Aaaargh!!! Can anyone help?

[dawn]

Hi everyone! I am new to this site and submitted my first article yesterday. It has now been rejected twice due to errors in the title. The first was just stupid - I submitted with a glaring spelling mistake in the title. But the second . . . my title includes a dash, and the words after the dash I didn't capitalize. Now I'm wondering if I should just give up on this article to avoid risking a third rejection, or simply capitalize the entire title and send it off again. Any thoughts?

[Lysis]

Well, if it's just for a capitalization error in the title, I'd fix it and resubmit. Ed has a form email that tells you to no longer submit the article if it's really that bad. For a title error, I'd just fix it and resubmit.

[aprilk10]

Dawn--
What is the title? You should capitalize the first letter of each word after a dash just as you would without it. For example, I have an article titled "Container Gardening--a Harvest of Rewards." You could also look through some of the other articles on here to see what they do. I would go ahead and correct it and resubmit! Welcome aboard!

[dawn]

Thanks for responding. My title is Gifts Cards - The Perfect Answer! Only I didn't capitalize like that when I subbed. I will take a deep breath and try again!

[BarryDavidson]

On titles, I usually use a colon between. For example:

Direct Mail: It May Not Be Your Answer

I guess it really depends on the style you want to use, but for a title error I'd just resubmit after rereading the entire article. Remember, Ed stops reading when he finds that error. It never hurts to do a tenth-over.

[jadedragon]

Likely he rejected without reading much beyond the title if you had a spelling error and then capitalization error in the title. Lucky they are easy to fix. Hope the rest of the article is error free.

[KinsleyRoyale]

I also use semi colons. Thought I read a rule about no dashes in titles somewhere.

Anyhow, a good solution might be to make up a brand new title. If he never got past the title anyhow this might present as a 1st time submission.

[BarryDavidson]

I use colons when the title has more than one part. For example:

Underwear: It's Not Just Edible Anymore

[Antonia]

I also use colons in titles, never dashes. Dawn, if you want me to proofread your article for peace of mind before you resubmit, I'd be happy to. Just search for me (Antonia Anderson) on the authors page and then click on Send Message.

Barry--your example just registered in my mind--hilarious! I really hope that's an actual title of one of your articles!

[KinsleyRoyale]

meant to say colons.

[ashejane]

Underwear: It's Not Just Edible Anymore

Hahahahaha! That made my day!

[BarryDavidson]

Barry--your example just registered in my mind--hilarious! I really hope that's an actual title of one of your articles!

It's not a real title, but you're right - it should be. I'll have to give it some thought. I'm not sure if it would make it past Ed unless I could make the content fit within the guidelines. I think I've had one satire piece accepted in the past, but it hasn't sold.