Looking to the experienced writers for help...please?

[ukridgethoughts]

Oh...about registered offices! Some of them do have registered offices and can be found on file with the BBB. One thing I always look for before sigining up with a site is contact info. If there is no actual physical address, I am not likely to sign up. Before you sign up with any site, read their about section and check out their contact section.

Right. Good advice. I should have thought of checking the contact section.

CC started in 2004 (http://www.constant-content.com/about/about-us.htm) and is part of the RevenueWire Network (http://www.revenuewire.com/about/). Explore RevenueWire and you'll learn more about the parent company.

Thank you again, Celeste. I hope this comforts my dad.

[jadedragon]

Celeste - I was not aware of the ownership change (if it was a change). Cool

CC is a real business that pays its writers promptly every time. Sometimes they even pay early! I had a sale on the 3rd and got paid on the 3rd just minutes after the sale email came through.

Also I save all my articles on my computer - since I own them until I sell them I would go and use them elsewhere if anything happened to CC.

The only sure way to never suffer from someone else's business closing is to own your own business/websites. If you are not going to do that than pick the right site to partner with.

As for oDesk, check out the stats on this page. http://www.odesk.com/community/oconomy/ ... ce_writers It should help you value your work on CC as well.

[Celeste Stewart]

Jadedragon, the ownership change was a couple of years ago. It was originally owned by the guy who dreamed it up, Chris Ross. He lived in Maine or thereabouts if I recall correctly. He later sold CC to the Canadian parent company now running CC and Revenue Wire. As far as I know these are the only two owners. If you look on the footer of the main CC website, you'll see the "Part of the Revenue Wire Network" section. Whether Revenue Wire is the umbrella company or a sibling, I'm not completely sure. You know how corporations are, they often have all kinds of divisions and companies.

[aprilk10]

April, nice to hear of your success this year! I have advice for you, too. Set a daily budget. I'll explain later. Have to go right now. . .

Celeste, what was the advice you had? I am guessing something along the lines of setting a quota for each day? I know what I SHOULD be doing...I'm just not DOING it!

[Celeste Stewart]

Yes, like a quota, but think of it in terms of productivity rather than sales (because you can control productivity). For example, your daily budget might be to write X articles or words per day or $XXX worth of content per day. I prefer using the dollar figure, but either works. Once you hit your daily budget, you're free for the day. Since each day is a new day, if you get off track one day, it won't derail you the next. Just focus on one day at a time.

That's the basic approach. Of course, me being me, I make it more complicated by using a spreadsheet to figure out my annual goal and break it down into a daily figure. Each month, I figure out how many business days there are and multiply my daily figure by the number of business days. From there, I keep track of actual sales for the month and compare it to my monthly budget. This shows me how I'm doing and so far I've made my goal at the end of the year each year I did this.

[benjaminweaver]

I am an article writer for our local newspaper and I do freelance article writing on the web as well. My newspaper columns are all about life, the community, and people in general. I also write about what's hot and what's not. Aside from this, I am a systems analyst and a systems engineer so I am a tech person.

Benjamin Weaver
[URLs removed]

[VersantScribe]

My biggest advice would be to read as much as you possibly can, write as often as you're able, and be patient. Every year you'll learn more and have a more solid perspective of what your plan is. Just try to DIGEST the information you read and apply the advice you're given (but ALWAYS consider the source of this advice, particularly in this new Information age and the world of writing online.) Don't be surprised if your goals and ideas evolve, it's bound to happen when you get deeper into something.

Along with the other reads, I highly suggest Jenna Glatzer's book "Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer." She has an amazing amount of information in there that will undoubtedly guide you in whichever direction you set your sights on. I second the vote for Peter Bowerman's "The Well-Fed Writer," and I suggest you try getting the 2010 edition since it will have the most internet-savvy information that the original editions didn't have. There are many other great books on writing, but these two will give you much of the practical information you're craving right now. Glatzer's book is paperback or Kindle edition, and Bowerman's is paperback or e-book through his website.

