About.com?

Del and Art Nerd,
I am so, so sorry to hear your news. Each time I checked into this thread I was excited to hear about how things were going for you each in prep. Just wanted you to know I am thinking about you both.
Keath

artnerd and del - I was really pulling for the both of you!! Look at it as a learning experience to help you get the next spot!

I hope all of you that are in wait-mode hear something soon!

Elizabeth.

Art nerd and Del,

I'm really sorry to hear your news. Please believe me when I say I know just how you feel. (In fact, I still haven't done anything with all the articles I wrote my first time in Prep. I'd prefer not to think about them.)

I hope you'll think of this as a temporary setback only. There are several Guides here who have been through Prep more than once, and other writers who have taken their Prep articles and done wonderful things with them.

I hereby authorize you to eat lots of chocolate.

Art Nerd and Del, I'm so sorry you didn't get the spots. I think it must be tough to do prep over the holidays... if you think About is for you, don't despair. I'm one of those folks who went through the process twice and I'm a lot happier with my current site than I would have been with the one I first prep'ed for.

Elizabeth, you may want to hold off on the Getty images so you can make sure you're properly registered. Otherwise, you may find yourself with a large bill from them (my registration didn't go through properly at first). The About folks know that you have some limitations until you're officially on board, so just do what you can. You can always post things with no photos and add them later, or wait to post things until everything is settled. Hey, you got the job! You can relax a bit. =}

Christy

for anyone other than me that was waiting...
herbs and spices isn't in the list anymore. I didn't even know there was a Prep going on for it, but its off the list now.
ah well,
t

Del, awww, I was hoping that you'd get it. I guess we broke the About.com forum streak. *grumble*

Nancy, EJ, Keath: thanks for the kind words. It means a lot.

I think it's great that other people give it another try and get the position next time. For me, this was a one-time thing. I don't think I would go through prep again. My time would be better spent pursuing other avenues.

For the current guides and guides-to-be, I have a better understanding of what y'all went through. You have my highest regards.

For the aspiring guides, don't let my disappointment discourage you. If you've got the goods, go for it. The process itself is not that bad once you set up a game plan.

In case anyone is insterested in pitching a subject to about, I got an e-mail from the editor that I had been writing back and forth with and he said that the subject I pitched back in November is still being considered (phew!) and it can take months for them to decide if they want to go forward with a pitch. I'll still be checking to see if there is something I want to apply to in the meantime, but hopefully they will like what I submitted.

Keath, Elizabeth, Christy, Nancy--thanks so much. I don't think you can find a more supportive group of people. And Nancy, my DH brought me home a bag of my favorite chocolates, so I'll be doing just what you suggested. ;-)

@art nerd, I was thinking the same thing...we broke the streak, sorry, guys! As it is, there's only one other topic I feel I'd be qualified/passionate enough to write about but I doubt that Guide is going anywhere, so...and you'll definitely find other gigs/jobs, so continue to think positive.

art nerd said:

I think it's great that other people give it another try and get the position next time. For me, this was a one-time thing. I don't think I would go through prep again. My time would be better spent pursuing other avenues.

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Art Nerd,

Just curious - why wouldn't you do prep again? Can you pitch any of the work to other pubs?

von62653 said:

Just curious - why wouldn't you do prep again? Can you pitch any of the work to other pubs?

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Just a personal choice. Given the time and effort I put forth, I felt like I gave it my all. I didn't have much problem with the technical aspects or with the requirements. If I didn't get it, it's because I didn't "fit" what they want in a guide. Since I don't have "it," I wouldn't go through the process a second time around.

Sorry if I'm being Debbie Downer, but I'm just being honest.

I suppose I can pitch some of the articles to other places. I guess I'll worry about that later.

art nerd said:

Just a personal choice. Given the time and effort I put forth, I felt like I gave it my all. I didn't have much problem with the technical aspects or with the requirements. If I didn't get it, it's because I didn't "fit" what they want in a guide. Since I don't have "it," I wouldn't go through the process a second time around.

Sorry if I'm being Debbie Downer, but I'm just being honest.

I suppose I can pitch some of the articles to other places. I guess I'll worry about that later.

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Don't blame you for being discouraged right now. Sounds like it was a lot of work. Time to take a breather and come back swinging.

Thanks for your honesty.

Vonnie, you're welcome.

I hope I don't across as some jerk with sour grapes. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from going through prep.

Yes, this has shaken my confidence a bit. It's not exactly the type of news that gets your year off to a good start. However, I know I'll feel better tomorrow. I've got a solid support system with friends and family so everything will be cool. I'll just work harder to get another writing gig.

@art nerd, you're not coming across as a jerk. After you pour your heart and soul into a 3-week project (that's normally 2), it's definitely understandable. I was really bummed for about a half hour, but like you said, I have a support system who's been wonderful. The biggest part of being a writer is being persistent. If you're willing to move on and find other gigs (which may be more perfect for you than this one), then you've already cleared one big hurdle.

Bummer, artnerd and Del. It's always hard for me at first to appreciate what we call around our house "Another Learning Experience"!

