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When hiring a ghost writer questions

by 01123581321345589144
18 replies
When hiring a ghost writer to write for you, to sell these ebooks on Kindle later and retain full ownership, how do you get them to sign a form (online) that ensures these things? :confused: Or how do you make it so that legally they can't claim ownership of the ebook once you've paid them? Thanks
#ebook #ghost #hiring #kindle #questions #writer
  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    I personally never need those forms. If I am a ghostwriter I just never use that material elsewhere. But others may want a contract of some sort. It's up to you to decide what you want to do.
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    Cheers, Laurence.
    Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

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  • Profile picture of the author 01123581321345589144
    Thanks for your response.

    I'm just concerned about the legal repercussions. Like could I, as a seller, get in trouble if I don't have legal proof that they told me I had rights to sell it without paying them a portion of it, after buying the work originally.
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  • Profile picture of the author NicoleBeckett
    My company covers this in the Terms of Service on our site. Basically, it says once you've paid in full for the work, you have the full copyrights to it.

    Quite honestly, though, it all comes down to working with someone you trust. If you don't trust a writer to be truthful about who owns the content you're buying, do you really want them writing for you in the first place?!?
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    • Profile picture of the author 01123581321345589144
      Originally Posted by NicoleBeckett View Post

      Quite honestly, though, it all comes down to working with someone you trust. If you don't trust a writer to be truthful about who owns the content you're buying, do you really want them writing for you in the first place?!?
      It's just that I don't know these people. I want to trust them and I do to a certain extent but who knows, you know? They're strangers online I don't know if they'll decide one day they own the rights to the books I've bought from them. You make a good point but still...
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      • Profile picture of the author TeamGlobal
        Hello 01123581321345589144,

        Here's a link to some info you may find helpful:

        http://www.warriorforum.com/war-room...l-service.html

        All The Very Best,

        Tony
        P.S. - On a totally unrelated note, you are the first person that I have seen to use a Fibonacci sequence as a user name.
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        • Profile picture of the author 01123581321345589144
          Originally Posted by TeamGlobal View Post

          P.S. - On a totally unrelated note, you are the first person that I have seen to use a Fibonacci sequence as a user name.
          It's like the whole universe (sort of) in a sequence of numbers. Not really the whole universe, but some beautiful parts.
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      • Profile picture of the author NicoleBeckett
        Originally Posted by 01123581321345589144 View Post

        It's just that I don't know these people. I want to trust them and I do to a certain extent but who knows, you know? They're strangers online I don't know if they'll decide one day they own the rights to the books I've bought from them. You make a good point but still...
        I know it can be scary to do business over the web. That's why you have to do a little bit of homework first. When you find a writer you like, ask questions. The good ones will be happy to answer them for you. If you feel like you're getting the run-around, listen to your gut and find someone else.

        Perhaps this will alleviate some of your fear... A good writer will be focused on building their own business, rather than trying to steal yours. If they wanted to sell books under their own name, they would do that instead of going to all the trouble of starting a content writing business
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        • Profile picture of the author TimothyTorrents
          Originally Posted by NicoleBeckett View Post

          I know it can be scary to do business over the web. That's why you have to do a little bit of homework first. When you find a writer you like, ask questions. The good ones will be happy to answer them for you. If you feel like you're getting the run-around, listen to your gut and find someone else.

          Perhaps this will alleviate some of your fear... A good writer will be focused on building their own business, rather than trying to steal yours. If they wanted to sell books under their own name, they would do that instead of going to all the trouble of starting a content writing business
          This.

          Don't just hire any random writer, check out their testimonials, and exchange some messages before you make a decision. Professional writers understand that once they write something and are paid for it, they can't reclaim ownership. I can honestly say that the thought of reclaiming ownership of an article has never crossed my mind... and I wrote thousands of articles.

          When in doubt, it's easy to throw together a simple form. Most writers will be happy to sign it, if the payment is worth it. I hate it when people expect me to jump through thousands of loops just to write a few articles when they can only afford to pay peanuts.
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  • Profile picture of the author vedremo
    Banned
    You issue an affidavit that your ghost writer will have to sign. The signed document will be scanned so it can be emailed to you. This will serve as a contract/agreement between the two of you as an employer and as a ghostwriter wherein he or she cannot claim any ownership of the ebook/articles written for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Szalok
    I've found some good info about this subject here, and you can find sample contracts here and here and here.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Levanduski
    I do a lot of ghost writing, and I've had to sign those types of things many times. There are generic ones you can find online for free that work well. While most of my clients just trust me when I tell them that once they've accepted the completed work I will delete all copies off my systems, some still want the legal assurances.

    They email me a form, I sign it and scan it and email it back to them. Or fax it to them, whichever they prefer.

    Hope that helps.

    Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    As long as you have emails showing the terms or it is understood from the email that this is work for hire, you should be fine. Most ghostwriters know they don't retain any rights.
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  • Profile picture of the author 01123581321345589144
    Thanks everyone for the feedback
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  • Profile picture of the author gabrielrala
    I guessed that would actually closed by asking to signed a contract. there are a lot of good writers out there who keep their identity hidden, and they work for celebrity, or people who are well loved and admired by everyone, others just love to see their work be published , other's do it for money. so it would all be in how you two talk things
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  • Profile picture of the author DeePower
    One small detail to add. You, as the buyer are NOT the employer. An employer is liable for taxes paid on wages, as well as withholding FICA. The relationship is that of an independent contractor. The contractor is responsible for paying any taxes on his/her earnings.

    Dee
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  • Profile picture of the author sweetcrabhoney18
    I used to create a custom NDA for each client I worked with. It detailed the prices, the rights of the buyer , the rights of myself and consequences both parties have. I used it for over 5 years and it worked perfectly.

    NDA was implied for orders from Fiverr however.
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    keep moving forward

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