Howdy :)

[Gouldm80]

Hi folks, my name is Mike. Nice to meet you. I recently became interested in pursuing writing online and getting paid to do so. After utilizing Google to do some research into various web content publishers, I happened upon several online discussion groups that talked about the various sites and what they have to offer. I noticed that Celeste Stewart kept popping up in several of the forums and always as a staunch defender of Constant Content. I read about the amount of money you could make in the various venues, and Constant Content really stood out to me as the one where you could make writing worth your time. Plenty of people in the forums complained about the difficulty of publishing on CC, and I can see what they mean after having my first submission summarily rejected because it was an opinion piece. Well, I just didn't read the directions as thoroughly as I should have and suffered the consequences. Typical guy, right?
So here I am, trying to forge a paying literary path alongside you grizzled veterans. I've already asked a question in this forum, which Celeste responded to might I add (she's really on it and a credit to this site), and I have had one article approved for sale. May the powers that be bless whoever buys it and gives me that first shove out into the world of being a writer who is paid for his content! I'll probably require more guidance along the way, and I'll try not to be too much of a bother. Thanks for reading my drivel.

[jak]

Have a belated welcome from me here. I've just returned after a short break and am catching up with the forums. Think I've seen you elsewhwere as well. Anyway - wishing you success.

[Gouldm80]

Thank you, sir.
I have been reading a bunch of these very helpful posts, and I'm impressed. Constant-Content is really a tight-knit community of quality writers. I've been trying to write like mad and fill my profile with pieces that will eventually be purchased, and I've been learning a whole lot about how rusty my grammar and punctuation are. I find myself editing everything I type, read, or even verbal sentences strung together...are writers supposed to think like editors? Thanks to the editing staff for their abundant patience.
It's not easy to produce quality material, and I feel a growing sense of admiration for those writers on here who have managed to build portfolios consisting of thousands of sold articles. Hopefully I'll get there. I'm just going to continue to soldier on and do my best to improve my skills with each article that I submit. Any constructive criticism or positive feedback is always welcome. I really value the opinions of the members here and thank you all once again for taking some of your valuable time to help others. It certainly does not go unnoticed.

Mike

[Celeste Stewart]

CC is a great place to improve writing

[Gouldm80]

I absolutely agree...within reason of course. I think that my writing isn't so atrocious that it could be labeled horrible, and hopefully I don't make Ed cringe too often. Time is money, and every extra article of mine that has to be rejected means that another, well-written piece must sit on the shelf waiting to be combed over, and so I do my best to catch my mistakes. I'm trying the approach of writing an article and then coming back in a day or two to scan it for mistakes before posting it for Ed and his staff to edit. Seems to work fairly well, but there are still a few grammar and punctuation rules that I need to brush up on.
Thanks for your continued help, Celeste. When I grow up as a CC writer, I want to be just like you.

[Celeste Stewart]

That's sweet of you to say.

I mean it's a great place to improve writing not because our writing isn't good to start with, but because we're forced to pay attention to it and really think about how we structure sentences, choose words, and use punctuation. Plus, the forum is great for sharing what we're struggling with and getting help. I know that I came here with decent skills and continue improving on a regular basis based on the interactions, questions, feedback, and advice posted here. I also know I fall into bad writing habits from time to time but feel confident that I won't be allowed to get too sloppy without Ed nudging me back in the right direction.

