I have a streak of competitiveness that runs through me. So when I signed up for the Examiner and found out that they won’t pay me until I hit twenty-five dollars and only then on the twentieth of each month through PayPal. Well…
I had to get money in that first full month!
They have rules.
- You have to write about your subject. Mine is plants in Hampshire.
- You have to have a picture- sizes are different in article than in slide show
- You have to connect your articles to each other
- You have to mention local businesses
- You have to write between 200 to 500 words
- You should use quotes
I growled at my monitor, “Alright examiner I am up to the challenge!” I have to fix some of the earlier articles to follow the rules, while I am writing new ones.
What I found is that writing about a specific ‘subject’ is a lot harder than it sounds.
Sometimes my odd sense of humor comes out.
Like this one:
“Why go to Spain on vacation when you could visit Hampshire instead”
My number are slow, or at least the money amount. Here is today’s tally.
Today I made $0.49 and I had 51 hits…
The average for the, Home and Living section was 16..
Hmmm!
Is my math right on this, I would need over 2,500 hits a month to get that twenty-five dollars…
Anticipating all that cash from the examiner… I started a laptop jar in the back of my closet. As of today I have a whole dollar-eighty! And a fake mouse…added by the cats. Woohoo!
Ahh! I love a challenge!
Here is a poem I posted in my last article.
party in the mushroom rings
by Gerardine Baugh
the garden faeries laughed
and planted seeds of fun
they whispered, it was they, who
mixed up the garden, and
planted the green beans far from their trellis
eggplant was placed next to the pumpkins
tomatoes rolled into the neighbor’s yard
they sang and danced inside the ring of mushrooms
table set,
feasting on strawberries and corn
potatoes and cucumbers
glasses rose
a toast to the gardener
drink of dandelion wine
the fey cheered and sang songs
of times past, and those to come
some sat under mushroom umbrellas
wide and white, others
sat atop, and
scrutinized with words of nettles
peals of laughter danced across the lawn
this, the dark end of the new moon
18 replies on “I have been writing for the Examiner.~ Or, Half a penny a day brings me closer to a laptop…!~”
I think your poem is wonderful and so very well written Gerardine. Good luck with your writing for Examiner.
Viola,
Thank you! I hope you are doing well.
Gerardine
for that kind of work you are worth 25 ,000 dollars and not the small amount they offer but then I am biased coz I love your writing and so do many others, Isnt it nice to see Viola back, hi babe, Gerardine you will leave them speechless as you do us, if not get my pal Uriah to bite their asses lol, regards to Michael and the rest of the gang. xx
william,
Now, see there! That is the amount I would be expecting. lol! You are so sweet!
I am so very happy to see Viola back on line.
lol! Uriah would walk away with everyone if they had a treat in their pockets.:-)
I have been trying to catch up on psoting comments. I am so far behind. This chair hates me..;-)
I will tell Michael. I hope you are doing well, too.
Gerardine xx
Wow! I would have never thought there would be so many rules for such little money. 2500 hits? I haven’t even gotten that on my blog in almost a year!
I sure hope you get it!
Love that the cats are trying to help with the funding.
Heather,
My eyes hurt trying to keep up with them, but I am stubborn, and I really am saving in my closet for that laptop.
I figure by the time I get the money together the prices will be down on the one I’m looking at, or I will find a pot of gold:-) lol!
I have to stop over at your blog and see what you’re up to. I hope you are doing well!
Gerardine
oh Geraldine, what a story!
Jennifer,
Thank you.
Gerardine
its really very, very tough to write on order. challenge worth trying.
trisha,
If you try, toss my name in as referring you. Thanks
Gerardine
Great post… good luck with that. Thanks for the visit. Do not forget to sign upfor t the giveaway… click the icon in side bar.
Marzel,
Thank you for stopping by, I will click that icon.
Gerardine
the sweetest fairy tale – vividly pretty.
Toi,
Thank you
Gerardine
very beautifully crafted words.. It’s such a dream land story..
xox
http://jinglepoetry.blogspot.com/2010/10/poetry-potluck-beaches-and-mountains.html
Greetings, friend! How r u?
I sincerely invite you to join us for a Monday Poetry Potluck party, bring in 1 to 3 poems to share, let our fellow poets read and encourage your creative work, and have fun reading other poets from our list and discover fresh friendship as well!
This is only once a week opportunity, your talent and hard work deserve attention, I encourage you to sign in and follow our blog so that you get the most updated information about our other features….
Hurry up, the more you share, the happier we are.
Hope to see you at our party soon!
to link in, click on the link via this comment from above, then look at the blue link button at the end of the post, click on the button, have your poem link copy and pasted in the first box, then enter your name, then, your email address…let us know if you need help by leaving a comment under the same post…
[…] My walking path: http://gerardinebaugh.wordpress.com/2010/08/11/i-have-been-writing-for-the-examiner-or-half-a-penny-… […]
the image is super breath taking..
how are you?
you have got talent here, welcome to attend poets rally week 35, where you share your poetry and make new poetic friends…poetry awards are assigned upon completion.
let me know when you are ready.
Merry Christmas…
keep writing…