Welcome to the Demand Studios Blog – a resource for writers, contributors and freelancers alike! Come here for answers to your questions, Studio news, writing tips and more.
Demand Studios Blog
Hello all,

This should go without saying, but quite a few of you are replying to the emails that are sent from the no-reply@demandstudios.com account, despite the fact that those emails say that you should not reply to them or that you should respond to editorialteam@demandstudios.com. Not to mention that the address starts with "no-reply."

Some even respond to the no-reply emails and CC the editorial team email, or vice versa, and we don't want you to do that either because then we might be wasting time responding to the same person twice.

From now on, please consider the no-reply email address as an unmonitored account and only email us through the Contact Us form or by using the editorial team email. This way we can help you more efficiently.

Thank you.

Johan
Hey all,

Please log out and save all work by 6:15 a.m. PST to avoid disruption.

Thanks!

-Shama
Spring will be here soon and accompaning the thrill of warmer weather and young love is the opportunity to give the government some of your money. As you start to think about doing your taxes we want to let you know that we will be sending out 1099 forms during the last week of January. USPS willing, you should receive your forms in the first two weeks of February, please contact us if you don't.


Just a post to let everyone know that you will find updated styleguides of all formats on your dashboard. I encourage you all to re-read them and take notices of the changes that include subhead and image guidelines.

photo by mpclemens
With some requests on the forum brewing, here are a couple of examples of the "list" format below, written by your very own Demand Studios editors. If there are any questions or comments please let us know - Liana L.A. County’s College Hauntings

By Soren Bowie

Probability suggests that the longer an institution is around, the more likely it is to host a death. Institutions of higher learning are no exception to this rule, plus they traditionally house a young community whose deaths will inherently seem untimely. Tragedy mixed with the propensity for rumors among students of higher education provide the perfect social climate for ghost stories, and nearly every campus has one. Here are a few of the most famous university and college hauntings in Los Angeles County.
  • The USC Coliseum Haunting:
Trojan fans give detailed accounts of a ghost standing on top of the sports complex in the fourth quarter of football games. The rumor states that a man fell or jumped from the top floor in the 1960’s and now haunts the stadium. While the legend persists, it is likely based on myth. No one knows the man’s name, no school records show the death of a student in the stadium during the 1960s, and finally, fans attending USC games are likely to be inebriated enough to see and believe anything.
  • The Strub Theatre Haunting (Loyola Marymount University):
While the reason for the haunting is based largely on conjecture, students are adamant that the ghost of an old woman sits in the back row of the Strub Theater from time to time, watching the stage. Actors testify to performing and seeing her in the back of the house as well as stage managers as they close the theater. The stories of who the woman is or how she died are contradictory and meritless. Still, she is well known by everyone on campus.

  • The Erdman Hall Haunting (Occidental College):
The hauntings get crowded at Occidental, especially on the second floor of Erdman Hall where two different ghosts have been reported by students. One is supposedly kind in nature, playing tricks like turning water faucets and lights on and off, as well writing messages on walls. The other ghost is decidedly less friendly. Students in one particular room in the center of the 2nd floor describe the apparition as a large, dark man who stands in the doorway of the closet watching the occupants sleep. No one claims to have been hurt by the ghost, still a ghost that lives in a closet and watches people sleep isn’t making any friends out of believers.
  • The Mount Clef Dorm Haunting (California Lutheran University):
Perhaps the best known haunting of all Southern California schools, Mount Clef dorm is occupied by several ghosts. The legend behind the dorm is that it was built on the site of an old hotel, and as demonstrated in The Shining, hotels are inherently haunted. Today, the hotel is long gone but the dorm picked up all the stray ghosts. Most notably, a child who wanders the upstairs’ hallway. According to the story, he was murdered in the hotel years ago and now plays tricks on the residents. The high jinks range from the standard unlocking and opening doors, to the more bizarre like tracking mud into the beds and throwing pillows across the room in the night. The students describe the haunting as more annoying than horrifying, and may offer some insight as to why the boy was murdered in the first place.

