Review: SEED.com
Review of SEED.com: What to Expect
SEED.com is an online publishing platform that allows any writer to claim a title, write it, and submit it for review. If SEED chooses to purchase it, the article may appear on any AOL-owned site, such as Spinner, WoW.com, or Popeater. If it’s rejected, you get to keep full rights to the article to publish elsewhere, if you decide to.
They expect to see high quality writing, though–throwing together a simple 500 word article isn’t likely to be bought. Hint: They really like unique, well written “journalistic” content with references from AOL sites or experts, so that’s something to aim for.
Here’s what else you need to know about SEED.com’s submission process:
- Browsing: You can browse for titles by logging into your account, which automatically brings you to your dashboard. Each title includes its due date, how much they’re willing to pay, and the title’s category (i.e.; a story about travel tips would be listed in “Travel”). To learn more about the title, click on it to bring up a page displaying the details of the assignment. This may include instructions for writing each section, the writing “tone”, if it requires SEO optimization, or information about which links to include.
- Submission: Submitting an article to SEED.com is pretty straightforward. After claiming the topic, the browser will automatically direct to its submission page, where you can copy and paste the article, use the toolbar to format it, and even include an image relevant to the article title.
- Response time: Now here’s the kicker. SEED.com typically doesn’t review articles until after its due date is past, and even then the review time can take weeks. SEED.com emails writers if the article is accepted or not, so you don’t need to constantly log in to know the status of your submitted article.
Review of SEED.com: The Pay
SEED.com payments aren’t consistent, but they are considerably higher than other websites, including Demand Studios and Associated Content. Payments range from $25 per 400 word article to over $300 for lengthier, feature pieces. It’s normal to see $50 titles available for grabs, and SEED.com may even assign you high paying articles if you continue to turn in high quality assignments.
Once the article is purchased by SEED, the payment will show up in your payment module. You need to manually request payment from SEED.com by using this module, and they usually pay it within a week of the request.
So what’s the catch? Plenty of rejects, if you don’t know how to write well. They like snappy, conversational pieces with plenty of information, and if you don’t understand the style very well, you may have trouble getting articles accepted by them.
Otherwise, there is no catch–plenty of writers are already making a decent income here (not to mention getting some sweet bylines on top AOL sites).
Review of SEED.com: Benefits
So how can writing for SEED.com benefit you?
- The pay here is considerably higher. Articles range from $25 to over $300, with varying word counts and submission requirements.
- You get the chance to get your byline on a popular AOL-owned website. Some of the websites where SEED.com distributes purchased articles includes Asylum, AOL Music, Spinner, WoW.com, Moviefone and plenty of other websites (it’s too lengthy to list here).
- Anyone can join and claim articles. There’s no pre-screening process involved–you simply sign up and log in.
For some writers this may be the only way to get their foot in the door. Unlike magazines or publications, you don’t need to endlessly query and submit writing samples in order to write for them–SEED.com basically eliminates this process, making it an ideal hub for print writers transitioning to online freelance writing.
Review of SEED.com: Disadvantages
SEED.com may offer great pay and bylines to top AOL websites, but it’s not all good. Some of SEED.com’s disadvantages include:
- The quality of writing is higher here. To get a feel of what they want, try looking at the articles listed on their distribution websites.
- They take a couple of weeks to review articles on average. It also can take up to a week to receive payment for these articles.
Review of SEED.com: Verdict
SEED is highly recommended if you want to learn how to write to standards seen in most magazines or print publications. The work isn’t guaranteed to be steady, but if you’re willing to sacrifice that for more money and recognition, SEED.com is a great place to write. It’s definitely worth a try!
Well I am a professional journalist, and was totally unimpressed with Seed’s process and professional nature.
If you are good writer, you can do well? That is not true. They took forever to tell me that they weren’t going to publish my story, yet they asked me to send them more stories because they loved your writing. They gave me no feedback as to why they love my writing about their idea, but didn’t want my story. NO THANKS!
The problem is that if you claim a story, that doesn’t take it off the board. 1000 other writers could claim the same story.
Seed really got burned with this anti-writer procedure when the rejected stories started showing up on the websites of all their competitors.
Even if they pay more, if writers are spending time to submit stories to compete with hundreds of other writers, the money is not worth it.
Donna,
From what I’ve heard, they’re planning to give more personal feedback in the future, whenever that will be. But giving out standard reject emails is pretty common with online publishing platforms and querying print publications. It seems like the best method for getting accepted is to study the website where the SEED assignment will be published for style, content and tone.
I really hope the communication between writers and SEED staff becomes better in the future though — it would really help writers lower their rejects. There are a handful of writers already using this as a part-time gig to make a great deal of money, so I’ll have to disagree on the money issue. But like with any site, it’s not for everybody.
I agree with Donna. It is more of a subjective writing contest than a job.
Hi,
I just started at SEED and am waiting to see what happens with my first article submission. As someone who writes for several sites, I don’t feel that trying to write for SEED is a waste of my time. Most of the articles they ask for are timely and would do well on any site. So if I am rejected, I will simple place the article on another site. It is worth it to me to try a few articles because of the chance of being accepted. Think glass half-full. :)
Cheers,
Deanna
Deanna´s last blog ..How are Your EHow Earnings Doing This Month?
I just started writing on seed a few weeks ago. In the first week I had two 300 word articles purchased. Nothing I could retire on but I did do my homework. Moviefone and Popeater bought them. I don’t pick research topics since they pay low, but I do check out the website where they will ultimately land and scope out the style and tone etc.
