I've become unemployed recently, and i'm looking for a way to really just pay my bills. Thankfully my wife still works so the amount of money i need to make is significantly reduced. The thing is i posted 3 articles for review on the 28th, 29th, and 30th of this month. The problem is none of them have been reviewed yet. The reason this concerns me is i am not really confident in myself, and i'm not sure if my work will be published or rejected. I do not want to continue to write and get 20-40 articles prepared when i will just be rejected. So i figured i would wait to see the results in these three, and make my decision from there. I have heard that the editors are strict, it worries me because i usually have a lot of grammatical errors. I do understand however that just because i have posted these three articles does not mean they will make any money what so ever. I'm willing to write more, and work harder to get my articles to make money i'm just worried my writing wont be accepted. In general what i'm writing here is about the same as what my articles look like, except for i use paragraphs and such. Other than here, i don't know what to do, i'm in a situation where we can't pay our mortgage payments any longer, and i only need to come up with around $800-$1,000 a month.
The base line to this post is simply, based on my spelling and grammar here do you think my articles would be rejected? I understand your probably not an editor, but the honest opinion could help. Since the reviews have been pending for around 2-3 business days, about how much longer should it take to get a review? Lastly does anyone have any other advice they could offer me, rather it be to being successful here as an author, or doing something else to make money while i look for a job.
Thank you in advance to any and all responses, and opinions.
What should i expect?
Moderators: Celeste Stewart, Ed, Constant
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jennvondutch
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 7:30 am
- Location: Michigan
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Re: What should i expect?
Okay, primarily, I want to say good luck! Constant has been a great place for me and I imagine that you will do well if you work hard.
One of the immediate things I noticed in your writing is that proper pronouns are not being capitalized. "I", "I'm", etc. I know that, often, in text messages and otherwise informal writing, it is common to quickly type a message and miss appropriate capitalizations and whatnot, and perhaps that is what you are doing in this, but if you are doing that in your writing, that is a problem. You are correct about the editors being very tough here. Constant has the right to boast quality writing because of the work the editors do to make sure that improper grammar doesn't sneak by. If you know that you make several mistakes on a consistant basis, I would avoid using Constant, or have someone proofread your articles. I can promise that if your articles are not 100% perfect, they will be rejected. Don't count on the editors to point them out for you. It's your job to be professional.
Also, it typically takes about a week for my articles to go from submission to acceptance/rejection.
Good luck, Derrick!
One of the immediate things I noticed in your writing is that proper pronouns are not being capitalized. "I", "I'm", etc. I know that, often, in text messages and otherwise informal writing, it is common to quickly type a message and miss appropriate capitalizations and whatnot, and perhaps that is what you are doing in this, but if you are doing that in your writing, that is a problem. You are correct about the editors being very tough here. Constant has the right to boast quality writing because of the work the editors do to make sure that improper grammar doesn't sneak by. If you know that you make several mistakes on a consistant basis, I would avoid using Constant, or have someone proofread your articles. I can promise that if your articles are not 100% perfect, they will be rejected. Don't count on the editors to point them out for you. It's your job to be professional.
Also, it typically takes about a week for my articles to go from submission to acceptance/rejection.
Good luck, Derrick!
Re: What should i expect?
Usually all the the capitalizations are proper, I use Microsoft Word it usually capitalizes it for me. My main concern is the grammar, I'm trying to watch it the best I can. Also I will try to keep in mind about the capitalizations, I know it's suppose to be done, it's just I get in a hurry sometimes. I don't want to be dependent on Microsoft Words auto-correct features, but for the time being I'll use it to make sure my work is as correct as I can. I hope this works out for me and thank you for the response. I'll just have to try harder if I'm refused.
Re: What should i expect?
Hey, I'm sort of in the same boat as far as being new. I even submitted a couple articles on the 28th, myself. 
They haven't been reviewed yet, but hopping around here and there has led me to believe that it can take up to about 7 days for your first submissions. I'm not sure if those are business days, either, so it could be longer than that. I'm a bit nervous too, but trying not to get too freaked out.
One thing I did was only submit two articles. You're allowed to submit up to 3 when you first join, but there's also a "three strikes" policy for submissions requiring major revisions or of a noticeably low quality (it's a bit imprecise, but that's how I understand it). So even though I'm pretty confident in my articles as far as grammar and formatting goes, I left myself one submission for margin of error. If you're less confident in your grammar than I am, you might want to consider pulling two of your submissions, leaving your strongest one.
