Who has rights to a writer’s name?
A content creator’s dilemma
We few, we lucky few writers who get paid a salary to write for someone else. What right do we have to complain that we don’t have the right to write what we want to write?
I don’t debate the fact that I am fortunate to be able to make a living by the tapping of my fingers on a keyboard. However, in my last two positions as a content marketer/content writer/copywriter (the titles change with frequency as the requirements of the role adjust to the company needs) I have been under contractual obligation to not work for anyone else. When I queried this clause, on both occasions, it was so that I couldn’t sully the company name with potentially damaging opinions, thoughts, or even dilute the voice of expertise they expected me to deliver, under my name in conjunction with the company. Effectively, they acquired the right to use my name and I couldn’t, for anything other than work.
In both cases, I argued my right to work in my free-time under a pseudonym (I have a few), and they granted me that concession. Why do I have to give up the right to my name so that I can continue to write on a diverse range of topics?
The Voice of Expertise — or at least the appearance of it
In my professional niche, my name is reasonably familiar. I can write with confidence in my knowledge because, without bragging, I’m a damned good research monkey and I can put my ideas and theories across with the voice of authority and expertise. My professional history dictates the topics I can cover.
I happily accept and acknowledge that contrary political, religious and social opinions can be damaging to a company ethos. I’m not naive enough to think that I can separate personal from professional completely while writing under the same name.
Fighting the stereotype
One of my major issues with the shanghai-ing of my author name is that stereotypes play an enormous role in dictating which subjects I can tackle as an independent writer. Professionally, I have a strong finance and science (tech) background with a healthy dose of educational development and funding. Personally, I have a far richer tapestry of creativity, mental and physical health, relationship, travel, and parenthood knowledge. Couple those with a keen interest in politics, and strong opinions on a whole range of subjects on which I claim an interest but no defined expertise, there is a whole world of topics on which I can write with conviction.
In a professional capacity, it often seems that creativity is not perceived as a complementary skill to a technical role. I may be able to write your technical documentation and user manual, but I cannot marry that with an artistic bent.
That is just the factual and editorial stuff, can you imagine if I tried to use my own name for professional and technical writing at the same time as writing fantasist fiction? My employer would have a coronary at the absurdity.
Personal Privacy vs. Public Brand
While I am very prolific in my written work, I have no desire to plaster my life and activities across the global billboard that is social media. My life experience revolves around people and circumstances that perhaps should never see the light of day or that I should not share because of its impact on my circle of precious people. How do I then translate my writing into a potentially sustainable writing career?
I saw an article on Linkedin that talked about the slow death of the resume in favour of a personal brand. It terrified me. How can I possibly hope to develop a professional public brand when I value my personal privacy?
I have the usual social channels, primarily for keeping in touch with family abroad, and I have a professional Linkedin page. I don’t do Instagram; I can’t get away from the fact that I have only ever seen it used for people taking pictures of their food and sharing it (I don’t understand the necessity). Twitter is okay to follow those who make you laugh; you need a touch of humour to get you through the day.
What’s in a name?
Maybe I’m getting hung up on this whole idea of being able to use my own name. I have always leaned toward using a pseudonym for my personal work rather than my actual name. Only when I became a salaried writer, and my name was commandeered by my employer, that I became somewhat attached to it. There is nothing wrong with letting potential employers know that I also write under another (or three) different identities; I may even share those names. Perhaps it shows my ability to separate work from personal, and that I appreciate the need to segregate opinion, fact, and fiction for the maintenance of expertise.