Tips on Japanese Etiquette

By Chai Ta Unfortunately, proper etiquette is not always readily apparent in every situation, especially when you are in a foreign country, and, particularly, if you are a westerner in Japan. What may seem insignificant or even polite to you, can be a great offense to the Japanese people and their culture. Being a foreigner, you will be granted a certain amount of latitude, however, you’ll want to avoid committing any of these infractions when possible, especially in a culture where “the nail that sticks up, gets hammered down.”
  • Punctuality
In many western cultures, it is perfectly acceptable to stroll into work a few minutes late and very normal to be “fashionably late” to parties, but in Japan, being late is far from “OK” in any situation. Whether the meeting is business or casual, tardiness is considered a tremendous insult and shows a great lack of respect to whomever you are meeting and a lack of care for the meeting. In a country with the most punctual railway system in the world, being late is never acceptable. A good rule of thumb is to always err on the side of caution and aim to be 10 to 15 minutes early to every single appointment.
  • Business Cards
When meeting for the first time in a business setting, the Japanese will always present you with their business cards, or meishi. When receiving a card, it’s important that you “receive” it the right way. Always take the card at the corners with both hands without covering any part of the information with your fingers. Thank the person for the card and give a slight bow. Afterwards, do not bend, write on, or put the card directly into your pocket. You must either place it on the table before you or hold onto it until the meeting is over.
  • Shoes in the House
Many Asian cultures adopt the practice of removing shoes before coming into the house, and the Japanese are no exception. The custom is deep-rooted and dates back to the Heian period (794-1192) when the upper class noticed that their dwellings were quickly dirtied by their footwear. The practice spread out to the masses and soon became tradition. When you enter a Japanese home, take your shoes off and place them at the genkan, which is the area just beyond entrance. You’ll be able to either walk freely inside with your bare feet or socks or your host will provide you with house slippers to wear.
  • Chopsticks
When you come from a culture that predominantly uses knives, forks and spoons, your lack of expertise with the sticks will be forgiven. What is harder to forgive, however, is how you use the sticks. Avoid waving or pointing your chopsticks at someone. This is considered an aggressive action. Also, do not use your chopsticks to move plates or bowls on the table as this shows a lack of care for the food. And finally, never stick and leave your chopsticks into your food (like in a bowl of rice) and never pass food from your set of chopsticks to another’s as these actions resemble rituals performed at funerals. To be on the safe side, use your chopsticks to only transfer food from your plate to your mouth.
  • Drinking
Japan is very much a drinking culture. After a hard day’s work, the Japanese love to enjoy a drink or two or five. When you go drinking with your Japanese friends, let them pour you your drink. Hold your glass with two hands as they are pouring. Then, it is customary that you return the favor and pour a drink for them. Before you take your first sip, wait until everyone at your table has a drink in hand. Then, everyone will toast with the traditional “kampai” before taking their first drink.
Hey all,

We'll be performing maintenance between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. PST on January 8th. As always, please log out by 9:15 to avoid losing any work. Thanks!

-Shama
Hello DS writers community,

We are pleased to introduce a new format to the Studio, entitled "The List." The goal of this format is to accurately provide a range of items from a definite and authoritative perspective with a logical flow. To get an idea, examples of titles might include "Types of Heirloom Tomatoes" or "Best Books for Teenage Girls." We are enthusiastic that this format will have a great reception. To find a copy of the styleguide for "The List," go to "Find Available Assignments" and you will be able to select the appropriate format guide from there. Let us know if you have any questions or comments!

-Liana


Hello Writers,

Happy New Year! We wanted to take a moment to assure you that our plans for a big 2009 have not changed. As we referred to in an earlier post, our title production process is still undergoing changes that will allow us to make more assignments available to our writers at a faster rate. While we work on these changes, new assignments will be added to the available assignments queue on a daily basis.

We are also introducing new projects into Demand Studios that will increase the scope of work available to you. One way we are doing this is to expand the range of destinations for Demand Studios content, allowing us to offer a wider variety of topics for you to choose from.

We value our contributors highly and are working to make more assignments available as soon as possible. 2009 will be a busy year for all at Demand Studios, our writers above all!



Sincerely, The Demand Studios Team
We'll be performing routine maintenance on the site between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m PST on Tuesday, December 30th. Please save all work and log out by 6:15 a.m. to avoid disruption.

Thanks!
One of the most common criticisms we have heard regarding the article formats, is the confinement of predetermined section headers on About and Fact Sheet articles. Well, now we are giving you the option to create your own subheads, but the original options will still be available. This will allow you more freedom to supply pertinent information to readers without trying to shoehorn information under an awkward subhead.



With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility





With freeform section headers available in the About and FactSheet articles, we want to offer some guidance on how to use them. We ask that you follow these rules when creating your own section headers in About, How Does, and Fact Sheet articles:

Be as Succinct as Possible- One-word section headers are acceptable and encouraged. We only ask that the focus of the subhead be clear in its conciseness (i.e. Origin, Advancements, Side Effects, etc.).

Avoid Modifiers- Stay away from words like “Your,” “perfect,” “correctly,” “right,” etc. These are subjective words that don’t support factual information.

Avoid Punctuation- Punctuation isn’t necessary in section headers with the exception of apostrophes.

Avoid Duplication- We will not accept subheads that are too similar or synonymous with other subheads. Finish one section in its entirety instead of trying to split it into two.

Avoid Puns- Sum up the text that follows in clear, straightforward language. Do not sacrifice clarity for cleverness.

 First << 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 >> Last