Congratulations Sharion! It seems we've had our "Eureka Moments" on the same day.
And thank you, Celeste, for having the insight to produce this thread. I wanted to share how I was feeling with others on the site without seeming like I was trying to boast. This thread provided the perfect chance.
I am so grateful for the opportunity this site has afforded me. I found out about an hour ago that my second article for CC had been both approved and sold. What a blessing! My wife and I were both recently laid off and the job search has not yielded much hope. This website has kept hope alive. One sale could have been a fluke, but two sales solidifies it in my mind. Now I'm convinced that I have a viable source for alternate income that I can pursue without changing from my pajamas. Eureka!
Deac
Last edited by Deacon on Fri Dec 18, 2009 1:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Approved and sold in the same day? Wow! Congratulations! You must be floating on clouds. That's pretty big!
I haven't told my sweetie that I even found CC. While I've been writing for many years, I didn't know sites such as this even existed. Planning to wait until the first sale to tell him so that he doesn't think I'm wasting time. Otherwise he'll say, "Shouldn't you be doing xyz....?" If I can wave a dollar sign with the news, he'll be fully impressed
I may be new to CC, but I already had my "Eureka" moment! It's a very exciting feeling!
A few days ago, I joined CC as an author. Before joining, I did a little research on various blogs and forums. I noticed a lot of people complaining that they were rejected by CC for not following strict guidelines. To be honest, I was very hesitant about joining. It's not that I wasn't confident in my ability to write. I was just worried that my writing wasn't good enough to be sold at $40 for 600-or-so words of content!
Somehow, I defeated that internal demon and signed up anyway. Don't ask me how I talked myself into it, because I really don't remember. Whatever happened, I'm glad it happened!
I decided to write a fresh article and submit it.
1 day passes without approval...
Nerves kick in
2 days pass...
I start to question my writing ability. I even start to look for gigs on those low-balling sites. I wont mention them by name, but I'm sure you know the sites I'm talking about.
Day 3 - I check my email…
Approval!
I'm feeling on top of the world! I realize my writing must be pretty good if it was accepted by CC! But Wait! There is NO WAY my article is good enough to sell at 40$
Day 4 - Still no sale…
I start to question my pricing. Am I pricing too high? I look through the recently sold content and notice a lot of articles being sold at a lower price point. Maybe I should lower my prices… But- I didn't. I wanted to give the article more time. Maybe one more day.
Day 5 (today) - I check my email...
FULL RIGHTS SOLD!
Not only did I make a few bucks by doing something I really enjoy (writing), but I gained a lot of self confidence in the process. I will always hold myself to strict writing standards because I know I can do it- and sell it!
I bet I never take another low-ball writing project again!
My husband is starting to come around. I think he first thought the writing was going somewhere when I bought him a barbecue he'd been wanting for a couple of years - all out of my writing funds from CC! He was thrilled. That was over a year ago and although he sometimes whinges that he is a "computer widow", he is really proud of how much I earn now.
Congratulations to both Sharion and Jason. It is terrific to see you both succeeding. I hope this is the first sale of many for you both
Husbands ARE slow to come around. My poor husband suffered through me taking calls at home (many hours I was "available" and had to be on the phone signed in, but only 1-2 calls came in that hour, and I was only paid $10 per hour for the actual minutes I was on the phone with a caller) and Mary Kay (let's discuss being suckered into buying $2,000 worth of skin care product inventory).
So once he saw writing was "free" (I did dabble with one site that charges a fee) and modest money was coming in, he has since been thrilled to introduce me to people as his wife, the writer.
First article accepted after two rejections, both for minor things that I should have picked up. Very happy to see that Ed does a good job, quality articles are accepted and that my first article is the first piece on the home page!
Realised that if I manage to sumbit 1 article a day I should be able to cut down from 7 days working a week to give myself more time to write.
On minimum wage i'm on about $10 an hour. 1 hour is enough time to write and edit a short article that would sell for $15 usage, double that full-rights. Possible career? Hoping so.
I just had my own little Eureka moment. I joined CC just a few days ago, wrote a long 1,100 word article on weight loss and it sold today for a whopping $60 (usage license). I might even have underpriced myself a bit but I'm still learning.
Eureka! 
