Ghost writers rewritten ebook?

Ideas cannot be copyrighted, but the words might be under copyright.

If the book from which the information was taken was a PLR book, then it is legal to do, although it shows a real lack of integrity by the writer.

If the information was taken from a book that is not PLR, it is not legal for writer to take the words from the book to include in a book that he sells to a client. Unfortunately, the copyright owner will be suing the person selling the information, rather than the ghost writer who stole the content, so your friend will be in a bad way if the content is protected under copyright.

A ghost writer should bring enough integrity to the table so as to not set his/her client up for a legal problem, but integrity is rare on the internet.

If the ghost writer did write the content him/herself, then he/she is free to sell that content to as many people who want to purchase it, provided that he/she is upfront with the client. Again, many "wannabe writers" don't have the integrity to do the right thing.

When I sold my own writing as a service, I always charged more money for my work, but I also guaranteed the client that I would not sell that work to anyone else.

To answer your question, it depends on what the writer promised to your friend, and it depends on the status of the content that was used -- was it PLR or not PLR.

Private label rights get a bad rap because of this very situation. I am a writer and have written ebooks for other marketers. I have rewritten (provided by the marketer) plr content to make the subject go a little faster.

Many people use plr in an unethical way. Most just add affiliate offerings and a link back to their website or landing page, without changing the content or format at all.

The proper way to use plr is to rewrite the following:

Title:
first paragraph
50% rule: which means rewrite 50% of the entire content
Final: rewrite finale chapter

Of course they should read and follow the rules of the license that comes with any plr.

The suggestion above is a bare minimum. I totally rewrite the plr and add my own knowledge, tips, case studies, photos, etc, to the content.

A professional writer should be able to rewrite the content that makes it look totally unique. The sad fact is that there are many writers that don't. Hence giving PLR a bad rap.

Actually plr should be more valuable than resell rights licenses, because in the end you can have a unique product with your own name as an expert.

Hope this helps.

Also keep in mind that WHERE you plan to sell the ebooks matters as well. A digital product based on a PLR product will sell without issues on your sites and Clickbank. But it can get you in deep trouble if you tried to publishe it on Kindle.

As a ghostwriter myself, the thought of re-writing PLR material and selling it as original content makes my skin crawl. That's not ghostwriting.

Ghostwritten content should be just as original as "normal" content.

Although your friend is making money on the practice of selling re-written content, it isn't original material. Buyers may or may not care, depending on the quality and usefulness of the information provided.

Best wishes,

KateD

I have written my own books and have hired ghost writers to assist with certain portions of my books, I have to say though that I would never allow total control (blank slate control) of a ghost writer over my material.

I always outline (often very detailed) my own material because I want it to be outlined in a unique, personalized way - according to my own set of tips, steps, procedures and instructions.

What you quickly learn as an information product publisher is that your main value to your marketplace is in helping your reader achieve a particular desired end result (or at least get them further along than they are today). Your system for helping them get there is what makes you stand out from competition and makes your products more valuable.

So, having a ghost writer re-write existing content is not likely to get you there...whether it is legal or not, right or wrong - the real question should be "Is this how you want to brand yourself in your market?"

Jeff

I'm guessing fiction ghostwriting is different than non-fiction ghostwriting. Most of my clients DON'T give me a detailed outline. It's more like, "I want a story about a girl who robs a bank on Chicago." I get some general info in order to determine writing style and theme. But after that, I just write.

KateD

@John Mcabe, No I am not taking it personally. I would if I was one of those type of writers. PLR is great for an idea.

@KateD, nope pretty much the same. I wrote a 50 page ebook for a client on guest blogging and all he had for me was "I need an ebook on the topic of guest blogging" It took 8 hours of research and three days to write. I couldn't even get a about the author or a link to his website from him.