Going Pro

As of today I am a professional writer! Well . . . maybe. I am wondering if one actually has to have "received" money to be considered professional or if the "promise" of money is enough to validate the title.

I found a site on the web called Examiner.com; a sort of on-line magazine with thousands of "Examiners" (correspondents) from all over the US and the rest of the world. I filled out a form and submitted a sample of my writing. About three days later I got a letter from them congratulating me for being accepted as an "Examiner." To me, the word "examiner" conjures up visions of grocery store tabloids - nothing with which I particularly want to be associated. However, I figure it is a good way to get my feet wet and see if the rest of the world accepts my writing like my friends do. For those of you that told me I ought to write for a living (in the absence of a real job), this is for you.

As far as the money goes . . . not only won't I get rich doing this, it wont even pay my monthly internet bill. The company is very secretive about exactly how they pay, it is a covert formula, no doubt kept in the same safe as the Coke recipe. I do know this however, my page was just turned on this morning and already I have amassed three cents in my account. I visited the page three times this morning so if my arithmetic is correct, that means I get a penny a hit. Somehow, the time spent on the page is also factored in. That is the reason for the hyperlinks we are encouraged to use. I suppose if you are off surfing someplace else, my page is still open and the meter keeps running and the advertisers are charged accordingly (that's all just a guess).

Truth be told, I'd much prefer to write here, there are, for the most part, no rules here. I received file after file, page after page of information from Examiner.com, mostly Do this' and Don't do that's. Rules and regulations to be read - followed by - more rules and regulations. As a matter of fact, this morning I received an email to which four more pdf's were attached.

Before I signed my contract, I asked for an explanation regarding exactly what I was allowed to write about. Unfortunately my contact never saw fit to reply. In this morning's letter he said my page was now live and also said "Nice approach," which I take to mean he liked the way I addressed my subject. As you know, I like to travel and write about my experiences. Since I've been unemployed, I've found a few creative ways to stretch my travel dollar. So I approached Examiner.com with the idea of being a frugal traveler. They responded with the title of "Philadelphia Bargain Travel Examiner." I said I preferred "frugal" over "bargain," they obviously did not agree and kept the word bargain in the title. I intend to talk mostly about the travel and the places and throw in an occasional tidbit about how I cut expenses on the trip.

One of their rules regards the size of the articles. Although they do not actually limit article length, they prefer 300 - 400 words. My first article was over 700 words (and I had to abridge my original work to get it down to that). So, this should be an interesting experience.

Please visit my page at Examiner.com:
http://www.examiner.com/x-46401-Philadelphia-Bargain-Travel-Examiner

Thanks for reading me,

Don