Lynn Smythe
Failed About.com Prep School
March 18th 2008 15:54
Well, now I have loads of time to go back to writing for all my blogs. I have been in prep school since February 29th to possibly become a Guide on About.com. My final review was yesterday and here is the email I received from my prep mentor:
My "Dear Jane" Letter
"Lynn,
After a difficult decision-making process, we've decided that,
unfortunately, we're not going to be able to offer you the position of Guide to Herb Gardens at this time. While you created a lot of good content and clearly have an excellent grasp of the topic, we've decided to go with another candidate whose greater breadth and depth of coverage gave us a better idea of how they'd perform as a Guide. Thank you for taking the time to go through Prep and for your patience during this long process and we wish you the best of luck in your future work.
Sincerely,
About.com Prep Instructor"
Insane Training
Prep school was really freaking INTENSE! I barely cleaned or cooked during the entire prep training, much to the horror of my husband and kids. And I created loads and loads of content during training. Guess I should try selling it somewhere, or starting my own Herb Garden site. But I don't have the energy right now to deal with it. Maybe the magic publishing/editing gods will come visit me and offer buckets of cash for all the herb garden stuff I've written in the past 18 days!?!
Consolation Prize
Oh well. I actually "met" the girl they choose to be the guide over on the Absolute Write forums. So I don't feel too bad. She is a herb nut like me and a terrific writer. She tried for another guide topic about a year ago, went through prep but wasn't offered the position at her last review. So I guess that means I shouldn't give up my dream of one day becoming a guide on About.com. But Herb Gardens, geeez, that was the PERFECT topic for me.
Pennies from Heaven
Well, now it's back to writing for pennies for all my online sites. About.com guarantees new guides a minimum of $725 per month for the first two years. Dang, I sure could have used that money!
Enough crabbing for now, time to go make a pot of coffee and drown myself in it!
My "Dear Jane" Letter
"Lynn,
After a difficult decision-making process, we've decided that,
unfortunately, we're not going to be able to offer you the position of Guide to Herb Gardens at this time. While you created a lot of good content and clearly have an excellent grasp of the topic, we've decided to go with another candidate whose greater breadth and depth of coverage gave us a better idea of how they'd perform as a Guide. Thank you for taking the time to go through Prep and for your patience during this long process and we wish you the best of luck in your future work.
Sincerely,
About.com Prep Instructor"
Insane Training
Prep school was really freaking INTENSE! I barely cleaned or cooked during the entire prep training, much to the horror of my husband and kids. And I created loads and loads of content during training. Guess I should try selling it somewhere, or starting my own Herb Garden site. But I don't have the energy right now to deal with it. Maybe the magic publishing/editing gods will come visit me and offer buckets of cash for all the herb garden stuff I've written in the past 18 days!?!
Consolation Prize
Oh well. I actually "met" the girl they choose to be the guide over on the Absolute Write forums. So I don't feel too bad. She is a herb nut like me and a terrific writer. She tried for another guide topic about a year ago, went through prep but wasn't offered the position at her last review. So I guess that means I shouldn't give up my dream of one day becoming a guide on About.com. But Herb Gardens, geeez, that was the PERFECT topic for me.
Pennies from Heaven
Well, now it's back to writing for pennies for all my online sites. About.com guarantees new guides a minimum of $725 per month for the first two years. Dang, I sure could have used that money!
Enough crabbing for now, time to go make a pot of coffee and drown myself in it!
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