I have been writing for about a year now, and I have always had a question about rewrites. Arent most articles basically rewrites? The way I write (and I might be telling on myself) I research the topic. I then compile the information in my head. I then write an article. Is it rewriting if you research material and then write about the things you learned? If not, what constitutes rewriting? The reason I ask is because I had a client request a rewrite of an article. I did it, but when I was done it seemed to me to be a completely new and original article. It didnt resemble the previous article, whatsoever. So, I dont see the point in rewriting articles when you can just write a new one. Any thoughts? Have I just got myself in trouble?
I'll give you my perspective. An article is usually choice pieces of knowledge from multiple articles and/or books blended together and reshaped to fit the new purpose unless you have enough ideas of your own to not do any research [That is, you are an expert or reasonably experienced on the topic at hand]. If you look at multiple articles and sources of information to gather the raw materials [Ideas and facts] for your article and then reshape and refine the raw materials into a proper article, it isn't rewriting. Rewriting is merely rearranging words and sentences and substituting synonyms in one article without looking at other sources or adding new stuff or viewpoints or info. Now there can be things in between the both as well. Rewriting and new article writing are kind of like a monkey and a human on the evolutionary ladder. Some people have difficulty telling the two apart. Here's a quote that seems to explain it some.
Rewriting is about rewriting one article - all of the ideas, concepts, wording, etc. is just reworked. You can't do this (in the US and other countries) without the copyright holder's permission, because you're creating a derivative work. Research is entirely different. You may use the same or similar ideas, but you add unique experiences, your own real voice, research material from multiple sources in smaller amounts to support the ideas you're writing about, etc. They're support material, and not the basis for your entire article. That's over-simplifying, but do a search here. You'll find it's been discussed quite a few times in the past here in the copywriting section.
Jenn is right, rewriting is illegal in most countries. But it can be quite difficult to determine it in the case of the web. But as far as research goes, you cite your references of your work. You put appendices, footnotes, bibliography or whatever your work needs.
With the notable exception of PLR articles. These are purchased with the permission and intention of rewriting. To some "rewriting" means taking the same concepts or even just a title or niche and making a new version of the same thing that is "unique." This version of unique often results in a new article written with a bit of research and your own input (assuming you compile research from many sources before writing your own version.) To others "rewriting" means taking 40-60% of the content and "spinning" it to make it "new." This would be rewriting each or every other sentence in a different way using synonyms or even replacing a percentage of the words to make it "unique." This unique "passes Copyscape" but is illegal and can be done in record breaking time since a program or somebody with a very loose grasp on English can do it, too. BTW - If you're writing $5 articles, realize that you are grouping yourself with the programs and rewriters from option two above. Option two is also used a great deal in the Bum Marketing you might hear about in other forums.
Hi, Quite interesting ! Rewriting can never be the same as original.As one reads the contents the the article ,one's own perceptions and views also influence the writing to be taken up.After having read the article ,we think and ponder and analyse and then being a writer ourselves rewrite the same article but with a uniqueness and thats what makes the article more interesting and readable. When i read articles in news papers and other magazines ,my mind is flooded with more ideas and I give reviews .So rewriting does not mean summarising...........its all about how the thought takes anew dimension and evolves into aanother piece of good writing. Thats how I look at any good writing. anu
That's the process of writing in my opinion. Rewriting as other's have said is taking another's work and deriving something from it - usually without permission. Think Intellectual Property. It's not the words per se that are copyrighted in the original article, it's the 'angle', the 'approach' or the 'value' that the writer added to the baseline information that makes the article theirs. Simply rewriting doesn't change this. Doing as you say, researching a topic and then writing about will inevitably give your article your own certain perspective. It's a form of original writing since it's unlikely that the structure, content and 'angle', for want of a better word, will be the same as anyone else's.