The Creative Penn

Writing, self-publishing, book marketing, making a living with your writing

  • Write A Novel
  • Write Non-Fiction
  • Publishing
  • Marketing
  • Make a Living Writing
  • Author Mindset
  • Start Here!
  • Books
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Audio
  • Courses
  • Tools
  • About
    • Speaking
  • Contact

Creative Commons: What Is It and How Can It Benefit You?

September 13, 2009 by Joanna Penn 7 Comments

Tweet
Share10
Pin
Share
Stumble153
+1
Share
Email
Pocket
Buffer
Reddit
Shares 163

OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn

I went to a fantastic workshop this weekend at the Brisbane Writers Festival on Creative Commons. It was presented by Elliott Bledsoe, who is Project Officer at Creative Industries and Innovation in Australia and a wealth of information in this area. (You can find him on Twitter @elliotbledsoe). All the detailed information is at: http://creativecommons.org/

This is such important information for authors online so please read and share!

What is Creative Commons?

  • It is a version of copyright licensing, and it relates to your creative works. The basic Copyright law says that no one can copy or distribute your work, or use it, remix it or profit from it. This law becomes impractical in the digital environment where sharing, remixing, distribution and marketing are so important. Creative Commons licensing is a license you can put on your work to allow some of these things and make Copyright work for you and your creativity. Read this for the full lowdown on Creative Commons.
  • You can license your work for different purposes. The main aspects are Attribution (you let others use/distribute your work but you must be attributed as the creator), Share Alike (you can use my work but you must share your own work too), Noncommercial (you can use my work but you can't profit from it), No Derivative Works (you can use my work verbatim but you can't remix it or change it). For more on the different licenses, read this. People can approach you for options beyond the license e.g. you have a novel released under Creative Commons which is Noncommercial but someone approaches you with a movie idea based on it that will be sold. You can still allow them permission.

How can it benefit you as an author?

  • On Piracy vs Obscurity. You need to make your own decision as to whether you want your ideas to be out there and used (and potentially pirated), or whether you want to keep them in a drawer where no one will discover them. If you want to be a successful author who sells books, you need to be known and the internet is the place to build your global presence. The risk of piracy is nothing compared to being unknown. Cory Doctorow addresses this in “Giving it away”, a Forbes.com article where he describes giving the ebook versions of his books away for free under a Creative Commons license. His sales increased but his books were also translated by fans and his ideas spun into new creativity.
  • “Share your creative wealth and accomplish great things”. This is a quote from the video at the bottom of the page which explains Creative Commons in a great way. The internet has changed the way we produce and consume information. We all find ideas everywhere now. We put our thoughts and text online in the hope of building an author platform, or selling our books/products or finding an audience. Other people may get ideas from our work, and Creative Commons enables a legal way for them to re-use or remix it. This has started in mainstream books now with the success of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a remix of Jane Austen. Is it fan-fic or a remix of a Public Domain book?
  • Collaboration and Creativity. Expanding the theme of fan-fic and remixes, licensing under Creative Commons gives people the ability to take your work and recreate it in different ways based on your ideas. This could spread your work much farther than you could do on your own and may lead to some extraordinary ideas you can take and reuse in your turn. Is your idea your own? or can you release it and see what happens to it out there in the big wild?

How can you license your work as Creative Commons?

  • You can use this simple questionnaire to generate a licence. It will give you some code you can put on your site (in WordPress, just add a Text Widget to your sidebar). The questionnaire includes a country option so you can use it overseas.
  • Advice from Elliott was: Have a really good think before you do license as Creative Commons. Are you really happy for people to use your work? Can they make money from it? Can they remix it? Only license once you are sure.

How do I find other authors and creatives using Creative Commons?

  • You can find works licensed under Creative Commons by including it as a Search term on sites like Google and Flickr. Many of the images I use on this site are Flickr Creative Commons and I add Attribution to each one. Use the Advanced Search option. You can also use http://search.creativecommons.org/
  • Google Books has listed books licensed under Creative Commons – check this post for more details.
  • You can also license your tweets at http://tweetcc.com/ . Read the full article on CC for Twitter here.
  • I have now licensed this site under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Australia License, you can see this on the sidebar under my books. This license applies to the blog content and does not currently apply to my workbooks, Author 2.0 material and published books. This means that you can use my posts on your own websites, books and projects as long as you attribute me and this site as the original creator, share the work derived from it and don't make income on it. Start with this one and spread the word about Creative Commons! You can see all the international licenses here.

Tweet
Share10
Pin
Share
Stumble153
+1
Share
Email
Pocket
Buffer
Reddit
Shares 163

Filed Under: Publishing Options Tagged With: copyright, creative commons

Comments

  1. Mark Barrett says

    September 13, 2009 at 9:26 am

    I like the Creative Commons solution to a number of copyright problems, but it’s not perfect. For example, you say here —

    This means that you can use my posts on your own websites, books and projects as long as you attribute me and this site as the original creator, share the work derived from it and don’t make income on it.

    — but the ‘make income on it’ part is a bit squishy. If my site traffic (in my dreams) supports an advertising income, and I repost your content, with attribution, am I making money off your content? (Yes, I am.)

