What is your CC "Eureka" moment?

[JoyRCalderwood]

Mine was getting 3 articles accepted in a row first thing. (may have been one or two with minor changes, but seems to me I got through quickly). It validated I indeed did have writing talent and could make a buck or two finally on something I love to do.

[webscribe]

So I figure it's time to revive this very positive thread with a new post from a new writer. I've been working as a writer and editor for a long time but also have considerable experience in other fields. It was a lovely moment for me when I discovered that I could put some of that knowledge and experience to use here. Having the opportunity to choose my own topics, angle toward a general audience and get a feel for what will sell is truly liberating. It's quite a change from writing to fulfill a client's needs in that it puts all the executive decisions in the writer's hands. If I don't know enough about a topic or think that a piece will take more time than its worth, I just don't do it. On the other hand, if I have a creative idea that I think others will respond to, I'm free to try my luck by writing and posting it here. In short, in an over-regulated world and after years of meeting everyone else's expectations, it sure is nice to have a little control--and to succeed or not on my own terms.

[Judith]

I think my moment came today when I got my third consecutive payment from CC. I signed on about four months ago and after a week or two started writing. I received my first check in October. It was a little under $100.00. My second check was larger and this third check is just under $200.00. I believe it convinced me that I can put more time into writing for CC and make some substantial money. I have chosen to only sell at fullrights and it hasn't seemed to slow down my sales. Right now I have sold 16 of the 29 articles I have written. My new goal is to write a minimum of 2 articles a day and if I succeed I will automatically see my profits rise. This is an excellent way for me to supplement my retirement! My second "Eureka" moment will be when I get that $1000.00 check each month lol

[Celeste Stewart]

Awesome!

[jadedragon]

CC can be a full time income. As Judith is finding out, the bigger the portfolio you build the more consistent the sales will be. Most articles will sell in time so the more merchandise in the store the better your sales will be.

[VersantScribe]

I wanted to take the opportunity to chime in about my "Eureka" moment, which happened in parts. The first part was when I found the site through a writer's blog and thought "wow, this is different." At the time I hadn't seen enough of the Web content writing "world" to know exactly just how good it was. Hind-site is 20/20, right? The second part was when my first article was accepted on the first try back in October. No edits, just a straight approval. I thought, "that wasn't so hard, why did I wait so extremely long to submit something?" Then, the article didn't sell. I lost a bit of the luster for it and started putting my efforts towards other things. None of which have paid out anything, btw.

Fast-forward to a few days ago, when I re-submitted a second article that had initially been rejected for a shoddy sentence back in October-ish. Part of me hated that rejection, but most of me was really relieved to have actual feedback on how to make the article better. I finally re-submitted the piece, and it sold within minutes of approval.

This article that I'd been unable to get paid for elsewhere and took under an hour to write. That was the real Eureka!

I don't need to use my writing skills on under-appreciated, keyword, content mill work. I have this issue where I give good quality work to any paying client, to my detriment it seems. Now, I can give good quality work to MYSELF and people who value it will buy it! Plus, I'd rather put up an article here for good money and wait for an eventual buyer than post up an article elsewhere online and PRAY for a page view, or an Adsense click for pennies. It's a "crapshoot" either way, isn't it? Sort of. But here there is a MUCH better payoff and people will read the articles because they're looking for those like it!

I now have a goal to come up with 101 article ideas by the end of this month. Never done that before....Using this as a springboard, I want to write at LEAST 101 articles by September, my birthday as well as the month I finish my English Lit degree. That boils down to 4 articles a week (plus a post to my wine blog) on top of my job and school. I can do that. And it will give me the catalog/portfolio to have steady money coming in to keep me on the right track after I've got my degree. Then, I'll be writing full time.

I'd like to write more than that, but this is what I want to do to jump-start things and get me motivated. When I think about what the marketplace here can mean for my future, I kind of get choked up. It's definitely been a "Eureka" kind of week for me!

[HayleyWriter]

CC is like that! It is the best place for writing and selling your work at a decent price. The forums are terrific and it feels great to be part of a professional writing community. I've just realised that I've made sales every single month since starting here in October 2008, and that includes a few months where I was unable to write because I was ill. I kept selling articles that were in my portfolio. That's a testimony to how great CC is! If you keep writing, sales do come here, even if takes time.

As for the 101 articles, that's a great start! I keep a list of articles to write and every week I brainstorm for about 10 minutes and add to my list. I also keep an eye on the search topics and write articles that people search for but do not find or do not appear on the recently sold list. I hope this post encourages others to keep writing articles beyond the public requests. Most of the articles I sell are not requests, even though I do write for the requests every now and then too.

Hayley

[ThisOldMan]

Right on. An article a day will keep the wolves at bay.

So far, I am on target. Maybe I will see if I can get it up to just two articles a day. Haven't been to Stormwind (that's in WoW) since stumbling on CC. For me, just seeing that I am still not banned is reason enough to jump and shout with joy. Haven't sold anything yet but I don't mind because I have just received another online writing project on top of the ongoing one. Not exactly very highly paid jobs but does bring in a few hundred dollars a month. That means that all my living expenses are being paid for now by my income from writing online.

Planning to cross the magical one-thousand-dollar mark by the end of this month. Just got to keep on writing and writing and writing.

Just some castle-in-the-air musings from
Hallelujah Lovelight.
Love at first light is bliss unblemished.

[wordsmith]

Just had my Eureka moment! Have been busy uploading articles daily, (8 approved so far, 4 under review). I was beginning to get worried as only had one low offer from last week, ( I took a deep breath and rejected it). I started to doubt that I'd ever sell one, I know it's early days but I'm an impatient person, but I just got a fab email today to say I sold one for full rights at the asking price. Woo hoo!

Sorry to rant, just so happy I could burst! Thanks for listening.

Does this mean I really am a freelance writer now?

[HayleyWriter]

Yes, it does! Congratulations. It's a terrific feeling to sell your first article, especially at the right price.

Hayley

[katemcbride]

Like the last post, my "Eureka" moment was in signing up for the site cos I was delighted to find something constructive and business-like to do on the computer in my free time.I have had "two temper tantrums" lol in response to three unfair rejections to date-in other words,two cheeky replies to one editor.(I have one article accepted on the site and I was delighted with that.)
It must be great to submit something original and creative with no research like a film review and get paid for it.Maybe my day will come on here too but it looks like I will have to plod along rather than have a real "Eureka" moment .

[jak]

I've had another eureka moment now. I've been submitting and selling here for a few years but never had a private request until recently. Suddenly I got one, then five more from the same customer, then another customer who now wants more, then yet another one. The snowball is rolling.

[Sharion]

I just achieved my 3rd Eureka moment. Number One was when my first article sold nearly a year and a half ago, the 2nd was when I reached the 60 article mark of articles accepted, and last week marked number three, a biggie!

Someone who had bought an article from me in the past came back and bought two more. That's a HUGE mile marker for me! Especially as all of mine are on spec with only 1/3 of the article in the summary. Now where's that great big green smiley face?

[KadenP]

A belated but heart felt congratulations, Sharion!

[Tianna]

I just got my first sale a week ago! It was an article I submitted in April. That gives me hope that everything will sell. It might take a while, but it will sell!! Can't wait for my check It's only $20 bucks, so I'm just gonna get a bottle of wine with it and celebrate lol