Hey! I started Seed.com about a month or so ago. One article was published right away and the other wasn’t. I have three in my “que” right now, waiting to be reviewed. The only complaint I have is my first two articles were reviewed quickly and before the due date but the others are just sitting there for well over a few weeks now. So it has its good and bad sides but overall it has been a descent experience.
My experience with them has been good. Out of the 3 articles I have submitted, 3 have been published. (Two were tips of 100 words) I also answered a call for parenting writers a few weeks back, and am now getting steady direct assignments from them. The level of research and writing required is similar to a high-quality blog post, so to get $40 – 50 for a 500 word post that I can create with little stress is a nice supplement to my writing. (And it’s super flexible.) Thanks for the write-up!
Linsey´s last blog ..Sunday Side Up
Like Donna, I have questions about SEED’s rejection process.
Now, they accepted and paid upfront for my first submission. The next three were rejected with no explanation or even the so-called option to publish as a pay-per-click article. Given the name and exposure, I would have accepted that with at least one. It may not be for everyone but why offer this as an alternative only to give a generic but optimistic rejection.
I’m still fairly new and every so often get a revision request. It would seem that offering a revision as opposed to re-assigning a project to another writer would be a possible waste of time, energy and someone is not going to be happy, to say the least.
J, from what I have heard from SEED staff, they are working on giving more personal rejection notices to writers in the future, although they haven’t said when we should expect this.
I’ve been a freelance writer for about a year now, and I recently submitted and article to Seed.com. That was 73 days ago and it’s still listed as pending approval. In my opinion, there are more promising freelance opportunities than Seed out there.
How do they pay…do they accept international writers..meaning people who are not in the united states?
Hi Milo – unfortunately they only accept U.S. citizens at this time. Let me know if you have any more questions.
I had my first article rejected by Seed, my second one bought, and currently about a dozen short quick tips pending approval for over a month. That’s all of my time they’re getting.
I’ve published fiction and nonfiction books and written for Cosmopolitan, Every Day with Rachel Ray, and other glossies and believe me, the Seed process is the bottom of the barrel when it comes to professionalism, and I’m including SEO work in this. They are SLOWER in almost every aspect than any publisher I’ve ever worked with. They do pay fast, but they seem to have no time frame for accepting or rejecting articles, and the turnover on the assignment dashboard is worse than watching paint dry.
My main complaint is the lame quality of the available assignments. You can’t pitch to them, so you’re dependent on their ideas, and though they promise a “rich selection” of topics, it’s usually one or two ideas repeated in mind-numbing variations — i.e., Best Happy Hour in Cleveland, Best Happy Hour in Dallas, Best Happy Hour in Montpelier, followed by I interviewed with Google, I interviewed with Brooks Brothers, I interviewed with FoxNews. I have found more interesting things to write about on SEO and info-geek type sites, where the action is fast and you can pick up a lot more money in terms of time invested. Maybe your your dashboard gets better as you sell more to them, but is it worth your time? To me, no.
Overall impression: the Seed team thinks they’re a lot slicker than they actually are. If you really need writing credits to start your career, investing time here could pay off, since everyone knows the AOL brand. If you want to make some fast money or learn to be a better writer, invest your time somewhere else.
I’ve heard they’re considering opening up the process to accept pitches. Whether online or in print, if you have a unique idea to pitch, you’ve got a much better chance selling your work, even if you’re a novice. When you’re the hundredth writer submitting on the best pizza in Boston, it’s a pointless waste of time.
Last year I thought I would try freelancing to earn extra income, I found Seed and believed it to be the prefect fit. I had an article purchased, but still to this day have not received compensation. I have emailed Seed numerous times, and each time they claim they are releasing the amount, nothing ever happens. I have taken it as a lesson learned and caution others to be weary when dealing with this site. My advice go with an established site.
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14 submissions and 6 weeks later, I found AOL to be a complete waste of time. Add to that, AOL’s financial woes, buying Ariana Huffington out for 180 million, and laying off 700 employees, AOL is a joke!! They take too long to reject your work. They tell what they want for each submission, but not enough info. Talk about garbage—–the titles they have are horrid!! When signing up , they don’t ask any questions or for a resume.
DUH, winning—-Even Charlei would pass these morons up!!
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Hey Roulette,call me crazy…..but I’d be willing to bet you have no idea how to string a sentence together using English properly, huh? How close am I to being on the money with that one? Foreigners who can’t speak/write English should not attempt to do so, as it hurts my ears/eyes to see someone butcher our native tongue in such a vile way. That’s the problem with letting just about anyone become a “writer” these days online. If you want to write content for readers in the USA and you want to live here and enjoy all we have to offer….suck it up and learn to properly communicate.
So, NickiSaidSomething mind blowingly stupid. What is it with all this “learn our language” trash? You are telling people that they should learn how to use English better, but when they try to, you slam them. No win situation.
Anyway, back on topic…..
I have worked for seed.com and found it pretty easy going, although because the number of available tasks was so limited I also tried a couple of other sites such as Textbroker and Independent Publishing. It seems sites like this are popping up all over the place? Has anyone else had any experience with these two? Or any other similar sites for that matter?
Apple now has Rhapsody as an app, which is a great start, but it is currently hampered by the inability to store locally on your iPod, and has a dismal 64kbps bit rate. If this changes, then it will somewhat negate this advantage for the Zune, but the 10 songs per month will still be a big plus in Zune Pass’ favor.
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