I thought it was ready BUT

[tweety734]

I got the dreaded rejection. I am new to CC and to freelance writing. After the rejection I started thinking that maybe I am just not ready for CC. I worked so hard for this first submission to meet the guidelines. I have read the forums, the other posts about being rejected and still failed to get it accepted! I even had two other people proof read it. I won't give up unless I get the three rejections!

I have to admit, I got a giggle out of the error in the rejection letter. This is what I received:

==== Editorial Information for Your Article: ====

We accept only completely original content.

We do not accept content with punctuation errors, missing punctuation, or other errors, or articles tha have not been submitted according to our formatting guidelines.


==== End Editorial Information for Your Article ====

It made me feel better when I saw that error. We are all human!

I went back to the article and saw that I hadn't changed my font to the accepted font and size. (I've now changed it to the default, so I won't do that again) Now I have to find why it isn't completely original. Does anyone have any tips as to the best way to find what that is referring to?

[Ed]

If your article contains information that was taken directly from another source, then we cannot accept it.

If your article was published by you elsewhere but the article cannot be verified as yours, then we cannot accept it.

From our FAQ:
I submitted an article to sell for usage rights only. My articles was rejected for originality, but I am the original author of the content.
We can only accept articles that are able to be verified as original to the author. If you choose to submit content published elsewhere by you, please submit articles that are clearly credited to you with your name or the pen name you use on Constant Content. Articles that cannot be verified as original to the author cannot be accepted. If there is no name on the original publication, if the article is credited with a name that does not match your given or chosen name, or if the author's name is not easily located on the page of original publication, the article will be rejected. Do not include location of previous publication anywhere in your submission. Please note: When you submit an article that has been published elsewhere, you may ask usage rights ONLY for the article.

Thanks,
Ed

[tweety734]

Thanks for your quick reply. I had already read the FAQ. To my knowledge I haven't quoted anyone. Should I take each sentence & google it? Nah, that would take too long!

[Ed]

Making sure your content is original should be a part of the writing process. If parts of the article aren't original, then it shows a flaw in the research and writing process. If you have inadvertently included information from another source into your text, then the best advice I can give is to shelve the article and to refrain from submitting it.

Thank you,
Ed

[Lysis]

Tweety, I'm still a n00b. I've only been freelancing for a year. I'm glad I found CC, but I'm also glad I found it after I had a little practice under my belt. I saw some of the first things I did, and I think it's trash. LOL

You can still give CC a go, but if you think you need some practice, try Helium. The site isn't known as the most quality site, but what others do isn't your problem. You can still practice and get feedback about your work and not worry about getting rejected. They can still disable articles, so just stay on-topic and practice. Once you get some articles up, I'd apply at Suite101 where there are slightly higher standards and people there who can really help you with online writing. I also like that I can have a place to showcase my work. The pay is awful, but again, it's just practice. Once you get the hang of it, you can come back here where I consider this the toughest of the tough to get accepted.

[tweety734]

Thanks for the info, Lysis. I read some information at Helium and registered. I will probably give it a try after I learn some more about it. Thanks again