About.com?

Havlen, I figure since the position has been up for a week, there must be a ton of qualified writers who've already applied. I thought someone said before that About contacts applicants on a first-come, first-serve basis. I did apply earlier today, but I'm doubtful that my application will even be looked at.

Easy come, easy go.

Hi all,

I just wanted to let everyone know I'm an About.com guide as well (Central America Travel, woohoo). So if you have any questions (though I'm sure Nancy has answered most of them), feel free to message me here or via my site at gocentralamerica.about.com.

--Kirsten

Thanks Coffeebound. I applied for it because it was a topic I was interested in before, but I was too slow in applying. So I went for it before I could think about it. As for my nails, I've painted them to keep them looking pretty and out of my mouth.

Okay, I'm a little excited so I wanted to share. I just got accepted into the prep and started the first round.

After going through the training docs, I wrote my first article tonight. I want to edit with a fresh set of eyes, so I'll do that tomorrow morning and then send it in.

Good luck to thise who are waiting responses. It took a while to hear back, but hopefully it was worth the wait.

K-Mark said:

Okay, I'm a little excited so I wanted to share. I just got accepted into the prep and started the first round.

After going through the training docs, I wrote my first article tonight. I want to edit with a fresh set of eyes, so I'll do that tomorrow morning and then send it in.

Good luck to thise who are waiting responses. It took a while to hear back, but hopefully it was worth the wait.

Click to expand...

How long did it take for them to get back to you?? (Oh, Man, I hope it isn't my topic...LOL)

Thrillride said:

How long did it take for them to get back to you?? (Oh, Man, I hope it isn't my topic...LOL)

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There's always that application status link....



Vanessa

Good luck, Mark! Don't forget to proofread everything, multiple times!

Hi Kirsten...glad to see you here.

I'm definitely not the About.com Prep expert...just trying to be a voice of encouragement during those stressful pre-Prep and during-Prep moments. I really appreciated all the support I found here when I went through Prep!

Nancy, thanks for the support. I will check my list and check it twice!

Thrillride, I forget the exact date I applied, but it was over 2 months, but not much over. ETF's is the topic.

princessvessna said:

There's always that application status link....



Vanessa

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LOL! I knoooow. I checked...the whole thing just makes me jumpy.

K-Mark said:

Nancy, thanks for the support. I will check my list and check it twice!

Thrillride, I forget the exact date I applied, but it was over 2 months, but not much over. ETF's is the topic.

Click to expand...

Wow. That is a long time...I'd better chill out.

Keep us informed on your progress !

Hi Nancy! hooray travel channel!

Yeah, prep was gawd-awful.... I remember everybody around me being staggered I was willing to take on so much work on spec. The catch-22 is you have to work your butt off, otherwise you won't have a fighting chance -- but then again, the more you work, the more depressing it would be if you weren't selected. I had a lull between freelance projects at the time, so I went wild.

Also, there's that nagging suspicion you are the only one in prep, and it's all a sham... though my editor told me the average number is 4-5. Bizarre imagining your nameless faceless adversaries prepping elsewhere.

Looking back over what I wrote, I might have made this whole thing scarier. Didn't mean to! As I said, I'll also try to help anyone out who needs it. I truly love About.com.

take care,
--Kirsten

Hey everyone,

First post here, but this thread helped prepare me for what was ahead with About.com. I'm the new stay-at-home dads guide and have been live for about two months. It's been a great experience. But I have to concur with the prep stories, it is a tough go.

I wanted to add a couple of things. First of all, whether it is applying, prep or even beyond, be patient. It can take awhile for them to get back to you on things -- sometimes a long while -- so don't read anything into it. Secondly, be communicative with your editor during prep. I don't know if it will help you get the job, but it will at least give you a chance to see where they are coming from and let them know the type of writer/worker, etc., you are. So don't be afraid to have your questions answered or concerns addressed.

Finally, for those in prep, if you can, look at it not only as your audition but also as the foundation being set for your site. Because if you graduate, that's exactly what it is.

Good luck for those applying and going through prep. It is an interesting process, but if you make it through, it is very worth it.

Someone come to my house and shoot me in the head.

Remember earlier this year when I got into the Chronic Pain topic (diagnosed with two chronic pain conditions, chronic pain writer for the past 15 yrs, and a chronic pain advocate) and I lost my mind during prep?

Yea, its up again. Guess that guide didn't last long at all.

I applied. Again.

Seriously, some one come to the house and shoot me in the head for that...

Tina, I say go for it and give it your best. Perhaps this is your time. You surely have a lot to offer on this topic! Besides, Prep has changed (for the better, it seems) and so you will not only have experience and knowledge on your side, but the confidence to make this happen, health permitting.

I am crossing my fingers for you!!!

Hi, everyone - new here and new to Prep! This is the third topic I've applied for at About.com and the first one where I made it to Prep.

