ThisOldMan greets everyone with a hearty hello

[ThisOldMan]

Sawasdee Krap (Thai for "How do you do")

ThisOldMan just registered, logged in (after 3 tries), found a public request and submitted an article immediately. Had to work fast because there was only just a couple of hours left before the request expired. Now waiting for my article to be reviewed (and hopefully approved) so that I can submit a few more articles due to expire in two days' time. So with a little time to kill and trying not to fall asleep on my keyboard (it's 4 am in Thailand now GMT+7), here I am to make a nuisance of myself as usual.

Already 57 years' old and not that many more years left to count, I have been in Thailand for the last two decades teaching the kids how not to speak Engrish. Inveterate forum poster and incorrigible WoW player (always 13yo ingame). Have an ongoing online writing project which pays for food and board. Not a princely sum by any means but where I live, 1usd can buy a full meal with a drink included.

Kind of stumbled on CC, took a second look at the prices offered, took a third and fourth look, googled for reviews and similar sites and concluded that CC is a one of a kind. No idea if my style of writing is acceptable to the buyers here. You all will find out how weird my style is, by and by.

So here's wishing everyone a very successful 2011. Now to go check on my article or fall asleep, whichever comes first.

[jak]

Welcome Old Man and best of luck at CC.

[ThisOldMan]

Thank you, Jak.

Psst, I have a terrible confession to make. I was checking on this thread every other hour and thought that (a) everyone has gone off-line for the weekend or (b) nobody's interested in the ramblings of an old man.

Glad to know that there's someone home after all.

[VersantScribe]

Welcome! I giggled at your joke about not having many years left because my Grandpa just turned 95. I'm sure you'll find buyers out there who like your writing "voice" so just do your thing and see what happens. I can imagine that you'd have a lot to offer with your experience. You could probably write tons of articles on WoW alone (should you be so inclined to write about a world in which you already spend lots of time, lol.)

Good luck and happy writing!

[ThisOldMan]

Thank you for your kind words.

Please give my regards to your grandfather. I hope he is in good health. My own father and grandfather made it past 80 so I am looking forward to getting at least that far. Still the journey forward is now more downhill than uphill.

I have already submitted one article. It was reviewed and returned in less than three working days. So those threads about waiting for ages for a response should be taken with a pinch of salt. My article was rejected and the reasons were given clearly.

The first problem was formatting. I did double-check the formatting but, maybe because I submitted it as a plain text file, the formatting got lost in transmission. Next time I will send my articles in doc format and see what happens. There were also a couple of other errors which I can rectify easily. One was to do with commas. So I will have to curb my propensity to write in long, convoluted sentences. The other was using 'who' when 'whom' is the right form. Then there was another error of putting two ideas into one paragraph.

Actually when I went through the writing guides, after I submitted my article, I felt like Alice in Wonderland with each passing page. I am referring to the scene where Alice got smaller and smaller with each sip of the magic potion. Still it is good to have my ego deflated now and then. Being where I am now, I am, more or less, like the one-eyed man who was king in the land of the blind. It is educational, to say the least, to be a small fry in a big pond, for a change.

So until I get banished from these parts, you people will have to bear with ThisOldMan for foreseeable near future.

Footnote:
I will writing lots about WoW because I am a programmer and I am working on developing my own core for a private game server. Don't expect an ETA because the first thing I have to do is migrate successfully from Foxpro to c++

[VersantScribe]

I'm sure your ego will re-inflate as soon as you sell an article, then any rejections will be soon forgotten. Kind of how women forget about the pain of childbirth as soon as the baby lands in their arms. Think of this part as labor pains with a fruitful payoff in the end. The destination is in the journey, right?

[ThisOldMan]

Need some help, please.

1. Can I use a pen name?
2. Can I add a byline?
3. Where do I put the byline?

I am asking because I know that self-promotion and sig line are not allowed. Just want to know if pen names and bylines fall into the same category as self-promotion and sig lines.

Thank you.

