I need help with rejections

[RoxanneG]

I am unsure why my article was rejected and noted:

==== Rejection Information for Your Article: ====

This article needs to be revised for clarity and organization/focus.

==== End Rejection Information for Your Article ====

Is there someone who could look through it and tell me what I'm doing wrong? I have two rejections so far. I guess I won't be working here very long with these strict guidelines of 3 rejections and your out.

[Ed]

While the article was clearly about working from home, a main theme to the article was missing. What was the article about? The following topics were covered, but they were not connected in meaningful ways - parenting and working from home, skills/character traits a person who wants to work from home should have, types of work-at-home careers available, reasons people want to work from home. Transitional statements or organizational headings were largely absent from article, and these may have helped to guide the reader from one aspect of discussion to the next. The introduction did not successfully prepare readers for what they could expect from the article or was missing from the piece.

Articles must be tightly focused and well-organized so that they present ideas clearly and in a manner that is useful to the reader. One idea should flow logically into the next, transitional sentences or other devices should be used to help the reader along if a variety of disparate ideas are explored, and a main idea must be present and presented at the beginning of the piece. Ideas should be grouped into paragraphs - and paragraphs grouped into subheadings if necessary - so that ideas are connected in a way that is obvious for the reader.

I have been searching for a good resource on organization that doesn't focus on academic papers. No luck so far. I'll post one if I find it.

Hope I've been of some help.

Ed

[RoxanneG]

I'm scared to resubmit anything. I don't want to get kicked out. I guess I'll look for another site because I am not perfect enough for this one. Sorry it didn't work out. I don't know what else to do.

[Celeste Stewart]

None of us are perfect, so don't be afraid. Jane, Lysis, and I just posted some tips to help you on the other thread (here's the link: http://www.constant-content.com/forum/v ... =2&t=14539). Give these tips a try and go from there. What's the worst that can happen by improving your article? Worst case, it gets rejected and you go elsewhere. Even so, you'll have a better article to peddle at the other sites and perhaps a few new skills. On the other hand, it could very well be accepted and you could be on your way to future successes here.

You won't know until you put your fears aside. It took me something like 15 years to get over being afraid of showing my writing to publishers. My work wasn't getting published then because no one ever saw it. Now my words are all over the place! CC's a great place and there's no shame in having articles rejected or even being told not to submit any more articles after numerous rejections. So, give it your best shot and see what happens.

[RoxanneG]

Thanks Celeste!! I replied on the other thread as well.

[audrabianca]

Once a couple months ago I had a long article rejected 3 times.

[Lysis]

^^ Listen to this girl! She's got it totally right.

If you're sending in the same article each time, just let it go. Post it elsewhere and try another topic. As a matter of fact, I have 5 rejections in my inbox, and I think I'm just going to let them go. I'm a believer that if you can't get your point across the first time, a rewrite isn't going to do it either. That's just me though. If you get all frustrated and try to rearrange your words, I think you overthink it and you have too much of that rejection feeling in you to write from the heart.

[RoxanneG]

[quote="Lysis"]^^ Listen to this girl! She's got it totally right.

If you're sending in the same article each time, just let it go. Post it elsewhere and try another topic. As a matter of fact, I have 5 rejections in my inbox, and I think I'm just going to let them go. I'm a believer that if you can't get your point across the first time, a rewrite isn't going to do it either. That's just me though. If you get all frustrated and try to rearrange your words, I think you overthink it and you have too much of that rejection feeling in you to write from the heart.[/quote]

How do you have 5 rejections? I thought it was three and you're out? Maybe I've missed something? Maybe I'm getting all worked up over nothing here? I just didn't want to get kicked out so soon without even being given a chance.

[Lysis]

I read somewhere on here that it's all about improvement. When I first started, I received 3 rejections. So, I basically thought "Ok, what the hell am I doing wrong?" I wrote something I knew a lot about and I had an interest in, so it was accepted. I've had about 30 articles since then and then I apparently went into a crap slump and got a bunch rejected again. Sometimes, it's just not your week, ya know? I'm more upset that they cut off my free HBO today :( LOL It's funny, but true!

[Celeste Stewart]

It's my understanding that the rule is subjective. A writer with promise that makes a few newbie mistakes and works to get past the hump generally isn't suspended. Those that consistently submit articles with the same mistakes, refusing to address the reasons the article was rejected are the ones who need to worry. So are the writers who show a lack of understanding of basic writing and English conventions. Help is being extended to you by fellow writers, so take us up on it. We don't bite :)