Why was my article rejected?

[Lights]

The message I got was:

"Unfortunately, this article requires revision before we can accept it.
==== Editorial Information for Your Article: ====
We accept only completely original content."

But I'm confused about this, as the article I submitted IS original. I wrote a draft for a blog some time ago and that blog is actually being taken down now anyway as I no longer keep it up to date. I read through the CC guidelines before submitting this piece and couldn't find anything that said it couldn't be submitted. It is my own original work and the submitted piece has not been posted anywhere else. Please advise! Thanks

[aprilk10]

Is your name on the blog the same as the name you use here? If you use different names, CC has no way of knowing that the article is yours. You may also try running it through a plageurism checker (Copyscape...or you can find others online free). It may be that someone copied your content from your blog and posted it as their own somewhere.

[Lights]

Thanks aprilk10. I have my surname on here but not my first name, and you're right that my stuff could have been lifted by someone else. I'll check that now. What can I do if I want to repost my article on CC though? I spent hours on it yesterday

[aprilk10]

Thanks aprilk10. I have my surname on here but not my first name, and you're right that my stuff could have been lifted by someone else. I'll check that now. What can I do if I want to repost my article on CC though? I spent hours on it yesterday

First, change the names to match exactly on both sites. If you change it on here you will need to go to your account page and change it through support. In that case, I would wait a day or two to make sure the change has been made and will be recognized. I recently changed my email and received a personal email from Eric once the change was made. Before resubmitting, check to make sure that no one has copied the material. If they have, I guess all you can do is contact them and ask them to take it down...not sure how all that works. You could then try resubmitting the article once you are sure there is not another copy of it on the Internet under someone else's name. I would proof the article again and check for errors however. Editing probably didn't check the article any further once they determined it to not be original.

[jadedragon]

You might want to just write an article that is completely original. Same concept and and research is fine. That might be faster than trying to change names etc. Also you can sell the original article for full rights while you can only sell the other one for usage.

[Lights]

Thanks jadedragon. I actually did just that though- kept it to the same topic but completely changed the article- and I got this message as a rejection:

==== Editorial Information for Your Article: ====

We accept only content that we can verify as original to the submitting author. We cannot link this article to you. Therefore, we cannot consider this article for acceptance.

--

I think I'm just going to have to give up on it I don't know why it got rejected again (not even sure what the 'link' thing means?) It's a real shame, as I spent a while writing and researching it..

[jadedragon]

Some of the phrasing must be too similar to another article. The "link" just means attribution. Try Googling sentences and seeing what pops up. You might also just put it somewhere for revenue share and move on to another article.