I was referred to you by a friend. I just found an article I wrote, that was published in March, also published in April in a completely different magazine. I had no idea it was being published in April, have never heard of the publication, and received no payment.
I am trying to figure out the best way to handle this… is this not copyright infringement?
In May of 2012, my first feature cover story in a print magazine was published. It seemed almost surreal to see that magazine cover and realize that people would be turning the pages to read what I had to say about the stunning young entertainment star on the glossy cover. It all began with replying to an ad for departmental writers for HerLife Magazine, back in the spring of 2011.
Just in time for our vow to “stay at home and do nothing all summer”, the rainy season has begun. It was sunny this morning but a storm developed just offshore at lunchtime and quickly moved inland. We enjoyed hearing the huge drops pounding on the roof. The “weather in motion” option on weather.com gave us the opportunity to show the boys, who are homeschooled, how quickly storms can erupt when the sea breeze picks up in the afternoon here. In a 15-minute span, the radar went from blue sky to a huge cell popping up on the screen. Very cool.
I received a frantic email from an author over the weekend who’d been threatened with a lawsuit. Of course, the first thing I told her was that I’m not a lawyer and that I can’t give legal advice. I then calmly told her to send me a file containing all the correspondence between her and the angry contributor because I’m always happy to give my non-lawyer opinion about a situation. Here’s what happened…
Hello Angela,
I’m also a writer on Examiner.com and, although I really don’t take them seriously at all, I continue to write for them. I use them to promote books I publish for other writers and also to vent my thoughts on politics and religion.
They are rather loose in their acceptance level — all you have to do is write. The more often you write, the better they like you. They use a grading system that is rather frustrating. I’m a professional editor / co-publisher and Examiner.com doesn’t seem to have a clue about good writing. There is no indication of why you get graded the way you get graded — no feedback for your grade — and no transparency on their part about who is doing the grading. We could be graded by monkeys for all we know.
I enjoyed your article revealing how the writers feel on Examiner.com. Thank you for revealing some truth for writers so they can make a more informed choice when signing up with Examiner.com. They seem to be very bias. I’ve also noticed that when I use my Twitter account to advertise my Examiner.com articles, people tell me they’ve read my article, but the number of readers I’m seeing does not seem to match the number of “hits” Examiner.com is reporting to me. There is really no way to check the integrity of Examiner.com’s “hit” numbers on our articles. That is a bit disconcerting for me. When you have a place that is barely willing to pay writers for their time and effort, asks them to leave and keeps their work — making additional income off “fired” writers, I can’t help but wonder about the accuracy of their “hits” per article integrity.
Thank you for the article. It helped me to evaluate for myself if perhaps I’m wasting my time on Examiner.com.
-Name not published on request.
Mentoring another writer may sound like giving away your industry knowledge for nothing or boosting a competitor. But really, mentoring is good for your protege’s writing career and yours. Mentoring can benefit you beyond feeling good about helping another person who is new to the business.
My POD publisher recently released an ebook version of my book without telling me. I only want a print version of my book available. What can I do?
Good things come to those who wait? Not in my world. Good things come to she who contacts an editor every couple of months with a pitch, a new slant, a pleasant reminder that she’s still out there…
On Memorial Day, we worked in the morning and relaxed in the afternoon. Richard spent most of the day in the kitchen and outside by the grill while I spent the afternoon in the pool with the kids, batting around a volleyball, tossing a Frisbee, and teaching Max and Mason how to play Marco Polo…
There are many content mills out there that have a confusing, vague, or buried clause in their contract that states contributors won’t receive a check until the amount owed meets a specific threshold. In many cases, contributors never reach that threshold. They end up terminating their contract, hoping to receive payment for the paltry amount they are owed…but then realize the contract terms prevent them from EVER receiving a payment until/unless that threshold is met. That means the writer has done all that work – for free…
