About.com?

I agree with Gruurly, I don't have a degree, either, and it's never been an issue at all with About. There are some topics which probably require one, but if there's not a logical reason to need one, I don't think that anyone at About would hold it against you.

OK, you've convinced me. I'm going to go for it. Can't thank you all enough for the encouragement. I'll let you know what happens.

Just wanted to stop in and say thanks again for everyone whose contributed to this thread. It's been such a huge help! I'm one day away from starting prep...and SO EXCITED!

Okay my topic has been removed from the list so at least they have picked someone. I still haven't heard anything though. I'm not sure if that's a good sign or not.

Don't panic yet, Rachel, it's not a sign at all (only that they are getting close to making a decision). Just about everyone I've heard of had their topic removed from the list before they were notified of the decision, whether positively or negatively, so hang in there!

We are rooting for you, Rachel!

Thanks. That makes me feel better. I had convinced myself that if I hadn't heard anything by the end of today that they had probably already sent a letter out to someone else. I guess we'll wait and see.

I had that feeling, too. In fact, I was convinced that it was taking so long to hear back because they'd already notified another prep participant, and they were waiting for him or her to go live before notifying the rest of us. That's not the case, though; when they make a selection, they do notify the other people in prep right away.

Well I'm out. I kind of figured I didn't write enough and that was the gist of it. I guess that gives me some time to focus on my baby (who'd better show up here soon) and wait for another topic I'm qualified to show up. I'm kind of bummed but I'm more frustrated with myself for not writing more varied pieces. I had 30 pieces of content so I thought I was okay on quantity but I guess not.

I'm sorry to hear that Rachel! I went through the same thing myself recently. I think I focused more on getting a good mix of images and content for a city topic and didn't write enough content. I think you're right to want to focus on your baby right now, and now you know how to improve if you decide to go through the Prep process again. I know I do! Good luck with your delivery!

Now I just have to figure out what to do with a bunch of food and cooking articles . . .
Any ideas?

I was thinking I may just throw them on suite101 but some of them I spent too much time on to do that.

Sorry, Rachel, I was rooting for you. I'm sure there's a market out there for all your articles. If not, you can always start your own food site

Oh, Rachel...I am so, so sorry. I know you put in a lot of work, time, and energy during prep. Do look around for places to submit your articles. I can't remember who it was, but one person on this thread was able to sell a good portion of her articles after prep.

If you decide to go through prep again in the future, the timing will hopefully be better. Many people have graduated the second time around. You may find a topic you like better and the prep process will be more familiar.

Happy wishes for the remainder of your pregnancy. Once you hold that warm, cuddly baby you will feel much, much better!!

Keath

Hey Rachel, Sorry you didn't get it. I would recommend submitting your stuff to magazines within the PPA. (Parenting Publications of America) You will have a great shot at that!

Enjoy that new baby! I've peeked at your blog. Sweet family! I've got four boys and then a girl. - Enjoy this time. It will disappear before you know it!

Rachel, I was rooting for you too! And I would have thought, like you, that 30 pieces would have been sufficient. But I guess it all comes down to a relative thing - if it was quantity in your case, obviously, someone did more. But you can't ever make that your own personal goal, since you have no way of knowing how much someone else is doing.

So - bah to that. You did your best, and that's everything. I hope you make tons of cash to spend on that sweet baby (and your goddess self - for all moms, new and not-so, are indeed goddesses, and yes i DO know whereof I speak) from that content!

As for me - well, I'm neck deep in it now. Prep Hell - um, Prep Fun - yeah, that's the ticket - has officially begun!

Pray for me and Shannon - see you on the other side of the pool, after we make it across.

I'm sorry to hear about the news too Rachel. I couldn't imagine going through all of prep with everything you had going on so just making it through is quite an accomplishment in itself!

So Day 1 one of prep is finished for me...yay. So much reading! It's fairly easy to navigate through though and the html part of it was way easier than I was expecting - so everyone was right! I worried myself silly for nothing.

I had my categories approved today so step one is done, now on to the articles.

Good luck SherS! I'm praying for you too...two weeks...we can make it!

SherS and ShannonC,
Good luck now that you are into the thick of things with prep! Ra, Ra, Ree!...that is supposed to be a cheer. We are pulling for you.

Anyone else involved in prep now?

klow said:

SherS and ShannonC,
Good luck now that you are into the thick of things with prep! Ra, Ra, Ree!...that is supposed to be a cheer. We are pulling for you.

