Questions about Public Requests and Submissions

[GaryBourque]

I was wondering whether when and if I submit articles for public requests and the client doesn't choose them, do they automatically go into my inventory of articles available for general sale?

I would rather write for requests and if not chosen, be content with getting the inventory. I'm not real crazy about the idea of just writing articles on whatever and putting them on display with the hope that someone buys them someday. It seems just too passive and like shooting in the dark. I put three articles out and they just sat there, like a kid's lemonade stand. I removed them and used them elsewhere.

Thanks for your thoughts.

GB

[ThisOldMan]

So far, I have only written for public requests. When the buyer does not take my article, I put it up for sale here with 'use' rights only. This way I can publish my articles elsewhere with the condition that I publish them elsewhere also with 'use' rights only.

[HayleyWriter]

Hi Gary,

The answer to your question is yes, the articles the requesting client does not buy will be available for anyone to buy after three days. I don't know how long you left the articles you did write for your portfolio, but it can take some time to sell articles. However, I find that the majority of my sales are articles I write "on spec", that is, not for public requests. There is a lot of competition for the requested articles and many customers will search for available articles before making a request. If the article is already there, the author makes a sale before a request comes along for all the other authors to compete for the sale. You may want to read the forum post on "what I've Learned about Writing on Spec" in the Author Exchange section. Lots of authors have explained why writing a mixture of articles, both for requests and not for requests, works well and increases their sales here. Give it time and keep building your portfolio (or inventory) and you will succeed here at CC.

Kind regards,

Hayley

[aprilk10]

Gary: It looks as though you have only been here about a month. Give it time. The very first article I wrote on spec back in Jan. 2010 just sold in September. On the other hand, I have had a number of on spec articles sell almost as soon as they were submitted and approved. The most recent was an article I had actually written for another site on remodeling with granite countertops. The client at the other site didn't like it, so I submitted it here. It went through editing the next morning and sold 5 minutes later! On top of that, it sold for $20 more than the client at the other site was going to pay for it! There have also been a couple of articles I wrote on spec simply because I wanted to write them. I didn't actually expect them to sell...but both sold for usage...one of them twice! Writing for public requests is great (and admittedly is what I generally do), but on spec articles most certainly do sell if you give them time. Good luck!

[VersantScribe]

Writing for requests is great, but it is important that you have SOME other articles in your inventory for clients to view. By building up your portfolio, they can see your areas of expertise and how versatile you are. It is the authors with inventories that get asked to do Private Requests, because it shows the client that you aren't a fly-by-night writer.

Also, if you read around the forums, you'll notice how often people discuss selling old Public Request articles. It happens quite a bit. Just because you aren't selected by the original requester does not mean that someone down the road won't pick up the article. There are times it's picked up later where the writer has raised the price and it's still sold for full rights at the higher price. So be patient. It may take a year or longer, but it will sell, and as long as it's in your inventory it is a benefit to your reputation. The key here at C-C is patience, but it at least here it pays off!

As far as usage rights go, definitely read around the forums here because they talk A LOT about sales with usage rights. Make sure you aren't cutting off your nose despite your face and not giving customers down the road the chance to buy the rights they want of your work.

Obviously, since you moved those two articles and published them elsewhere, you will not be able to sell all the rights here any longer. But you may want to consider adding them to your inventory for usage if for no other reason than to show customers what you are capable of.

No article here is ever wasted. About 70-80% of all the articles posted sell at one time or another, but the 20-ish% that don't still build your reputation and draw clients to you. Go into the Author Exchange and check out the thread called "What I learned from writing on spec." It will answer a lot of questions for you.

Make sure you read all the "Stickies" that are at the top of the forum, because all your concerns will be addressed and you will learn much more than you expect. It's all about patience and persistence.

[VersantScribe]

LOL, looks like everyone wrote in at the same time! Well, at least you can see that we all are in agreement .

Good luck and happy writing!

[GaryBourque]

Thanks for the replies. I assume on spec just mean writing something that no one is specifically asking for, like a spec home.

But, how do you know what to write? I know the stuff that gets searched for is a point of focus, but is there anything else you think about?

Thanks,

G

[Antonia]

Gary,

How do you know what to write? Here are some places I usually start:

1. Writing about what you know well
Your hobbies, passions, expertise, job, habits. It doesn't have to be particularly technical either - if you're a chronic procrastinator you can write things like "Unexpected Benefits of Procrastinating" or "How to Get Stuff Done On Time" out of your own experience. I find that articles from experience are faaaaast to write...and fun! Just be sure you back up any strong opinions with facts and avoid editorializing.

2. Writing about recent personal research
If you're anything like me, you google something at least once a day! Anything you're currently researching is great fodder for writing. After all, if you want to know about it, someone else will too. How much it costs to install solar panels, whether cloth or disposable diapers are best, what kinds of suits are in fashion this year...

3. What other people are writing about
I browse the Recently Sold page and Recent Searches. I also click through the category tabs every once in a while. Of course I don't copy others, but sometimes a topic can trigger a related idea. If someone's written an article about healthy dogs I might write one about healthy cats. I also check the front page of Infobarrel, Helium, other writing sites, news sites, and my favorite blogs for ideas.

Hope this helps....and hi everyone, I've been away from CC for a while working on other projects, and I so enjoyed coming back to the lively conversations on the forums! Things are really popping around here (in a good way)!

[HayleyWriter]

Hi Gary,

Antonia replied as I did, so some of the ideas are the same!

I keep an eye on the recently sold list too, as that gives you an idea of popular topics that customers are looking for, as well as the search topics. The basic rule of writing is to write what you know, as this reduces the research time. Think about articles you would want to read. If you are researching the differences between credit cards for your personal or business finances, you can write an article about Choosing the Best Credit Card for You and explain the questions you may ask or factors that will influence your decision, from the research you did for yourself. I know Celeste once cited a case where she used the research on buying a washing machine to write an article. I once made pizza at home, wrote a quick article about making healthy, gourmet pizza from home and it sold the next day, basically paying for my meal! If you are a parent or a grandparent, parenting articles always sell well. If you have a pet, you can write articles about looking after the health of your pet. If you know the business world, those articles sell well too. Health, wealth, wellbeing, and relationship articles seem to be popular. This is where keeping an eye on the recently sold list helps you.

My suggestion is to sit down and brainstorm ideas of articles you would like to read yourself or things you are passionate about or things you know well from your own life experiences. In ten minutes of serious thinking, you'll create a list of ideas that you can write about. I do this regularly and have a long list of article ideas that I refer to whenever I need inspiration.

Good luck,

Hayley

[jadedragon]

This article might help trigger some ideas on what kinds of writing sells online.