As far as errors you made, I'll nitpick a few: You seem to miss a few commas after clauses that could use them (2nd sentence: after "Thankfully" and "works," 3rd sentence "is," and so on). I'm not even certain that I'd classify all of these as errors, but they cause me to read in an out-of-breath sort of way. Also, it's "whatsoever," somehow. I only know because I'm wordy and am always using words like heretofore, aforementioned, etc. Concision is a very attractive quality in this kind of writing, though, so perhaps both of us should consider being very careful about our use of those kinds of words. In your second-to-last paragraph, you used "rather" when you meant "whether," and "it be to being" is also incorrect. I would rewrite the sentence: "Lastly, does anyone have any other advice they could offer me about being successful here as an author, or doing something else to make money while I look for a job?" It sidesteps the whole issue and cuts down on superfluous words.
Based on your post, I definitely think you aren't hopeless, but I also believe that you're likely to have your first articles sent back for revisions. All that really means is that you must edit more carefully, though. I don't think you are unskilled.
I honestly don't know if you should count on writing to pay your bills. Since you're new, though, I would think that you should have some sort of track-record before you rely on being able to do so, especially if your household relies on the income you expect to make freelancing. But even if all three articles are accepted (or rejected), it won't, in my opinion, provide enough information for you to make a good decision either way. Having them accepted will tell you that you have the skills to create an acceptable article, but great articles can sit a long time waiting for a buyer. Even if they sell right away it's not an indication of anything exceptional -- it could be that they just happened to be posted at a fortunate moment on a fortunate topic. It's a problem of sample-size.
That's the talk I've been having with myself, by the way.
I think that perhaps the best course of action would be for you to work on your writing and submissions while also exploring other avenues of income. You really don't want to default on your loan, and if you lean too heavily on freelancing you could end up placing all of your eggs into a basket constructed out of tissues. By finding another kind of employment, you'll be able to secure your household while improving as a writer. I don't have a lot of advice about looking for a job, really. Just try to write while you're doing it. Use your days for hitting the pavement and your nights for pounding them keys.
As far as improving goes, I'm led to believe that the best way of doing that is to write. A habit of mine that I believe has allowed me to improve greatly is that I'll often attempt to reconstruct the sentences I read in a way that I think would make them "sound" better. I'm sure not all of these alterations are the improvements I believe them to be, but it forces me to think about writing, which is key. I also go back and try to edit posts like this one. It gives me a good idea of the sort of errors I'm prone to. So, I guess those are my two little tips. Mostly, though, just write. If you can't write, read.
Good luck with everything, Derrick. I hope to see you around here in the future.
--Chris
They haven't been reviewed yet, but hopping around here and there has led me to believe that it can take up to about 7 days for your first submissions. I'm not sure if those are business days, either, so it could be longer than that. I'm a bit nervous too, but trying not to get too freaked out.One thing I did was only submit two articles. You're allowed to submit up to 3 when you first join, but there's also a "three strikes" policy for submissions requiring major revisions or of a noticeably low quality (it's a bit imprecise, but that's how I understand it). So even though I'm pretty confident in my articles as far as grammar and formatting goes, I left myself one submission for margin of error. If you're less confident in your grammar than I am, you might want to consider pulling two of your submissions, leaving your strongest one.
As far as errors you made, I'll nitpick a few: You seem to miss a few commas after clauses that could use them (2nd sentence: after "Thankfully" and "works," 3rd sentence "is," and so on). I'm not even certain that I'd classify all of these as errors, but they cause me to read in an out-of-breath sort of way. Also, it's "whatsoever," somehow. I only know because I'm wordy and am always using words like heretofore, aforementioned, etc.
Concision is a very attractive quality in this kind of writing, though, so perhaps both of us should consider being very careful about our use of those kinds of words. In your second-to-last paragraph, you used "rather" when you meant "whether," and "it be to being" is also incorrect. I would rewrite the sentence: "Lastly, does anyone have any other advice they could offer me about being successful here as an author, or doing something else to make money while I look for a job?" It sidesteps the whole issue and cuts down on superfluous words.Based on your post, I definitely think you aren't hopeless, but I also believe that you're likely to have your first articles sent back for revisions. All that really means is that you must edit more carefully, though. I don't think you are unskilled.
