Always this slow?

[stelle]

I really enjoy writing for CC. Two years ago, I wrote 8 articles (priced at 7-9 cents per word). 4 of them sold in less than 2 days, 2 of them in 2-3 weeks, and the last one sold a year later. Only one of them is still in my catalogue. The odds seemed pretty good for selling articles, especially since I wrote those articles in the summer - usually a slower time for most online businesses.

Then we moved, and I started a new job, and we got a new puppy, and...well, fast forward two years. So far this month, I've submitted 29 articles. It started with a bang...I sold four articles on my second day. But nothing's moved since then. Is that normal? It seems a lot slower than it did a few years ago, so maybe times have changed?

My articles are mostly between 450 and 700 words. I write about evergreen topics (health, fitness, weight loss, nutrition, wellness, online presence). I also try to write to any public request offering reasonable rates. I price my articles at 7-8 cents/word, which seems fair and reasonable.

I know that everyone is different, but I'm wondering if there's a "magic number" for articles. How many articles does it usually take before sales start trickling in? Is this just a generally slow time for CC, or is it me? I'm thinking that I might continue writing and submitting articles every day until I've hit at least 50 in my catalogue, but I can't pour this much time into it forever unless I know that there's a good chance that some of them will sell. I'd be very happy with 50% sales within 3 months of submitting. Is that reasonable to hope for? Or has the online market changed so much in the past 2 years?

Thanks for any insight!
S

PS I also remember that the forum was a lot busier two years ago. Everything just seems so quiet now.

[Celeste Stewart]

Hang in there - it's tougher for spec articles to find a home. Also, some customers buy in bulk once or twice a month. For example, the solar energy customer tends to buy hundreds at once in a single swoop. If I recall, there's a standing public request for these so if you write on that topic, make sure to link the submissions to that request so the customer is alerted.

[stelle]

Thanks for the encouragement, Celeste. I have to admit that I'm a little bit discouraged...I have 30-some views for several of my articles, but no one's buying them. I'm staying positive though! I won't give up!

I'm also making a list of publications that I'm going to pitch as a freelancer. I'm kind of nervous, but we'll see! I'd really like to try trade publications, but I don't have much technical experience, so I'm not quite sure how to get started.

I'm also playing around on HubPages. I realize that there isn't really money to be made there, but I have a few now-defunct blogs with lots of first-person writing. I might just put some of those on HubPages...even if it's only a few dollars a month, at least I might make a bit of money on writing that I did years ago.

Thanks again,
S

[BarryDavidson]

Don't be discouraged. I haven't written a lot of articles here, but my sales are better when I remain active. I have several pieces that have been up since I first joined. I get a nice surprice when one sells out of the blue.