From the Mountains of New Hampshire

[RJDudley]

Good day, all! I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself. My name is Ray, I live in New Hampshire (beautiful this time of year) and finally pulled the trigger and submitted my first article! I've been nervously pouring over the site for days reading forums, blogs, how-to's and how-not-to's, etc. and decided it was time to get off the pot. The forums have been a wonderful resource! I've been really impressed by the warmth shown among the authors and editors. Well, that's it for the intro. Nice to be here!
Ray

[jak]

Welcome Ray. Nice to have you. You may have to wait a while for your article to be reviewed as Ed is not able to be up to speed for a few days. That's not normal so don't let it put you off.

[RJDudley]

Hi, jak. Thanks for the update on Ed. I'm nervous enough without having to add false ideas of why I hadn't heard anything. Patience will rule!

[HayleyWriter]

Hi ray,

I've noticed you have now got a couple of articles up on the site, well done! Welcome to CC. I hope you find it as great as I do. It often does take some time to get established and you need patience in regard to selling articles too. I've had some articles first sell months after being approved, but others sold within hours (which is always a pleasant surprise!). I've generally found that persistance and patience pay off. My advice to all newcomers is to submit a range of articles on different topics to build up a good portfolio. Good luck here!

Kind regards,

Hayley

P.S. I'm from Australia, so don't be surprised if you see me writing in the forums at strange times - it may not really be 3am where I am, even if that's what the site says.

[RJDudley]

Hi, Hayley! And thank you for the kind and uplifting words. Patience does seem to rule around here, but, that's ok I'm enjoying writing and learning. It's really quite a wealth of knowledge and appears to be an extremely supportive group. I already feel welcome. Thanks again and I'm sure I'll be seeing your around the site.
Ray

[HayleyWriter]

No doubt! If you want any specific help you can always contact me via the email section of the website. Find me under the authors section, or from one of my articles. Click on the Contact this Author button from the profile page and you can email me. It took me two months before I made the threshhold, but since then I've been doing quite well. You are also right about learning. I used to be a journalist and, of course, thought I knew it all, until Ed taught me a few things the hard way (with rejections). Now I proof-read and proof-read everything. It's all good though and I have certainly learnt a lot from the forums on how to write concisely.

CC is becoming a great place to meet authors from around the world too, and to share in some of the joys and frustrations of this industry. Keep submitting quality articles, you just never know when one will sell.

Kind regards,

Hayley