Turned Down by Demand Studios

The rejection you got is a form rejection. I ended up getting the same thing. I'm working on a few new samples to send. If you google 'get accepted by demand studios' you'll find a few how-to guides.

They pretty much want how-to articles, that are a few sentences for each step and approx. 400 words in length. The resume should show your skills in writing, not your past work history outside of agenting, editing, publishing etc. That is why I was rejected. I sent them an old article I wrote (not how-to), which was too long and a resume showing my past work history (receptionist, cashier etc).

Some folks say if you reapply, use a different e-mail address. I'm going to work on a few samples, wait a couple of months and try again.

I wouldn't say your resume can only show writing skills. Mine had none on it, but I highlighted my work history and did a how-to article that directly related to my history and my life.

I think it's definitely to your advantage to read some articles to figure out what they are looking for before writing an article to submit.

Actually, a lot of people with ONLY writing/journalism credentials have been turned down. My guess is if you are knowledgeable in a lot of topics and can't write decently, that weighs far more as they only want you to write on topics you're familiar with. So include everything you know how to do - software, flower-arranging, cake decorating - whatever.

I did do a how-to which is funny because I then struggled with a how-to this week even though I had looked at many how-to articles when I was applying to make sure it was right and then compared it to a how-to that was already published.

I had no writing credits on my resume, just used the one that I've been using trying to find a new "real" job.

Well, first of all, let me validate your "that SUCKS" feelings! I'm sorry. Rejection is never fun. EVER.

That said, having been accepted by DS, and having some MAJOR issues with the titles that are available for newbies to choose from, I will offer this thought: are you really sure you want to try this?

Before the DSrs who've enjoyed a lot of success jump in to defend DS, let me clarify my thinking here. DS, when I was first accepted, let me pick 10 titles to write (or "claim") - giving me one week for each. Fine and dandy, but then they didn't approve my bio for what seemed like a very long time. So that week went by and I couldn't submit - because my bio wasn't approved. OK, that was on me - I should have gotten the bio approved first. Mea culpa.

Then the bio was approved after a long back and forth process (another post altogether, really - neither here nor there for purposes of this post). And now I find I can only claim *3* titles at a time. Hm.

OK, well, that's their prerogative. But when I actually look at the titles that are available - here's what I see:

"Why are there laws to protect employee's rights?" (That's a book. Not an article.)

"What happens when a federal labor law is broken?" (By whom? Which law? Different answers. Again: a book, not an article.)

"How to sell heavy equipment" (Come on, now.)

And these are the better ones. When I first joined, months ago, the titles were things like "How to build a XYZ machine using construction paper and PVC piping" (I'm only marginally exaggerating that one).

And all for the fabulous compensation rate of $15. Per article. MAX. (There are lots of titles that pay half that, too. Although, to be fair, you can also choose the "pay per view" model which - let's face it, with a crowded site plus esoteric topics, your chances of getting fairly compensated roughly approach lottery odds.)

I'm not totally down on DS. I think it's a good training ground, and potentially a good way to earn a little extra cash. And I haven't heard anything about DS screwing their writers, as I have with other similar sites. I just am not sure it's all that and a bag of chips. And that comp rate? Is LOW. Way low.

Now, that being said. If you still wanna go for it again, here's what I'd suggest. Read some eHow.com articles. Read a lot of 'em. Mirror the layout, tone, style, etc. Pick something you know how to do very well as your topic.

Basically, the tone boils down to this for how-to pieces: Use the implied second-person, active voice, and cut out unnecessary words. In other words, instead of "You take this piece and insert it into that piece," write "Insert piece B into piece A."

Hope this helps. Good luck!

First let me say, sorry for the rejection because any rejection does suck big time.

I've been at DS for two years and I'll be the first one to say it can be frustrating as hell at times. I still remember my first article "How to Splice Fiber Optic Cables". I didn't have clue on how to do it, but some fricking way I wrote it and it was accepted....to my relief.

I think when DS enveloped all the eHow people they made the writing rules and getting more articles tougher. I think you had to get your first three articles approved before you could claim more. Now, I could be wrong with the number, but I know they changed it to something like that.

Because I've been there for a bit and passed the early tests, I have a wealth of different subjects to choose from. I also know they have some crazy ass titles in there that like stated, you'd end up with a 200 page manual if written correctly.

I do make a regular, weekly paycheck from DS, but even me at times wants to pull my hair out. I'm happy there, despite the glitches, ever changing CEs and sometimes very slow review times. I think if you can ride the pony through the first stage of the game, things get better, but it is not for everyone.

