by trnz
28 replies
If you see a news story and you want to write an article/blog post about it, how much re-writing should you do? I know this is a difficult question but can anybody give a rough guideline?
#rewriting
  • Profile picture of the author AmandaT
    Rather than rewriting an article that you don't have permission to rewrite, I suggest doing more research on the topic and writing your own article from scratch.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6528996].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author AnniePot
      ^ ^ ^ Amanda

      Give the article your own "voice" and perspective. Your blog can only benefit from it.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6529023].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author The Great Gordino
    well, the facts of the sporting story are just that - facts.

    That's the starting point. Your opinion is what you build the article on, and if your opinion is the same as someone else's then no problem.

    You must make sure that you write your opinion, and not simply copy the other person's.

    If you want to base the piece about you agreeing with that other person in particular, then put a link to their piece, setting it to open in a new window.
    Cheers,
    Gordon
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6529051].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author DerekGann
    you can invest your own things here rather re-writing. Try to to get more information on that specific topic and then write your own article.

    The more information you able to put in your article the more value you get from SEs. So write your own words and make it unique.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6530266].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Henry White
    I would recommend at least the '100% rewrite' (a/k/a start from scratch) too.

    But here's the thing - if you properly quote and cite the original, and include the link to it, you'll probably get more credibility. The more value you add to the original story in your article/blog, the more authority you have. [Clue - study that word 'authority'; that's not an accident or mere coincidence.]
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6533833].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author BloggingPro
    Once you get the hang of it you'll realize that writing your own article from scratch is so much easier. It's written in the voice you intend and does the job you intend it to do.

    In contrast you'll find that simply rewriting other articles and keeping the same pace and voice is rather a pain in the ass.

    Bottom line. Do research and write your own damn article.
    Signature
    You're going to fail. If you're afraid of failure then you do not belong in the Internet Marketing Business. Period.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6533846].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author boutiquecontent
    For a blog post, you could do it as curation. Just choose a section relevant to your readers and add your own analysis/commentary.
    For an article, take the main idea and key facts and rewrite the whole thing. If you know your subject, it should be faster than doing a rewrite.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6533893].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    Never ever copy an article from someone else. People will find out about this and know that you are no professional.

    The best thing to do is to write your own content so that it is original. You can get some ideas from other articles but never duplicate the content.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6533912].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
      Banned
      Originally Posted by talfighel View Post

      Never ever copy an article from someone else. People will find out about this and know that you are no professional.
      Unless you are syndicating an article (which you have permission for) and give the proper credit. Then you're fine. Nothing unprofessional about it.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6533940].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author cashp0wer
        I have found it is best to get research from more than one place so you don't completely just re-write one article. I tend to only write about things that I am passionate about so I do only fact checking type research and actually write all of my articles myself.
        Signature
        My Internet Marketing Blog - Warts And All!
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6533968].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author salaka
    hello
    How about curating it?
    what I do is at the top of the article i will put my points a cross and in the middle and the end of the article what's my thoughts are as well. so you giving your opinion on the points they are making at the bottom give a link and credit the writer basic curating and as we all know many software out there to help you out I mean check this site out only got 2 articles but all curated articles
    Facebook Smartphone

    hope it helps
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6533959].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author mojojuju
      Originally Posted by salaka View Post

      hello
      How about curating it?
      what I do is at the top of the article i will put my points a cross and in the middle and the end of the article what's my thoughts are as well. so you giving your opinion on the points they are making at the bottom give a link and credit the writer basic curating and as we all know many software out there to help you out I mean check this site out only got 2 articles but all curated articles
      Facebook Smartphone

      hope it helps
      Sorry, but simply adding your own thoughts to an article you copied word for word from another web site is still copying other people's work for your own personal gain without the other party's permission, and could very likely be seen as plagiarism by the party whose work you copied.

      This "curation" thing has become a sick trend among the IM community which gives some the feeling that they can do whatever they'd like with other people's content as long as they associate the "curation" buzzword with their activities.

      Just remember that you're not immune to legal issues regarding your copying of other people's work simply because you call it "curation".
      Signature

      :)

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6542085].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author MissTerraK
        Originally Posted by mojojuju View Post

        Sorry, but simply adding your own thoughts to an article you copied word for word from another web site is still copying other people's work for your own personal gain without the other party's permission, and could very likely be seen as plagiarism by the party whose work you copied.

        This "curation" thing has become a sick trend among the IM community which gives some the feeling that they can do whatever they'd like with other people's content as long as they associate the "curation" buzzword with their activities.

