Third rejection, what now?

[gaia]

Well, my article has been rejected for the third time now and I am still no wiser as to why! When I received the second rejection email I realised that I had misread the submission guidelines re:format - I'd read 'no indentations and double spacing between paragraphs' as meaning 'no double spacing between paragraphs' so I corrected this, rewrote a few sections, checked, double-checked and then triple-checked my grammar, spelling and punctuation and resubmitted feeling fairly confident I had got it right this time, only to receive yet another rejection email!!
How can I find out what the problem is? The article was called 'What's Wrong with Cyber(-)dating (tried both versions) and the three rejections stated:

1) "Please follow all formatting guidelines, which describe how spaces must appear between paragraphs in the content details and the document itself.

We do not accept content with punctuation errors"


2) "Please follow all formatting guidelines, which describe how spaces must appear between paragraphs (double space) in the content details and the document itself.

As per our guidelines, articles should be formatted with:
Single-spaced paragraphs without indentation and double spaces between paragraphs.

"Single space" means no spaces between lines (i.e., you have pressed the enter key once). "Double space" refers to the act of pressing the Enter key twice and indicates a single line of space between lines of text"

3) "We cannot accept content with punctuation errors, including question marks, commas, and other forms of punctuation. This article has not been adequately revised as per previous rejection notice We cannot accept it." There are then some links to comma-usage sites, but I still can't see where I'm going wrong. Any suggestions, anybody?

P.S. While I've been writing this, I have had 4 emails rejecting some photos I uploaded, with no rejection information given for any of them. Help!!!

[Celeste Stewart]

Hopefully you've straightened out the formatting. For CC, formatting should look like this in the document as well as the long summary:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

Double check the summary after submitting it to be sure that the spacing hasn't disappeared (it happens).

Sounds like the article must have a few comma-related errors, especially if links directing you to specific sites covering commas were given. Consider each sentence. Are commas are being overused? Does the sentence need a comma? Is a comma being used when a different form of punctuation (like a semicolon) should be used?

[Ed]

Formatting was okay, but punctuation was a problem, beyond commas.

[gaia]

Thanks guys, I'll have another look but, as I understand it, I can't resubmit this piece, can I?

[HayleyWriter]

Hi Gaia,

I would probably put that article aside for a few weeks, and submit some others in the meantime. Now that you have sorted out the formatting submission guidelines and learnt some valuable lessons with the rejections, you won't make the same mistakes in any future articles. Putting this particular article aside for a few weeks, or even a couple of months, gives you a chance to proofread it as if it is a new article. Sometimes, when you have resubmitted and reworked an article several times, you can no longer see the errors in the article, because you are so close to it. Putting it aside for a while helps you forget the article and then review with a completely fresh perspective. I have done this myself for articles that were rejected in my early days at CC, and found that when I returned to the article, I ended up rewriting it substantially with the lessons learned by continually writing for CC. This also gives Ed a chance to review the article with fresh eyes when you eventually resubmit it.

I have a couple of articles I am generally writing at once - one I am writing, and one I am proofreading after having written it earlier. This gives me a chance to proofread the article with fresh eyes. I also have "drafts" or "work in progress" files with articles I want to come back to after several weeks. Start working on the next articles and come back to this one later!

Hope this helps,

Hayley

[BarryDavidson]

Gaia,

As for comma errors, I've learned that in a web format shorter is better. Even print has gone to short sentences in most cases. Basically, if a compound sentence can stand on its own with a period in between you should go ahead and split it. (I've seen best selling books with sentences which cover half the page, and include no less than ten commas.)

Semicolons are the hard one because they're so easy to misuse. In most cases a period or hyphen between works better. I've pretty much edited out all semicolons in my work.

Question marks are getting iffy in web formats. I've seen many articles and books which don't include a question mark if the actual question is rhetorical. In my understanding, a question is a question except in very limited circumstances. I'm sure Ed has a link posted about this somewhere here on the forums.

Periods on very short sentences (one or two words) is also something you'll see a lot more of these days. (Would she ever trust that arrogant but gorgeous man again? Never.) Personally, I don't like them unless the preceding sentence is lacking without the emphasis.

Ed has hundreds of threads with links to various punctuation and style websites. I usually read them because my command of the language is a work in progress. Don't be scared away.

[Celeste Stewart]

Noah Lukeman's A Dash of Style and Strunk & White's Elements of Style are two excellent books that cover punctuation. If you don't have a copy, go to the bookstore today and pick up one or both of these books. (They're not as boring to read as they sound.)

[gaia]

Thanks everyone, I really don't want to give up on this site - I was so pleased when I found it. I've read lots of helpful stuff on these forums and looked at the sites about punctuation etc. but will take Hayley's advice for now and leave that article to come back to later.

I am still working on a few articles, but can't help worrying about more rejections as I'm still not sure where I'm going wrong so am not sure how to avoid making the same mistakes again. I also like Barry's suggestion about sticking to shorter sentences and I almost never use semicolons. Will have a look at what's been said about question marks cos I did use a few of those and will get myself a copy of Elements of Style.

Wish me luck!!

Gaia