About.com?

Thanks, Jennifer! I needed to hear this!

I'm already planning to link all of my seasonal articles to the Scandinavian travel guide's information--she's explained all of the holidays quite well. That will get me off the hook temporarily for those links, and I'll gradually build the recipe pieces to go along with them.

I'm marvelling at one or two of the established food guides who seem to quote almost every recipe from a cookbook. Goodness--how much time did it take them, I wonder, to get all of the permissions?!! Plus I thought that we really were encouraged to come up with original recipes and photographs. Wish that all I had to do was link to Amazon.

Oops--guess who's really cross and snappish in this, the second straight week of the flu?!! Must find more chocolate ...

Kari

Hi, folks... sorry I've been so quiet. I misplaced my login and I've been swamped at home and... well, you know. =}

Kari, I don't blame you for being annoyed. It bugs me as well. That and Guides who publish useless reviews on items they have never seen in person. BTW, I LOVE your new avatar. I've been meaning to tell you.

I am FINALLY ending my 3-month review period (5 months after the fact). I am very sad to be leaving the newbie list. The parenting list doesn't have as much of a community feeling, although I think that might be changing. I'm tempted to start my own listserv for newbie graduates to go for support!

Good luck prep, folks! As for the recent graduates, I'm sorry to say I won't be there on the newbie list to welcome you.

Christy

Tired, tired....

Hi all. Just popping in to whine before I get back to work. Review #2 is Thursday, and I am at the point where if I never saw the words "organic gardening," "compost," or "soil" again it would be totally and absolutely fine with me. I woke up in a panic in the middle of the night last night because I remembered a point I left out of one of the articles I wrote yesterday. I actually nodded off while I was taking notes yesterday on one of the topics I want to write about.

I know that if I get it, all of this will be worth it (this is the part where those of you who've graduated get to tell me how wonderful it all is once you've gotten the job ) I know that even if I don't get it, the practice I've gotten, the lessons I've learned, and the articles I've produced will be worth it. I just want Thursday to get here, so I can get my review and prepare for my final review on Monday.

Okay, done whining for now. The people here are the only ones who fully understand how I feel right now. I just feel like I need a long, long nap followed by a long bubble bath and then a gigantic bowl of macaroni and cheese....you know what I mean. And once prep is over, I'll be treating myself to all three

Good luck to everyone else who's trudging their way through!

Colleen,
I felt like I was back in college during prep...staying up all hours of the night studying and never quite feeling that I was doing enough. During prep it seemed that the only time I could have a continuous period without interruptions was after everyone had gone to bed. My body felt wrecked. I normally exercise regularly and get enough sleep, but during prep my healthy habits just disappeared.

Yes, it does get better! There is a break once you finish prep and are waiting to hear back from Final Review. Get some sleep, spend time with your family again, and take care of yourself. Getting ready to go live can be a little stressful, but it feels more manageable.

There is obviously a transition period where you will feel a little overwhelmed as a new guide, but you will have a lot of support and somehow it is just not as worrisome because you know you have the job.

I am just past three months now. I feel like I know what I am doing...for the most part. It is actually fun!

The whole point is that it does get easier. Keep hanging in there. We are cheering you on!

Thanks, Keath. I am definitely looking forward to that period right after Prep is over, although I know that also comes with some tense moments waiting to hear if you got the job or not.

klow said:

Colleen,
I felt like I was back in college during prep...staying up all hours of the night studying and never quite feeling that I was doing enough.

Click to expand...

That's exactly how I'm feeling right now! I have a pretty decent amount of content up now, but I'm still looking at the list of everything I want to cover, and the amount of work I've done so far just doesn't seem to be enough. I have eased up some on worrying about the glossary. I have 15 good, basic terms up now, and for now, it's enough. If I find a nice block of free time (ha ha ha, right...) I'll add more. For now, I'm focusing more on articles and how-tos.

Thanks so much for the encouragement! It's exactly what I needed right about now

All right. Back to work....

Colleen

I would think 15 terms is enough for right now; they want to see if you can master creating a glossary, not that you know how to define every organic gardening term at the expense of other content.

This is the hardest part, when you are close to the end and feel like you'll never, ever have enough. Plug away, one article at a time. Just keep going. Don't run yourself down too much, though! Sleep is necessary to good writing.

