I'm new and I've been reading the forum posts to try and get to know protocol here.
I know that people have asked before why it takes so long for articles to be reviewed. My question is: Once we have been on the board a while do review times get shorter? I am new and it's frustrating having articles sitting there not reviewed. I am not complaining, just explaining. If they get reviewed quicker once you've established yourself as a good writer, it might be more motivating to stick around and write. I'm anxious to see if my writing passes muster here.
It seems there are a lot of writers on the board. Are there any plans of adding more reviewers? Just curious.
Thanks,
Roxanne
Review Time Questions
Moderators: Celeste Stewart, Ed, Constant
Re: Review Time Questions
I'm new, and I see about a 3 day review time not counting weekends. If I have stuff in the queue by Monday, then it's usually Wednesday for me. It's faster if there aren't open job requests since those take priority.
Re: Review Time Questions
Thanks for the answer. It's just frustrating not knowing if my writing is up to par. I wish I could write and submit more when these get approved, but I put my writing on hold because I have no idea if they are perfect enough. I'm kinda scared reading all of the comments because it seems like they have to be absolutely perfect in order to be accepted. I don't want to waste time writing something that I will have to rewrite anyway. ;-)
Re: Review Time Questions
Well, my first 3 times were epic failures. Make sure you have the files in 12pt Arial and single spaced. That one is hard to remember since Word 2007 likes to default to a different font and 1.5 spacing. Becoming a CC author is like getting a new video game. Screw the directions - let's play! :D
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HayleyWriter
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- Location: Sydney, Australia
- Contact:
Re: Review Time Questions
Hi,
It does take a while to get established on CC and build up that portfolio, especially as everyone gets some rejections at first and has to work to improve at least one aspect of the writing to meet the stringent standards here. However, once you figure out the standards and learn to write to that standard, rejections are few.
As far as the review time, it can vary between 1 day and 5 days depending on how many other authors have submitted articles in that time and how many requests are open. Articles in response to a private or public request will be given priority in the reviewing queue.
It does get easier to get the articles through, mostly because authors improve.
Hope this helps,
Hayley
It does take a while to get established on CC and build up that portfolio, especially as everyone gets some rejections at first and has to work to improve at least one aspect of the writing to meet the stringent standards here. However, once you figure out the standards and learn to write to that standard, rejections are few.
As far as the review time, it can vary between 1 day and 5 days depending on how many other authors have submitted articles in that time and how many requests are open. Articles in response to a private or public request will be given priority in the reviewing queue.
It does get easier to get the articles through, mostly because authors improve.
Hope this helps,
Hayley
Re: Review Time Questions
Hi Roxanne,
I know exactly what you mean! My first few days, I didn't want to submit more than 2 articles at a time because I was so scared I'd get three rejections and be booted. But now that I've had several articles accepted, I've been submitting the maximum allowed at a time and keeping my fingers crossed. It's frustrating not to be able to submit more than 6 at a time, but that restriction is lifted once several articles have sold (10, I think). I imagine that for the experienced writers here, there's much more of a flow since they can just submit as they go along, and if they're submitting regularly than each day brings acceptances (in theory). Anyway, good luck!
I know exactly what you mean! My first few days, I didn't want to submit more than 2 articles at a time because I was so scared I'd get three rejections and be booted. But now that I've had several articles accepted, I've been submitting the maximum allowed at a time and keeping my fingers crossed. It's frustrating not to be able to submit more than 6 at a time, but that restriction is lifted once several articles have sold (10, I think). I imagine that for the experienced writers here, there's much more of a flow since they can just submit as they go along, and if they're submitting regularly than each day brings acceptances (in theory). Anyway, good luck!