@versantscibe
Thank you for the moral support. Can't say that I know exactly what you mean because I have never ever given birth yet before. Who knows, with advances in science and technology, there is always a first time for everything. However, I do know what it is like to hold a new-born baby for the first time in my arms. Held quite a number, too. All mine. Not too many. Just ten. Seven boys and three girls.

[Sharion]

Yes, you can use a pen name, but there is one catch. If you are submitting an article that is already on the internet somewhere, the names must match. Otherwise, they will think you "stole" the article. I think you can have both a real name (hidden to all but CC) and a pen name (posted publicly), but someone else can verify. Then the already printed articles out there could match either one.

If you've got articles already out there with NO pen name on them, I don't believe you can use them here unless the web page itself identifies you with the name.

Put your byline immediately under the title.

WoW Tips
by Wally Writer

I believe that capitalizing "by" is optional. I've seen writers here do it both ways.

I like your style, ThisOldMan, and I hope you stick around!

[ThisOldMan]

Thank you, Sharion.

I am planning to use one of my registered names as my pen name. It's Hallelujah Lovelight. No kidding. It's a documented name. Haven't used it for a very long time, though. Rather colorful history attached to it, too. Don't think I have any published articles with that pen name. Do I have to register it first with CC to use it with the articles I submit?

Update:
Just submitted my second article. A new one. I am leaving the old one on the shelf for the time being because, for one, the request has expired and, two, it is a very specific topic which does not have any broad market appeal that I can discern.

This time, I went back to an old technique which used to get me top grades way back in school, a past thickly shrouded by the mists of time already. I wrote down the introduction, the points to put in the body and the conclusion. Haven't done that for a long time. Hope it still works. Wrote the full article from the notes. Paid attention to all the points flagged by the Writer's Tools which I have installed recently in my Open Office. (I use Ubuntu on my PC and Centos on my servers) Left it to simmer on the back burner, so to say, while I fed myself. Then read it again. Finally re-saved it in MS Word format and sent it off with a silent prayer.

Hope that last part would solve the formatting error. I meant the re-saving not the praying, though supplicating the divine deity does not hurt. Now to play a round of WoW. Ooops, abort that. I have a movie to review. About lovely dogs and cuddly cats. Lucky me. Getting paid for what I enjoy doing.

And khob khun mak mak everybody (that's Thai for "Thank you very much"). I will try to lurk more often around these parts but for the month of March, I have to put some effort into a forum posting contest. Not a big prize. Just 500usd. Not to be sneezed at, though.

[VersantScribe]

First, your registered name ROCKS. I only wish I could be that creative with my monikers.

Second, I would nudge you to put up that requested article, even though it didn't get selected. If you read around the forums here you'll see that several people end up selling articles that were highly specific responses to open requests. If for nothing else, it can be a display of your writing still and expertise in your portfolio. That never hurts. It can either not make you money and not be viewed, or it can potentially make you money down the road and at least be viewed.

Good luck on your submissions!

[ThisOldMan]

Thank you for the tip, Versantscribe. I didn't think of that. btw any idea how long will CC keep on displaying the articles which are not sold yet?

[VersantScribe]

Forever, I think. To get an article removed, either the author has to delete it or the Admins can remove it under extenuating circumstances by request. They talk about it some in other forums here. If I'm wrong, someone will no doubt correct me.

[ThisOldMan]

Forever, did you say? Maybe they will keep mine online for forever and a day, if I ask nicely.

This certainly start a new flow of ideas. What needs to be done is to write good articles on seasonal topics like Valentine's Day. Then publish them with only "use" rights to be sold. Keep it up for another few more years and maybe I can retire with my own pension income from recurring sales. On top of that, since I do not sell the "unique" rights or the "full use" rights, I can publish it on other websites and also earn revenue. That's worth looking into.

Thank you, Versantscribe. You have just brought a ray of sunshine into ThisOldMan's life.

[ThisOldMan]

Update:
Submitted my third article. This time with "By Hallelujah Lovelight". Wonder if pen names have any value?

[ThisOldMan]

Update:
My second article had been reviewed. Came back with just one point to be corrected. So submitting in MSWord format does solve the formatting problem. No grammatical errors noted this time. Already made the necessary change and re-submitted. Hope it will be approved before the request expires.