    I agree with Elliott: everyone should have a really good think before they give any copyright away, or modify any copyright they hold. Creative Commons is excellent in some situations, but you’re still giving rights to others by using it. Be careful.

    Reply
  2. Joanna Penn says

    September 13, 2009 at 8:14 pm

    Hi Mark,

    That is a great point, and one I will have to email Elliott about. I would feel that ‘making money’ means directly as in compiling my blog into an ebook and selling from your site – as opposed to using the content to bring traffic in.
    There must also be an overlap with plagiarism here, for example, if you just took all the posts from the site and built your own site!
    It is a complicated area but generally bloggers seem to be self-regulating – the good ones rise to the top and the bad ones sink. I don’t think the old traffic tactics work that well anymore either – original quality content works best!

    Thanks for your comments though – I will follow up and get back to you. I think there are still areas that need covering!
    Thanks, Joanna

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. What I learned this week « Writers Inspired says:
    September 17, 2009 at 11:15 pm

    […] Concerned about your online material being snagged and duped under another’s name? This might help. […]

    Reply
  2. Remix My Lit: Literature That's Read and Write | The Creative Penn says:
    September 23, 2009 at 12:32 am

    […] is a project that took original works by authors licensed under Creative Commons. Then a whole load of new authors remixed them creating new works, also shared under the Creative […]

    Reply
  3. Sunday Wash-Up, 27th September « Shack's Comings and Goings says:
    September 26, 2009 at 4:30 pm

    […] Creative Commons: What Is It and How Can It Benefit You? Joanna Penn is allowing you to use any of her wonderful content. In this post she explains why and how she is protecting herself. Expect to see Shack’s own CC banner soon. […]

    Reply
  4. Speaking About Your Book: 7 Tips For Successful Public Speaking | The Creative Penn says:
    November 9, 2009 at 3:51 am

    […] full of detailed notes. Leave those for handouts. I get the majority of my images from Flickr Creative Commons, and the rest from […]

    Reply
  5. Friday’s Interesting Links | Tales to Tide You Over says:
    July 2, 2013 at 7:59 am

    […] Information on Creative Commonshttp://www.thecreativepenn.com/2009/09/13/creative-commons-what-is-it-and-how-can-it-benefit-you/ […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Become a more successful author

Looking for something?

Subscribe to the blog by email, or connect with me on social media

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Get started right now with links to the best content below!

Need a professional editor?

Need a professional book cover design?

Inspiration and Information every Monday!

Need help with book marketing?

Want to make a living writing? Here are some ideas how you can

How to set up your own author website in under 30 mins

Useful Books on Writing, Publishing, Marketing and Making Money Writing

My J.F.Penn author blog, for fans of my thriller novels

Stronger together! I’m a proud member of The Alliance of Independent Authors

Topics

  • Author Entrepreneur
  • Creativity
  • Ebooks and Technology
  • Intellectual Property Rights
  • Marketing and Promotion
  • Publishing Options
  • Writing

Recent Posts

  • Finding Your Perfect Niche In Fiction
  • Audiobooks For Authors With Will Dages From Findaway Voices
  • 5 Tips To Spice Up Your Amazon Author Profile
  • Writing Tips: Digital Forensics for Screen Writers and Novelists
  • How To Be Successful In Writing Horror With Iain Rob Wright
  • Writing Tips: How To Turn A Thesis Into A Book That Sells
  • How To Take Your Creative Business To The Next Level With Tara McMullin
  • Book Marketing: Social Media Tips For Introvert Authors
  • Writing a Novel: Top 10 Editing Tips
  • Author Email List And Newsletter Tips With Tammi Labrecque
  • Writing Tips: Writing Beyond The 5 Senses
  • How To Be A Successful Company Of One With Paul Jarvis
  • How To Make Your Audiobook Work For You
  • The Importance of Having a (Well-Designed) Author Website
  • Voice Technologies For Authors With Bradley Metrock

Archives

Thanks for visiting The Creative Penn!

Most of the information on this site is free for you to read, watch or listen to, but The Creative Penn is also a business and my livelihood. So please expect hyperlinks to be affiliate links in many cases, when I receive a small percentage of sales if you wish to purchase. I only recommend tools, books and services that I either use or people I know personally. Integrity and authenticity continue to be of the highest importance to me. Read the privacy policy here. I hope you find the site useful! Thanks - Joanna

Connect with me on social media

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
© Copyright Joanna Penn. The Creative Penn Limited. All rights reserved.

Search The Creative Penn

Inspiration and Information every Monday in The Creative Penn podcast

Thanks for visiting The Creative Penn

Most of the information on this site is free for you to read, watch or listen to, but The Creative Penn is also a business and my livelihood. So please expect hyperlinks to be affiliate links in many cases, when I receive a small percentage of sales if you wish to purchase. I only recommend tools, books and services that I either use or people I know personally. Integrity and authenticity continue to be of the highest importance to me. Read the privacy policy here. Read the Cookie policy here. I hope you find the site useful! Thanks - Joanna

Copyright © 2019 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

I use cookies to ensure that I give you the best experience on this website. If you continue to use this site, I will assume that you are happy with this. Thank you. OkRead more