by Rachelle de Bretagne

Created on: May 28, 2011

When you begin the Helium experience, it's a little bewildering. Logging into the website, it looks very complex indeed. You know no one. You see so many buttons and gadgets and are not sure how they all work and you don't know what you are supposed to do. Strangely enough, emails come in daily to the New Member Guide on Helium asking how to post articles, or how to set up a bio. The New Member Guide is there to help members to develop their experience, but there is so much you can do on your own that helps you to feel a sense of achievement.

Filling out your bio and setting up your account.

This area is more important than you may think. If, for example, you don't want to spread your real name all over the Internet, you can change your name to a pen name. Press My Helium, and then hover the cursor over the left hand side of the site to see all the options available. In the account settings there is a tab which is labeled “Pen Name” and it is here that you can choose a name to use as a Helium member.

Having established what you want to be called, it's time to fill out that all important bio. Publishers are looking through bios all the time, and in fact if you present yourself as a professional you increase the chances of being noticed. Press My Helium again and get accustomed to hovering that cursor over all the options on the left, stopping where it says Edit About Me.

Your bio is your showcase, and chance to tell people about who you are, and your writing and professional experiences. Add a photograph, and if you don't have one which is correct in sizing, write in to content@helium.com and ask staff if they can re-size your photo. It's a very quick service and you can get your photo onto the site quite quickly.

Get to know the natives

If you feel alone and want to get to know other writers, the Community forums are there for all members. Introduce yourself and interact with other members. Read questions posed, and ask your own. It is this interaction which helps you to feel more at home on the site.

Look for assignments

On your My Helium page, there are lists and lists of possible assignments to write to. If you are nervous about writing to these, take a read of a few articles on the site to get a feel for how things are presented. Layout is pretty easy, as all articles are AP format with small headings, and paragraphs spaced with two spaces between them. The word count acceptable is between 500 and 1500 words. Writing on a topic, avoid writing

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