Startup advice needed

[BballBenGood2Me]

New Internet concept needs some advice. Before you begin realize I'm a journalistic noob so guide me if you can with the understanding that, eventually, I'd like to see some people here making some money.

1. Imagine that I have blogs willing to submit articles to me for editing before they post and when they submit an article the request goes into a que that only approved commissioned editors can see. How should I set up the que:

a) editors are added based on available time & day slots - the time the request hits the que dominates
b) first to the que gets the work as long as it's completed in a timely manner
c) share and share alike

2. What do you consider to be a reasonable charge to 'light edit' 1,000 word articles from bloggers. By that I mean spelling, grammer, and any suggestive warnings (ie: you stated this as a fact - do you have two sources?). The writer will remain responsible for their work - all we would be doing is assisting them with better copy.

If you have suggestions, please feel free to add them below.

 

[21]

1. queue
2. grammar

Not sure what you should charge for a 'light edit' but you should charge more for spelling the words right.

 

[BballBenGood2Me]

and why I need editors for this project. :)

 

[mustangj17]

and why I need editors for this project. :)

If you want real advice, I would say don't do this. There are already like 400 internet sites like this.

Examiner.com, Bleacher Report, Suite101, RafterJumpOn, and a bunch of others. This is not a unique idea and therefore is not a good idea.

 

[Stitch]

How do you expect to make money and don't say AdSense?

 

[Ace]

Sad to say, but you'd be better off with making sure the SEO terms are prominent in the articles, editing be damned.

 

[BballBenGood2Me]

Interesting not one person asked about the concept and a couple already think they know what it's about. Am I seeing one reason why mainstream media is floundering?

My concept is unique or I wouldn't be doing it. :)

My concept already has subscribers or I wouldn't consider doing it. :)

But since nobody is looking for a work-from-home opportunity...

Thank you all the same.

 

[playthrough]

We have had a TON of work-from-home, online-type opportunities on the jobs and freelance boards here. Some are good. The majority are junk that good people have wasted good time over. So with that in mind, and being a newcomer here, you'll kindly appreciate that the regulars aren't falling over themselves to ask you about your startup. But best of luck.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

Work-from-home + startup = work-for-free.

 

[Babs]

If you read his/her post, and I don't think many of the responders did actually that, it sounds like an editing service, not a provider of new content.

I can think of some people who would pay for an on-demand editing service -- if it was cheap enough. But you'll have a hard time making it cheap enough for people to actually use it. Because not enough people value editing that much. Sadly.

 

[golfnut8924]

If you read his/her post, and I don't think many of the responders did actually that, it sounds like an editing service, not a provider of new content.

I can think of some people who would pay for an on-demand editing service -- if it was cheap enough. But you'll have a hard time making it cheap enough for people to actually use it. Because not enough people value editing that much. Sadly.

Agreed. Especially bloggers. You think bloggers care about editing their stuff? Hell no. Most of them don't give a rats ass about any type of journalism ethics, rules or standards so why would they shell out money to have their stuff edited?

 

[britwrit]

Most good writers also realize they need to revise and polish their work before they post it. So, if you're going to go the "light editing" route, who is your demographic? Underconfident bloggers with some spare cash? The retired? Upper middle-class stay-at-home moms?

On the other hand, if you offered an editing service that makes drab prose sing, to punch it up, I could see a market for that. Corporate blogs written by CEOs. That unreadable (and unread) blog put out by your local representative. And - like with a lot of producers in Hollywood - people who are "big on ideas" but want someone to actually put those darn words together.

 

[bwright]

New Internet concept needs some advice. Before you begin realize I'm a journalistic noob so guide me if you can with the understanding that, eventually, I'd like to see some people here making some money.

1. Imagine that I have blogs willing to submit articles to me for editing before they post and when they submit an article the request goes into a que that only approved commissioned editors can see. How should I set up the que:

a) editors are added based on available time & day slots - the time the request hits the que dominates
b) first to the que gets the work as long as it's completed in a timely manner
c) share and share alike

2. What do you consider to be a reasonable charge to 'light edit' 1,000 word articles from bloggers. By that I mean spelling, grammer, and any suggestive warnings (ie: you stated this as a fact - do you have two sources?). The writer will remain responsible for their work - all we would be doing is assisting them with better copy.

If you have suggestions, please feel free to add them below.

All I could think about while reading this was the South Park episode with the spanish-speaking day laborers.

Que? Que?

 

[murphyc]

I second (or third, fourth, etc.) some of the concerns already raised.
I'll add a couple of more, Bball. First, it sounds like adding this editing step means a blogger is two steps away from being posted. Isn't part of the idea of blogging the instant posting ability? Unless you are camped out checking your e-mail every minute and the person you send it to doing the same, it seems like there would be a delay.
Second, you mention being a journalistic noob. So do you actually have any editing experience or background? Seems like what you could charge would be in proportion to your experience.

 

[digitalsportsdaily]

great idea. impossible business model. The only way I could see this working is if you partnered with a blogging network.