No good deed goes unpunished. Me and Helium; a writer's web site competing withTriond. Their response to my latest submission (and the submission itself).
Hi K. Kemper,
Helium.com is sending this email to inform you that your submission
was declined because you seem to have misunderstood the concept of
Helium and we would ask that you read the user guide which may explain
the process in a clearer manner for you.
http://www.helium.com/user-guide
Title: *the mystery that is Helium
For help in understanding Helium ™ 's quality needs, please read our Writing Standards ( http://www.helium.com/user-guide/heliums-writing-standards/ ). There are more writing tips collected in the Writer's Workshop forum ( http://www.helium.com/smf/index.php?board=5.0 ) on the Helium Community discussion boards.
You can resubmit your revised article by repeating the "initiate a
new article title" process. To do this, click the "Write" button in the
top Helium navigation bar. At the next screen, use the drop down boxes
to select an appropriate channel for your piece, then click on the
words "Initiate a new article title" near the bottom of the page. The
following screen is where you can enter your revised article. Please
remember to begin your title with the word "Resubmit" in the "Write a
New Title" field so our editors can give it special attention. (For
example, "Resubmit: How to write an article")
You can find your submission enclosed in this email and access it in your My Helium: My Articles area.
If you have more questions, please forward this email with your comments to content@helium.com .
Thank you for working with us to help Helium rise! We value the wisdom you have to share.
All the best,
The Helium Team
Title: The mystery that is the Helium Article
This article writer has been a free-lance writer for thirty-nine
years, give or take a few months. He is also a business consultant and
college teacher; thus, fairly versed in a few fields of endeavor.
Upon seeking guidance from an editor at Helium, he was responded to
by one of the top editors. This responder suggested he edit his
previous materials so that he could earn money-since none of his other
fourteen articles had earned him any money as Helium material.
When asked, "edit in what way?", no specifics were offered. When
asked, "what are the qualifications of the reviewers of the articles?",
he was informed that they were other Helium writers and readers. Hmmm ok
When asked "which magazines does Helium sell materials to?", he was
told "they don't sell them but he is paid. Ok. hmm The editor indicated
she had written over 1200 articles for Helium and was earning over $500
a month. That is doubtful.
He was also advised to enter writing contests. Ok. hmmm
Who Judges These?
Other Helium readers and writers. hmmm ok
He submitted an article and was the only one in a category. NO response.
Some of his material is top rated but no pay.
Over 15 emails went back and forth between he and this Helium
editor. To this day, there has been no specifics offered. HOW to get an
article accepted for specific pay? HOW to specifically edit for top
ranking?
Nothing.
The continued advice was "Just keep submitting materials and edit and edit."
That is called betting against oneself.
WE could all write and edit till the day we die; without a SPECIFIC
change sought by a BUYING editor, editing suggestions are without value.
Does Anyone Else Agree with Me?
Helium might be a nice networking place to meet others but it SEEMS like a looney place to make money as a writer.
This writer was advised to visit the community of affiliates or
magazines that use Helium articles. That section was visited; two links
were pressed and immediately, each time, found the links not connected
to anything.
Zip for Two. NOT good.
Zip for 15. not good. I do not wish to just meet new people at
Helium or anywhere; I want consistent money via my article writing.
