Constant Content

Does anyone else fit into my profile? I write articles but also illustrate them. I have wasted valuable time trying to figure out how to get an article posted with an accompanying illustration/cartoon.

I guess most people either write or illustrate but I like to do both at the same time and made a natural assumption that when CC started to allow illustrations there would be a facility to link an article to a drawing or photo like other writing sites. Nope! Unless I am being really stupid (this is actually a real possibility too) you can only post the two items separately.

I tried adding the illustration into the text but the article got rejected with the insistent message 'illustration should be added via the illustration section'. This would mean the article and the illustration would probably never cross paths again.

HELP!

Jangamm

Can you just put a note in your short summary that there is an illustration to match the article if the customer is interested? I'm not sure how many customers are interested in also purchasing comics and cartoons, especially if it makes the article more expensive. You could try leaving a note for Ed that the comic is part of the article, but I still don't think it is allowed. From my previous sales, I've noticed that customers typically add their own images if they need them, especially with the wealth of free use and fair use images available.

If the comic or illustration is 'free with purchase', you could also put a note that the buyer can contact you after the sale and you will give them the illustration. I'm not sure how this works with C-C's dislike for author-customer email relations, but I don't think it would be ethically questionable at all.

You should only have contact with customers through your CC mail box, otherwise you are likely to be banned from the site. If the ilustration section of the site is working, you could offer to sell them that way, but I'm not sure of its status. You may have to contact support with this question.

I think the only way to 'attach' an illustration at the moment is as ecdoran suggests and that's to include a note in the short summary that it's available for purchase in CC's illustration section.

Maybe CC's got something in the pipeline to make this a more joined-up process.

Jane

Oh, another thing to consider is that the approval process for an image is much, much longer than the approval process for an article, although this may have changed recently. When I submitted images last year, I think it was several weeks to a month before the image was approved. Articles usually take a few hours to a few days.

Hi Folks and many thanks for all your suggestions and the advice, especially interesting was the part about images taking longer than articles for approval, which makes sense as I believe the illustration section is fairly new.

Re: buyers not being interested in illustrated articles - it's a difficult one to call because not many competent illustrators also write competently and vice versa. I do and quite successfully, although CC has just rejected the article that accompanied this illustration! LOL! (Well... just for incorrect capitalizing so Ed might forgive me this once...!) The illustration in this case is a cartoon/caricature of the person described in the article so of course there is a particular link between the two items.

Yes, that's exactly what I have done now - added a note in the review box - I couldn't think how else to go about it. We will see what happens next and in the meantime I received a note saying the illustration was also in review. The suggestion to make the illustration free was a good one but in that case I would have to leave the boxes on the submission form that deal with fees blank and I have no doubt it would be automatically chucked out as a result.

On other sites there is a facility on the article submission form to 'add image' so I am able to simply provide the image - but I don't want to write for those sites, I want to write for CC!

As the title says, I am determined to fix it! I hope I will eventually be able to submit illustrated work regularly.

All the best you guys and thanks for your help...

There is a way to include spreadsheets and other supporting materials with an article I believe. After you submit an article you can edit it and down at the bottom is a button to submit another file if I remember right. Maybe if the illustration is accepted, you can submit it there? Ed? Support?

I noticed that there is a new public request that specifically asks for illustrations/photos to accompany a children's crafts article so apparently some buyers like the idea.

As far as I know, the illustrations, photography, and video sections have been around for a year or more, but they are sort of the neglected step-children of the site. I don't even know if anyone has ever sold illustrations from C-C... Hopefully I'm wrong! As someone with a BA in studio art, I'd love to see that aspect of the site become more lucrative, but I'm not holding my breath.

ecdoran wrote: I don't even know if anyone has ever sold illustrations from C-C... Hopefully I'm wrong!

I am wrong! These are the "most recent" sales from the illustration section. Based on the fact that there are only three and they are from (almost) a year ago, I'd venture to say they might be the only illustration sales.

Pink Lily use $3.00 > Illustrations > Nature 03/26/2009
Day at the Spa use $3.00 > Illustrations > Nature 03/26/2009
Pink Belly Dancer use $15.00 > Illustrations > People 03/26/2009