What are you writing about?

A place where authors can exchange ideas or thoughts. Talk about what categories are hot and which ones are not.

Moderators: Celeste Stewart, Ed

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Constant
Posts: 406
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 10:35 am

What are you writing about?

Post by Constant »

Hope everyone is having a great start to 2013! I thought I'd create this topic so we could all share some thoughts and ideas on what types of articles would be good to add to the catalog right now.

If you've been following the Recently Sold Content list lately, you likely noticed that articles on Broadband Internet, Mobile Devices and Weight Loss / Fitness have been selling very well lately. These are hot topics and it's a great idea to have articles for sale in these areas.

We're also noticing an uptake in articles on planning for 2013, as well as summarizing events of 2012. Writing these types of articles for our most popular categories is a good bet, though the window of opportunity for these articles might not be open for too much longer. For reference, these were the top categories for January 2012:

Beauty
Computers
Fashion
Online Business
Marketing
Fitness
Home Improvement
Nutrition
Management
Operating Systems

These were the top categories for December 2012:

Beauty
Mobile Phones
Personal Finance
Internet
Electronics
Online Business
Marketing
Computers
Pets and Animals
Travel

If you want to start writing articles in preparation for upcoming events, you might consider articles that cover:

Valentine's Day
Spring Break
Spring (season)
Gardening Season
St. Patrick's Day
College Applications

These are just some ideas, but please share your thoughts! What are you going to be writing about?
Celeste Stewart
Posts: 3528
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 5:28 pm
Location: California
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Re: What are you writing about?

Post by Celeste Stewart »

Great idea for a thread. I've been asked to write about Europe's upcoming privacy regulations in the next few weeks. Even here in the U.S., I suspect that with Facebook's ongoing intrusions and the recent brouhaha surrounding Instagram's now-aborted idea of using users' photos will continue to prompt widespread interest in privacy topics. So, that's what the next few weeks hold in store for me.
jak
Posts: 767
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:42 pm
Location: UK

Re: What are you writing about?

Post by jak »

I agree with Celeste. This promises to be an interesting thread.

Since I joined CC my writing skills have improved and I sometimes refer non CC customers to my portfolio here. I've now got so much commissioned work that I don't have a lot of time to write for CC. But all my free time goes into building my portfolio and I often get ideas from my other work. Currently I'm planning to write about celebrity endorsement of products as a marketing platform, an idea gained from work for a product placement company. I also write for a data quality company, and am learning about the importance of clean data, so I'll be submitting more about that. I recently responded to a request from support about broadband articles and my piece sold here very quickly.
SJHillman
Posts: 152
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2012 11:32 am

Re: What are you writing about?

Post by SJHillman »

I used 2012 to introduce myself to article writing in general and CC in particular. My total net was under $350 for the year, which I'm quite happy with considering I spent less than 20 hours writing those articles. However, I'm planning on branching out in 2013.

So far, I've written about what I know... tips and tricks around the house and computers (I'm a sysadmin by profession). I'm hoping to expand it into writing about local places in western and central/upstate NY. I also want to dive deeper into fiction writing, so I may write some articles for CC about writing fiction.

I'll also likely write about products I use (I'm buying a new Dremel this week), places I go (Boston is on the radar for this summer), and websites that I use (2012 was a good year for articles about NewEgg and TigerDirect). My dog may even inspire an article or two. Or possibly eat an article or two, he's like that.
Constant
Posts: 406
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 10:35 am

Re: What are you writing about?

Post by Constant »

SJHillman wrote: So far, I've written about what I know... tips and tricks around the house and computers (I'm a sysadmin by profession). I'm hoping to expand it into writing about local places in western and central/upstate NY. I also want to dive deeper into fiction writing, so I may write some articles for CC about writing fiction.
That sounds great! Your background as a sysadmin could really benefit you. Articles on setting up wireless networks, different types of technology, different broadband types, etc, have all been hot sellers!
Judith
Posts: 262
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2010 11:30 am
Location: I may be found where mountains rise and rivers flow.
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Re: What are you writing about?

Post by Judith »

I hope to have more time to write for CC this year. I am already past retirement age, but I still build websites and have my hosting servers to care for. I will continue to write about Internet topics, online business, broadband, and the cloud, as these topics sell very well for me. My several years as editor of a health journal is my background for writing on health and nutrition subjects, and a lifetime (a rather long one) as a photographer and studio owner is the background I offer for my photography articles. If time permits I will visit more topics, in particular those that relate to my hobbies and likes. Maybe I will write about earthquakes! Maybe :)
cmcmahon66
Posts: 52
Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2012 2:29 pm

Re: What are you writing about?

Post by cmcmahon66 »

I am just jumping in here, and am currently enjoying being a jack of all trades, flitting around to any topic that interests me and looks potentially salable. I will say that the articles I have sold, sold very quickly, and all focused on health, nutrition or fashion. I am going to continue exploring other categories but my sweet spot is self-care (which encompasses health and nutrition, and to some extent fashion) and career/education topics. I have a document in Google docs called "Article Ideas" that is accessible anywhere I go, even on my cell phone, so if I see something I want to come back to for an article, I quickly type it up there. If there is a source to check back on I include that; sometimes my notes for an article topic become closer to an outline for the article.

When it is time to write, if I don't have a definite idea in mind when I sit down, I go to my ideas doc and pick something from it.

Constant, is it possible for you to tell us what some of the slower selling categories are?
csjwilkinson
Posts: 41
Joined: Tue Oct 23, 2012 11:55 pm

Re: What are you writing about?

Post by csjwilkinson »

I've been writing for the tech market mostly. I would dearly love to write about sports and military topics, but I have no idea whether they would be marketable or not. I also have a passion for single malt whiskys, so writing about those would be fun.

Often I find that what I enjoy the most either isn't available here on CC, or just doesn't pay enough for the time spent writing and researching it.

That being said, I do find that I'm learning more about things I previously knew little about. I'm glad I joined.
squonk
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2012 9:11 pm

Re: What are you writing about?

Post by squonk »

With Valentine's Day coming up, I guess I should write some romance/dating articles. It's not really a subject I'm interested in, but it's all about writing to the audience, right? Then again, I still have some sitting in my catalog, so maybe I don't need to bother.

Right now, I'm writing a few travel articles with a historical bent. I'm also working on a massive monster history article that's looking to grow beyond six thousand words. I don't know why I thought this was a good idea or whether it will ever sell, but it's a subject I know really well and I've enjoyed writing it, so I don't really care. I certainly didn't intend for it to get this big, but you know how these things go sometimes.
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