Constant Content

Hello to All,

I'm a newbie, with only one article published. The second article I submitted was rejected on the grounds that it was "just a list." I'm still pretty sore about that; I read the guidelines thoroughly, and made sure that my points were meaty... not just a list. I guess it really took the wind out of my sails for writing for Constant Content for a long time.

So, I've decided to get over it, submit an another article and hope for the best. My problem is, now I'm making stupid mistakes just thinking about submitting on this site. I've edited, edited & edited, and I'm still unsure. Does anyone feel like taking a look at this article and giving me their opinion? I would appreciate it so much!

I'm hoping to continue writing for Constant Content if I can get over this mental hiccup I've acquired...

One problem with that idea is the CC editors are inconsistent and come up with objections to things that they've approved in the past. So nobody, as far as I'm concerned, could be 100% sure of an approval and it would be horrible to ok an article only to see it turned down by the eds.

People have often posted excerpts from articles in the forum here, to get opinions from other writers, and you could certainly try that.

When I wrote here first I got loads and loads of rejections, and I do think they are harder on you to start with. It does get easier, you learn what they want, and I think the eds don't go looking for faults so much after a while. You get used to deleting all your 'best' bits before they do, and swallow the odd rejection.

I hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying 'the odd rejection'. I'll probably get three now!

Good luck!

They must cycle through editors, and it gets hard because things are inconsistent.

I have one who is having me change industry standard spelling in my articles now where before the editor left them. Frustrating. Had an editor a long time ago make me change "username" to "user name" and I've been doing that for years just to appease the editor. Now, the new editor is having me use "username." It's frustrating but whatever. You kinda have to just go with the flow.

Thank you for your quick replies...yes I've read many forum posts about inconsistency in editing practices at C.C. It's pretty surprising, since C.C. is regarded as a high-quality writing site..you would think that editorial consistency would be a major concern of theirs. It's difficult to write for a site when you're not sure what is acceptable from one day to the next, or from one editor to the next.

I'm really concerned about getting 'the boot,' and with my article getting rejected (and I was shut-out of replying to job offers) I'm still uncertain that the worry is worth it. I'm relatively new to web-writing and I've just begun writing for some other sites. So far, they appear to be pleased with my work.. and they seem more consistent with their editing & reviewing process.

I submitted the article that I posted about, let's hope that I don't get canned for it.

Thank you both again for your comments, I do need all the information and opinions I can get from experienced C.C. writers.

It is too bad that the editors are inconsistent, and it's something CC should try to improve, but I would still say it's ultimately more of an annoyance and an inconvenience than anything else. Once you figure out what the editors are usually okay with, the vast majority of your articles should go through fine… And on the occasion when they don't, it's usually not a big deal to change whatever they want changed and then move on. So in the end you can't worry too much about getting rejected. Of course it feels different when you're just starting out, but I still wouldn't view that one rejection as being very important.

Pellucidean wrote:It is too bad that the editors are inconsistent, and it's something CC should try to improve, but I would still say it's ultimately more of an annoyance and an inconvenience than anything else. Once you figure out what the editors are usually okay with, the vast majority of your articles should go through fine… And on the occasion when they don't, it's usually not a big deal to change whatever they want changed and then move on. So in the end you can't worry too much about getting rejected. Of course it feels different when you're just starting out, but I still wouldn't view that one rejection as being very important.

Thank you for your comment Pellucidean.. I am hoping it will be just an inconvenience and nothing more. I've read through the forum and I'm still not sure about the three strikes rule, if it ever really existed and if it did, is it still in effect? In the end, I'm going to adjust my attitude, realize that I'm a good writer and do my best. I don't think anything I submit will have errors terrible enough to drop me from the site and even if I were to get the boot, it's not the end of the world.