Seed

[TrixieBelden]

I just started with them and am ready to turn in my first piece. I wonder if anyone else has tried them and if they pay on time etc...??

[Digitalgirl]

I haven't written anything for them but my father has. They take awhile to approve, two weeks I believe is the average he told me. He has had one accepted and paid out. Pay-outs happen after the 6th of the month if you request payment, either via Paypal or check.

[treehugger]

Is this a website? Could you post a link?

[HeidiW]

seed.com (http://seed.com)

There's a thread here you might check out: http://accentuatewritersforum.com/files/viewthread.php?tid=10056.

Also one on the Demand Studios forum for those who have access.

I submitted a few pieces over the last few days but haven't heard anything. It seems like a great opportunity IF they accept most quality pieces AND IF they do pay as promised. Most of what I've read indicates that no one has actually gotten $ yet, it may be in their Seed account but not yet in Paypal. And I've read varied things about what their approval timeline is supposed to be.

My main concern is that, though they say so far they have only done full licenses (up-front payment), their terms say they have a choice between that and a limited license which only pays rev share. Why do $30 or $100 or $500 worth of work for a piece and then let them take it as rev share only? I think that should be an option they offer the writer (if they don't take the piece for the original request), not an option they automatically get that writers must accept.

They're not very clear on how their process works at all, which is why many people are frustrated.

Anyway, I'm hoping it turns out to be all it could be, but am waiting to see how things go before I submit anything else.

Heidi

[TrixieBelden]

Yes, your right. That bothers the crap out of me. Nothing is clear and the contract has many inconsistencies. So I'm curious to see if anyone actually gets cold hard cash out of this.

[HeidiW]

They just sent out an email announcing some improvements. It does seem they are being professional and listening to feedback. So really the only things keeping me from submitting more for now are:
(1) not knowing whether what I've done thus far meets their standards, and
(2) waiting to see if pieces that don't get the offer price get accepted as rev share or revert back to me

I'm expecting good news. :)

Heidi

[TrixieBelden]

Im working on a piece now for them on stormchasers. If nothing else, its been a really fun piece to write!

[HeidiW]

Update:

I got a couple articles accepted yesterday. Also on the Accentuate writers' forum someone posted about two people who got their money, paid in full via Paypal. One for a $300 article, one for $30.

Heidi

[TrixieBelden]

Aha! Good to know. I heard to one woman on Cafemom who said her piece was also picked up by another writer. Seed accepted both of them and the $30 payment was split between them. I dont care for that.

[SouthernFriedJulie]

I'm liking their layout and assignments. Maybe I'm cracked. Goodness knows with us moving I need the extra cash to replace our things, even if there is a bit of a wait for approvals. If they pay consistently the way Demand has paid me, it will be a great move for content writers.

[Still Seaking]

Hum, I read where more than one writer could claim a title as long as it was before the deadline. Then it said it was up to the editor to accept both articles or one but I didn’t see anything about splitting pay between all writers who claim an article, write and submit it and are accepted. I don’t like that at all. Why can’t the sites be upfront with no bs? It either pays the rate we agree to before I claim the title or it doesn’t. if it’s going to be rev share than say it up front and let me decide if I want to waste my time or not. If I write an article I claimed that is listed at $23, $30, $100 or $505 than that is what I expect. I don’t care how many writers submit articles on the same subject either allow only one writer to claim it at a time or accept only one or pay all what they agreed to beforehand. The company, and as big as AOL is they should already be doing this, stay within their budget. You only have enough money to pay one writer, than you only accept one article.

I haven’t submitted anything yet but claimed 42 articles and was very excited; however it was around 4 this morning so I hadn’t read over a lot of things. I’m still excited at the prospects, this seem to me more in the line of keyword rich journalism articles instead of the run of the mill content articles which at least to me is much more stimulating.
One question I haven’t been able to find an answer too is what do the deadlines mean? I saw some that were within a few hours and others that are a few weeks out. Is that when they are due to be submitted, claimed or both? If I claim one and can’t meet the deadline, not that I plan on that happening, am I penalized, does it just fall off my desktop?

I hope this does turn out to be as promising as it appears but I suppose only time will tell.

