I am new here. Submitted my first article last week and it was accepted today! So glad to be here!
I have been a freelance writer for over 10 years, and have been writing for the web for about 3. I write for many sites but this seems to be the real cream of the crop.
A belated welcome! We're a very friendly bunch with a large welcome wagon. The wagon's got a broken wheel right now, so we're a little behind schedule.
I've been scrambling to finish up all my projects for the month and haven't been cruising the forums like I usually do. But I want to give you a big HOORAY for the article acceptance and ask that you let us all know when you get your first sale
What are your favorite topics to write about? I prefer writing about dogs but almost anything that catches my imagination will send me to the keyboard.
Congrats Berry and welcome.
My first article was accepted last week and I am working on my second article - almost finished. CC is a great place and I'm glad I found it.
Welcome Berry from a fellow ex-New Yorker! What part do you hail from? I'm from Rochester in upstate New York but left it behind long ago for the sunny south. (Ed sees a glimmer of why I wrote that article...)
I'm a newbie here, too. Found CC in December and I'm up to 23 accepted articles. I've had a few glitches along the way and will share what I've learned:
1. Beware of repeating yourself
2. Make sure the issues you bring up in the intro paragraph are all addressed in the article
3. Pay attention to clarity
4. If you provide examples, make sure to provide a variety of examples or at the least, examples that will relate to the majority of readers
5. Don't forget to run a spell checker and grammar checker, it's so easy to miss something simple even if you know the rules
We've only got one editor and anything you do to make his job easier will be appreciated.
In answer to Volante's question, there were a bunch of public requests this week. I'm sure Ed's been swamped with submissions that he has to give priority to. Good news if you're writing for a request. Be patient if you're not.
Debbi, I'm with you! Dogs are a favorite of mine, too. Celeste posted somewhere that when she first started, she often wrote about things she was experiencing herself. I do that a lot. We recently had a strange plumbing problem and I turned it into an article.
Then there are the topics that catch the imagination versus business or financial topics that you are good at. I mix it up. A little bit of the fun, a little bit of the business. I haven't been here long enough to know which of mine will sell but the first sale surprised me. It wasn't one of the topics I expected to sell so quickly. The ones I believe should sell are still waiting.
Back to Berry, I hope you enjoy your romp thru the forums. There's a lot of really good info available if you read back thru the older posts. There be gold hidden there!
Case Reynolds, here. Another newbie joins the ranks!
Below, I posted the list of tips you gave. Thanks for them. Question: Are these items that caused rejections? Obviously, I fear the three rejections and you're out rule.
1. Beware of repeating yourself
2. Make sure the issues you bring up in the intro paragraph are all addressed in the article
3. Pay attention to clarity
4. If you provide examples, make sure to provide a variety of examples or at the least, examples that will relate to the majority of readers
5. Don't forget to run a spell checker and grammar checker, it's so easy to miss something simple even if you know the rules
Oh well. Still glad to be here. Wishing you all much success!!