Review Time Questions

[Lysis]

If you'd like to send it to me, I'll take a look. Ed had fun with the rejection button with me too today. :D
I'm better at spotting others' errors than my own.

Something I saw him say a while ago - come back to your article the next day and don't reach for the wine (something like that). I have a bad habit of reaching for the wine, and I notice the ones he rejects are the ones I'm not really into and may have had a bit too much wine. LOL

Let me ask you - is the article you submitted again the same one as before? If it is, wait like a week when it isn't in your head and you're all frustrated. Read it over later.

[Constant]

Just a thought for writers frustrated with getting rejections. If Ed (an accomplished editor with years of experience and often more erudite than friends and casual readers of you work) think that there are grammatical and syntactical errors, it is not capricious, it is for you own and our own benefit. Look to your work with a critical eye and give it time.

[RoxanneG]

Constant, the rejections aren't what is frustrating for me. It's the generalities of the rejection statements. When you wait up to 5 days and get a general statement that you really can't learn from that's a problem. In the past my writing has been called interesting, imaginative and easy to read. Now all of a sudden, it's not good enough, but I'm not exactly sure what isn't good enough. If I had some specifics to learn FROM, it wouldn't be so bad.

Lysis, I'm not sure how to send it. Can we PM here? I didn't see that option.

No, this was not the same two that were rejected before. This was #3. ;-)

No wine in over 8 years for me. Maybe that's the problem. LOL.

If you want to just email me at I'll reply with it attached.

Thanks for the offer. I appreciate it. I've got a headache at the moment.

[Ed]

Unfortunately, sharing contact information is not permitted. All private messages must go through the onsite message system.

You asked for help and were given a lengthy response about organization, and the advice and encouragement from writers here was overwhelming. However, when submissions are rejected for grammar, sentence structure, or other basic errors, it is expected that the writer is familiar enough with writing rules and standards to be able to catch these errors upon proofreading.

Thank you,
Ed

[Lysis]

Roxanne, if it's ok with the rules of the site, go ahead and PM me and I'll take a look.

My suggestion though, if the article has been submitted 3 times, then drop it. Try another one. I'm happy to read it over though. I'm sure Ed is snickering since I've been rejected for the same thing. LOL But, again, I'm better at spotting others' errors. You don't realize awkward sentencing when it's your own.

[RoxanneG]

[quote="Ed"]Unfortunately, sharing contact information is not permitted. All private messages must go through the onsite message system.

You asked for help and were given a lengthy response about organization, and the advice and encouragement from writers here was overwhelming. However, when submissions are rejected for grammar, sentence structure, or other basic errors, it is expected that the writer is familiar enough with writing rules and standards to be able to catch these errors upon proofreading.

Thank you,
Ed[/quote]

Ed, There were no basic grammar errors in the submission. I do not believe in using words that only 10% of the population will understand. If that is a problem, I don't know what to say.

Not to mention, I was ATTEMPTING to accept the advice and encouragement of the other writers here. I specifically asked about PMs, as I did not see a way to do that here when I clicked on Lysis' profile. I am unsure as to what you mean by "the onsite message system" as I do not see it.

I also specifically stated that I do not mind being rejected, however, when the THIRD rejection comes with a different generalized statement than the previous two, I can not learn anything from that. If you want your writers to learn from their mistakes, don't give them a "three strikes and you're out" rule but not let them know what your perfect standards consist of. You seem to feel that everyone should come in here and know what your standards are. I can write an elaborate essay that only 10% of the population will understand. Is that what you are looking for? I'm not being facetious, simply asking a question that I feel I need answered before I can continue.

[Celeste Stewart]

Elaborate essays that only 10 percent of the population can understand do not generally do well here. Really, it's the simple, easy-to-read articles that sell like hotcakes. Because the market for our articles is a Web audience, the Internet style of writing is preferred. Plain language and easy reading sentences are part of it as are short paragraphs with the formatting as per the site's writer's guidelines. Grammar, punctuation, clarity, word choice, and so on are assumed as they are in any style of writing.

Common grammar/punctuation errors that many of us do not see in our own work include:
* Comma mistakes (overuse, underuse, incorrect use)
* Improper semicolon usage
* Run-on sentences (I bet Ed sees these a lot)
* Subject-verb mistakes
* Pronoun errors (The company enacted their policy last year.) (Should be "its policy" as a company is an entity not a group. This one gets me all the time. I have to catch myself because I tend to think of a company as the people running it.)
* Serial lists that don't make sense (I enjoy running, walking, a good book, singing, and dancing.) (Just a dorky example, but "a good book" would match the structure of the list better if it were "reading.")
* Word choice (Word choice doesn't mean using a fancy word that few will understand. It's about using words that are correct, make sense, and are clear to the reader. I like the example of a friend of mine who wrote, "Unemployment rates are plummeting" when she meant to say, "Unemployment rates are rising." In this case, the sentence was grammatically correct but had a major problem with word choice in the context of the paragraph.