Anyone else involved in prep now?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the support! So far I'm really enjoying it...but it's only day 2

Just one question I had for all of you who made it through, how much time did you spend putting in links in the link boxes and linking to other articles at the end of your article? (the related articles section). Is this something that would really help our chances do you think or is it better to just try and produce more of our own content and add those related links in later if we make it through?

Thanks to all for the support! And good luck to you, Shannon!

I just turned my category list in -waiting for approval but not sitting around; I've already started on some more content. This is, in fact, a lot of work, but I think I'd built it up in my mind to something approaching "unmanageable" - the truth, as many have already pointed out, is far easier to deal with, thankfully. I say this in case someone else is out there now, or later, reading this thread, and scaring themselves out of applying!

SherS said:

Thanks to all for the support! And good luck to you, Shannon!

I just turned my category list in -waiting for approval but not sitting around; I've already started on some more content. This is, in fact, a lot of work, but I think I'd built it up in my mind to something approaching "unmanageable" - the truth, as many have already pointed out, is far easier to deal with, thankfully. I say this in case someone else is out there now, or later, reading this thread, and scaring themselves out of applying!

Click to expand...

Yah, I agree. In a way I'm almost happy I built it up so much though and really prepared myself because since I expected so much, I'm finding it more manageable. If I hadn't have left so much time then I might be scrambling more.

One other question, maybe someone has some thoughts or advice, I was browsing a guide's site for a topic that's quite similar (walking) and she covers a lot of stuff on marathons and given obviously that is a huge category I need to cover too, what should I do? I've been reading and so much of it could end up overlapping. Is this really, really bad? Should I just be putting links to her stuff and not writing my own? Or is it okay to write my own version and make it slightly more adapted to runners?

>peeking in<

Oohhh, Shannon! Are doing prep for the running page? How cool!!!

I would write original content geared to runners rather than walkers, but take that knowing I flunked Prep twice....

Good luck!!!!!

Shannon,
I am guessing I put links in the link boxes for about half of my articles. I didn't spend too much time on this. During the prep process, your own content is what they are most interested in with some links out for suggested reading, etc. If you can link to other About.com sites, that is a bonus.

I don't know if this is appropriate for your topic, but I had to list some sources at the end of some articles for my topic. If it was a journal article, I would add the link to the journal article in the source at the bottom of the article.

In relation to the marathons, I'd do both...write your own material, but link out to hers when appropriate. Try to make your articles informative, but concise. I think a page long article is most desired. Too much longer and people may lose interest...now again take that with a grain of salt. This was advice given to me by my health editor, but my topic is ADHD...so attention is a factor!

Okay, that's good to know with the link boxes. I'll just try and include them in a few articles so they can see I know how to do that. I'm hoping to cross link some of my own articles as well.

I've wondered about the reference aspect too. Some of the articles are pretty basic and just knowledge I have gained throughout my degree or experience working in the field so hopefully they won't require me to find journal articles to back everything up. My mentor will let me know though right if it's required?

And yup midwife...I'm doing running! I'm so excited for it. My mind is just racing all the time it seems thinking of what to write on next.

Thanks for the advice on the marathon aspect too, I'll just keep trying to put everything more in a 'runners' perspective and maybe that will help.

When it comes to linkage, what they like to see is not only the link boxes at the end, but also cross linking within the content to other pieces of content. As an example, if you look at this piece here: http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/wiccaandpaganismbasics/p/Wiccan_Basics.htm

There are a number of links within the text to other pieces of content I've written. The goal is to encourage readers to click on as many links as possible -- it offers them more to read, and gets you more page views. The links you insert at the bottom of your template actually appear on the right hand side, about halfway down the page in a box.

Ideally, the more crosslinking you can do, the better, because people are more likely to follow links wihtin the text than from a box on the sidebar. If you can crosslink your own content, great, and if you can crosslink to another About.com site, that's probably okay for now too until you get more of your own content created.

Rachel, I'm so sorry to hear you didn't graduate. It's so frustrating when you work that hard. 30 pieces of content is a good amount, so pat yourself on the back regardless..Definitely try again once your life starts to settle back down! I graduated the second time around.

Good luck to the folks in prep now... it's definitely challenging, but hopefully in a fun way. I have a topic that has a lot of overlap with other sites. I just try to put a family spin on topics and that worked for me. I linked to other About sites for things I didn't have time to cover during prep so that my site had good coverage. I wouldn't worry too much about overlap, especially on things that are clearly essential for your topic.

=},
Christy