Is Publishing Display Only on Associated Content from Yahoo! Worth It?

When AC (Associated Content from Yahoo!) first announced a display only option where contributors could remove their work whenever they wanted, I wasn't a big fan of it. I really didn't understand it. Why would anyone want to remove their content once it is published? The only reason I could think of at the time was if the contributor had an offer to publish the content elsewhere but only if it was removed from AC first. I have been asked for reprint rights to a few of my articles on AC, but no one has asked me to remove them. So why display only? I have since learned there is more to "display only" than that.

If I'm not asking for upfront payment, I now always use the display only option. I do not publish display only with the intent of removing my work in a week or two or even in the next twenty years. I have only removed a couple of articles because they were outdated. The main reason for publishing this way is the ability to edit my work after it is published. No matter how much I review my writing, once it is up, I almost always find at least one error. Display only allows me to go back and correct any errors.

Display only also pays the same amount as if you publish for performance payment only. The difference is you cannot edit or remove your work once it is published under performance payment. And believe me, back before AC offered display only I had published some articles I'd love to be able to edit or even remove. Some of them have embarrassing errors that even a fifth grader would know better than to make. Why did I make them? Two reasons. One, I was in a rush to get it published and, second, I was tired. It may have been a mix of both. They were errors I should have never made. But now they are there for the whole world to see.

Content published under display only counts towards the amount of percentage a contributor gets added to his page viewers (one percent per article up to 200 percent). But be aware that once you remove content, if you have not published over 200 pieces, your percentage drops, too. Also, if you have money coming to you for page viewers, you will lose that as well. So the best time to remove a piece is when you do not have any page viewers for that content and you have over 200 pieces published.

The one drawback of display only is that the content will not be offered to an AC partner. This does not concern me too much since I've only had one article sold to an AC partner.

When it comes to upfront payment, a writer has sold his work to AC as is and really has no right to change it once it is sold. If the writer sells non-exclusive rights he can correct errors or change things before he resells his work elsewhere. However if the writer sell AC exclusive rights he no long has the right to say anything about that article since AC now owns it. And AC has the right to change anything they want. AC can even resell it without the writer's permission and keep the money from that sale if AC desires. However, AC pays the writer if one of their partners buys the article.

So the next time you plan on publishing something on AC without upfront payment, consider publishing it for display only. If there is an error, you don't have to beat yourself up. Simply go in, edit it and be happier with the work you publish on AC. We all make mistakes no matter how long we've been writing. Why not give yourself the option to correct them?

Sources:

Associated Content from Yahoo!
Personal Experience