Elizabeth, I found out about graduation 12/10, but didn't get paperwork until 12/14. Got it all in the mail early the next week, which was right before Christmas. So I did prep over three weeks beginning right before Thanksgiving. The holiday timing has made it very difficult to get permission to use images and so forth. I have 15 categories, at least five subcats in each and at least one piece of content in each subcat. Actually, I'm almost to those numbers, which are the go-live minimum goal. Plus I need to keep up the blog, which will make the site seem fresh when it does go live.

I guess no one here would be surprised to know all my Christmas decorations are still up, including four trees. Oops.

One About prep tip: The blog is the fun part, and I found that planning the blog around my content was the most efficient use of my time. So, when I had a post about holiday shopping tips I was able to bounce off a story about a woman getting robbed and shot in a mall parking lot with the following: my own content/link about how to get crime stats for your neighborhood or destination, an About site on walking at night and keeping safe, my local holiday gift guide and the local paper's story about the incident. Because the prep guide says three links per blog post are great, and because my content was so lean in the beginning (and still, really) I always trolled the about sites for good links to build into my posts.

Kim

novelette said:

@art nerd, you're not coming across as a jerk. After you pour your heart and soul into a 3-week project (that's normally 2), it's definitely understandable. I was really bummed for about a half hour, but like you said, I have a support system who's been wonderful. The biggest part of being a writer is being persistent. If you're willing to move on and find other gigs (which may be more perfect for you than this one), then you've already cleared one big hurdle.

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Half an hour? Haha...for me it was more like half a day. Ok, maybe the entire day and some part of the evening.

I didn't feel bad until my boyfriend and family tried to cheer me up. I figured, wow, I must *look* really depressed. Geez, no more pity party of one. Today is much better. Glad to hear you're in good spirits, too.

Novelette, Art Nerd, I'm sorry to hear your bad news! I hope that you change your mind and apply again in the future - About is a really fantastic place to work, and there are all kinds of funny and weird topics popping up, so there may be something more perfect for you around the corner. Also, some topics come back up again fairly quickly. Web Blogs and Freelance Writing are two that come quickly to mind.

And finally, just because you weren't selected doesn't mean you didn't have "it" -- it just means someone else had "it" too. I think whittling down a group of great applicants to pick just one Guide must be a really tough job.

Of course, if you decide not to reapply, that's all good, too. Maybe you'll be able to place the articles you wrote, and use them to find a great gig elsewhere!

Linda, nice to see you on this thread! How nice that you and your husband both work for About, and that you've both been with the company for so long!

the topic I suggested to them just came up in the list. I turned in the longest app I've ever done for them, I just will be crushed if I don't get picked for it! Fingers crossed, will keep all informed.

Good luck, Tina!

My fingers are crossed for you, too, Tina! I think turning in a longer app is much better than turning in a short one. When I listened to their advice to turn in a "brief" listing of my qualifications, I was always rejected but when I followed the advice here to list just about every applicable qualification, I was picked for prep.

Good luck!

Thank you. I may apply for one other in hopes they pick me for one of them, but I really think I may stick just with this topic. Two are up that I'd love to have, the one that I suggested and another one that I am qualified for but don't have the same passion for. Ah well, we will see how it goes. thanks all
tina

Good luck, Tina! I'm really curious about the idea you submitted!

Hello everyone! Good luck on both topics Tina -- hopefully you have good news to share with us all soon!

I have a question and I don't want to be forward or personal - I have looked in the lounge and I don't have access to certain links on compensation, so my question is very general -- I am researching moving to a different part of town where houses cost twice as much as where I currently live, and I have no idea how to estimate a monthly income besides using the stipend number given in the guide description.

I have read posts here and there that hint at something, but nothing I can actually use -- I am not looking for what others make or fishing for anything concrete, just a roundabout idea of an average guide with average views just so I can move forward with my research with more than a guess. If someone will help me out and doesn't want to post on here, I would appreciate any insight through a pm or email

Thanks!
Elizabeth.

Hey there! I'm so glad that I found this forum.

I've been wondering about what it is like to write for About.com, for I find that it's the site I most often visit (normally in search of brand new dinner recipes or photography tips).

It's been interesting to read all about the process of becoming a Guide, and good to hear that it seems like a cool company to work for. While I already have a great position as a staff writer / editor for a local company, it would be refreshing to be able to write about the hobbies I love for a change!

I do wonder what the chances are for a serious hobbyist to be accepted as a Guide, especially in fields like cooking (I've applied for Scandinavian Food and Bread Baking). I know how to blog, I know how to generate and format web content, I'm comfortable writing to stringent deadlines ... but I don't have a culinary degree or professional chef experience (unless one counts a blessedly brief stint as a hamburger cook at Wendy's in high school!). Yet I have extensive experience as a fourth-generation Scandinavian-American home cook as well as in mastering local cooking methods when we lived in Italy and Scotland. I also know where to look for information when I don't have it immediately at hand. So ... maybe it all depends upon who is in the running for any given topic?

Anyway, I thought I'd just say "howdy" and ''thanks!" for teaching me a lot about both applying for and being a Guide.

Oh ... the automatic responder is in fact still broken, but it was neat to get a message from Eric Hanson after I queried saying that my applications had in fact been received! That's the sort of management one wants to write for!

Wishing us all luck!

Kari

I'm happy to share the topic I suggested. Do to me being plagued with three different chronic urological conditions I suggested the topics "chronic pain" and "urology", both are now on there I see. Urology is the one that I could do best, but I may apply to both since I could do either one well.