        Just remember that you're not immune to legal issues regarding your copying of other people's work simply because you call it "curation".
        Excellent point!

        On top of the legalities involved here it also will cause a lack of trust from your readers who have found blocks of your content elsewhere.

        Once you lose the trust of your readers, you are then black balled and once you have been black balled, you can pretty much kiss your livelihood goodbye.

        "Curation" is still unethical and breaks the code of conduct. Just because it is a cool new buzzword, doesn't mean it's honorable.

        Terra
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6542161].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author antac
    Banned
    The idea with giving an article a rewritten percentage is just to give a rough guide as to how many unique versions of the original article can be spun for the blog sites publishing the articles.

    Its more an arbitrary figure to let them know how much its been rewritten, and the higher the percentage the more chance they'll have a very unique article on their site.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6539032].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Martin Pupke
    I usually get the facts from an article, I also consider the opinions. I write these down in bullet point form on a scrap piece of paper. I typically do this from many different sites, the more research you do the more you have to work with.

    However I do not retype anything from other articles or rewrite them. I only use them to educate myself on the topic, then once I have enough knowledge I construct my own article. I give every paragraph of my article my own unique twist and personality.

    The rewriting approach is far too inflexible in my opinion.
    Signature

    "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool" - Richard Feynman

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6539193].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author BudaBrit
    If it's a news story then you absolutely NEED to check the facts.

    So many publish articles sourced from a single blog and then wonder why they have no credibility - it's because you didn't check the facts were correct! All it needs is for one person to make a typo in a figure and 50% could become 5%. If you're just sourcing from them, you're going to have the same mistake.

    If you're looking to have a news site, you can sign up for any number of news providers who allow you to repost their articles with a few changes - ie: changing of currency from EUR to € or p/c to %, etc., with the author of the article being the directory. EG:
    Government to fund action plan to save jobs, help small businesses from financial transaction duty - PM | The Budapest Business Journal on the web | bbj.hu

    Note the byline: MTI: Econews - that's the supplier. This newspaper has changed, for example, pc to %, million to m, EUR to €, etc., before reprinting, but you don't have to.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6539260].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author amithak50
    Please don't rewrite it because after panda and penguin ..you will not get benefit better to research more on the topic and than write it on your own ..you will rank good .do keyword research ,competition etc.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6540741].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author laracoates28
      Originally Posted by amithak50 View Post

      Please don't rewrite it because after panda and penguin ..you will not get benefit better to research more on the topic and than write it on your own ..you will rank good .do keyword research ,competition etc.
      I agree with amithak50. You have more value if you have quality content.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6541297].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author BudaBrit
    I agree that content needs to be new and informative - it's the point after all. But if you are running a news service, you need easy access to instant news to keep updated, too

    Which was my example - just justifying myself :p
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6541536].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author nmb
    The only way to re-write a news article is to highlight the main points, use these and insert your own thoughts, own comments and own arguements into a unique article. In reality 99.9% of everyday news is based upon basic facts.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6542008].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author williamk
    Banned
    Try not to copy. But if you do rewrite them then make sure to add a source link and rewrite them fully and make sure they make sense.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6545069].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author marketwarrior06
    Banned
    In some of my blogs I always rewrite any kind of new stories. I just read the main story then write it in my own hand. To make them totally unique. then i spin them and put them in web 2.0 and article marketing sites.
    I think 40% uniqueness is safe.
    thanks
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6545737].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author pamon
    don't copy the original work, thats just lazy and cruel. take the general idea of the original article and spin it your way. copying it word for word with sources they took the time to investigate or talk to steals away from their work.
    Signature

    Freelance Writer & Blogger For Hire. US based. Awesome Rates. Check out http://about.me/davidamodt for samples & more.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6545778].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author prroger
    Find your own writing style. Why do you want to write about it in the first place. Express your opinion, comment about it, ask questions, link to it but only your words make it worthwhile for someone else to read.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6562062].message }}
  • Aim to have 100% rewrite. Be sure you have the facts right and not all mixed up especially when it comes to the names and figures. Then, in between put your opinion but not too persuasive. Put more logic on what you have rewritten. At least, it will put the reader to think, too. He may or may not agree with you. But hey! You get him hooked to read your blog post that's something already.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6562334].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    Don't re-write anything. Write up your own 100% article, and you won't have to worry about questions like the one that you asked.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6562690].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Michael Ten
    You need to put it into your own words. You need to re-write it enough so that you are not plagiarizing.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6562750].message }}

Trending Topics