Active authors

[audrabianca]

Sorry, I was so late to join in this discussion.

[Celeste Stewart]

Well, keep in mind all that this is an OLD thread from about a year ago. CC has since made changes to the so-called lists. Yes, the lists are still there under "Hall of Fame" but less prominent. In their place, you will find the "expertise" areas (by category) where many more writers are getting exposure and recognition.

I maintain that we writers place far more importance on these lists and our individual ranking within them than the customers do. While I like the pat on the back and seeing my name in lights, the lists have absolutely nothing to do with my success here. They are only a reflection of it. It's constant hard work, constant submitting, constant rethinking, constant brushing up on my writing skills, constant strategizing, constant interaction, and constant-content that have worked for me.

Plus, CC has done away with the author's list completely which weeds out the one-time wonders who submitted a few, sold a few, and then never returned. We can all come and go as we please and make sales along the way. In my experience, most private requests spawn from public requests anyway, so if you're answering public requests when you can, and a private request comes along - great! You were at the right place at the right time and you managed to impress. If not, no big deal because you weren't actively participating in the process. No one can expect private requests if they are not engaging and participating, right? So, don't worry about the lists, just write and submit and keep writing, keep submitting, and keep learning.

[eek]

I really like the new expertise lists. It's a better balance between giving new authors incentive, and allowing all authors a chance to shine in their own corner. It might need some tweaking to be completely accurate, but there's hope that in the future those lists can equal a healthy pat on the back for hard work. That said, I would be equally happy if CC decided to do away with the lists.

I'm with Ed & Celeste re. doubting whether the lists will carry much weight with customers. The best advice for any author on this site, old or new, is to write the majority of your articles on topics that you know and love, with unique angles that you glean from your experience. I haven't had many private requests, but the few I've had were from customers who previously bought articles on the topics I write most frequently. I just happened to make the expertise lists in those topics, but I don't think it had anything to do with a list. The topics were also good general sellers, so this advice might not apply if your expertise is history or humor (unless of course you use your history expertise to write about a hot-selling topic, like the History of Online Dating).

I wouldn't worry so much about being inactive, Lisa. Yes, it helps to keep submitting to keep your name visible, but CC's consignment model is perfect for people like you who are juggling other demands. You might want to look at your keywords for old articles, just to make sure they can be easily searched. Don't know if it will help, but it's a thought.

Emma

[Elizabeth Ann West]

I ditto on just focusing on writing great content. I think the majority of content sold here is because the customer needed articles on "x" topic. So they typed in "x" in the site's search box and browsed those articles. This is why we so often see "batches" of articles go at once, like dog grooming, or travel stuff etc.

I am sporadic with my activeness here, and it doesn't seem to affect my sales on way or the other. I will say though it appears the more often you submit recently, the more likely you are a victim of the AC thieves.

[audrabianca]

Yes.

[BarryDavidson]

With the exception of this last month, I usually average about fifty a month with little to no submissions.

I just noticed that this thread started last year. Oops... With the changes made to the site recently, I'd much rather have our administrators working on other advancements - not to mention working with sites like AC who have quite a few less-than-honest members.

Now, there is one thing the administrators could do. If an author is absent for six months or more, they could contact the person by email to see if they remember being a member of CC, and that some of their work is posted here. Of course automatic monthly updates might serve the same purpose, or even mass emails to members whenever a new update comes along. Most people won't read the emails, but it'll remind them of the name Constant Content.

[belldandy112]

[quote="BarryDavidson"]I just noticed that this thread started last year. Oops... With the changes made to the site recently, I'd much rather have our administrators working on other advancements - not to mention working with sites like AC who have quite a few less-than-honest members.[/quote]

Hi, Barry. I wrote a few articles for AC until I found out about that less-than-honest business. From what I gather, that's what's responsible for driving the price of the articles down on AC. But really, can you blame them? What other alternative does AC have when it has no knowledge of these people until someone brings the issue to its attention?

What I like about CC -- at least thus far -- is that it gives writers the ability to decide what type of article we want to "market." I'm slowly finding out through trial and error what sells and what doesn't. I might not get huggy-squishy feelings about writing about credit card debt, but if that's the type of article that sells on CC, I might have to master the topic and increase my knowledge. It's a valuable learning experience.

[canywriter]

I'm rather new around here - in terms of activity rather than time, i guess, and am loving writing for cc. While i'm currently busy with some other work, i'm a writer by training and at heart, and somehow activity as a criterion for - whatever - is kind of against what i like about cc -the freedom to write about topics you love, either when you're inspired or in response to a public request. Can there be perhaps a middle ground - between being highly active and being defunct?

Regards
Canywriter

[Celeste Stewart]

Hi Canywriter,
This is an old thread that somehow got picked up again so no worries. As far as I know there's no distinction beteeen active and non-active writers. That's what's great about CC - you can come and go as your life allows.

[canywriter]

Thanks for the reassurance, Celeste. That's another thing I really like about CC - the warmth and the way there is always a veteran - to offer quick support or answer queries or just be there :-).

CV