Re: Review Time Questions
Well...it looks like I'll be gone soon anyway. Two of my articles have been rejected. I submitted 2 on the 18th and one on the 19th. One from the 18th and the one from the 19th have been rejected. Must be they are going through the other one from the 18th with a fine tooth comb trying to find something wrong with it too. And this looked like a great place to be. Oh well. Thanks for your answers and it was nice hearing from you guys while it lasted. :-(
Re: Review Time Questions
Roxanne
Try not to be too despondent. I know how you feel - I felt exactly the same when I first started. What where your articles rejected for? Can you not to try remedy the issues and then re-submit? I'm sure that if Ed can see potential then s/he will reconsider your articles if you remedy the problems and re-submit.
Good luck.
Jane
Try not to be too despondent. I know how you feel - I felt exactly the same when I first started. What where your articles rejected for? Can you not to try remedy the issues and then re-submit? I'm sure that if Ed can see potential then s/he will reconsider your articles if you remedy the problems and re-submit.
Good luck.
Jane
Re: Review Time Questions
Roxanne
I've seen the advice Ed has given you in the rejections section and it's sound advice which should help greatly with getting your article submitted second time around. Take this advice and use it to your advantage. While you can try to find another site for your work, you won't improve your article writing. Take another look at your article and try to see what Ed's advice is pertaining to, and then try to put it right. For example, Ed says that you need to give more structure to your article so that it's not just a bunch of comments about working from home. So think about what you want your article to say. What information are you giving the reader? What do you want the reader to take from your article? If you want to show the reader how he or she can work from home, then make this your theme and structure your article around how someone can work from home. It's a simple theme and then you can expound on it by talking about the personality type that working from home suits, and so on. Your intro could talk about the advantages of working from home, and then go on to mention some of the issues that working from home throws up and how they can be handled. Then write a section on each issue - always keeping in mind as you write that the main theme of your article is "how someone can work from home."
It's more difficult to keep structure in a longer article than it is a shorter one. If your article is particularly long you may want to shorten it to help with keeping one simple message and not digressing into other areas that aren't "connecting" well to the main theme.
Hope this helps. Good luck with it!
Jane
I've seen the advice Ed has given you in the rejections section and it's sound advice which should help greatly with getting your article submitted second time around. Take this advice and use it to your advantage. While you can try to find another site for your work, you won't improve your article writing. Take another look at your article and try to see what Ed's advice is pertaining to, and then try to put it right. For example, Ed says that you need to give more structure to your article so that it's not just a bunch of comments about working from home. So think about what you want your article to say. What information are you giving the reader? What do you want the reader to take from your article? If you want to show the reader how he or she can work from home, then make this your theme and structure your article around how someone can work from home. It's a simple theme and then you can expound on it by talking about the personality type that working from home suits, and so on. Your intro could talk about the advantages of working from home, and then go on to mention some of the issues that working from home throws up and how they can be handled. Then write a section on each issue - always keeping in mind as you write that the main theme of your article is "how someone can work from home."
It's more difficult to keep structure in a longer article than it is a shorter one. If your article is particularly long you may want to shorten it to help with keeping one simple message and not digressing into other areas that aren't "connecting" well to the main theme.
Hope this helps. Good luck with it!
Jane
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Celeste Stewart
- Posts: 3528
- Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 5:28 pm
- Location: California
- Contact:
Re: Review Time Questions
Jane is right. There's a little leeway in the three rejection rule if a genuine and noticable effort to improve is made. Take your time with revising these two articles and resubmit once you are confident that they are clear and well organized. Since Ed mentioned organization and the introduction, I'll try to give you some tips that have helped me.
When I have trouble organizing an article, I find that outlining really helps. Outlining can be as basic as:
Introduction
Topic
Topic
Topic
Conclusion
For work at home, your outline might look like this:
Introduction - Working from home intro
Topic 1 - Home office equipment
Topic 2 - Time management
Topic 3 - Balancing work and family
Topic 4 - Dealing with interruptions
Conclusion
As you start outlining, you may see that the order isn't quite right. In the example above, topic 4 would make more sense if it followed topic 2 as time management and interruptions are more closely related and ending the article with a discussion of balancing work and family makes a lot of sense to me. Rearrange your topics as needed with flow in mind. Your topics can also be used as your sub-headings when you write the article.