I also think you would benefit from reading a blog I recently read about the future of freelance writing. It's called "What Freelance Writers Should Really Fear" by Carol Tice. You can Google her and find her blog. I also suggest following it, as she has great advice about this thing we call "freelance writing."

I've only been in the freelance writing world since the end of 2009. It's a big, big place. I've only recently started to take it more seriously, as in applying to solid gigs and making a schedule for myself to write. I am also finishing my English Literature degree and work part time as a Winery Assistant with my husband who's a Winemaker. I have procrastination issues, and I get distracted easily so I have many demons I'm battling. But I can tell you 100% that it's all in my head and I'm my own worst enemy. As I better learn how to control my own laziness and procrastination (a.k.a fear of success) I know I will make a solid living with my writing. Currently I do article-writing and some copywriting work for businesses as I'm able. Nothing really consistent yet, but I've also made a major relocation and had to move 3 times in the last year. That sort of takes its toll. I hope to have steady writing work by the time I finish my degree this fall so that I can start chipping away at those good old Student Loans that are on the horizon. (Ugh)

I just sold my first piece on CC and am absolutely thrilled. In only two articles I've seen more payoff than any of my articles on Revenue sharing sites or other content sites I've dabbled with. Apologies on the crazy-long post. I am a writer, you know.

I wish you the very best of luck.

[ukridgethoughts]

My biggest advice would be to read as much as you possibly can, write as often as you're able, and be patient. Every year you'll learn more and have a more solid perspective of what your plan is. Just try to DIGEST the information you read and apply the advice you're given (but ALWAYS consider the source of this advice, particularly in this new Information age and the world of writing online.) Don't be surprised if your goals and ideas evolve, it's bound to happen when you get deeper into something.

Along with the other reads, I highly suggest Jenna Glatzer's book "Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer." She has an amazing amount of information in there that will undoubtedly guide you in whichever direction you set your sights on. I second the vote for Peter Bowerman's "The Well-Fed Writer," and I suggest you try getting the 2010 edition since it will have the most internet-savvy information that the original editions didn't have. There are many other great books on writing, but these two will give you much of the practical information you're craving right now. Glatzer's book is paperback or Kindle edition, and Bowerman's is paperback or e-book through his website.

I also think you would benefit from reading a blog I recently read about the future of freelance writing. It's called "What Freelance Writers Should Really Fear" by Carol Tice. You can Google her and find her blog. I also suggest following it, as she has great advice about this thing we call "freelance writing."

I've only been in the freelance writing world since the end of 2009. It's a big, big place. I've only recently started to take it more seriously, as in applying to solid gigs and making a schedule for myself to write. I am also finishing my English Literature degree and work part time as a Winery Assistant with my husband who's a Winemaker. I have procrastination issues, and I get distracted easily so I have many demons I'm battling. But I can tell you 100% that it's all in my head and I'm my own worst enemy. As I better learn how to control my own laziness and procrastination (a.k.a fear of success) I know I will make a solid living with my writing. Currently I do article-writing and some copywriting work for businesses as I'm able. Nothing really consistent yet, but I've also made a major relocation and had to move 3 times in the last year. That sort of takes its toll. I hope to have steady writing work by the time I finish my degree this fall so that I can start chipping away at those good old Student Loans that are on the horizon. (Ugh)

I just sold my first piece on CC and am absolutely thrilled. In only two articles I've seen more payoff than any of my articles on Revenue sharing sites or other content sites I've dabbled with. Apologies on the crazy-long post. I am a writer, you know.

I wish you the very best of luck.

Wow. Thanks. It's really amazing how much good advice I've already collected from this thread alone. I've looked up the blog you recommended and you're right, it's really informative. I've found another one with a similar title, it's a freelancer resource site- freelancestudios.net, but I'm not sure if its that good.
I really want to finish my college and take up a post grad course, but I'm afraid that might not be possible and I might have to jump into the freelance writing world, unprepared and flailing. I'm going to get those books, just so that I can stop worrying. I hope you do really well and thanks again for the comforting advice. ,' )