Hang in there!

Hey guys.

I'm new to the board....

I have a quick question though:

I think someone here, (Alina maybe?), said that they had already been accepted into the low-cal cooking prep. I was just wondering... have you already started prep?

How long does it take to start once you've been accepted into a topic?

Hello everyone,

I just joined Absolute Write a few minutes ago. I've been looking for forums on the About.com prep process. I found a link on the Suite101 forums to Absolute Write and have been reading through the 90+ pages of posts. Wow, that's a lot of information to digest!

NYCWriter said:

I'd appreciate knowing if you're in prep for Herb Gardens too Colleen as I applied for that 3 weeks ago and have heard absolutely nothing.

Click to expand...

Herb Gardens is currently in prep. I applied for that topic (after 4 rejections for other topics) on February 8th. I got an email on the 19th saying I was accepted into prep - YIPPIE! Prep started on the 29th. My second site review is tomorrow morning - hope I'm still in the running.

The prep process is very intense. I kind of started to freak out when I read some of the other posts from others going through prep who wrote TONS of information while in prep. WOW, you all seem to be writing so much more than what is required. But I'm happy with what I've got posted so far so I'll just keep doing my own thing.

Congrats, Lynn! I really think you have the right attitude. I also read through this monster thread when I was accepted into Prep (didn't graduate, but I'm still looking at available topics) and while some people graduated with tons of content, others still made it with not nearly so much. It's all in the quality. Good luck!

I haven't heard anything on my app. yet but I am living vicariously through you all in the meantime!

Hi Everyone!

Amanda,
I don’t know the answer to your question about whether low-cal cooking is in prep…it sounds like a great topic though! Once I was admitted into prep, it was about a 2 week wait until prep started. I am not sure what is standard, but I would guess 1-2 weeks is.

Herb Witch,
I like your snoopy dance! Congrats…and good luck on your 2nd review. I know this varies, but I wrote the bare minimum…maybe just a little more. I think I had two extra blog posts and maybe one more article.

Novelette,
Here is hoping the perfect topic opens up for you!

Ink,
I am pulling for you, as well! Hope you hear good news soon.

2nd Review Today

Well, today is my 2nd review. I've spent the last couple of days writing more articles and blogs, and just generally going over the site looking for typos, formatting issues and other weirdness. I have fourteen categories, and managed to write between one and three articles for each so far except for two---for those, I put in links to other relevant About.com articles. I'll write original articles for them before my final review on Monday.

I hated writing my bio. Even though I know I'm qualified for this, nothing I've done so far seems all that impressive. I think I'm kind of mentally preparing for a letdown. I know part of it is that I'm tired, and burned out, and just generally restless now.

Good luck to anyone else who has a review coming up, and thanks for your encouragement. I can't even tell you how much I've appreciated it!

frustrations

I've been frustrated the past two days. I have been in prep for Organic gardening. I think I was doing well until I had technical issues. It was temporarily fixed but now is doing it again. I am feeling that maybe it isn't my time. But I really wanted this bad.

I am now frustrated because today was the review and I wasn't able to get everything done because of the technical issue. I don't want to be a hassle to them or my editor. I feel at the end of my rope. Anyone experience technical issues that caused them to quit?

mskatmoon---

Definitely let your prep instructor know that you're having technical issues. Everything I've heard so far indicates that they're pretty understanding about that kind of thing.

Good luck!

The About.com writers have also been having technical issues (especially with photos), so it is OK to let your Prep mentor know you've been having problems.

You've gone this far; don't give up now!

I'm still in it! I just got my second review email from my prep mentor. 4 little things to change. Kind of wish there was more feedback.

So I guess I'll keep plugging away on articles until my final review on Monday. I don't think I have any nails left to bite off, have to go buy me some of those Lee's Press-On Nails.

I'm in Herb Garden prep. Looks like Organic Gardening prep is going on at the same time.

Good luck to everyone!

Congrats on the good review, Lynn! Still waiting for mine. Which mentor do you have, just out of curiosity?

Whew!