Can someone, please, go over how Prep works now? I have just gotten the first "stage" info from my editor, but I'm curious as to how it differs from how it used to be.

This thread is a great resource, if a bit unwieldy at 122 pages! Yikes!

Skyraven said:

I just applied for the Parenting School-age Children guide position!!!! wish me luck as I chew my nails off.

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Oooh good luck! I saw that one and wanted to apply but my kids aren't old enough, lol.

Thrillride said:

That's cool that you are going for NaNo.

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Actually I'm not -- that idea (and several others, seriously, what is going on!) is taking a backseat at the moment.

CoffeeBound said:

I thought someone said before that About contacts applicants on a first-come, first-serve basis. I did apply earlier today, but I'm doubtful that my application will even be looked at.

Click to expand...

Take heart, for several reasons! I know that the earlier you can get your application in, the better, but they do look for quality. And they can take a while to even review an application -- I applied for my topic 6 weeks ago and the status came back that they still haven't reviewed mine! And I'm pretty sure I submitted it the second or third day it was up on the list. Also, it's possible for them to take a group through prep and choose not to hire anyone, so they go back to the remaining applications and choose a new prep group. So you never know!

K-Mark said:

Okay, I'm a little excited so I wanted to share. I just got accepted into the prep and started the first round.

Click to expand...

Ooh, good luck!

RamJay said:

I'm the new stay-at-home dads guide and have been live for about two months.

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I've seen your site! It's really nice. I had applied for the SAHM position (believe me, they were right to reject me for that topic! ) and looked at both the SAHM and SAHD sites when they went live. You're doing a great job!

tinasamuels said:

I applied. Again.

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Yay! I remember reading your posts about that. I wasn't active on this thread back then but I read the whole thing after I applied the first time, so I remember your story. Good for you and good luck!

Lauren_W said:

Hi, everyone - new here and new to Prep! This is the third topic I've applied for at About.com and the first one where I made it to Prep.

Can someone, please, go over how Prep works now?

Click to expand...

Hi, and congratulations on getting into prep! I've not been through it myself, but if you can find the time I do recommend reading through all 100-plus pages of this thread. There's a lot of information, lots of insights into prep.

But as I understand it, prep is where they teach you their system, and then you write content for your site. You have to produce a certain number of articles, blog posts, etc., and you have an editor that you work with and can ask questions of and get feedback from. (Excuse that grammar there, but hopefully that sentence made sense. ) That's a general overview as I understand it. Oh, I also know they made some kind of change to prep recently (there was talk of it on this thread a bunch of pages back somewhere), but I don't know what it was. I think some people who had been through prep both before the change and after said this new way is better. But I don't have any specifics on prep, just what I remember reading on here!

And I'm still waiting, waiting. I'm so thankful for the application status tool. Without it I'd be thinking they'd already gone into prep and I was doomed, but I just checked it again today (after 6 weeks) and there's still no mention of them working with a group of applicants or anything. So here's hoping! Good luck to all of us!

moth said:

Hi, and congratulations on getting into prep! I've not been through it myself, but if you can find the time I do recommend reading through all 100-plus pages of this thread. There's a lot of information, lots of insights into prep.

But as I understand it, prep is where they teach you their system, and then you write content for your site. You have to produce a certain number of articles, blog posts, etc., and you have an editor that you work with and can ask questions of and get feedback from. (Excuse that grammar there, but hopefully that sentence made sense. ) That's a general overview as I understand it. Oh, I also know they made some kind of change to prep recently (there was talk of it on this thread a bunch of pages back somewhere), but I don't know what it was. I think some people who had been through prep both before the change and after said this new way is better. But I don't have any specifics on prep, just what I remember reading on here!

Click to expand...

Thanks! What I was asking about, are the new changes to Prep - it is pretty different from what is described on this thread (believe it or not, I have read this entire thread!) and I'm still a little bit confused about what I'm doing and what the next step is. But, maybe I am one of the first going through it the "new way." Was just curious about others' feedback on that.

Lauren_W said:

Thanks! What I was asking about, are the new changes to Prep - it is pretty different from what is described on this thread (believe it or not, I have read this entire thread!) and I'm still a little bit confused about what I'm doing and what the next step is. But, maybe I am one of the first going through it the "new way." Was just curious about others' feedback on that.

Click to expand...

Here is what I know, and I went through prep the new way over the summer so it has been in place at least that long.

Prep now is set up in two parts, each about a week and a half long. The first part is writing. You have to write about five or six stories. At least for me, they gave me a list of topics to choose from.

If you graduate from that, then you take the content you created and build your site. You don't have to write any more content during this phase. They give you mini deadlines throughout each phase, and I don't think it is bad to break those down even further on your own to stay well ahead of it.

