Venturing into the Online Writing Market

            I write a lot, but I seldom do more than short articles and materials for use in the classes I teach.  I have played with the idea of writing a textbook, but I have yet to take the plunge.  One plunge I did take this summer and continued again during the winter break is trying to write online.  I do write here, but I’m talking about submitting my work and having it approved and published online.

            This summer, after some research and some thought, I chose to try InfoBarrel and Yahoo Contributor Network.  Today I am going to comment about my more successful venture:  Yahoo Contributor Network.

            Yahoo Contributor, as the name implies, is part of the Yahoo group of sites.  Writers who belong to it submit various types of articles for publication in a variety of its sites including Yahoo Voices.  It describes itself as a “platform for crowd-sourced content.”  It does pay writers, but the sums are low.  Still, I decided to give it a try. 

One thing that is nice about the network is its academies.  They are mini lessons that show you what Yahoo wants in terms of content and how to successfully write for the Web.  Once I began taking those courses and putting their advice into practice, my submissions were accepted at a much higher rate.

One thing that is not as nice is that the pay low.  When I have received upfront payments for my articles, they have been only $3 so far.  There is the promise of performance payments for the life of the site, but a writer won’t see payment until she begins to submit consistently and constantly.  One person offered the advice that you should strive for at least two articles a day.  Yahoo Contributor Network starts its performance payment at $1.50 per 1000 views.  You can eventually earn as much as $2.00 per 1000 views.  I took at look at some of the more successful Yahoo Contributor Network writers who have been there since 2005 and 2006.  They have impressive numbers as to how many views, but when I did the math, they earned maybe $8,000 in 7 years.  That’s a little more $1000 a year.  Still the articles they you write request average about 300 words, so I figure it’s worth a try.

Like I said, I’m still new at this, but there is the promise of more, and more importantly, it will force me to write constantly and consistently which will help hone my writing skills for the Web and make my brain function better, so ideas come to me more easily.  Wish me luck!

Helicopter Student?

                We have all heard of helicopter parents, but how many have had experiences with a helicopter student?  I guess the right term is the hyper-vigilant student.  I haven’t had too many, but I have certainly had a few.   And I’m afraid I am about to have one again this coming semester.

                What is a hyper-vigilant student?  You would think this student would be a teacher’s dream, but he/she’s not.  Let me explain.

                What set off my radar antennae off this time were the emails I began receiving last week.  I usually get a few students who have a few questions about my online classes, and I gladly answer them.  Around the 4^th email, I was getting concerned.  The questions just kept coming from this student. And this morning, my frustration level was high when I counted 10 emails from this student.  In the last email the student wanted to know what type of questions did each of my exams have.

                Now, I wonder what this student is going to be like during the entire semester.

                Don’t get me wrong.  I like when my students email me with questions about the course, but there is a difference between needing some clarification and asking question after question.

                Is this student going throw my own words into my face me if my course isn’t exactly like I said?  “You said that your course would have….”

                Is this student going to be angry if I don’t have each assignment graded within 24-hour period?  I did have one student who spent the entire semester being angry because I took too long to grade assignments and blasted me with my own words (out of context) once she knew her grade was safe.  It didn’t matter if it took me a week to grade a paper or 2-days to grade an assignment; she was angry.

                Is this student going to need exact clarification on each assignment I give out?

                Who knows, but all those emails has me on hyper-alert.  What am I in for?

                I once had a student who wanted to know how she could bring up her grade.  I went and checked her grade, and she had a 95%.  I told her to keep working hard, but that an A is an A, and when I turn in grades, the system would not ask me for a percent but simply a letter grade.  Fortunately, she was satisfied with that, but it made me nervous.

                Thing is; I want my students to care about their grades and to work hard in my classes.  There are many who could care less and simply fade away during the semester.  But I also hope I get students who have realistic expectations about the course, the assignments and the turn-around time for grading assignments.  I hope I get students who don’t send 10 emails in one week asking for more and more details – Frankly, this student has made me nervous, but I’m still hoping for a good semester.  I’ll let you know what happens.

                What are my tips for online students who care?

• Do contact your instructor ahead of time if you have particular question that can’t wait.  This semester, I have one student trying to fit in a family vacation between spring and summer semesters; she asked some questions about the end of the semester and timing of finals.  That’s fine.
• Don’t contact your instructor to find every particular detail about the course.  Those can wait until either the online course becomes available or the first day of an in-person class.
• Do check your grades and make sure what’s recorded matches what you have received back.  Yes, teachers can make mistake keying in scores.  It’s okay to check and ask when there’s a discrepancy.
• Don’t ask how you can make your grade higher if you have an A.  In college, an A is an A – keep up the good work, but leave the teacher out of trying to for personal best.
• Don’t ask for a grade within 48 hours after turning in an assignment, especially if it’s a paper.  Remember, if you were meeting in a traditional classroom, you would meet either once or twice a week, and in all likelihood, papers wouldn’t be returned until at least a week later. 
• Do sign all emails with your name.  Many email addresses do not have a student’s name in it, so the teacher may not know who is mailing her.  And don’t expect the instructor to keep a cheat sheet of all email addresses.  Be courteous – sign your name each and every time.
• Don’t share an email address with another person.  Instructors cannot share your information with anyone but you, so if your college doesn’t provide an email address for you, go to Yahoo or Google and sign up for your own email address and use it for the course.  Instructors must adhere to FERPA regulations.