When you write the intro and the conclusion, refer to your outline so that you remember to introduce and summarize each of your key points. For example, the article might look like this (I'll write a brief intro to illustrate how I would incorporate the topics from the outline):
Working from home has challenges unique to the home environment. Not only must you invest in home office equipment and designate an area to serve as your office, you must also become a master at managing time, dealing with interruptions, and balancing the opposing needs of your clients and your family. Awareness of work-from-home obstacles and a good plan are vital to your success as a work from home professional. (It's not the world's greatest intro, but it should give you an idea how the topics are introduced and how the article will flow).
Equipping Your Home Office
Paragraph or two about equipping the home office would go here. Notice the heading? It's a variation of the topic in the original outline. Notice the headings below? They are too. Notice that I've changed them all so that they are worded similarly (equipping, managing, dealing, balancing)? That's an edit I just made as I looked at the outline once again and realized that each heading could easily use this type of construction. Keeping a consistent structure is good for continuity and clarity.
Managing Time
Once you have your home office properly equipped, your next biggest work from home challenge involves the ticking clock. Notice the transition from one topic to the next? The subheading helps the reader transistion from one topic to the next, but shouldn't completely replace a transition. Another paragraph or two here. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.
Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.
Dealing with Interruptions
As any time management expert will tell you, you must plan for interruptions. When working from home, interuptions come from blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.
Balancing Work and Family
Transition and another paragraph or two here. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.
Your conclusion should also wrap up what was just said ala: Working from home involves creating an efficient office space, managing time, dealing with interruptions,and balancing work and family. When these elements are managed well, blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.
I know this is a pretty basic formula, but it helps with organization.
When I have trouble organizing an article, I find that outlining really helps. Outlining can be as basic as:
Introduction
Topic
Topic
Topic
Conclusion
For work at home, your outline might look like this:
Introduction - Working from home intro
Topic 1 - Home office equipment
Topic 2 - Time management
Topic 3 - Balancing work and family
Topic 4 - Dealing with interruptions
Conclusion
As you start outlining, you may see that the order isn't quite right. In the example above, topic 4 would make more sense if it followed topic 2 as time management and interruptions are more closely related and ending the article with a discussion of balancing work and family makes a lot of sense to me. Rearrange your topics as needed with flow in mind. Your topics can also be used as your sub-headings when you write the article.
When you write the intro and the conclusion, refer to your outline so that you remember to introduce and summarize each of your key points. For example, the article might look like this (I'll write a brief intro to illustrate how I would incorporate the topics from the outline):
Working from home has challenges unique to the home environment. Not only must you invest in home office equipment and designate an area to serve as your office, you must also become a master at managing time, dealing with interruptions, and balancing the opposing needs of your clients and your family. Awareness of work-from-home obstacles and a good plan are vital to your success as a work from home professional. (It's not the world's greatest intro, but it should give you an idea how the topics are introduced and how the article will flow).
Equipping Your Home Office
Paragraph or two about equipping the home office would go here. Notice the heading? It's a variation of the topic in the original outline. Notice the headings below? They are too. Notice that I've changed them all so that they are worded similarly (equipping, managing, dealing, balancing)? That's an edit I just made as I looked at the outline once again and realized that each heading could easily use this type of construction. Keeping a consistent structure is good for continuity and clarity.
Managing Time
Once you have your home office properly equipped, your next biggest work from home challenge involves the ticking clock. Notice the transition from one topic to the next? The subheading helps the reader transistion from one topic to the next, but shouldn't completely replace a transition. Another paragraph or two here. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.
Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.
Dealing with Interruptions
As any time management expert will tell you, you must plan for interruptions. When working from home, interuptions come from blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.
Balancing Work and Family
Transition and another paragraph or two here. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.
Your conclusion should also wrap up what was just said ala: Working from home involves creating an efficient office space, managing time, dealing with interruptions,and balancing work and family. When these elements are managed well, blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.
I know this is a pretty basic formula, but it helps with organization.
