Can You Serve Two Masters?
I “discovered” a new writing site that I liked. Would you pause and consider being a part of it, too? Can you serve two masters at the same time?
Opportunities come and go in front of us. We usually brush aside those opportunities due to the uncertainty involved. There were times, however, that we need to pause and consider what’s in front of us.
Best Online Writing Sites
Lately, I have seen many long-time writers in Triond mention about Factoidz as one of the best online writing sites. After encountering and reading comments and articles about it, I finally decided to sign up and apply as a writer, curious about what’s cooking in the writing site. In about two days, my application was approved and I started writing a few articles.
One of the things I noticed in Factoidz is the editorial guidelines and policies. Articles, which are called Factoids, must be based on fact and information, not opinion. Opinion or views on a topic will not be published. This means that the articles must be backed up by some kind of evidence, which makes the information provided credible. I felt a certain excitement inside me; this is just what I need to publish serious articles in my field where somebody looking for information within my expertise will find what they need.
Joining Factoidz
Joining Factoidz is not as easy as signing in and getting to write articles right after joining the site. Before approval of the application to publish articles in Factoidz, a form needs to be filled up. You will need to describe yourself, particularly your field of expertise and why you decided to join the site. It has the sound of professionalism and strictness in its selection of writers. Yes, Factoidz selects its writers so there’s a possibility that applicants may be rejected. Apparently, spammers may not be able to post automated, computer-generated articles in this site.
Level of Writers
Initially, a newbie will be given the name of Factoidz writer. Upon publishing 20 articles, a Factoidz writer may be upgraded or progress into Staff Writer status. I wrote “may be” because the decision depends upon the evaluation of Factoidz editors. Staff Writer level allows the writer to publish articles much more rapidly because the writer can directly submit and publish the articles he/she has written. At Factoidz writer level, a writer is not allowed to edit articles once the article has been reviewed and published. I tried to do this once to correct a slight pronoun error, which I believe the editors also missed, and I was unable to do so. This just makes sense because a writer needs to set a track record first before being allowed to write on their own. This is an attractive offer, as publishing articles will be much easier and independent of the editors in the site. This relieves the editor and the writer of added work and lag time in publication, respectively.
Online Editor
The online editor page is easy to use. It works just like Triond but requires you to write at least 400 words. I need to copy and paste my composition in MS word to see how many words I have written in the article before I finally submit it for review. I posted much more sober, serious technical articles trying to comply with the site’s emphasis on factual information. I liked the idea that in-depth and scientific articles are very much welcome in the site. And academicians are one of the target readers. Questions from the readers can be posted to the writer, and I will be happy to get feedback about my articles and answer readers’ queries.
Article Promotion
Factoidz promote their top writers in their field of expertise, giving them mainstream exposure. Indeed, once I published my first three articles, I immediately garnered 55 views in less than two days. In addition, three readers subscribed to my feeds without me doing anything to promote my articles except by writing tags for the search engines. I can sense that many people search the site for factual information. I have the impression that it is a high traffic site. This is inspiring because many writers are elated by the number of interested readers visiting and reading their articles.
Although I love writing here in Triond, Factoidz is another venture that will enrich my experience in online writing. My current resolve is to write in both sites. Triond and Factoidz have their own strengths. I do not want to point out the weaknesses because online writing sites are always subject to glitches which may not be their own doing such as hackers are always trying to get into an otherwise perfected system.
You cannot serve two masters at the same time, but you can choose to serve them one at a time. I wish to serve both.
If you are neither a writer of Triond or Factoidz, you can choose one or both writing sites below. Each one offers a unique experience that will hone your skills as a writer. Happy writing.
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Tags: article, articles, editor, Online Writing, publication, write, writer, Writers, Writing
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March 18th, 2010 at 10:07 am
Well presented stuff
Very Nice write
March 18th, 2010 at 11:28 am
This is the first time I hear of Factoidz. Will have to check it out. Thanks for sharing.
March 18th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Factoidz is a good site, based on what my friends have told me. But I guess, i’ll stick it up with Triond, I am at home here kasi.
March 18th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Just don’t have enough time to do all that exploring, maybe one day, good article.
March 18th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
It takes me all my time to write and read for one site. I don’t think I could cope with two, but thank you for the information.
Christine
March 18th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Good luck with your new site. In my experience I have seen a host of sites which I have written for in the end I have landed here at Triond my family base, reflecting that one may visit other sites but remain with one
March 18th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Thank you Dear Friends for reading my post. I actually saw many Triond writers there. They write both here in Triond and in Factoidz. I’m also testing out all the strategies that I have learned in online writing in the site and I could see those strategies work. Writing in Triond helped me hone my skills useful in spreading our knowledge and it is still my home base.
@amandeep, thanks for the encouraging remark.
@Rana, great to hear from you once in a while.
@papaleng, it’s great to have a new friend like you. I will visit your articles.
@diamondpoet, thanks for keeping up.
@Christine, I actually don’t usually change my preference. It’s just this time that I think I’d write more frequently in Factoidz. It provides me a different kind of exposure. It will also drive traffic to my articles here in Triond.
@peter, yes I agree with you. But it always pays to explore new areas where the grass is green.
March 19th, 2010 at 2:32 am
great share well written..
March 19th, 2010 at 10:46 am
Very interesting I am going to give this some serious thought.
Now and then there comes a subject that I would like to expand upon, but I havent felt like doing indebth research yet.
March 19th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Like Christine, Triond is like a home to me, and I spend much more time than I should reading, commenting and writing here. I think I will take a look at Factoidz to see if I would qualify as an expert in any of their topics.
March 20th, 2010 at 3:25 am
I was invited by a friend to sign up at Factoidz. I’ve written a few articles and I’m liking that site. I decided to write for both sites for now.
March 20th, 2010 at 10:01 am
nice article! i’m a member there. but i am not active.
March 20th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
It’s great to read more comments on what you think about the writing sites I mentioned
@snooky, we have the internet as a very potent tool in getting information. You may just link your article to findings and write a brief summary of those findings.
@Karen, each one always has a strong point or an authority on something. You can start off with a few list of things that you are an expert and expound later.
@bellatwix, glad to know you’re doing well in both sites.
@mishee, actually you can rewrite your works here in Triond and give it a more serious tone. Of course, you always need to back up what you say with facts.
March 20th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
Like you say there are lots of writing sites out there and they all have their unique angle and targeted readers. To be active on two sites requires more time than I have right now but if you can make it work that’s great! Keep it up.
March 20th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
It works great Pam. I actually get more views in Factoidz at this time with just six articles. I have no certain explanation yet why my articles get more views there. But I think it’s because I already learned a lot about how to get traffic to my articles and I just applied what I learned there.
March 29th, 2010 at 5:36 pm
I am on Factoidz too and so are many Triond members. Only I put my well researced work there and not what I post on Triond. Here I post more the entertaining stuff.
March 30th, 2010 at 7:23 am
Yep, I agree with you Martine. What’s good here in Triond is that you can post anything you want. There’s no need to write at least 400 words.
April 3rd, 2010 at 1:09 am
Reading the article and all the comments, I think I’ll check it out! Thanks for the great share!
June 18th, 2010 at 11:03 am
Amazing Patrick. I have only just submitted an article to Triond about preferring substantiated or factual information over opinion, and then I find your article here all about Factoidz. Truly – I’m new here & have only just started to check out all these wonderful articles. I imagine you are doing extremely well at Factoidz. Your articles are very informative & well written.