Why the long review time?

[DavidPortwood]

My article "Furious Multitabling: A Day in the Life of a Beast" was submitted Tuesday, 2/2/2010. It is now Friday, 2/5/2010 and I see it is still being reviewed. In the Author FAQs, I don't see any info relating to how long a review might take, but I would expect the article to have been approved or disapproved - or some action taken - by now. Is that expectation unreasonable? Is there some other problem? I can't make any money if nobody sees my articles.

[eek]

There are reasons, which don't make your expectations reasonable or unreasonable, but it helps to understand the article review process so you'll know what to expect.

If you submit an article for a public or private request, the review time is much shorter. Ed gives these higher priority, since purchase is nearly guaranteed (though not so much for public requests - and clients are never obligated to buy if they don't like the result). When the list of public requests is plentiful, Ed's plate gets pretty full. At the moment CC only has one editor.

So, if your article was not for a public request, it's not unusual to wait longer than three days. A week is not unheard of. Consider, though, how long you would wait to hear a reply from a print editor - if ever.

Emma

[DavidPortwood]

Thanks, Emma, that makes sense.

[jadedragon]

Ya just don't sweat approval times on spec articles. Some articles take a long time to sell while others go same day they are approved. A few days one way or another is not going to matter much. Just keep producing content and let Ed review as he can. CC is super fast where it matters - the pay every month in the first couple days of the month, and articles for requests get priority reviews.

[Lee]

I've had an article for public request waiting for review for 7 days. Is that common? Does it mean it's not a time-sensitive request, or what?

Also, I'm new and wondering if someone would help me with the pricing. When the public request states a price range, should I choose from that range, or will I be more likely to sell the article if I put a lower price on it?

[Celeste Stewart]

Go for the stated range and don't undervalue your work. It takes time to write a good article and it's nice when a customer recognizes that with a decent price range.

[Lee]

Thanks for the help on pricing. However, you didn't say anything about the review period. Tonight I notice the request I responded to is gone from the list, so that means I missed it?

[Celeste Stewart]

Sorry about not answering that part of the question. It's been ages since I've submitted a public request so I thought I'd let someone else with more recent experience field that question. I do know review times fluctuate, and in my opinion I think seven days is a bit long and unusual for a public request article to be reviewed. Did you click the "this is for a public request" drop down and then select the request it was for in the list? That helps the Editor prioritize articles in the queue. If that wasn't marked, then Ed wouldn't know to put it near the top of the pile. If it was marked, then we can only assume that Ed's been swamped with submissions.

Requests do expire. Customers also have the option to remove them earlier than the expiration date. If the customer has since closed the request or let it expire, the article will go into the general pool where other customers can consider it. Many articles do sell to customers other than the original requester so all is not lost.

[Lee]

Okay, thanks. I did click the request tabs when I submitted it. I'm disappointed, as the article was aimed at the request, and I don't know that it will be interesting to other customers. If I revise it, it will have to go through the review process again, right?

[Celeste Stewart]

Yes. It would have to be removed and resubmitted. I know this i's disappointing, especially since the request has disappeared. I'm not sure but I think the customer may still get an email with a link when your article is approved. Don't quote me on that though.

How specific is the article? You'd be surprised what sells!

[Lee]

It was for the request on existentialism.

[CRDonovan]

Lee, I noted that the existentialism request, though it had an expiration date, also said "this will be an ongoing request" or something to that effect. So it's likely that he/she will continue to look at articles written on that subject periodically.

[jadedragon]

If you still have the public request email, there is a link to submit a preexisting article to the requester. Since the buyer said they are looking for more later, you could submit the approved article to the buyer with a little note. They might buy it - who knows. Otherwise let it sit until someone buys.

[Lee]

I don't have the email. The request was already in the list when I got my account.

My article still isn't reviewed, BTW. Would the "public request" tag have gotten detached somehow? I've changed the asking price. Would a revision put it at the bottom of the pile again? Do you suppose there's some problem with the content?

[Ed]

Without your author name, I cannot look into this problem.

Thanks,
Ed