Re: Review Time Questions
Man, that's a high keyword density for blah. :P
Roxanne, don't feel too bad. I just got 2 more rejected today, so I'm up to 5. LOL But, I just sold 3 articles today, so I'm pretty happy! Every writer gets rejected, and I think it's just a learning process at CC. I was rejected 3 times at CC before I got the hang of it. Two times were for stupid reasons like not reading the guidelines. LOL As long as you show improvement, you'll be ok.
Really take a look at your work, and I know plenty of people here will help you. Rejection is just part of being a writer. I also write for DemandStudios, and they say the average rewrite rate is 40%, which is about where I am on the site. Don't take it personally.
My suggestion is to come back to your articles later, or even ditch them. It's hard to think that your work might be bad, but sometimes there's just something not there, or maybe you're just writing to write instead of really having a feel for the topic.
Roxanne, don't feel too bad. I just got 2 more rejected today, so I'm up to 5. LOL But, I just sold 3 articles today, so I'm pretty happy! Every writer gets rejected, and I think it's just a learning process at CC. I was rejected 3 times at CC before I got the hang of it. Two times were for stupid reasons like not reading the guidelines. LOL As long as you show improvement, you'll be ok.
Really take a look at your work, and I know plenty of people here will help you. Rejection is just part of being a writer. I also write for DemandStudios, and they say the average rewrite rate is 40%, which is about where I am on the site. Don't take it personally.
My suggestion is to come back to your articles later, or even ditch them. It's hard to think that your work might be bad, but sometimes there's just something not there, or maybe you're just writing to write instead of really having a feel for the topic.
Re: Review Time Questions
I don't mind being rejected - just the 3 strikes and your out rule scared me. I've written for other sites before and none were this strict. But I love to learn so it won't be bad if there is leeway. I reread my article and the title really was not what the article was about. I should have titled it differently and used more tie in between paragraphs.
Celeste, thanks for the outline. I appreciate all of the support!!
Celeste, thanks for the outline. I appreciate all of the support!!
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Gail Kavanagh
- Posts: 99
- Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2005 12:14 am
- Location: Australia
- Contact:
Re: Review Time Questions
Celeste. your post on outlining an article is execllent (not at all blah :-D). Hope you stick around, Jane, you can learn so much here and Ed is really very patient even with old hands who make stupid boo boos *blush*
Gail
Gail
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Celeste Stewart
- Posts: 3528
- Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 5:28 pm
- Location: California
- Contact:
Re: Review Time Questions
Thanks Gail :) I put the blahs in to give the example the "look" of a finished Web article. You can view the real article at blahblahblah.com. (Just kidding - though that's kind of a cool URL for a rambling sort. Wonder if it's taken yet?)
Re: Review Time Questions
I got another rejection!! If no one is willing to look at an article and see why these things are happening, how are we supposed to get better?? I am sick. After FIVE WHOLE DAYS (not counting the weekend) I got told that my article:
==== Rejection Information for Your Article: ====
This article needs to be revised for grammar errors, problems with clarity, awkward wording, and sentence structure errors.
==== End Rejection Information for Your Article ====
I had a few people read the article and they said it's 100 times better than most of the stuff they read on the internet.
I'M NOT PERFECT!!!!!!!!!! I don't understand how someone is supposed to get better if they get these generic rejections. I'm not upset because of the rejection. Rejection is fine if it comes with CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM!! But when it comes with generalities that no one can learn from, there is a problem.
==== Rejection Information for Your Article: ====
This article needs to be revised for grammar errors, problems with clarity, awkward wording, and sentence structure errors.
==== End Rejection Information for Your Article ====
I had a few people read the article and they said it's 100 times better than most of the stuff they read on the internet.
I'M NOT PERFECT!!!!!!!!!! I don't understand how someone is supposed to get better if they get these generic rejections. I'm not upset because of the rejection. Rejection is fine if it comes with CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM!! But when it comes with generalities that no one can learn from, there is a problem.