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.

Work-Made-For-Hire Writing: Five Reasons Writers Should Do It

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

 

Over the years I've written several articles about Work Made for Hire contracts (follow this link to see some of them). Many writers run away from such work and refuse it. These people believe they are protecting their rights and want to publish royalty projects instead of selling all their rights to someone else.

 

My literary attorney has told me that I've signed more Work Made for Hire agreements than anyone she knows. I've also been a working writer in the publishing community for decades. The truth is sometimes it is better to earn the money upfront from a publisher rather than hope for royalties (which may or may not happen).

 

In this article, I want to give five reasons to write Work Made For Hire projects. I call them projects because they are not always books. Sometimes they are articles or white papers or any number of other types of writing. 

 

1. You Get Immediate Work. Often in the publishing world, you have to write your article or book with the hope that you will find someone to publish it. With Work Made For Hire, you have found paying writing work which you can do right away—and get payment.

 

2. You Get Paid for Your Work. Depending on what you negotiate in a Work Made For Hire agreement, often you get half of the money upfront. This fact helps your cash flow as a writer—especially those of us who write full-time.

 

3. You Can Build Your Reputation and Get a Writing Credit. Some Work Made For Hire is ghostwriting (no credit). On other occasions, my writing is credited. Sometimes this work appears in the tiny print on the copyright page. Other times my name appears on the title page of the book and not the cover. On other books where I've co-authored the book for someone else, my name appears on the cover as “with W. Terry Whalin.” To the publishing world, this “with” credit indicates I wrote the book. If you are new in the publishing world, this credit can be an important part of building your reputation in the publishing world.

 

Several of the children's books that I have published were Work Made For Hire. The finished children's books had high quality illustrations and were a beautiful finished product. In some cases my name only appears on the copyright line (small print) but in other cases, my name appears on the cover. How it turns out for you is all about watching the details of the agreement. Several of my devotional books which I wrote as a Work Made For Hire have sold over 60,000 copies (which is a great credit for any writer—and something I use from time to time). 

 

4. Provides A Way to Work for a Publisher. For many new writers, it's a challenge to publish with traditional publishers for your own work. Sometimes publishers need a writer to complete a manuscript in a short amount of time. Years ago I wrote a book for a publisher in a short amount of time and exceeded their deadline. My name is in the small print on the cover of this book and it continues to sell. When I checked a few years ago, this book had sold over 100,000 copies. As the other examples in this article, I wrote this book as a work made for hire and haven't been paid anything additional but it is a great credit for a writer.

 

5. In a hard environment, provides a way to seize an opportunity. I know some publishers are making cautious decisions about what to publish (for a number of reasons including the pandemic). This caution has made it hard for writers. Work Made For Hire is writing that will always be needed and is a way for you to seize the opportunity, get published and get paid. If you find it, my encouragement is for you to seize the opportunity.

 

Do you write Work Made For Hire or have you avoided it? Let me know in the comments below.

 

Tweetable:

This prolific editor and author gives five reasons to write Work Made For Hire. Get the details here. (ClickToTweet)

W. Terry Whalin is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. His work contact information is on the bottom of the second page (follow this link).  His latest book for writers is 10 Publishing Myths, Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed. One of Terry's most popular free ebooks is Straight Talk From the Editor, 18 Keys to a Rejection-Proof Submission. He lives in Colorado and has over 200,000 twitter followers.