Constant Content

If you have been successful in writing for CC (i.e. make enough to pay a bill or two at least!), I've got a few questions:

How long have you written for the site?
How many articles (on average) do you submit every week?
How often do you get private requests?
Do you normally write for requests or articles of your own choosing?
How many words do you usually write per article?
Do longer articles sell better than shorter ones? (or vice versa?)
Do you follow the pricing guidelines that are on the submission page?
Do you stick to one genre or topic, or do you stick to one or two you're knowledgeable about?
What tips (aside from writing fine-tuned articles) do you have for new folks a CC (like me!)?

Thanks for your time!
Eileen
P.S. - if there is any problem with answering any of these, I apologize in advance. Feel free to leave out any info you're not comfortable sharing!

This market has floods, moderate streams, and tiny rivers.

How long have you written for the site?
Since January 2006

How many articles (on average) do you submit every week?
Many! To give you an idea, last week I submitted 13 different projects. This isn't the actual article count though as many of those were "batches" of articles. Last week I submitted about 26000 words or so.

How often do you get private requests?
I have several regular customers that keep me busy with ongoing work.

Do you normally write for requests or articles of your own choosing?
Both. Depends on my workload and my interests at the time.

How many words do you usually write per article?
500-600 is fairly typical for me when working on a single article. I have done shorter and longer articles, too. But this range seems to be about average.

Do longer articles sell better than shorter ones? (or vice versa?)
Not necessarily. I've had good luck with short ones, long ones, medium ones. Because most customers are looking for Web content, 500-600 is more in line with what they need. Websites don't generally need 3,000 word essays.

Do you follow the pricing guidelines that are on the submission page?
No. I price according to my time when submitting articles of my own. I have a set per hour rate that I shoot for. I also consider the word count. Using my time and word count as a guide, I'm able to set a price that's appropriate for the size of the article as well as for my time and hopefully the customer's budget. When working on private requests, the price has been worked out in advance- it's usually a per word price.

Do you stick to one genre or topic, or do you stick to one or two you're knowledgeable about?
I write about whatever strikes my fancy at the time.

What tips (aside from writing fine-tuned articles) do you have for new folks a CC (like me!)?
Keep writing and learning and asking questions.

Interesting questions - I'll do my best to answer.

How long have you written for the site?
Since 2005

How many articles (on average) do you submit every week?
Usually between 15-20 per week. This month I've submitted much more than that because of a couple large private request projects.

How often do you get private requests?
Not very often. I've had quite a few this month but that's the first time in months. Over the years I've been here I think I've done private requests for about 6-7 different clients.

Do you normally write for requests or articles of your own choosing?
Both, but I tend to rely on the public requests for inspiration. I often have a hard time coming up with things to write about when their are not any requests.

How many words do you usually write per article?
Most of my articles are between 400-600 words. Some of my brainstorm articles are in the 1000 word range but most are quite a bit shorter.

Do longer articles sell better than shorter ones? (or vice versa?)
For me at least the shorter articles have been better sellers. Keep in mind that longer articles often command higher prices, and that may put them outside the budget of many potential buyers. Not that there aren't those buyers out there - there are but they are fewer in number.

Do you follow the pricing guidelines that are on the submission page?
As Celeste noted private requests are usually priced on a per word or per article basis. With public requests I try to price according to the price range specified. I usually price my brainstorm articles on the high side (.10 a word or so) - figuring its no big deal if they don't sell right away.

Do you stick to one genre or topic, or do you stick to one or two you're knowledgeable about?
I write about anything and everything that interests me. I love to learn new things and the public requests give me a good excuse to do the research.

What tips (aside from writing fine-tuned articles) do you have for new folks a CC (like me!)?
Keep writing, keep submitting, and don't fret if your articles don't sell right away. Once I've written an article (unless its for a private request) I tend to forget about it and let it be. If it sells great - if not no big deal. A buyer will come along eventually. My sales this month include articles written as much as 3 years ago, so never give up. It sounds like you're off to a great start. Just keep doing what you've been doing. Building up an inventory of articles helps a lot as well, that's one reason I don't worry when an article doesn't sell right off the bat.

Happy writing,
Bonnie

I wouldn’t really call myself a “superstar” – no dead-tree anthologies of my creative nonfiction in any bookstores yet, after all – but I have had moderate success here at CC.


How long have you written for the site?
Err…a few years or so? I really don’t remember – it’s been a while, though.

How many articles (on average) do you submit every week?
Lately, none. I’ve been busy with other things, like playing poker and getting ready for my final semester of college. Frankly, I’m burned out on this article-writing thing at the moment, though I do obviously pop in every now and then to see what’s going on around here. CC rocks even though I’m sick of looking at the “for CC” folder on my hard drive.

How often do you get private requests?
Very, very rarely.

Do you normally write for requests or articles of your own choosing?
Mostly, I write articles of my own choosing. Even though some requests are interesting, most aren’t really my “thing.” When I’m actually writing articles, I want to learn about, and write about, something that I care about. Otherwise, I'm not enjoying myself, and that would just tick me off. Writing isn't *constantly* a blast, but it should be enjoyable at least part of the time.

How many words do you usually write per article?
That depends. I’ve had moderate success with “medium” articles – five hundred, six hundred words or so. I’ve also written some that are about three hundred words long, and a few behemoths – more than one thousand words each.

Do longer articles sell better than shorter ones? (or vice versa?)
That depends on a lot of things, to be honest. Some of my monster-sized articles took more than a year to sell but, when they finally did, it was well worth it. Then again, some of my really-short pieces are currently languishing in CC's cellar. Hmm.

