Hi there,
I've just submitted my first article today and have been busy reading all the FAQ's and forum posts, yet I haven't found any answers to a couple of questions I have so I hope you can help. How long I can expect to wait for approval? Should I wait for my first approval before writing more? Is it best to submit articles on a variety of topics? If any seasoned pros on constant content could answer or point me to the info I'd be very grateful
Welcome. I have only been here a couple of months, so perhaps "seasoned pro" does not apply yet.
I waited until my first submission was accepted before submitting others because this site has a three strikes you're out rule. My first article was reviewed and accepted after four days (including a holiday). Once your first article is accepted, you might be more confident about multiple submissions. Until you have three articles accepted though, you will not be able to have more than three articles waiting to be reviewed.
I recommend a variety of subjects because you cannot know in advance what a customer will be seeking. Evergreen topics work best; topics you know well will require less research.
Review times vary. If there are lots of public requests it usually take longer, sometimes a week or moren for an on spec article. Public and private request submissions have priority. Don't get discouraged, but be aware that CC can sometimes require patience. It is well worth the wait though
I am very pleased with my "newbie" review times. However, both my subs have been rejected
The first one I could kind of understand, and it served to give me an idea of what CC expects. So, lesson learned (or so I thought) I subbed a my second article instead. Rejected again, but just don't understand their reasons: "grammar" & "difficult to understand words/sentences". Beats me. My first language is English and I've had 500+ articles published at that other place (EZA) with success.
Sounds as though your article lacks a little clarity in places. Sometimes the person who wrote the article is the wrong one to spot this: being the one who wote it, you're going to know exactly what you mean! Maybe you could show it to someone else and ask them if they can clearly understand the points/message you're trying to get across. If someone has to read a sentence more than twice to understand its meaning, then it could very well need revising.
I've posted a request in another forum to have someone have a look at it for me.