All About Work-for-Hire Opportunities for Writers

by Suzanne Lieurance 

What is work-for-hire, you might ask?

 

Well, Webster’s Dictionary defines work made for hire as “work (art, music, writing, or a computer program, for example) that is the property of an employer when made by one acting as an employee or is the property of the party for whom it is specially ordered or commissioned when that is expressly stipulated in writing —used in copyright law.”

 

With that definition in mind, let’s take a look at the different kinds of work made for hire (known as WFH or simply write for hire or work for hire) in the writing world.

 

When a publisher or other client offers a flat fee for a writing project, with no royalties, and they buy all rights to a project, this is a work-for-hire. 

 

An employer could also have an employee write something as part of their regular job but the employer (not the employee) would retain the copyright to the work.

 

Books, short stories, articles, scripts, testing materials can all be work-for-hire projects. 

 

The company hiring the writer is usually the one to come up with the concept or idea for the item to be written. 

 

For example, often publishers will hire writers to adapt old fairy tales or other old stories for today’s children’s book market. 

 

The publisher gives the writer very definite guidelines to follow, then the writer writes the story according to those guidelines. 

 

The writer is paid a flat fee to write the story. 

 

The writer does usually get a byline for the story, even though he/she is giving up all rights to the story once it is published by this publisher. 

 

Many children’s publishers also hire writers on a WFH basis to write nonfiction books on a variety of topics.

 

These books are usually part of a series.

 

Other children’s publishers have fiction projects, such as easy readers, early chapter books, etc. as WFH projects.

 

Finding WFH projects can be a bit tricky however, since most publishers don’t mention WFH on their websites.

 

Instead, they rely on a stable of freelance writers who have written for them in the past.

 

These publishers also post WFH at online job boards such as indeed.com, linkedin.com, and Upwork.com.

 

Some of these job boards require you to sign up for membership to search their job listings and they also charge a fee for each project you acquire through them.

 

Instead of going through these job boards, another way to get WFH jobs without paying a fee (although it might take a bit longer to get a project this way) is to research publishers who offer WFH and then send them a submissions packet.

 

Generally, this packet should include a cover letter, your resume, and one or two writing samples that show you can write the type of materials they publish (so be sure to tailor make your samples for each publisher you send a packet to).

 

You probably won’t hear from these publishers right away, but if they need a writer and see from your resume and samples that you can do the work they need done, they will contact you.

 

FYI – years ago I sent a packet to a publisher and didn’t hear from them for over a year. But once they contacted me, I got regular assignments from them for years. It was a great way to earn money, gain publication credits, and get experience working with editors. It also helped me grow as a writer since I had really strict guidelines to follow for each project. Throughout the years, I have had many work-for-hire assignments from other publishers and individuals, as well.

 

Here are a few companies that offer WFH opportunities:

 

ABF Creative – They create and publish multicultural content (mostly podcast material, but look around at their website to learn more about their content).

https://www.abfc.co/work-with-us/

 

Study.com – They create study and testing materials, so this would be good if you’re a teacher or former teacher. You’ll probably find opportunities with this company at sites like upworks.com, but get familiar with study.com first.

https://study.com

 

Benchmark Education Company

Study the different book series for children to get a feel for what they produce

https://www.benchmarkeducation.com/

 

Capstone Publishing – Scroll down the page to see how to apply for WFH assignments

https://www.capstonepub.com/contact/submission-guidelines

 

Red Line Editorial – The website says they are always looking for freelancers. If you want to write nonfiction books for kids, this might be a good publisher to try.

https://reditorial.com/jobs/

 

Brightpoint Press – Hi-Lo Nonfiction for Teens

http://www.brightpointpress.com/about.html

 

Check indeed.com and Linkedin.com regularly for WFH job postings, then study each publisher before you apply. 

For more about work-for-hire, check out this article by Terry Whalin.

And, more writing tips and other resources delivered to your mailbox every weekday morning, get your free subscription to The Morning Nudge.

Suzanne Lieurance is an award winning author with over 40 published books and a writing coach.

Visit her site for writers at writebythesea.com.