These are just a few common writing mistakes off the top of my head that are so easy to not catch. *** Edit: The previous sentence would be clearer if I had written ". . . so easy to miss" rather than ". . . so easy to not catch." That's a good example of questionable word choice and clarity. It's okay, but it's a bit awkward and "to miss" is better. When reading your article, read it out loud and see which words and phrases you stumble on. The stumble is clue number one that there's a problem. ****

I know it's frustrating, but an outside set of eyes (by a successful writer rather than a friend) will likely confirm Ed's position that the article needs revised for whatever it is he said needs revised.

To contact one of us writers via the CC system, find the writer's profile using the Author Search tool and click "Contact Author." From there, you can send a message. Lysis has already offered help and I'm happy to look at it as well. I know that Hayley also often volunteers to help new writers in this regard. So, take us up on it if you want. In addition, we have a Constructive Criticism thread here: http://www.constant-content.com/forum/v ... =4&t=13475 where you can post a paragraph or a few sentences for critique.

[rudraksh]

hi, I am new here, and I submitted one article on friday but it is still under review. I have posted one more article on saturday and finally the last one tommorow. Can any one help me out about when i will get my articles reviewed as it is really frustraiting to wait and watch.

[HayleyWriter]

Hi,

No-one reviews articles on the weekend. It usually takes a few working days for an article to be reviewed. Articles for specific requests are usually reviewed first, so if there are a lot of requests (which there are at the moment), it could take an extra day or so to get your articles reviewed. Generally, an article I would submit over the weekend is reviewed by Wednesday or Thursday, so you still have a couple of days before you can panic. It is only Monday night in America, so if Ed had a heap of submissions over the weekend, he probably reviewed as many as he could for the requests today, but will still have a lot of articles in the queue to review tomorrow morning. Anything you submit today will likely be reviewed towards the end of the week, Thursday or Friday!

You can spend the time in writing and polishing your next article for submission. Don't forget to proofread carefully before submitting, as the guidelines are strict! A simple spelling mistake (such as frustraiting) will ensure your article is rejected.

Hope this helps,

Hayley

[JustinHill]

Blimey. What have I got myself into? I only joined today and I've submitted two articles. I've got to wait up to a week to find out if they're any good? And if I submit a third one and that's no good either I get canned? Gosh.

[Word Gypsy]

Hi Justin, Welcome to cc. Why not take this time to review all of the requirements for articles in the writer's guidelines. Then, if you realize that you missed anything such as 12-point black font, you can delete the article, edit it, and resubmit it. If you don't notice anything right off the bat, start working on something new, but hold off until you see what happens with the first two before you submit it. Once you get the hang of it, it gets easier. Happy Writing! WG

[Zabrina]

Justin, I know it can be kind of intimidating, and I had many of those same thoughts myself! Try not to stress it, though. Your articles will probably be accepted or rejected in less time than that (I had one accepted this morning that I submitted two days ago).

My impression of the "three strikes and you're out" rule is that the rule was set up to eliminate those writers who submit absolute garbage. I'm sure you've seen the type -- spamming in the contents, no capitalization, horrible spelling, etc. That way, they can get rid of those who are truly wasting the editors' time quickly and concentrate on those who might just need a nudge in the right direction. I got a few rejections at first, but I learned to proofread much more carefully and haven't had problems since then! Fingers crossed, of course. Today will probably be the day I get another rejection now that I've said that.

So try not to worry too much! Your grasp of English seems to be fine, so even if you do get a rejection, it will probably be over a minor thing and you can just tweak it a bit.

[Antonia]

JustinHill,

When you're waiting to have your first few articles accepted, I know it can seem like forever. I do think it's a good idea to wait until two have been accepted before submitting a third one, just in case you get a rejection. But if you do get a rejection, you can always ask for help on the forums--I guarantee people will chime in with helpful advice and tips, and even proofread your articles for you! That way you have a better chance of getting an article accepted.

Once you get a few articles accepted, you get a feel for the site guidelines and your confidence skyrockets, so there's no more waiting around with baited breath for acceptances. Even if it takes a week for one acceptance, you don't notice because every day brings either an acceptance or a sale (as long as you're submitting regularly). Your focus moves to writing new material rather than wondering if something will be accepted.

[JustinHill]

Thanks guys - it's encouraging to see that there's a such supportive community going on here.

I will wait until I get a yea or nay on the two articles I already submitted before putting up a third one. I've got other questions about acceptance requirements but I won't hijack this thread altogether.

I'll certainly post back when I get the review results, though!

Justin

[JustinHill]

Hey - my first article got accepted. The second one was not and I'll raise a post elsewhere about why I'm confused about that.

Anyway, only 36 hours from submission to acceptance. Nice one, CC.

Justin