Though I’d sworn off writing about a year ago, as fiction was utterly wearing me out, both emotionally and energy-wise, I recently started on a new venture.
A good friend told me about his success with the NewsBreak app. He writes fiction in the form of books, and television and movie scripts, for his full time job but likes the flexibility and income from NewsBreak as side income. He said I should give it a shot. Since I use the app all the time for news I was intrigued.
I resisted at first, since if I was going to write anything it would be fiction, and I DID NOT WANT TO WRITE FICTION. And I had a hard enough time mustering enthusiasm for my blogs. But these would be short articles; not fiction but fact-based short articles. The sweet spot, my friend told me, was 400-500 words. For anyone who writes a lot of fiction, it’s not a matter of coming up with 500 words, but trying really hard to keep it to only that length.
Signing up to write is very easy. You answer a few questions here.
That’s it. Start writing, following the guidelines on titles, length, quotes, etc. At first I was worried about how to use other people’s pictures and trying to get permission or rights so tried to use my own. Then I learned that you can click the icon just to the right of the photo icon (where you upload your own) and choose from available pictures on Upsplash. This made posting so much easier!
The requirement to apply for monetization is 10 published articles, and 100 registered followers. On the left side of your screen, once you’ve registered, you’ll see the simple menu. Warning, checking your stats can be addictive. When you click the monetization tab, it will tell you how many articles you still need to apply and how many registered followers you have. You may have a lot of followers, but only the registered followers count toward your application to get paid.
In my experience, the article writing has been fun because it forces me into brevity and writing in general. Like anything, some articles are very easy, and some are a challenge.
I completed my 10/100 on March 16th and applied, assuming in 30 days at the outside, I’d get approved. It’s been about a week past the expected date and still no word. I could stop writing since I’m still not getting paid but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time. One important thing to keep in mind, even if you publish an article before you’re accepted for payment, new impressions will still earn you money. I don’t have all the details on that yet but know that continuing to write isn’t a waste of time or potential earnings.
As of today, I’ve gotten over 1 million impressions, 1100 followers, 599 registered followers and have published 27 articles. Soon enough, I’m sure, this will translate into hard dollars.
In the meantime, it’s another fun venture like painting, work, dulcimer playing, and selling antiques, plus I’m building a following and honing my skills. I’ll update this post once I’m confirmed to give others an estimated timeline of acceptance.
Please follow me on the app and let me know what you think.
-Tracy
Tracy L Carbone's Bit of Everything Site 