DS - So Much to Learn!

[BeluvdLily]

I am amazed at how much there is to learn about writing for them.

I've printed out some of the documents so I can really study them. Others I will just read online. All the guidelines and details and photos and blacklists, etc. It's overwhelming. lol.

However, I did my first article, revised per their suggestions and now I'm waiting for (hopefully) approval. This one took a considerable amount of time but I am sure I'll get faster as I learn exactly how to format things and all the little ins and outs. I just had no idea.

I think I'm just going to treat it like a job because I really need the money and actually enjoy it so I'm giving myself a bit of learning time and then hopefully I'll be cranking them out.

Did any of you feel overwhelmed when beginning? Last night I was like this is impossible but today seems much better. :)

[jana13k]

When I started, there was no 3-article review by senior editors, so it wasn't as hard to get approved for full-blown writing. My first ten or so articles took me over an hour to write because I edited them line by line and reviewed all the guidelines, AP style for anything I might have missed.

I got a LOT faster. Now, if I can find topics I know, I can easily write 2 ehow articles in an hour, sometimes 3. Special project articles can take 30 minutes to an hour, but usually pay a little more for your time.

I already work a full-time job and have books under contract with Harlequin, so I'm managing that kind of output in addition to all my other stuff. Plenty of people at DS easily do $1k / week and over writing full time.

[E. S. Lark]

In the same boat as everyone else now. Got accepted, but having a really hard time of finding a good title. How do you pick one out of so many? The ones I thought sounded good either have info on the blacklisted sites, or on the wiki. I can't really find much on the .org or .gov sites.

[KellyM]

Hi everyone,
I just started writing for them too and I agree, it's taking a loooooooong time! I know that's it's because I'm only starting out doing it but I really hope it gets better. I decided to choose really easy ones that only pay $7.50 for my first 3. It even took a while for my bio to be approved! I'm very inspired by all the high earners I read about! Good luck to everyone!

[littlebear91]

wow lol, I would rather just work regularly for one hour and get my paycheck of 10.25 for that hour than writing for 3 articles.

[Donohue]

I can totally relate!

After not really writing much for anyone but myself for a year I am having a difficult time focusing on all the references and whatnot. With two little kids I have a hard time putting my writer hat on and getting down to business. My goal for 2011 is to treat it like a part-time job and get paid accordingly!

[kdbeaar]

Okay after the whining about the DS rejection and then getting accepted on the second try, I am now amazed at how much there is to learn about writing for them.

Were you able to apply a second time? I thought it said you couldn't do that. What did you use for writing samples, if I may ask?

[brunoshouse]

I started in September and have to admit I was pretty overwhelmed. It does get easier.

[rhymegirl]

I just got accepted by DS. I printed out some info so I can read it whenever I need to. It does look like I have a lot to learn/get used to in order to be successful with them. I've been published both online and in magazines/newspapers, but I never had to use a certain style. And the editors always made the revisions.

But I will give it a shot!

[midwife]

Hey Rhymegirl, I just started about 3 weeks ago. I just need to get a little more efficient with the articles. Good luck!

[rhymegirl]

Hmm. What is meant by blacklisted sites?

[kaitlin008]

Blacklisted sites are ones you can't use as references for your articles.

[rhymegirl]

Blacklisted sites are ones you can't use as references for your articles.

Since I'm just starting with DS, I haven't read all the do's and don'ts yet.

Why would there be sites we can't use as references?

[hester]

Hi rhymegirl,

Some sites are considered competitors of DS (Associated Content, Examiner, About.com, etc.) Other sites aren't considered to be the best in terms of accurate content (Wikipedia and associated sites).

Your best bet (depending on the type of article you're writing) is to use "official" sources (.gov sites, etc.)

Hope this helps, and good luck! :).

[midwife]

I believe primarily because they are competition sites and the research for DS articles should be from more authoritative primary resources. For example, MayoClinic is better than about.com for their purposes. There is a a list of Blacklist sites, but also if you check the forum, one guy has made a custom google search that eliminates blacklist sites. I accidently used a blacklist site in one of my articles and it automatically got kicked back to me flagged as a blacklisted reference, so I found a better one that said basically the same thing. What works for me is to search with gov or edu also entered in the search box and I get articles or references from university and government sites. All of those ones seem to be just fine.

Haha! So what Hester said!