Gee Whiz, People

[princessalethea]

Comments

[tchernabyelo]

It's work-for-hire - basically, they are asking you to write ad copy, and while it's the kind of contract a freelance fiction writer would normally run a mile from, it strikes me as perfectly standard WFH terms.

And they'll pay you (if you write the best copy) with an iPad, which last I looked was, what, $500? For 250 words? Which is $2 per word. Which is, y'know, pretty good, even for perpetual rights of perpetuity.

So unless you don't want an iPad, I fail to see a reason not to enter.

[cairech]

No, only if you win the contest do you get the iPad. This reads like any entrant will be turning over their work in perpetuity, et cetera, without any recompense.

[nihilistic_kid]

The amazing thing is that you actually CAN'T sign away moral rights, even if you wanted to!

[princessalethea]

See...I wondered about that too. And if I'm writing about MY LIFE, doesn't that kind of make it *my* IP?

It's funny...most of the responses are: THIS IS HORRIBLE, RUN AWAY! followed by, "but then, it's only 250 words you're never going to need again. Go get an iPad."

[accordingto_ada]

This is not a work for hire sweatshop. It's a one shot deal of a business that's trying to drum up some glowing testimonials to use in their advertising while spending only $500.

What you risk is that they will still be using your testimonial in their advertising when you become America's premier author. And also that for brevity they may revise your entry into something you will cringe at every time you see because they rewrote it so badly.

vs.

Yay, a free iPad!

[madwriter]

I tripped over the "modify" part. Which I assume means that essentially they have the right to change your words to whatever they want. (And could meanwhile still say that you wrote it.)

[cairech]

Yeah, that got me too. So they'll attribute some smarmy shit to your name from here until eternity.

[cassiealexander]

Um. Wow. That's a little strident, dontcha think?