kind of writing or niche. You don’t have to limit your specialty or your niche to only one-you may have several specialties.

Some popular freelance writing (and writing-related) specialties include:

• Article writing for magazines, newsletters, or the Internet
• Blogging
• Book consulting
• Business/commercial writing
• Copywriting
• Editing
• Ghostwriting
• PR consulting and writing, including press release writing
• Research
• Technical writing
• Travel writing
• Virtual assisting
• Web content writing, including SEO writing
• White paper/report writing

Though the above list includes some of the most popular freelance specialties, many more exist. Even if your favorite kind of writing isn’t included, look into the possibilities of making a career of what you like.

Pros and cons of being a generalist:

• You have more jobs available to you, but you have more competition also.
• You don’t need any special knowledge or experience beyond good research and writing skills, but you will have to spend time researching and learning about the field for new projects.
• You will be involved in a variety of projects; whether that is a pro or con depends on your temperament. If you are bored easily, you might like the variety; however, if you are easily distracted, you may find the variety overwhelming.

Pros and cons of being a specialist:

• You have fewer jobs available to you, but you have less competition.
• You need to have some knowledge about the specialty or the niche, but if you have experience, you can build on what you already know.
• You run the risk of becoming bored if you thrive on variety; however, if you like routine, you will probably be comfortable with a specialty or a niche.

The best of both worlds: Choose several specialties or niches. You will reduce the risk of being bored while still enjoying the benefits of being a specialist.

For example, I specialize in working with self-publishing authors with a variety of services: consulting on publishing, helping with research and manuscript development, editing the manuscript, formatting the book for printing, finding a cover designer and printer, creating and maintaining the author’s Web site, editing and posting blog entries, writing news releases and other promotional materials, sending out review copies …

For writers who pursue traditional publishing, I help with query letters and proposals.

I also write, edit, and perform virtual assistant duties for business clients.

Some freelancers like to write for many different clients. I prefer to offer a wide range of services to a few clients. You have to decide how you prefer to work.

Choosing a specialty or niche:

• Consider the skills and knowledge you have already.
• Consider skills and knowledge you would like to learn.
• Consider how interested you are in the kind of the writing or the niche and how long you can maintain that interest.
• Consider the demand to ensure people want or need the service you plan to offer.

Read more advice from successful freelancers:

How to Choose a Specialty as a Freelance Writer

Recipe for Freelancing

Next, we’ll talk about finding freelance jobs.

Technorati Tags: freelance writing