Do you follow the pricing guidelines that are on the submission page?
For the most part, yes. I head to the lower end of the pricing spectrum when I’m writing about simple subjects – things that don’t require much, if any, research. I’ll go to the higher end of that spectrum when there’s specialized knowledge or research involved, though, because they require more of my time.

Do you stick to one genre or topic, or do you stick to one or two you're knowledgeable about?
I bounce around all over the place. If I know something about it, or want to learn about it, I’m probably going to produce at least one article about it.

What tips (aside from writing fine-tuned articles) do you have for new folks a CC (like me!)?
Try to explore subjects that are new to you. Sometimes, these end up being your favorite articles to research and write.

I don't have a huge stockpile of articles on CC, but I've made enough to pay some bills. Hopefully my two cents will help new authors.

How long have you written for the site?
About 2 1/2 years (in spite of the date given here on the forum - I changed my username after the site changes).

How many articles (on average) do you submit every week?
In a really good month when I'm focused on writing, my average is about 5 per week. That's from devoting somewhere between 20-30 hours per week for research, writing and submitting.

How often do you get private requests?
I've had six that I can remember. And most of those were because of public requests. (After submitting an article, the customer asked for more). Only two customers have approached me out of the blue.

Do you normally write for requests or articles of your own choosing?
When I started here I spent most of my time on public requests. At that time it was very fruitful. It probably still would be if I would do it. At that time I tackled anything I thought I could remotely handle. Now I only devote 1/4 of my submissions to public requests.

How many words do you usually write per article?
I'd say my average has been between 700-1000, and quite a few that are longer.

Do longer articles sell better than short ones (or vice versa)?
I'd have to agree with the other authors that there is no hard-and-fast rule about article length, except that it pays to focus on medium lengths (500-800) and sprinkle your portfolio with articles on the shorter and the longer side. I've had one client that liked the longer articles I wrote but asked me to shorten them because she was limited to 450 words.

Do you follow the pricing on the submission guidelines?
Honestly, it's been a long time since I even looked at them. My prices are pretty much in line with other authors, but I steer clear of the extreme low end. I'd rather not sell anything for $5 or even $8, even for usage. Sometimes I charge more for a piece I particularly liked or spent a long time on, or wrote it out of a thorough understanding and experience with the subject. It's really a subjective process that you have to feel your way through.

Do you stick to one genre or topic, or do you stick to one or two you're knowledgeable about?
This is what I love about writing - I love to learn new things. One of the best ways to learn something is to teach it to someone else, and in a way you are educating when you write non-fiction. I tend to write about things that I want to learn about anyway, or have recently experienced. For example, for the past year or so we've been renovating an old house, so I've focused on home improvement and real estate. Some of the articles have been as simple as "how to paint a door" - which seemed like a straightforward and boring topic at first, but I learned a few things when I wrote about it (and that was after painting half a dozen doors). And it sold right away, too! It is always easier to write about topics you already know well, but I would advise new writers to be brave - jump into the water and try one or two articles that sound interesting to you. If you are qualified or have degrees in an area, mention it in your profile and devote at least half of your portfolio to that subject - more if the topic is a hot seller like real estate, technology, etc.

What tips (aside from writing fine-tuned articles) do you have for new folks at CC (like me!)?
To make money in freelance writing, you should really, really, really like to write. And revise.
An attitude of humility mixed with stubborn resolve helps. And a personal editor certainly doesn't hurt, either, if you can find one. (My husband is that for me, but we're a little unique. We've been writing together for about a decade - he's my other E in E. E. Kane - but I wouldn't recommend it to every married couple.)

Emma

nice encouraging thoughts !!.
I hope my english will be improved to atleast submit my first article .
i like to write but english is not my mother language .

How long have you written for the site?

Probably around three years but could be more or less.

How many articles (on average) do you submit every week?

It depends on what else I've got on at the same time. On average, I'd say about three to five but I'll submit a lot more if I've got no work on.

How often do you get private requests?

Very rarely. I've had one as far as I can remember.

Do you normally write for requests or articles of your own choosing?

Mostly my own choosing but I'll often write for requests if I feel that it's something I can sell.

How many words do you usually write per article?

Typically, somewhere between 350 and 750 but I have been known to write 1000-1200 words at times.

Do longer articles sell better than shorter ones? (or vice versa?)

My shorter/mid-length articles seem to sell better than the long ones. The 1000+ word articles don't seem to have sold much, but that may be due to the higher price tag that I've put on those.

Do you follow the pricing guidelines that are on the submission page?

I mostly price according to what I think the article is worth or how much I want to earn from it. I don't like to price underneath the guidelines unless it's an article that's been sitting around for years without selling and I really want to get a sale off it, but I do frequently price above the guidelines.

Do you stick to one genre or topic, or do you stick to one or two you're knowledgeable about?

Most of my articles are on health & fitness, beauty, lifestyle, relationships or parenting but I do go outside these topics a fair bit - especially for requests. It's a hit and miss as to whether these articles actually sell and most of my sales come from my preferred areas.

What tips (aside from writing fine-tuned articles) do you have for new folks a CC (like me!)

Don't give up if sales don't come straight away as your articles are likely to sell sooner or later. Also, don't feel the need to price down to get a sale as the right buyer may well come along at a later date!

Thanks everyone for the great responses on this topic. There are some great tips and info here. This board is so different than other writer message boards I've read through. Everyone is so upbeat and supportive. CC has a great vibe.