Thursday, December 20, 2007 Toral: Managing a virtual publication By Janette Toral Digital Filipino
MY latest project got me involved in managing four blogs that feature stories of overseas Filipino workers, Filipino migrants living abroad, local entrepreneurs, businesses, employees and Palawan travelers, among others.
With the Internet, it is already possible to do this as it would just require hiring writers who can be paid on a per-approved article basis. Should your company consider launching something like this, here are things that you have to consider when hiring part-time writers and bloggers.
l Request for sample work and go through a trial. Observe how they handle assignments and their reporting ethics.
Will you give your part time writers a byline? If it is a corporate blog and you want to take ownership of the articles you publish, then not giving a byline is an option that can be considered. Some writers also prefer this as writing is a part-time work and they may want to make it confidential.
l Copyright ownership. This must be made clear before hiring a writer. Full ownership of copyright gives you the right to use it however you want. This will also protect you from having articles submitted and paid by you reused for other purposes.
l Finding good writers whose work hardly requires any editing is important, especially if you are managing a blog or web publication that has more than a hundred stories a month.
l Interview- or research-based. Some writers are eager to do interview assignments while others are good in research-based articles. It is best to have both and take advantage of their skills for your publication.
l Content diversity. Don’t hesitate to give your part-time writer a wide variety of topics to explore.
l Payment schedule. Depending on your agreement with the writers, payments can be made every month or twice a month. I suggest having a minimum amount set so that your trip to the bank won’t be tedious.
