writer
Let an agent handle writers by genre, works, rights and attribution, and keep a writer separate from their works and pen names.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Identity Who the writer is.
Names
Legal and pen names.
Names
Names used.
- Which names does the writer publish under? provenance
- Is any pen name confidential? boundary
Identifiers
ISNI, VIAF, ORCID.
Identifiers
Authority identifiers.
- Which authority identifiers identify this writer? provenance
- Are other writers with the same name disambiguated? boundary
Works What they wrote.
Bibliography
List of works.
Works list
The works and editions.
- What has this writer written? provenance
- Which attributions are disputed? boundary
Genre and field
Kinds of writing.
Genre
Genres and fields.
- What genres or fields does the writer work in? definition
- For which publishers or outlets? provenance
Rights Copyright and licensing.
Copyright
Ownership and term.
Copyright
Who owns the rights.
- Who holds the rights to this work? provenance
- When do they expire? measurement
Licensing
Permissions.
Licensing
How to obtain permission.
- How can permission to use the work be obtained? action
- Is any licence already granted, such as Creative Commons? provenance
Professional Working as a writer.
Commissions
Contracts and fees.
Commission terms
Terms of commissions.
- On what terms is the writer commissioned? definition
- Who owns work made for hire? boundary
Credit
Attribution.
Credit
How credit is given.
- How should the writer be credited? action
- Do moral rights require attribution? boundary
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Society, people and institutions
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- SOC
- Domain
- SOC.PER
- Other names and narrower kinds
- travel writer, chief content officer, website content writer, head writer, guidebook author, travel guide writer, runemaster, fashion writer, crossword creator, comics writer, ghost author, sports columnist
What it is Filled
A person who writes texts professionally or creatively, such as books, articles, scripts, poems, technical documents or web content.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent handle writers by genre, works, rights and attribution, and keep a writer separate from their works and pen names.
Distinguishing features Filled
- A person who writes; the work is a separate entry
- May write under several names
- Holds copyright unless transferred or work-for-hire
- Includes creative, journalistic, technical and content writing
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Attribute a work to the wrong writer or claim a writer wrote what they did not.
- Reveal the person behind a pen name without their consent.
- Use a writer's work in violation of copyright or applicable licence terms, including in commercial imitation, while recognizing lawful quotation, other legal exceptions and public-domain use.
- Publish a writer's private correspondence or unpublished drafts without permission.
Only with a human decision
- Publishing a translation, adaptation or posthumous edition requires human involvement.
May
- Report a writer's published works and public biography from reliable sources.
- Quote or summarise their work within copyright and licence terms, with attribution.
Moral aspects Filled
- Writers depend on credit and rights for their living and reputation.
- Pen names often protect writers from persecution.
Who is affected
- Writers
- Readers
- Rights holders and heirs
Owners Filled
Steward
The writer themself; publishers and collecting societies hold rights they have been assigned.
Master systems
- National library authority files
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q108762424 - registry parent class
- Q482980 - registry parent class
- Q483501 - registry parent class
related
- occupation - a role
- written work - books and texts are separate entries
- copyright - rights in their works
- pen name - a name, not a person
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.writer
- Wikidata: Q36180 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q36180)
- ISNI: 16 digits international name identifier
- ORCID: 16 digits for academic writers
- VIAF: numeric library authority file
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Plane SOC: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Bylines, author names on covers and credits
- Pen names and ghostwriting hide the writer
- Author identifiers in library catalogues
- No particular appearance; writers are known through their works, bylines and author pages.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- commission and publish their work
- attribute works to them, including under pen names
- license rights in their works
- cite them
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Works may be attributed to the wrong writer.
- A pen name may be revealed without consent.
- Use of a writer's work may infringe copyright or applicable licence terms.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Berne Convention on copyright
- National copyright law and moral rights
- Press regulation for journalists
Context of use required Filled
- Producing texts for readers, audiences and organisations.
- novelist, poet, playwright, screenwriter
- journalist and travel writer
- technical writer and content writer
- ghostwriter and head writer
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q36180: writer - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Writer - general description of the item
Open questions
- How should pen names be linked to writers without exposing identities?
- Should writing occupations be separate entries?
- How should AI-assisted writing be attributed?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q36180/spec.json