SS

[Still Seaking]

I’m blonde and just caught onto to a way things are worded.

“Please note offer price is for all photos submitted.”

I took it to mean they would pay you the agreed upon price for all the photos you submitted not per photo. Given more than one contributor can claim a title, the editor has the right then to decide to use one or more, and then the pay is split between them.

That really sucks. I was psyched about getting $25 and up for photos. I have a feeling it might end up being $0.02 a photo instead.

SS

[Still Seaking]

I received a reject for both the photographs I submitted. I’ll paste a copy of the email I received below. They didn’t mention anything about the photographs themselves and both say the same thing, obviously a form but considering these were listed as pictures not as articles, I don’t think it applies at all and have sent an email in response requesting clarification. I’ll let y’all know when I hear back. No word yet on the actual article I submitted.

SS

We're writing to tell you that your article was not accepted for publication on one of our AOL network's sites. Contributing factors may include that it was passively written, or not well-researched. Or, it may simply be that it just wasn't the right fit for the assignment.

Not all seeds take root, and that's okay. We encourage you to review your article for the following:

• Is your tone helpful, informative, conversational and inclusive?
• Did you write with a clear point of view that engages and doesn't alienate readers? Articles that read like a neutral term paper -- or are absent from any spark of opinion – are usually candidates for rejection.
• Have you fact- and spell-checked your article?
• Did you add relevant and clear categories and tags?
• Did you use easily digestable, short paragraphs? Remember, less is more when writing for the Web.
• Did you employ lean prose, action verbs and descriptive adjectives?
• Did you utilize interesting text links, preferably to related articles on the AOL network?
• Did you use your real name instead of a pen name?

We are quickly working to capture the above pointers and other tips in a short style guide that will soon be available to all SEED contributors.

Until then, please visit our SEED Academy (link: http://academy.seed.com) for writing tips and resources to help you improve content quality.

Let's try again. We're looking forward to helping you succeed!

Your SEED Editorial Team

[Still Seaking]

It was as I thought. I sent a response thanking them for their quick reply and asked for additional clarification such as why I was required to write something in order to submit the picture. I also asked about the multiple writers being allowed to work on the same titles and how more than one writer can be selected and then not receiving the amount of money offered for the article but half (or a third or fourth). I’ll let y’all know what the next response is.

SS

Thanks for writing us, and participating on SEED. The e-mail your received likely was an automated response for a content submission, and indicated "article" rather than "photo"---we're looking into this bug.

The reason your photo was not selected was that our editors found another photo that met their needs.

As we improve SEED, we're working to introduce new types of assignments (1-to-1 assignments, pitches, RFPs), to give writers/photographers much more flexibility and insight when submitting assignments.

Hope that answers your question,

The SEED Team

[Still Seaking]

Received a very quick response to my second email to them and here is what they said.

SS

For your first question: We require a short description of the photo that you upload. You should be able to upload multiple photos, we will check to see if there is a bug that is preventing multiple submissions

For your second question: Currently seed accepts multiple submission for each assignment. If an assignment is listed at $50, and if multiple people respond, and if 2 are chosen, BOTH chosen writers will get $50. Writers not chosen will not be paid, and rights to their work will remain with those writers, so they can publish these non-chosen pieces elsewhere. We want to be straight-forward with the payment that we give to writers/photographers.

Regarding your points on doing work, and not knowing if your work will be accepted--that point is well taken. This is why we're working to introduce new types of assignments later this quarter (1-to-1 assignments, pitches, RFPs).

Thanks for your questions and interest in SEED.

The SEED Team

[BerryWriter]

We're writing to tell you that your article was not accepted for publication on one of our AOL network's sites. Contributing factors may include that it was passively written, or not well-researched. Or, it may simply be that it just wasn't the right fit for the assignment.

Not all seeds take root, and that's okay. We encourage you to review your article for the following:

• Is your tone helpful, informative, conversational and inclusive?
• Did you write with a clear point of view that engages and doesn't alienate readers? Articles that read like a neutral term paper -- or are absent from any spark of opinion – are usually candidates for rejection.
• Have you fact- and spell-checked your article?
• Did you add relevant and clear categories and tags?
• Did you use easily digestable, short paragraphs? Remember, less is more when writing for the Web.
• Did you employ lean prose, action verbs and descriptive adjectives?
• Did you utilize interesting text links, preferably to related articles on the AOL network?
• Did you use your real name instead of a pen name?