Just got my 2nd review email from my mentor. Two very minor formatting suggestions, advice to add more pictures before my final review, and a nice compliment on my blog. I was picturing going down in flames, so it's a total understatement to say that I'm relieved!

Okay. Marching onward to Monday's final review.....

Good luck to everyone else getting reviewed today!

I've got Rachel Coyne for my prep mentor. She liked my essentials, but other than that I've got no clue.

Kind of frustrating to keep plugging along if I'm just gonna get booted out of the program. So I guess I have to go clone myself and write 1,000 more articles over the weekend!?!

Wish I know what the competition was doing.

But hey, if I don't graduate to become a guide, at least I have a better idea of what to expect the next time I get accepted into prep.

I'm gonna go make myself a pot of joe and dive into it. And I think there might be a bit of chocolate cake left in the fridge - SCORE!!!!

I've got Rachel too. I'm praying I'll make it this time---it's my 2nd time going through prep. I'm with you on the cloning thing. That would be very useful

Good luck!

Herb Witch said:

I've got Rachel Coyne for my prep mentor. She liked my essentials, but other than that I've got no clue.

Kind of frustrating to keep plugging along if I'm just gonna get booted out of the program. So I guess I have to go clone myself and write 1,000 more articles over the weekend!?!

Wish I know what the competition was doing.

But hey, if I don't graduate to become a guide, at least I have a better idea of what to expect the next time I get accepted into prep.

I'm gonna go make myself a pot of joe and dive into it. And I think there might be a bit of chocolate cake left in the fridge - SCORE!!!!

Click to expand...

Amandaaa said:

Hey guys.

I'm new to the board....

I have a quick question though:

I think someone here, (Alina maybe?), said that they had already been accepted into the low-cal cooking prep. I was just wondering... have you already started prep?

How long does it take to start once you've been accepted into a topic?

Click to expand...

Yep, I'm in my first week of prep, heading into my second week. I think I'm doing pretty good. My mentor has been very helpful.

Ohhhhhhh, ok. Well good luck! It sounds like you're definitely qualified for the topic, so I hope you get the job.



Another question-

For those of you who've already been through prep (and graduated), how much content do they make you produce before you go live? (like... how many articles?)
I know it's different for everyone, but is there like a ballpark range of how much you need...?



(I'm trying to get an idea of how much initial work this will be, and whether I'll have time for it in the next few months...)



Thanks for your help!

I've probably said it here before, but I'll say it again. I've been a Guide now since mid-May, and I think it's by far the most fun and fulfilling job I've ever had. I still have that feeling that I'll never write enough But it's not a panicky sensation anymore, but rather exciting. I don't think I'll ever have writer's block on this topic

Amandaa, I believe for me, I needed to have at least 5 articles in every category and subcategory before I went live. That took quite a while, and I thought the time between being accepted as a Guide and going live was nearly as difficult as Prep - mostly, because I wanted to get it done as quickly as humanly possibly

Amandaa, you need to have 5 pieces of content for every category and 1 piece of content for every subcategory. You also need to keep your blog current and make any changes requested in your final review.

Good luck!

Hi, all!

Fortunately, Amandaa, my mentor told me that the content items in each category can be links to other sites (especially other About.com) sites. This is going to significantly speed up my time to going live, I hope, since quite a few of the food writers have provided Scandinavian recipes. It also keeps me from reinventing the wheel--it seems ridiculous for every different food guide on About to have a recipe for Swedish meatballs. Finally, since some of these guides have used published recipes for which they have gotten permissions (I assume), it allows me to use some good content without having to wait for those permissions myself.

Ideally most of the content on my site will be stuff that I write by my 3-month review. But at this point, with a flu now turning into allergies and a huge increase in the workload of my "real" job (I write professional resumes, and business is booming with the recession), I'll use any shortcut that's legal and doesn't diminish the quality I'm striving for. It's good that Ryan is being really patient about the fact that I'm not ready to go live within the 10 days they proposed. I'm going to use the weekend to try to complete the initial "tweaks" he suggested and to get the amount of content close to what they've requested. Wish me luck!

And good luck to all of you currently in prep and / or waiting for your final review! I'm so glad that I found this forum, for it's truly made the entire process understandable as well as providing the sort of personal support that's invaluable when you begin a new venture!

Kari