Must-Read Resources - New Authors: Start Here

[nichewriter]

Hello, I am a new author on CC. I wot would like to know about a perfect debut in CC. In other words, should I start writing small articles or try with a big one.

I suggest thoroughly reading the guidelines first. Go through the forum threads and learn from the mistakes of other writers. I'd try submitting a short article (thoroughly proofread, of course) and then waiting to see if it gets approved or rejected before submitting more articles.

[carpenjoyce]

The writer's faqs here actually appear to be buyer's faqs. Is this the wrong link? I still can't get a clear answer as to when or if it's O.K. to post a link to your own website or blog. I know you don't want it in the articles, but is it O.K. to put it in a forum post? In our bios? Anything I create will have a link to cc, but I'm still not clear on the rules.

[jadedragon]

The writer's faqs here actually appear to be buyer's faqs. Is this the wrong link? I still can't get a clear answer as to when or if it's O.K. to post a link to your own website or blog. I know you don't want it in the articles, but is it O.K. to put it in a forum post? In our bios? Anything I create will have a link to cc, but I'm still not clear on the rules.

No links in your articles period.
I don't think you can create a link in your profile (technically impossible and should be against site rules). Remember you are never to try and do business off the site.

The occasional relevant link on the forum is not an issue - not to advertise - but for good info. You can link to your site from your profile, the little world becomes the link.

[lpostel]

I have some articles that have already been published in magazines. I still retain the rights. Would these be useful to your clients?

[eoraptor]

Hi,

I'm definitely a newbie here, and I'm a little confused. I have a couple of articles that were published elsewhere that I think would do fine here. However, the articles have links in them, and I know I'm not supposed to use links here. I can edit the links out of the articles with no problem. The writer's guidelines mentioned there needs to be proof that there's no plagiarism involved. So what I'm wondering is: Should I submit a link to the place where my articles are published?

Thanks! Your help is greatly appreciated.

[jak]

To the last two posters. You can submit previously published work here for usage rights only. However, it must have the same byline you use here so that CC can see you are the author. Otherwise it won't pass the plagiarism test and you are likely to be suspended. No need to add links to where previously published. If the bylines match your info here, give it a try (with links removed, of course).

[eoraptor]

Hi,

Thanks for responding! Answered my question, definitely.

[tulsaweb]

Hello!

Noob here. Thanks already to Celeste, Ed and Jak for their comments in this thread. I've learned a lot.

I have a question.

I read the proper format for submissions is Arial or Times 12pt, single spaced with double spaced paragraphs.
On the submit article page, I can choose to submit a .txt, .doc or .rtf file. AFAIK .txt files are unformatted.
Question: Is submitting .txt files not recommended?
I ask because MS Word uses some quirky encoding which sometimes creates strange characters in Web text. .txt files don't have that problem

I'm excited to get started. Thanks for all your help!

[BerylM]

Hi, I'm new and have a couple of questions, please? I've just been reading the 'Getting Started' PDF, and it mentions two things that I can't find, the "Writers Dashboard" (as in "Explore the best-selling categories statistics found on your writer dashboard and write articles for those categories ..." and "Pay attention to the recent document sales and search topics stats, also on the writer dashboard.") and the "Catalogue" (as in "Constant-Content sells most of its articles from our catalogue."). Could someone tell me where these things are, please?

Many thanks in advance!
BerylM

[BerylM]

Does no-one read these posts any more? I posted my request above nearly two MONTHS ago but no-one has bothered to help?

[SJHillman]

- The dashboard is the interface when you log into CC
- Recent document sales are found under Writing Ideas on the dashboard
- The Catalog/Catalogue is the collection of articles that CC has for sale, as opposed to articles written for specific requests

[stelle]

Does no-one read these posts any more? I posted my request above nearly two MONTHS ago but no-one has bothered to help?

You'll find that people often miss posts tacked onto much larger threads. You'll have a better response to your questions if you start new threads with clear titles. This isn't really a "chatty" board, but people are definitely willing to help if you have specific questions!

[IsotopeMan]

Hi, just a quick question. I'm new to CC's formatting style and had a piece rejected for a hyphenation issue; the term i used was fifteen- and thirty-year plans (this is CMOS style, AP style would be 15- and 30-year plans - both using suspensive hyphenation). The editorial comment on the rejection reason was sparse to say the least, it just said hyphenation and gave the link to the Purdue resource, which doesn't cover compound adjectives containing numerals or suspensive hyphenation. Can anyone tell me how this term, fifteen- and thirty-year plans, should be formatted and whether CC adheres to any particular style in addition to its own guidelines.

I may be new to CC but am an established editor and writer on other platforms and this confused the hell out of me.

[ayeshazulfiqar]

Thanks for providing these useful links. I will follow all guides and suggetions.