We are quickly working to capture the above pointers and other tips in a short style guide that will soon be available to all SEED contributors.

Until then, please visit our SEED Academy (link: http://academy.seed.com) for writing tips and resources to help you improve content quality.

Let's try again. We're looking forward to helping you succeed!

Your SEED Editorial Team


Hi, newbie here. :) Sorry for butting in but I just wanted to note that Seed apparently has different rejection messages. I am guessing the one SS got goes to those writers whose articles are rejected because they were simply not written well. The one I got yesterday is much more positive. I will assume my article was well written but just not quite what they were looking for (the article title is one I claimed...having 2 cats it's something I am familar with! LOL)

BW,

Thank you for your recent SEED content submission, How To Treat Kitty Dandruff.

We're writing to tell you that we liked your content submission, but that it was not an exact fit for publication on one of our AOL network's sites.

But we strongly encourage you to try again—we loved what we saw, and hope that we find an opportunity to work together in the future.

Please visit SEED (www.seed.com (http://www.seed.com)) to find some new assignments that may be a fit for you.

Thanks,

Your SEED Editorial Team


It was my first submission with them so I'm not too crushed. :) I just submitted it to another site and we'll see what happens!

[Still Seaking]

Yeah, I only submitted one article to them and two pictures. I wasn’t surprised they were rejected but the notice I received for each didn’t say anything about pictures and I was required to write something with them, with no instruction and I wasn’t prepared for that. I wrote a caption type to go with each picture because it wouldn’t allow me to just submit the pictures although taking a picture was the only instruction I had.
They did seem very nice and were quick to respond. As you can tell I addressed some of the other issues I’d brought up before and they were addressed as well, the bit about writers receiving the amount of money offered if they accept your article regardless of how many articles are accepted is a big positive. The only thing I didn’t ask her about was the clause about the rev share issue. Maybe we read that wrong too and it doesn’t mean they can decide to go with that instead but that it would be offered as rev share from the beginning or at least if they like it but don’t want it for the original purpose, will give us the option then to take our article back or accept rev share.

Anybody else heard anything?

SS

[HeidiW]

Yeah they still have a lot of work to do getting their processes working and keeping contributors informed. But they are good at responding to support messages.

I got the "we loved it but it wasn't exactly what we needed" email for the couple articles they declined, but the "here's how to do a good article" email for a couple photos. And I too had no idea what to do with the two text fields for each photo since there were no instructions whatsoever.

As for the revenue share, the terms definitely give them the right to accept the article and pay only rev share, which is a huge concern to me, except they apparently haven't done that yet. I sent some suggestions via email and one of them was that accepting a piece for rev share needs to be an option they give us, not a right they automatically have. I'm not sure they meant it to be automatic but that's how it's being presented thus far.

Heidi

[downtherabbithole]

It seems more like a contest than anything....

[Still Seaking]

I received the exact same email as Berry for the article I wrote. Good news is I can market this one (unlike the photos I took) elsewhere and still be compensated for my time. The pay might be a little less than Seed offered but I’ll be paid for it where as with Seed, I wasn’t.

I think Seed has potential but I’m not submitting anything else with them or wasting my time looking through what they’re looking for until they fix some of the kinks. If I don’t have an exclusive chance at something than it isn’t worth my time right now. If they choose not to accept what I submit then fine, offer it to someone else but right now, I don’t have the time or finances to write articles I might or might not get paid for, that time is reserved for query letters to magazines not SEO articles.

Down, I agree, right now it’s a no-entry fee contest with great rewards IF you win. Maybe I’ll have a little time to for contests in upcoming months and then I’ll submit to Seed again. Of course I was told they are working on “1-to-1 assignments” and the others mentioned so we’ll see but until then, I’m done for now.

SS

[TrixieBelden]

It seems more like a contest than anything....

I agree. I wrote my article and have been paid but not on the subsequent one I did. I dont like how sketchy thier terms are. Ill be waiting before I try again.

