new writer introduction and (probably) old questions

[BTkach]

well first i would like to say hello to everyone i will be trying to get two articles approved in the near future, one that i wrote last night and will proof tonight.
Another that i will start on tonight.

and now for the questions,
*(after writing out most of my issues i was able to resolve them myself, i guess i just work better seeing things in text )

but i guess i could ask this, what format of articles seem to sell, i am writing a step/how to at the moment and from a quick glance top 10's seem to be popular


well this being said i look forward to getting to know the community better, and (hopefully) getting my first article accepted tonight

Brandon Tkach

[Lysis]

Hi Brandon and welcome.

My best sellers have been things I know well and feel passionate about them. For me, that is the tech industry. The best way to track the popular subjects is through the recently sold list in your nav bar on the left. Everything sells here, but some topics are just more popular.

[BTkach]

ah we have the same interest, i am currently a college student and plan on a bachlors in computer science

[Lysis]

ah we have the same interest, i am currently a college student and plan on a bachlors in computer science

Very nice. I did the comp science thing and got tired of it. LOL I still enjoy programming though. I have often thought of writing some programming articles, but I haven't gotten the desire. I prefer the hacking/SEO/Google/How-To stuff. I also know SQL pretty much inside and out, so I enjoy writing those too. It's fun explaining some of the fun stuff in IT. I think you'll do ok in tech, just make sure you proof well. Also, make sure you single space, double-space between paragraphs and set the font to 12pt arial or times new roman.

Good luck!

[BarryDavidson]

Welcome to the site Brandon...

As to "hot to" articles, almost all of mine have sold. Just keep in mind your intended audience. I think it was Ed who pointed me at an article (could be wrong) about the average internet user reads at a sixth grade level (I'm not sure if that was world wide or just in the US). Most of my how to articles have been in second person, and geared toward the "I don't know much about computers" audience. Eventually I'll get around to covering many of the same subjects in third person for more depth and technical know-how.

From my experience here, general how to and "numbered list articles" both sell pretty well. The biggest problem you'll probably run into besides proofreading your own work is pricing your articles. Of course I haven't submitted a lot in the past few months, but that's because my mind isn't focused and I'm making silly mistakes.

Just be sure you read the submission guidelines. I had a few of my first numbered list articles rejected because I didn't put the proper spacing between each item.