Copywriting Sample Work

[cmoore]

Should I copywrite my samples?
Also, how should I do this? Is including a copywright statement on the sample enough? (I did this for my thesis in grad school).

Colleen

[UpAndAtEm]

Hello, Colleen.

What kind of samples are you talking about? Writing samples? And how are you using these samples? A little more information would be helpful in answering your question.

[SEO expert]

Yes...even I could not really get what she is trying to ask here??

Can you please clarify your question colleen??

[cmoore]

Maybe I'm really not sure what I am trying to ask. I am talking about writing samples. I have read some job descriptions stating that the work will become sole property of the buyer. So what so I do when other potential employers ask for a writing sample?

[UpAndAtEm]

Colleen,

When you write something that is sold to the person who hired you, and your work becomes their property, you do not need to copyright it. It is up to the person who buys the work to copyright it.

As for samples, What I would do is write some pieces for you to keep that coincide with the work you are trying to get. If you are wanting to write technical articles, for example, write two or three to keep for yourself to use as samples. If you are writing poems for children, write two or three to keep for yourself. If you are writing on various topics, write a couple of different pieces. If you are writing for a specific industry, write a few pieces that pertain to that industry. It is doubtful you would need to copyright these since you aren't publishing them. The only reason to copyright them would be if you had concerns about someone else taking them and using them as their own work, but since these pieces would only be samples I wouldn't bother. It's up to you.

The other thing you can do is point the new employer to past pieces you've written for other employers, although they may not have your name on them. If you are writing website copy, for example, you can give the potential employer the websites you have written copy for. In this case, it would be helpful if the potential employer can contact the past employer for a reference to be sure you actually did the work. It's common for website copy to have no name attached to it at all, so in this case the potential employer will be open to the idea that you did the writing even though your name isn't attatched to it.

As a final thought, you can ask the employer if they would mind if you keep the work you did as part of your portfolio. Tell them you won't use it for any other purpose except to show potential employers. Many employers will allow you to do this, and you won't need to worry about copyrighting the work because it will be copyrighted by the employer you wrote it for. This is the route I would try first because it will save you time in writing samples for yourself.

Good luck!

[cmoore]

Kim,

Thank you, that helps a lot!
Colleen

[UpAndAtEm]

Glad I could help you, Colleen. So, if you don't mind my asking, what do you write? Inquiring minds want to know! :D

[SEO expert]

Yes...even I am interested to know what does she write...