Best of luck to all who apply.

@ Annie. I write for Livestrong, so I get paid $25 per article. While it's true that regular articles pay up to $15, special projects come up all the time and if you qualify for one of them, you'll get pay more.

I don't know what happened with your bio, but as I understand it, you don't have to wait for your bio to be approved to start writing articles. I know I didn't. Maybe you experienced a glitch. They have lots of those and they're frustrating as hell.

As for making money there, I made $3500 last month. So if you can get in and you find your rhythm, I would say it's a lot more than just training ground. It will pay all the bills and then some.

Congratulations on getting accepted! I live in Florida and jobs are pretty scarce around here too. DS saved my life two years ago when they hired me. Hubby just lost his job and I was about to freak when I was accepted. Once you get past those first few articles and they are accepted, a bunch more titles open up to you (or at least that's what I hear).

As any work place, it does have its problems from time to time, but it's a regular, steady, twice per week paycheck. Right now review times are a bit slow for even them. Don't get discouraged though. Just keep writing and before you know it the reviews speed up and you'll have a decent paycheck.

I like them because you can make as much money per week as you need or want. I have a bad back, so I know about the work issues. Best of luck and if you have any questions post in their forum or come right back here. Someone will always stop by to help you.

I really enjoy writing for them. There are thousands of titles and once you prove yourself, you can get access to special projects and other client sites. The three-article approval thing is new since the ehow merger and everyone goes through it.

annie - it sounds, quite frankly, like they made a mistake on you and gave you 10 slots before you'd gone through the preliminary three.

I write for DS very part-time as I have a full-time job and books under contract, but still manage an extra $12-15k a year - a fantastic amount of money when you figure I can work whenever I want. That's the real advantage - no quotas but no limits. You can make as much as you want when you want.

BeluvdLily said:

Wow $3500. That's amazing. I figured that is 4.6 articles per day for a month. Hopefully my output will reach that at some point.

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Put like that, it makes me sound incredibly lazy. I can definitively do more than 4.6 articles a day!

Beluvdlily, did you use the same e-mail address as you did the first time around? I am thinking of reapplying, but not sure how to go about it. Have any pointers?

kyva said:

Beluvdlily, did you use the same e-mail address as you did the first time around? I am thinking of reapplying, but not sure how to go about it. Have any pointers?

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Use a different email address. I think that's what they track.

jana13k said:

Use a different email address. I think that's what they track.

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That's what I was thinking.

Thanks Beluvdlily.

Now I've actually written a how-to novel on creating an author's page on amazon. Not sure if that's the one I'll use yet. Sort of nervous about trying again.

Kyva, I was just reading something on DS that stated if you didn't have anything to submit a 'How-to' article with your resume. The first time I applied to DS 2.5 years ago or 3, they also turned me down. My resume was my basic work skills and I did not gear it towards writing, but then I wasn't sure if they were a legit outfit or not.

I then directed all my writing stuff to another email other than the one I originally submitted my first resume with. I geared my resume towards writing and what knowledge I thought I had that I could write about such as plants, gardening, landscaping, camping, hiking, fishing and the outdoors, etc. I sent them a sample of a 'How-to' from eHow I'd done. I sent it in and they accepted me.

I don't think you need a how-to on brain surgery or anything, just write one about something you know. Check it for spelling and grammar and most of all....start each step with an action word like, pull the hair out of the brush, step on the dirt, grab the rope. They're sticklers on starting each step with an action word. There are approximately 5 steps in a how-to, an overview of the topic, a list of supplies required and the article is between 400 & 500 words long, with recipes shorter.

Send them a couple of how-to articles. Best of luck and I hope you get in the second go around.

Thanks for the pointers Joyce. I think I'm going to wait a while longer. Picking a topic to write a sample of is tough to say the least. I want to make sure it's a good one.

Before applying I spent about an hour reading eHow articles and then I went through things I had written previously and found something that had a similar tone and style. It's simply about showing them you can write articles that sound like their existing articles and are clearly and cleanly written.

I was lucky because eHow was still up and running when I applied. I was able to write a bunch of articles and list them on the site before I applied again. Now you can't do that.

I've been there almost two months and I'm a slow bumbler, but one of their better auto experts. I'm pulling about $1,500 a month, without strain or pain, typing for about five hours a day. It pays everything for me, never fails. The titles are nuts--but I write to titles as logically as I can, trying to think of what was on the mind of the person who thought it up the stupid ass question and the idiot editor that pasted it in the article archive.

tri