Constant Content

Well, my first article for CC was rejected. I imagine that I could do a significant re-write, but I'm inclined to pass on that and to move on to something different. The problem was that the article is humor, and that successful humor is largely dependent upon style. The editor evidently didn't think much of mine. I have no particular objection to some of his (or hers, of course; I wish there were a way to identify editors; is there?) criticisms, but one of them caused me to roll my eyes.

The article translates your microscopically tiny chances of winning the powerball jackpot into practical terms. One sentence says that you have a vastly better chance of randomly knocking on one door in New York City and finding the friend you're looking for than you have of "... giddily posing next to an oversized check for more money than your dazed brain can apprehend." The editor highlighted "dazed brain can apprehend" and wrote that I was being arrogant and was insulting readers' intelligence. Say what? Perhaps that editor's brain is locked in a shockproof case, but I'm quite certain that if I won several hundred million dollars, MY brain would be thoroughly dazed, shocked, numbed, petrified, staggered, and any other adjective I can think of that describes stupefaction. So I guess that either I'm arrogant and insulting or that the editor's humor receptors are out of register.

Ah well. Onward!

By the way, I've seen that we're not supposed to include comments to the editors in the submission field. Have I failed to discover a way to include comments elsewhere? Sorry if there's an obvious answer that I've missed. Thanks.

lol You're not the first one to lose on humor submissions. Personally, I keep my stuff very straightforward and don't even try. lol

Also, you can't send them comments until they reject. Some people send comments in the short overview, but I've been rejected for that (albeit a long time ago) for it "not the place for comments."

It's hard to get your favourite bits squashed, happened to me more than a few times, but in the end it's a certain sort of writing they want, and it's useful to be able to do it. You can't let go and write expressively here. Cutting the crap is definitely the thing. For example I would never put 'more than a few' in an article. They would accuse me of being a non-native speaker!

I did manage to find where I can post comments to the editor, but I may not bother. I think he or she and I will remain in disagreement about what's amusing and what isn't and I don't want to waste my time sounding petulant. But thanks for your responses -- they're appreciated.

Humor is tricky, because as you pointed out, it's so personal. It's why I try to stick to factual / how to style content - I find CC editors tend to prefer an objective approach, unless you have a private request where the client specifically requests something different. Good luck with your next submissions.