How to Rap
Hey DSSers!
Just noticed that some comments that a few of you left a while ago got inadvertently marked as spam (including the historic first post from Chicklette!). So that’s been fixed.
Someone (I’m too lazy to look it up) in the comments was talking about Copy Editors. He was mentioning that they get paid regardless of whether they approve the article or not.
I can’t say that I know the DS system – so I guess now’s a good time to bring it up. How exactly does the Copy Editing system work? Do they get paid each time they CE an article? Or just once?
That’s really my major gripe with the Demand system – Copy Editors have WAY too much power. I’m not saying they’re all bad. I’ve actually had some very helpful tips along the way. It’s just that the ones that suck can REALLY ruin your day. Not to mention take $3-$20 out of your pocket by not approving an article.
I guess that’s my other question – why only two rewrites? And what happens to the titles that get rejected? Do they get recycled by the system?
It seems – to me, anyway – that, being a content farm, Demand wants to crank out as many articles as possible. So why even reject an article at all? I understand they’re trying to make all the articles conform to the Demand style. Why not allow three rewrites? Or four? Or we could just keep rewriting the article until it is approved.
Thoughts?
Like I said – this site is open to all. Any CEs want to jump in on this, or even Demand employees – be happy to hear from you.
I ALWAYS write comments back and really sarcastically agree with the CE. Like.. “OMG, UR SOOOO RIGHT, HOW COULD I DO THAT? LOL!!! OMGOMGOMG” or something along those lines. I never get a response, because they can’t respond, but it’s pretty amusing. Especially when the CE “suggestions” are completely fucking stupid and asinine and clearly written by some sort of neanderthal who eats lead paint. I used to do “deep apologies” which were funnier but took up too much time. I highly recommend it, though. Ex: “Dear Sir/Madam – I heartily and humbly apologize for the use of a comma in non-AP style. In response to my grevious error, I have donned a hair shirt for the rest of the day. Humble Thanks, AV”
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That was meant to be “Retarded Titles”, but I myself am slightly retarded right now. I really need a nap.
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Contact with copy editors would be awesome, but it goes against everything DS and other content mills are trying to do, and that is pump out tons of crap as fast as possible. There are sites that allow you to have a dedicated copy editor who your can communicate with, but they are harder to get on with and they pay better, and there is less work available. Those are the kind of site I would like to work for, but my limited experience landed me with DS until I can build my portfolio on other sites that don’t pay so much. I just try my best to invest as little of myself into my DS articles as possible. See my comment on the Retarded Ttiels post for more info…lol
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Christina: Generally, if a CE says (or implies) that the entire article has to be redone, it’s probably a rejection waiting to happen. Don’t waste your time or energy because there’s no guarantee that the revamped version will pass muster.
Better to just abandon it and find another (even similar) title.
They get paid either way. You don’t.
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They don’t want us communicating with the copy editors. Mr. Lally himself has even said this. They always give tons of excuses (including the need to protect the CEs from us crazy writers) but, the bottom line is, they don’t want open lines of communication.
I don’t know if they think it slows down the process (of making big bucks on our work) or if they subscribe to the “divide and conquer” school of thought.
Because, as long as they keep us separated, it’s gonna up “us vs. them”
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What would be awesome is a live chat where we could communicate with copy editors if need be. Of course, copy editors could keep their pen names so their identity would still be protected or use only their first names instead, since Demand Studios makes a point of keeping copy editor identities hidden.
But I agree with Karla that the word “rewrite” should be changed. It just discourages me to log on to Demand Studios only to see an article in the “rewrite” queue. When I click the article in the queue and read comments from editors, I almost expect to see that the article needs to be completely rewritten. “Edits Needed” or simply “Edits” would be a much better headline than “Rewrites.”
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Communication with the editor just once after a rewrite request would be great.
I do understand how things could get tangled quickly if we were allowed too much communication with editors. I don’t think one more exchange would be too bad but they want content and they want it fast.
I really wish they would change “Rewrites” to “Edits.” The email they send says “edits needed…”and that would look so much better on the Work Desk than Rewrites.
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Yeah, obviously they don’t want people submitting tons of rewrites. I can understand that part. But it’s also really annoying how you can’t communicate with copy editors – except when you submit a rewrite and write something in that comment box.
Seems like there is a way they could let us communicate with the copy editors so we can clarify questions. Having to post things in forums is 1) annoying and 2) a waste of time.
Don’t get me wrong – i love me some forums. I might put one up on this site. It’s just not a way to communicate when there is a time issue involved.
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I’m sure they also don’t allow multiple rewrites to prevent spam. If a poor writer were to submit an article for a rewrite 5 or more times, it would become an enormous hassle.
However, I think Demand Studios should at least let writers submit two rewrites, instead of one. If, for example, the copyeditor doesn’t agree with your first article and tells you to rewrite the entire article over and you’re ignorant enough to do just that (like me) and then the article gets rejected because “a few things could have been added,” it’s really unfair for you as a writer (assuming you’re a good one), because you spent so much time on that one article. It is especially unfair if you did everything the copyeditor asked of you (when he asked you to rewrite the whole article in a certain point of view) and then the article just gets rejected anyway. All this could have been prevented if you were allowed at least one more rewrite. Sigh..
Christina
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As Karla said, they get paid once. Content that is rejected or abandoned remains the property of the writer, and the titles are released back into the writing queue.
As for the “one rewrite” system, it’s the way that it is to try and balance speed with an editorial standard. They don’t accept everything because then you end up with contributions like some of the eHow member contributions that have been linked to in this blog. On the other hand, they don’t allow endless rewrites because it’s not exactly quick and they’d likely have to pay their editors more (CE’s make between $1 and $3 depending on the type of article, as I recall.)
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All it takes is one a-hole editor to enlighten you to how ugly it can be over there. Once you finally taste that bitter pill, things are never the same.
I’m no expert but I believe the editors get paid once whether an article is accepted, rejected or abandoned. They shouldn’t get it if we abandon because most of the time we abandon, it’s because of them.
One rewrite system avoid taking forever to churn out an article and who knows how many minutes of going back and forth between writer and editor when we could be writing other articles? I don’t know why it is the way it is over there. I’m sure someone knows.
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