[baltogardener]

Still Seeking, it's interesting that you had a problem with them sending you a rejection letter that wasn't for what you sent. I wrote a "how to plant a tree" article that didn't mention any commercial products or, er, "adult" themes and got this response:


Hi (baltogardener),

We have received your recent content submission.

However, we cannot accept it because it does not comply with our Publishing Guidelines (link to http://academy.seed.com/contributor-guidelines/), which prohibit any content that is considered SPAM or inappropriate for our readership – and your submitted content fits that profile.

If you continue to submit this type of content, we will immediately suspend your SEED account.

If you have questions about this decision, please contact us at contact@seed.com.

Best,

Your SEED Editorial Team

This happened a week ago and I wrote to them and asked them why my article is considered Spam, but got no response. I've not had this problem before with them and it also raises the concern about the fact that they have no specific guidelines on Seed. I'm insulted enough to pull back from them for a bit.

[Still Seaking]

I just got another rejection notice. But I didn’t submit anything else. I looked at my dashboard and it shows an untitled blank article. I sent them an email and asked what the heck is going on. Will let you know what happens now.

SS

[Angie]

I've looked through their available titles and had to chuckle at all the "expert quotes REQUIRED" comments in them. I can see it for their higher-paying stuff, but for a $30 article on teaching your cat to use a litter box? That is just plain silly. Add me to the list of people who'll be sticking to other work.

[Still Seaking]

I received another rejection letter and still haven’t submitted anything since the two photographs and one article. I sent them another email inquiring as to what is going on and telling them this is the second time this has happened and the last time I sent an email asking why I’d received a rejection when I hadn’t submitted anything and I hadn’t received a reply to that email.

Receiving rejection emails when I haven’t even submitted anything really doesn’t boost my impressions of Seed. I’m a writer and I receive enough rejection letters for queries I pitch I certainly don’t need to be rejected for things I haven’t submitted.

I hope they get their act together soon. It would be nice if Seed turned into what it originally seemed to possibly be.

Anybody else getting emails like this?

SS

[Still Seaking]

Got an email from them that they’re experiencing some bugs with their email system. They were apologetic.

SS

[BerryWriter]

I received another rejection letter and still haven’t submitted anything since the two photographs and one article. I sent them another email inquiring as to what is going on and telling them this is the second time this has happened and the last time I sent an email asking why I’d received a rejection when I hadn’t submitted anything and I hadn’t received a reply to that email.

Receiving rejection emails when I haven’t even submitted anything really doesn’t boost my impressions of Seed. I’m a writer and I receive enough rejection letters for queries I pitch I certainly don’t need to be rejected for things I haven’t submitted.

I hope they get their act together soon. It would be nice if Seed turned into what it originally seemed to possibly be.

Anybody else getting emails like this?

SS

Nope. The only emails I get are in response to the submissions I make. I wonder if another writer screwed up and somehow made a typo that resulted in your email address being listed as theirs? Happened to me once. I used to have an email address that started with my first name and last inital. One day I started getting emails addressed to someone else with mortgage applications attached! Turns out the other person's email address was in her name, which was the same as mine but with a different last initial-but there was a typo on their website resulting in my address being listed as the contact address!

That would explain why you are getting those emails. There is probably a writer out their screaming angry at Seed because they aren't getting any response to their submissions. It could happen. Something to think about rather than automatically blaming Seed.

Hope you get lots of acceptances! :)

[stldenise]

I was intrigued by this, so I signed up.

First, don't be so hard on them - they fired up their BETA version of the site in Dec., so there's bound to be bugs or things they didn't think of.

I decided to just check out a couple titles that are closely related to topics I normally write. I figure anything that I write that they don't accept can be published over at Suite or on my blog.

It looks promising though. Thanks for the heads up.

[Brycescribe]

I had my first tip for them accepted a couple days after I submitted it.



There was a payment delay, so I ended up getting paid for the first and second tip at the same time.

The downside is that they declined some other articles. So it feels like playing a slot machine. I'm going to use the work I wrote for them on rev share sites. Still, the two tips brought in $20 for only a few minutes of my time. I'm staying away from the longer articles at the moment, because getting the "we loved it letter" doesn't pay my bills. It's like playing a slot machine.

