I'm Scared..Is this site worth it?

[billharbin2]

Do articles sell well here? I have seen so many negative comments and the fear factor of a permanent ban for rejected articles takes away the joy of writing here for me. I have had a book published and over 100 articles at other sites but want to earn some decent money that may be possible at this site. Is this site a good place to make money? Should I wait and see if my 3 accepted articles sell or continue to submit more? Thanks for any advice.

[mnicol22]

Hi!

As a general rule, the more you write, the more you earn. It may take some time to build a decent portfolio or get a gist of what sells well here, but it's definitely worth it! Think about it: a 500-word article can easily sell for $50. Sure, the standards here are higher and the editors can be more demanding, but it's all a matter of getting used to how things work. In the end, you can give it a shot and see if it works for you.

Good luck!

[SJHillman]

As far as the fear factor goes, remember that the forums are mostly for support and people tend to be much more vocal with negative experiences than positive experiences. The net result is that you will get a much more negative picture from the forums than actually exists. I'm not saying the editors can't be harsh at times, but overall they're not as bad as they may seem as long as you write reasonably well. Constant Content is fairly small compared to many content mills, but what draws customers here is 1) a huge supply of unique content because authors can write almost anything they want and 2) much higher standards of quality compared to almost any comparable competitor. What this means for you, as an author, is that you can command higher prices here and you're free to write on whatever topics you want. The last part is my favorite because I can take a break from the usual grinding by picking some oddball trivia topic that's just outright fun to write about... and then make money off of it (usually).

I recommend that you keep writing here. On the chance that your account is suspended, you are always free to resell those articles elsewhere as long as they have not actually sold on CC so the risk is fairly minimal.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you can submit your articles from other sites here as long as you pay attention to usage/unique/full rights and act accordingly, including removing an article that sells for unique/full rights on CC from other sites and vice versa. You are allowed to sell articles for usage rights in more than one place, but there is a chance the automatic plagiarism checkers will flag you for it if you use a different penname/byline.

[evaku]

remember that the forums are mostly for support and people tend to be much more vocal with negative experiences than positive experiences. The net result is that you will get a much more negative picture from the forums than actually exists.

That is sooo true. I encourage everyone to try to realize this. SO many articles are accepted daily but it's not like all those people come here to say "woo hoo!" No, people come here when an article has been rejected or their account has been suspended, and quite honesty for the most part I find that it's usually justifiable. Recently I have seen a few suspensions that were pretty confusing and I hope those people get a second chance, but for the most part I think its reasonable.

[billharbin2]

Thanks To ALL!! Because of the positive response given to my post I have now had 5 articles accepted so I can read more here and have insight to what is selling. Also, I have a bit more understanding as to what the editors are expecting. Sometimes a bit of encouragement goes a long way, so I want to thank those who took the time for good feedback. Hopefully I will earn some money here that is better than the pay per click sites.

[billharbin2]

THIS SITE IS NOT WORTH IT!
Just yesterday I thanked those who encouraged me here and had my 5th article accepted. Three articles were accepted with NO problems. The other 2 listed "wordiness" or "coherence" and were accepted with changes. Today they rejected an article and suspended my account permanently. This site is simply a terrible disappointment.

[Isabelnewth]

Very sorry to hear that. I think they need to review their procedures, as what you have described is not acceptable behaviour. Everyone deserves a warning and an explanation, however brief.

[bhuff85]

THIS SITE IS NOT WORTH IT!
Just yesterday I thanked those who encouraged me here and had my 5th article accepted. Three articles were accepted with NO problems. The other 2 listed "wordiness" or "coherence" and were accepted with changes. Today they rejected an article and suspended my account permanently. This site is simply a terrible disappointment.

That's crazy. I think they have a new editor here who seems to be a little trigger happy and leans more towards their preferences, rather than what actually sells.

Don't feel bad though. I wrote nearly 100 articles for this site, many of which were accepted without issue. Nearly 80% of my articles have sold as well. Over the last 2 weeks, however, I was also hit with a flurry of rejections due to the same thing, as the editor quoted a line or two as being too "wordy".

In my opinion, the permanent suspension is over the top, especially when you had your first 5 articles accepted without issue.

CC really needs to get this situated or else they are going to have a tough time encouraging others to write here. It's definitely discouraged me from continuing to submit any further work.

[stelle]

THIS SITE IS NOT WORTH IT!
Just yesterday I thanked those who encouraged me here and had my 5th article accepted. Three articles were accepted with NO problems. The other 2 listed "wordiness" or "coherence" and were accepted with changes. Today they rejected an article and suspended my account permanently. This site is simply a terrible disappointment.

It's really hard to comment on this without seeing your work. But 3 out of 5 articles accepted with no problems means 2 of 5 sent back for revision. Then a third rejection on article 6. If you didn't show improvement, then CC may have decided to suspend you on the third strike (which doesn't seem to be a hard rule, but which does seem to exist).

I'm sorry. I know how disappointing it must be. But you can't really say that you had no warning. 50% of your first six articles were rejected on the first go around. CC may have decided that it wasn't worth the amount of time spent editing.

I'm not saying that you deserve to be suspended. How could I possibly say that? I've never even seen your work - and even if I had, I'm not an editor. I had three articles rejected last week, so I know how easy it is to have articles rejected. I'm not saying that 3 rejections should mean an automatic suspension. But I do think that there's A LOT less wiggle room for brand new writers. The onus is on writers to prove themselves at the beginning.

I do think that it's a leap to go from "I was suspended" to "this site is not worth it for anyone!" CC provides a solid opportunity for lots of writers - including me. I've improved as a writer since I started writing for CC, and I've made some good money in the process. This site is definitely worth it for people who can make it work for them. But it's not a good match for everyone.

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience here. Good luck with your writing in the future!

[Isabelnewth]

I agree that this site can be very good: for myself, I am very glad of it.

But I can't agree that it's a fair procedure to permanently suspend without an explicit warning.

The '3 strikes' rule is often not applied, so the writer cannot be said to have been properly warned as a result of three articles which needed editing.

If an article has features which suggest the writer isn't going to produce work suitable for the site, why not just give a final warning? It would still be unpleasant to be chucked out, but it might feel less brutal.