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Outsourcing Kindle and Other Fiction Writing

by BackLinkiT
14 replies
A quick question to those familiar with this.

How do you know or how can you be sure that the outsourcer owns the rights to the piece of pre-written fiction they are selling you the rights to?
#fiction #kindle #outsourcing #writing
  • Profile picture of the author GoodFE
    This is a risk I would never take when it comes to Kindle. If the person were to give you work posted elsewhere for free then your book would be blocked and your account closed.

    Kindle are serious about eliminating PLR and often it can be one strike and you are out. A friend of mine got blocked 6 months ago for this and has constantly tried to regain his count to no avail.

    It's also difficult to get a second account as they take 90 days to pay out and would probably find out you opened a new account in that time.
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  • Profile picture of the author Adie
    Even you paid for it, I believe its a shame to claim the authorship if it is written by another person or a ghost writer. What if the book become a best seller? Would the credited author/outsourcer will be happy and be proud of himself even if he did not write the book?

    I don't think it is advisable to hire someone to write a fiction... Editing and copyrighting could be acceptable but writing from scratch? I don't think so... Just my own opinion..
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    • Profile picture of the author BackLinkiT
      Originally Posted by Adie View Post

      Even you paid for it, I believe its a shame to claim the authorship if it is written by another person or a ghost writer. What if the book become a best seller? Would the credited author/outsourcer will be happy and be proud of himself even if he did not write the book?

      I don't think it is advisable to hire someone to write a fiction... Editing and copyrighting could be acceptable but writing from scratch? I don't think so... Just my own opinion..
      Thanks for that, Adie.

      Anyone able to answer the question that I asked, please?
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Originally Posted by damienboyd View Post

    A quick question to those familiar with this.

    How do you know or how can you be sure that the outsourcer owns the rights to the piece of pre-written fiction they are selling you the rights to?
    Here's a sideways answer that works.

    Instead of hiring a writer to create something for you, simply buy the rights to something already out there that isn't selling. There are bunches of good writers, both fiction and non-fiction, that couldn't market their way out of a paper bag. Others who still look down on the business end of the business.

    I'll bet you that there are a lot of writers out there that would be thrilled to get $50 or $100 for something they've given up on.

    Sometimes you can even buy out-of-print books, with all rights, directly from the publishing houses.

    While you can never be 100% sure someone hasn't stolen the content and posted it for free, you'll know that you do truly own all rights and can enforce them as needed.
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    • Profile picture of the author BackLinkiT
      Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

      While you can never be 100% sure someone hasn't stolen the content and posted it for free, you'll know that you do truly own all rights and can enforce them as needed.
      Yes, but how do you know that, John? That's the bit I'm struggling with! If the seller doesn't own the rights, he or she cannot pass them on to you...
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by damienboyd View Post

        Yes, but how do you know that, John? That's the bit I'm struggling with! If the seller doesn't own the rights, he or she cannot pass them on to you...
        I wasn't talking about someone stealing content and selling it to you. You originally asked how to be sure content purchased from an outsourcer (as a work-for-hire) wasn't already available free (thus making it unsuitable for uploading to the Kindle marketplace).

        Purchasing manuscripts from writers who either can't/won't sell their own work is much safer, and buying rights from a publishing house is safest of all.

        There is some risk to everything. Tune up your BS meter, keep your eyes and ears open for anything that just doesn't sit right, and be ready to walk away from a deal that makes you uncomfortable.

        The only 100% surefire way to make sure your content is original and not published elsewhere is to create it yourself...
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Gram
    It's always a risk when you have a book written by an outsourcer. It's not something I would ever do but I know many people who have.

    If you are going that route, there are a few things you can do to help lower your risk:

    1. Only use someone who has verifiable positive reviews from previous ghostwriting projects.

    2. Expect to may a decent amount of money. Nobody is going to sell you something unique and high quality for a small amount of money. If they do, that's a big red flag.

    3. Make them sign a contract and a non disclosure agreement.

    Even following the tips above, they could still be giving you non-unique content and/or give someone else the same content now or later on but you will at least have lowered your chances.
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    • Profile picture of the author BackLinkiT
      Originally Posted by Paul Gram View Post

      If you are going that route, there are a few things you can do to help lower your risk:

      1. Only use someone who has verifiable positive reviews from previous ghostwriting projects.

      2. Expect to may a decent amount of money. Nobody is going to sell you something unique and high quality for a small amount of money. If they do, that's a big red flag.

      3. Make them sign a contract and a non disclosure agreement.

      Even following the tips above, they could still be giving you non-unique content and/or give someone else the same content now or later on but you will at least have lowered your chances.
      So what you're saying, Paul, is that you cannot be sure whatever you do or they sign?
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  • Profile picture of the author BackLinkiT
    Thanks for the replies everyone. This is a new idea to me and I wanted to be clear on the issues involved. Thanks again!
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  • Profile picture of the author TycoonRob
    I always look at the reviews on oDesk (my favorite place to outsource) before hiring. Even if they have good feedback, once I get any writing from them, I still do a "copyscape" check (just Google parts of it and you'll tell very quickly if it's original) to make sure that it's not junk.
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    To answer your question, you find a reputable ghostwriter. There are many of them. There are plenty of people who can write excellent fiction. The good ones wouldn't risk their livelihoods or reputation by plagiarizing someone else's work. And the pros do it legitimately while realizing it could catch on and become a best seller. They would rather have a sure payday writing for others than taking a chance publishing themselves and a "maybe" payday. To each his/her own.
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    • Profile picture of the author Sandra Martinez
      The main issue with kindle is that the publishing threshold is so low that makes writers think.

      I wrote a couple of books for kindle for third parties (non fiction). It was ok, because the niches were some I was not interested personally but had a thing or two to add to make an interesting product. I am not sure I would do that again.

      How to make sure? Simple, you need to know the person. Some people would never copy from others, you just have to get those.

      The main question would be: why someone would give their book to you, especially talking about fiction. (yes, I bought that wso, apparently it can be done)

      I know I wouldn´t unless happened three things at the same time: I needed fast cash for something, the pay was good for my standards, the niche was one I was curious about but wouldn´t like to have my name attached to.
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