[Brycescribe]

This is the published tip:

http://www.gadling.com/2010/01/19/souvenir-tip-buy-local-music/

http://www.gadling.com/2010/01/19/souvenir-tip-buy-local-music/

[joyce]

I've signed up for Seed but haven't done anything there as of yet. It sounds like they are a little messed up from reading the posts. Have things gotten any clearer over there? Are people making any money or does it still feel like a crap shoot with your articles being accepted? Thanks in advance.

[herdon]

I recently signed up and wrote up a couple of articles just to check it out. I'd say Demand Studios is a much better choice for people wanting they type of place to write for -- Seed.com has a horrible back end with disorganized array of articles, they take forever to give your article a thumbs up and even then the article may be declined.

Seems to me that they want to pay in the Demand studios range but try and get higher quality by having a lot of people write a single article and take the best of those. At those rates, you'll make much more writing for Demand and getting more articles accepted.

[joyce]

Herdon, thanks for the insight. I presently write for DS and am really happy despite all the glitches. I'm not sure I want to take the time writing an article and not being sure if I'm one out of 100 entries and then getting rejected. It sounds like you might be able to make some money there but not anything you could steadily count on. Thanks again.

[TrixieBelden]

They dont buy just one of the articles submitted on any given topic. They purchase several. I like it. You make tons more than Demand without half the stress. Demand is more form-like, I think. Almost anyone can write for them as long as you can form complete sentences. Seed is more like a magazine in the way the articles are excepted and written. You have to have some talent.

[WittyWordsmith]

I wrote an article for Seed and it took them 77 days (after the review date) to tell me whether or not they approved it. I emailed multiple times, only got 1 response back (passing the buck) then never heard anything again. One day I logged in and saw that my article had been dumped. Or maybe it was just in the system so long without being reviewed that it got booted out. Who knows.

They don't keep up on their "Academy" or Blog, they don't answer questions, and they have horrible service.

Then, the articles they do want written are all within one category (like travel) or odd Lifestyle articles about being hired or working in specific places. Which would be fine if they didn't want first-person accounts. They're supposed to be filling content for over 80 network sites, so I don't understand why they always just want the same stuff written.

I've found it less and less worth it. I've been watching it for over 6 months and it's been a pretty big disappointment.

That's my .02 on Seed.

[herdon]

I think seed is a failed experiment to create another demand studios. I did get one thing published through their system, but there weren't a lot of topics and the system of hunting for individual articles was horrible the last time I was there.

[IconReline]

Question: Are the "available titles" just going fast, or are they only available to certain people, or what? I sold a few travel articles to Seed months ago for a decent price, but I checked a few times this month and I never see anything over say, $25...and the titles are all about "I interviewed at McDonald's" or $5 blurbs. Wondering if I should shoot an email to an editor or if it's this way for everyone.

[TrixieBelden]

It's that way for me. I was doing well there until about December and then...nothing. Titles dwindled and I cant find anything worth my time there.

[Blue236]

Seed is a client-based writing site. That means the people who submit the article requests are the ones that choose the article. Seed does not do anything except act as an intermediary. They pretty much handle paying the people chosen and sending out reject letters to everyone else who wasn't. Because it is client-based, the titles will vary.

Timelines vary widely and can last up to several months. If you haven't heard back in awhile, it is likely due to the fact that the deadline hasn't ended. I am not sure how much time after it closes that the clients get to choose.

Most of the clients are on the AOL network. The clients choose based on what fits in with their publications. They are looking for a specific voice and style. Those are the ones that win the money whether or not it is a good article.

This is a competitive writing site comparable to the Helium marketplace. They are legit and do pay on winners. But don't expect everything you write to get accepted. Most articles posted will get rejected. I suggest you recycle these on another residual site or use them elsewhere.

[Ali B]

Seed has a tendency to cancel article assignments while you are in the middle of writing the piece. Since I've had that happen many times, I don't write for them anymore.

[TrixieBelden]

I heard somewhere Seed was sold and will be rehashed soon. Cant remember where I heard it lol.

[kohuether]

Is the setup a lot like Demand? Not the "How to" element ... but everything else? I just tried to sign up to investigate, but they don't appear to be accepting new signups right now.