I didn't go through it before, but it sounds like the biggest difference is they had no limit on the number of stories you could create during prep. What this led to is people writing dozens of stories, taking up tons of time and almost resulting in a competition on who could create more in that short time. Now you get to focus on these few stories. That should cut some stress, but since you only have the few, make sure they are good. I spent a ton of time writing and rewriting those stories with my own edits and theirs.

Really, as has been said before, the worst part about prep might be the not knowing. Not knowing how many people you are up against, not knowing what About actually thinks of you or to some extent what they want out of you, and not knowing when they will get back to you on something. It all adds up to a lot of worry. But focus on what you can control -- your stories and other prep work -- and let the rest fall where it will and you will get through it.

Hope this helps some. I'm not that far removed from prep, so feel free to ask anything else. Good luck.

David

Whoops, sorry Lauren! I'm so glad you've read the whole thread -- it is an amazing resource! And thanks David for those thoughts on Prep. Very helpful to me too, as I sit here hoping.

wow, I'm glad they made those changes. I was in prep August 2006. Back then, you wrote your content and built your site simultaneously. I believe the only thing I turned in ahead of time was a comprehensive outline, showing how I planned to organize categories and sub-categories, etc. I think it's great to weed out the lesser writers without having them do all that extra work. If their writing isn't up to par, there's no need to have them learn the content tools.

RamJay said:

Here is what I know, and I went through prep the new way over the summer so it has been in place at least that long.

Prep now is set up in two parts, each about a week and a half long. The first part is writing. You have to write about five or six stories. At least for me, they gave me a list of topics to choose from.

If you graduate from that, then you take the content you created and build your site. You don't have to write any more content during this phase. They give you mini deadlines throughout each phase, and I don't think it is bad to break those down even further on your own to stay well ahead of it.

I didn't go through it before, but it sounds like the biggest difference is they had no limit on the number of stories you could create during prep. What this led to is people writing dozens of stories, taking up tons of time and almost resulting in a competition on who could create more in that short time. Now you get to focus on these few stories. That should cut some stress, but since you only have the few, make sure they are good. I spent a ton of time writing and rewriting those stories with my own edits and theirs.

Really, as has been said before, the worst part about prep might be the not knowing. Not knowing how many people you are up against, not knowing what About actually thinks of you or to some extent what they want out of you, and not knowing when they will get back to you on something. It all adds up to a lot of worry. But focus on what you can control -- your stories and other prep work -- and let the rest fall where it will and you will get through it.

Hope this helps some. I'm not that far removed from prep, so feel free to ask anything else. Good luck.

David

Click to expand...

Thanks so much, David. This totally answers my questions. I just couldn't figure out what was coming for the second phase, whether I would create more content there or not, and how much content in those 5-6 pieces they were expecting. They gave me topics, but they're very broad and do cover a lot of the site content in themselves. I did ask my editor about whether I was to pick a specific topic within the broad one, or write on the broad topics. He said I am to write on the broad topics, but some may be links that get filled in later. It's starting to make sense. I have to admit I'm glad for the changes. This seems to be more fair, to break it up into first writing, then learning the content tools and working with that.

Back to writing!

Lauren, in my experience, they just love Top 10 pieces, and other content that can eventually link to a series of articles. I wrote this piece and this piece in prep, and they're still some of my best-performing pages, two+ years later. About.com (and the net as a whole) is all about enticing people to click onward and onward.

*sigh*

Looks like my topic went into prep.

Without me.

Aww, sorry, Thrillride! Hang in there, though. Maybe no one will graduate Prep and you'll still get your chance.

So...about the new Prep. Like David, I went through Prep this summer, but for me, it was for the second time. The first time was Old Prep (better known as Hell on Earth ). Let me just say that the new Prep has improved a million times over.

David hit the nail on the head in his post above, though I was invited to write more content if I wanted to during the second phase (I think I only added a piece or two). I also chose to keep up the blog (I have a time-sensitive topic) and used a photo in a post to show them I could utilize that tool. Of course, the most important thing is to focus on your content and always be thinking of ways you can link to current or future topics since, yes, the goal is to keep the reader clicking and clicking.

Know that you can be removed after the first portion (the writing portion) if they don't think you're what they need for the site. Once you make it to the second phase, really pay attention to which tool makes the most sense for the piece you're working on. I went so far as to add little footnotes to my Prep Editor on why I was choosing the tools I was.

Communication with your editor is key ON YOUR PART, but don't expect a whole lot of feedback from them. It's their job to see who is the best fit, so they tend to keep comments pretty sparse. That was the most unnerving thing for me, personally.

To those in Prep, BEST WISHES! Pour your passion for your topic into your words and you'll be just fine. If you have any questions, my brain's available for picking, though I'm no pro.

Take care!

I'm sorry, Thrillride. I know the feeling - I was rejected for Prep twice before getting in this time. I feel certain now that's because those other topics were not right for me, but this one is. Remember, it's not necessarily a reflection on your writing; it could be that others had better qualifications/more published work on the topic.

RitrChick, thanks for the Prep tips!