[Gouldm80]

Absolutely, Celeste. I think that before I signed up here and submitted my first article, I was under the mistaken impression that my writing skills were fairly top-notch. What's that saying about "pride going before the fall"? Well, I've since come back to earth and am heartily engaged in improving my writing skills. I found CC at the perfect time, too. I'm in the process of writing a biography of my Grandmother, and the lessons that I'm learning here are going to help me write that piece.
I'm a fairly neurotic statistician sometimes, and I've spent time trying to figure out some statistical breakdowns of information readily available on this site. Such as the percentages of articles that people have sold in relation to how many they have written. I've also looked into how many articles people have written in relation to how long they've been members of this site, and the numbers don't lie. There are a select few who have worked VERY hard to get to where they are. I'm talking about people who have written 800+ articles a year which works out to be about 67 articles a month. That's over 2 articles a day if you write every day. If you work at your craft 5 days a week then you'll have to crank out just over 3 articles a day which is a lot of work. Anyone who doesn't admire that doesn't know how much effort it takes to produce that many articles...especially when you factor in the strict grammatical/punctuation requirements of CC. And let's not forget that these articles need to be compelling enough that someone will pay actual greenbacks for them. If you look at the average 'full rights' sale of these same high performers you can get a general idea about how much they have made. My calculations are guesses at best, but I'd wager that some members of this site are making in excess of 30k per year, and that's just from writing on CC. It seems like many of the old pros have branched out into having their own blogs or websites. Some have accumulated regular clients and hardly have time to write for CC anymore. It's really very fascinating. As an analytical, I love researching trends and trying to figure out how people got to where they are...there are some very inspiring stories of people succeeding on CC. I would challenge anyone who is a good writer and is willing to put in some hard work, swallow their pride a bit, and take the time to write things that are fitting for CC to give this site a year, and if they don't make some money and open doors for themselves, I'll be shocked. That was kind of a complicated sentence...hopefully I didn't butcher it. lol
Anyway, just wanted to share some of my thoughts. This site is pretty rad (I'm dating myself with that word), and I'm really glad I found it. I'll be even more glad when I sell my first article, but until that hallowed day arrives, I'll continue to produce articles and hope that I don't irritate Ed too much with my mistakes.

[Celeste Stewart]

I definitely agree that CC deserves a long trial period. I often recommend three months. I see too many writers give up after submitting one or two usage-only articles. That's not going to work! I see a lot of writers give up after a single rejection because it's "disheartening." That's not going to work either. You have a terrific attitude and I'm sure you'll do well.

[scottywaters]

What a great exchange of encouragement and comfort this string of communications has been.

I've been timid about offering anything because I've not been convinced of the value of my thoughts and observations to anyone else. However, as I read posts on this forum, I see that candor and forthrightness have a place among quality people.

So thanks for all the words of encouragement and let's all make this happen. This was a pretty bold step from a chubby, cotton topped, freckle faced, fingernail biting, thumb sucking, agoraphobic stutterer turned writer and public speaker.

All the Best,

Scotty Waters

[Gouldm80]

Glad to be of assistance, Scotty.
Yeah, this site is pretty awesome. I think it's tragic that some people feel that their opinions may be less valid than other people's, and all simply because they are "chubby, cotton topped, freckle faced, fingernail biting, thumb sucking, agoraphobic stutterers". When an offer to purchase full rights of an article that came out of your brain hits your inbox, I think those thoughts of inadequacy will fade into the furthest recesses of your mind. Just make sure you don't include opinion in the pieces you write for this site...I learned that lesson the hard way with my first submission.
I think that this site offers benefits outside of simply providing a source for selling your words. I've found lately that I'm thinking more literally rather than emotionally. My interest in learning new things has also expanded exponentially. It's pretty cool. I think this site challenges you to wake up from your self-induced cranial slumber and begin to expand your intellectual horizons. There is also a definite challenge in trying to compose pieces that aren't what I like to call "snoozers". Technical writing and how-to articles can be rather dull, but it you look through some of the articles on this site, you'll see a fairly expansive procession of interesting twists on boring topics. I regularly see snappy, attention-grabbing titles. You'll see a few $100 plus private request articles on the recently sold list with titles like "legal department", and you know that couldn't have been fun to write. At the same time, you'll see that some people here have carved out a nice niche for themselves and are making some pretty decent money.
Anyway...now I'm just rambling. I'm glad that our words have helped you, Scotty, and wish you the best of luck in your endeavors.

Mike