I honestly don't know if you should count on writing to pay your bills. Since you're new, though, I would think that you should have some sort of track-record before you rely on being able to do so, especially if your household relies on the income you expect to make freelancing. But even if all three articles are accepted (or rejected), it won't, in my opinion, provide enough information for you to make a good decision either way. Having them accepted will tell you that you have the skills to create an acceptable article, but great articles can sit a long time waiting for a buyer. Even if they sell right away it's not an indication of anything exceptional -- it could be that they just happened to be posted at a fortunate moment on a fortunate topic. It's a problem of sample-size.
That's the talk I've been having with myself, by the way.
I think that perhaps the best course of action would be for you to work on your writing and submissions while also exploring other avenues of income. You really don't want to default on your loan, and if you lean too heavily on freelancing you could end up placing all of your eggs into a basket constructed out of tissues. By finding another kind of employment, you'll be able to secure your household while improving as a writer. I don't have a lot of advice about looking for a job, really. Just try to write while you're doing it. Use your days for hitting the pavement and your nights for pounding them keys.
As far as improving goes, I'm led to believe that the best way of doing that is to write. A habit of mine that I believe has allowed me to improve greatly is that I'll often attempt to reconstruct the sentences I read in a way that I think would make them "sound" better. I'm sure not all of these alterations are the improvements I believe them to be, but it forces me to think about writing, which is key. I also go back and try to edit posts like this one. It gives me a good idea of the sort of errors I'm prone to. So, I guess those are my two little tips. Mostly, though, just write. If you can't write, read.
Good luck with everything, Derrick. I hope to see you around here in the future.
--Chris
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J. A. Young
- Posts: 249
- Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2005 1:27 pm
- Location: U.S.A.
Re: What should i expect?
Derrick, the first two sentences of your last post are run on sentences. Should be: "All the capitalizations are proper (.) or (;) and then continue with the next clause as its own sentence or just use the semi colon. Your second run on can be fixed in the same way--use the semi colon or make two separate sentences. Stick to sentence constructions you are certain of as it's better to submit clear and simple writing that is error-free than writing that contains errors. You can build on complexity as you do a crash course in grammar--which can even be done independently online. You can get a grammar usage manual and that will help as you write/revise. I really have no idea what the full-timers make on here as I write on a part time basis, but it does take some time to build up a repertoire from what I can tell and have experienced. Anyway, this is just my two cents. Good luck!
Re: What should i expect?
Hi Derrick,
There are a few grammar errors in your posts, but nothing that can't be fixed...if you want to improve your writing skills I would recommend spending some time at the Purdue Online Writing Lab. It's free to use and has all kinds of useful exercises and information on grammar, spelling, sentence structure, etc. But if you're just looking for a way to make some money there are other (non-writing) ways to do it. Etsy is a good place to sell handmade things...anything from paintings to pom-poms. Have a look around the site and see what other people are selling. You can sell everything and anything on eBay, and all kinds of things on Amazon, etc. If you don't really want to write, there are lots of other ways to make money. Good luck
There are a few grammar errors in your posts, but nothing that can't be fixed...if you want to improve your writing skills I would recommend spending some time at the Purdue Online Writing Lab. It's free to use and has all kinds of useful exercises and information on grammar, spelling, sentence structure, etc. But if you're just looking for a way to make some money there are other (non-writing) ways to do it. Etsy is a good place to sell handmade things...anything from paintings to pom-poms. Have a look around the site and see what other people are selling. You can sell everything and anything on eBay, and all kinds of things on Amazon, etc. If you don't really want to write, there are lots of other ways to make money. Good luck
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KinsleyRoyale
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2010 6:23 pm
Re: What should i expect?
Derrick,
Good for you looking for creative streams of income. I would suggest you set some time for writing but also go out and look for odd jobs (like yard work, pizza delivery, office cleaning or whatever) while you apply for longterm jobs every day. Does this mean you get no unemployment pay?
The sales here wouldn't be dependable enough to live on while starting out, in my opinion.
Good for you looking for creative streams of income. I would suggest you set some time for writing but also go out and look for odd jobs (like yard work, pizza delivery, office cleaning or whatever) while you apply for longterm jobs every day. Does this mean you get no unemployment pay?
The sales here wouldn't be dependable enough to live on while starting out, in my opinion.
Re: What should i expect?
No I wasn't eligible for state unemployment which is disappointing. I am looking for odd jobs, I have mainly been doing lawn work around my neighborhood as we have a strict deed restriction on yard care. Although I'm still looking for a full time job, and doing odd jobs on the side, at nights since I do not like to sleep often I usually spend my time trying to figure ways to make a small income online. I figured even if this is hit or miss maybe, just maybe I could make enough to cover a few bills.