Constant Content

Hello everyone:

I am brand new to CC. I just registered today. So far, I have carefully read the guidelines, examined some sample article postings, and read many of the topics in this forum. I am just wondering what might be the next right thing to do.

Should I set up a simple bio before submitting my first article? Are profile pictures important?

Should I try writing a requested article to begin with? If so, does it make sense to choose a client who has a higher "number" for purchased articles?

I feel fairly clear about the key points in the guidelines: 12 pt Arial or TNR (SS with DS between paragraphs), meticulous editing and proofreading, strong introduction and conclusion, and good summaries (both long and short). I am a little nervous about writing the summaries, but I think that comes more easily after the article is complete. Have I correctly grasped the main goals? Is there anything really big that I have missed before I get started?

I guess my last question is... are there any other really common "newbie" mistakes that tend to cause articles to be rejected?

Thanks for taking time to respond. It's very nice to have a place to ask questions before taking the leap.

--Jule

I've only been here for 2 months, but I always have to make myself remember to make sure my article is saved in Notepad and uploaded from Notepad in the 12 point font.

It sounds like you have done your research!

As far as the requested articles go, I think you might actually have to have an article accepted before you can submit one for a request, but I could be wrong. The higher number just means that customer has purchased more articles, so while this may make him more likely to purchase articles in the future, it doesn't mean that a low number is a 'bad' rating. A low number might just mean the customer is new. Again, this is how I've come to understand it. I don't know of any penalty rating for a customer who submits a request but doesn't buy, so there's no way (as far as I know) to determine if a customer is serious... except that he has lots of previous purchases. Because of this, I would take a higher number more seriously, but I wouldn't dismiss a low number. Overall, I think you'll do better if you choose topics that you either find interesting or you are already familiar with, no matter if the customer has a 0 or a 107.

Newbie mistakes would probably be submitting the article too quickly after writing. Lots of people around here suggest waiting a while before sending it to Ed. Sometimes, looking at it the next morning and reading it over for errors will help you look at it with fresh eyes. You want to edit it as thoroughly as you can. Some other great suggestions are changing view size and looking at it really big (although I think it's best not to change the actual font size in case you forget to switch it back, but maybe that would just be a problem for me! I usually just change the view size from "page width" to "125%. Sometimes, this makes mistakes jump out) and listening to the article being read by the little computer voice thing. I don't know how to do this on a pc, but on mac there's a "start speaking" option that will read the article in somewhat broken english If you read along while you do this, it can help to find errors like agreement, parallelism, and awkward sentences. I especially like this to find if I've used a word repetitively, which I tend to do.

The other mistake I've seen a couple of times recently is copying a word or phrase from a website and not realizing that it has hidden links. The hyperlink won't show up on your document, but it will on Ed's which is what matters. Of course, it's best not to copy any material directly, but be very careful about avoiding links. Customers don't like it and, therefore, Ed doesn't allow it (S)he really is looking out for us...

Don't become discouraged if you don't start selling stuff right away. Some people are very successful initially and then there are the rest of us. The thing that seems true for all writers is that the more content you have available, the more you are going to sell. There's stats about this in a couple threads around here, but the overall outcome is the same. If you want to sell, then you need to write. I think a lot of people come and write a couple of articles, don't sell anything and then wander away looking for something better. I'm struggling with this now -- I don't have as much time as I would like to write for C-C, so my sales are WAY below what I would hope. I know that I need to submit more content to turn this around, but it's just a matter of finding time to do that. Ah, which leads me to my next point...

Even if you've been editing something for 3 days, don't submit it in the middle of the night. As awake and focused as I think I'm being, I can't tell you how many times (okay, I can. Three) I've woken up the next morning, read over the article again, and thanked my lucky stars Ed hadn't seen it yet. Oy vei, I can make some stupid mistakes.

Oh, and don't be afraid to come on here and ask questions! If you aren't sure about something grammatical or stylistic, there are always talented authors on here willing to help out! People here have saved me from either (a) lots of research figuring out what is correct or (b) a rejection because I didn't take the time to figure it out and just went with something, which turned out to be incorrect. Very little slips by our fantastic Ed, so be very careful and very thorough.

I personally don't have any bio or photo information on my page. It's not something I've gotten around to doing -- I've only recently become more active on the site -- and I have no idea how it impacts customers. I can't imagine it would hurt, so long as you don't write anything inflammatory or too controversial. I don't know why you would, but maybe you wanted to include a PETA stance or your personal political opinions

Good luck with your writing -- I hope you enjoy it here!

And I apologize for writing you a long, rambling, potentially incoherent book. This is the quality I produce at this time of the day. And this is why I don't submit ANYTHING until I've checked it over the next morning. That lesson took more time than I care to admit

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it. No, it wasn't too long. It was considerate. (Not using a smilie, but I want to.)

So, I was wrong. It looks like the public requests do not require one previously approved article in order to be cleared for submission. I don't know where this came from, but it looks like it was just a rumor. Which is great news for you!