First attempt at AOL SEED

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   Falsor Wingposted 14 years ago

   I just submitted my first piece of content to SEED. I figure I'll wait to see how it goes before I invest any more time and writing in it. It felt nice to hear someone tell me they will respond to my submission by the end of the week, I'm used to novels where I may have expired from age before I receive their rejection notice.
   
   Do any of you have experience with SEED? How competitive it is? Anything?
   
   PS 100 word articles are surprisingly fun, it's easy to be clear and concise when you only really convey a single thought.

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2. 61

   Originposted 14 years ago

   I've never heard of SEED, I'll have to check it out. Sounds interesting though.

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      kirstenblogposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I have not either! This could turn into an interesting hub. Will have to be sure to check back and see what folks say

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3. 73

   relacheposted 14 years ago

   Anything you submit to AOL for this is then owned by them and you can never remove it, so it's not something I will ever try.  One of my personal guidelines for which sites I will write for is that they have to be sites where I retain ownership of my work.

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4. 63

   I am DB Cooperposted 14 years ago

   It's an interesting concept, but I can't see it catching on. I prefer an ad revenue sharing model opposed to their "we tell you what we want and if you provide it we'll pay you what we want to pay you" model. A lot of the assignments are very esoteric and might have zero interest from the SEED community. For instance, right now there is an assignment to photograph the memorial for Captain Phil Harris (of Deadliest Catch fame) in Seattle. I guess if I was going to that anyway with a camera it might be worth the effort, but otherwise no way.

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5. 61

   JSwindellposted 13 years ago

   SEED's upfront pay is more than most of the companies you'll find online.  According to their site, they also give the option for writers to submit articles that were rejected for upfront pay  for pay-per-click status, where the writer would also own it and free to submit elsewhere.
   
   I applied and was accepted a few months ago.  My first submission was accepted and was paid almost hard copy rates.  When it took about a week to receive my payment via PayPal, I was pretty elated.
   
   Then my second submission was rejected, then my third.  By the time I got my fourth, I noticed a pattern.  All three rejections had the same 'we liked it but we can't use it' and 'we encourage you to send in more as we enjoy hearing from you'.  None had revision options or stated why they were being rejected.
   
   Now, I've been at this for a few years and while working a full time job, made a decent penny in upfront and residual pay.  Now that this is pretty much my sole income, I'm looking more into the mechanics of writing as well as the business side.  English is my first language, I understand basic structure and can write unique content in a reasonable period of time.
   
   When I requested that my account be closed, they were nice about it and encouraged that I re-apply when they are out of the beta phase.

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