Are editors costing this site business?

[lisam]

I have thought long and hard about making this post, as it is bound to arouse the ire of the editors. I understand that what sets Constant Content apart from other article sites is the consistent high quality of the articles here. However, in my opinion editorial standards are overly picky to the point of pedantry. I think this hurts the site.

I am a writer who also happens to purchase articles as content for my site. When I purchase an article, I expect it to be well written with excellent spelling and grammar. However, if one comma is out of place it does not particularly matter to me nor indeed the majority of my readers. Editors are returning good articles based on one comma being out of place. Much of this relates to the editors personal preferences and style.

This is not only hugely frustrating for authors, it hurts the site financially too. I have heard rumors that authors have started to work with clients directly, to avoid the editorial process. Authors who can write quality articles leave the site. Clients are left waiting for requests. The review times are getting longer, authors are getting frustrated. The commission lost by Constant Content because of this must be considerable.

I am not expecting the site to become a content farm - far from it. It is the quality of the articles here which attracts the customers. The articles on this site are mainly used as web content, some of it just for search engine optimization. If the piece is well written, contains good grammar and perfect spelling, does it really matter if a comma or two is out of place?

[JStone]

Unfortunately I have to agree. I've been writing for CC for a few years on and off and used to love writing here. Earlier this year I decided to put more time and effort into submitting articles to CC because I was selling almost all of my articles straight away, and it was turning into a lucrative site for me. I also had no rejections or complaints from editors.

Then suddenly I had a whole batch of articles sent back for issues that were mostly just a matter of personal preference on the part of the editor. I have no problem with getting rejections when I make mistakes, but it's the inconsistent editing standards that are the problem. Other editors accepted these same articles with no problems at all. This happened several times before I got fed up and decided to back away from the site a bit and concentrate on writing for print magazines. When review times were at their highest, it took over a week to get the articles reviewed in the first place...then if you were unlucky enough to get a picky editor, you would have to make whatever changes necessary then wait another week for them to be reviewed again.

Having said that, I submitted an article a couple of days ago and had it accepted within 24 hours.
I'm still hoping they will turn it all around because there's nowhere else as good as CC for buying and selling content...not yet anyway.

[jowal]

I have to agree too. I have been submitting here for about 3 years and have sold about 80% of my articles, but I've been away doing other stuff for a few months, came back, and decided to submit some more; in particular for 2 requests from a customer to whom I have previously sold articles.

But with the new editors I just can't get articles approved - there is always some picky little issue, so much so that I have given up. The last ''fault' was for writing ' it has been proved' when the editor decreed that I should have said 'it has been proven.' Now this really got my goat; as a UK writer 'proved' is accepted as standard grammar ....'proven' may be US grammar but then so is 'gotten' and that really makes my blood boil !

Two countries separated by a common language as W. Churchill said !

[salem]

I'm new to Constant-Content. I've been here about three weeks now and haven't had any significant problems with the editorial review process. The majority of my submitted articles were approved within just a day or two. I've had amazingly few rejections. So, no complaints from me at this point, at least as it applies to editing. Now if only more of my material would actually sell ...

I just wanted to chime in with my experience so as to give a full picture of the current circumstances.

[Courtney]

I'm relatively new to site myself and have had to do a number of revisions due to the editors remarks but I try not look at it as a bad thing. I'm hoping their comments are going to turn me into a better writer. They have referred me to a number of grammar and punctuation sites that have been very helpful. I have saved them in my favorites just so I can keep referring to them. The object is to know all of these rules and become a good proofreader/editor of your own articles. There are other sites out there that do not require such perfect writing. They also do not pay as well, so take your pick.

[maryaz]

I submitted my first two articles last week and still haven't heard anything. They've been under review for several days. I know it's vacation season so I'm trying to be patient, but I want to get writing! Does anyone have any insight into the typical length of review time right now?

Thanks!

[carpenjoyce]

For the most part, I disagree. There are dozens of sites where you can post writing that doesn't quite make the grade here. But if the standards for this site slip, there won't be any reason for buyers to pay the higher rates we get here. The web desperately needs this site--it's the only one of its kind.

Having said that, though, I agree that English usage standards differ. I think what cc should do is adopt a standard manual of usage, so writers know what's acceptable before they submit. Maybe we should put this in the suggestion box.

[dmarie530]

I wholeheartedly agree with the ridiculous pickiness and am completely dissatisfied with this site and am leaving after only a couple weeks. I had an article submitted/accepted, then wrote 3 more to the same customer request, on a website that was going to be babyboomer/senior citizen article/info friendly etc, which ended 7/30. I submitted an article on 7/27 & 7/28 and another I think on 7/30. The article submitted 7/30 was accepted a few days later, and I rec'd a msg that it was "being sent directly to the customer..." Yet the other 2 articles sat there 10 days. In the interim, so I would not miss out on another opportunity, I submitted to another request, completely different subject matter which had an end date of 8/4.
Only after responding to a post yesterday by someone else who questioned an article still listed under "review" more than a wk later did I get any type of response from CC, even though I sent a msg inquiring about the articles last week. Almost immediately after making the post, both those articles were promptly rejected. One was rejected for misplaced comma and because CC wanted to force me to say that in a study those who were most likely to be lonely had greater health problems than those who were "less" likely to be lonely. The article that I took the information from AND the study which I referenced used the word "least" Not "less" which is what I had in my article. Am I supposed to change the wording of a statement in a medical study??!! Then after re-submitting it was rejected Again (!!) in just a couple hours, this time for something different, which was Not an issue the 1st submission!!
It seems CC is looking for reasons to reject articles rather than accept them and is Definitely running this writer away! I did not start writing yesterday! I have 3 college degrees, have been writing over 20 years, have won numerous writing contests, including recently winning a Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting Award, having been selected over 100 writers, from the U.S., Canada and as far away as the Phillipines, Africa and India! I also received the Paul Laurence Dunbar Poetry Award out of more than 1,000 submissions a few years ago. I also wrote for a 12 month advanced learning writing assignment on Bachelor and Doctoral level every month for over a year!

I will not resubmit that article or the other article again-nor any other articles on this site, and will be deleting everything I can possibly delete as soon as I finish this post. It is a waste of time, and CC is suffering tremendously by such ridiculous rejections and certainly by trying to force a writer to change wording in a statement regarding a study conducted by professionals.
Others have complained in this post as well as other posts in the forum, but since CC refuses to listen, I am sure that I am not the only writer leaving for sites where the site looks for reasons to publish a writer's quality work, not intentionally, deliverately and repeatedly reject it. There won't be anyone left except management and editors, some of whom obviously need training in the purpose of this site and the fact that CC can't very well make money if there are no writers left because someone editing articles obviously takes some sort of power trip pleasure in rejecting quality articles. Since CC rejected an article I knew was a quality article, I submitted it elsewhere and it has Already been accepted and published!!
Goodbye CC - writers, you already know there are sites where quality articles are not rejected repeatedly for a comma and then rejected again for an entirely different reason the second time, even though in that particular section there is no change between the 1st and 2nd version. See you there!

[dmarie530]

oops- "deliberately" not "deliverately" CC will probably be around to reject my post because I hit the "V" instead of "B"

[dmarie530]

Ok, its done Everyone, see u around the other sites..u know, the ones where your well-written articles are not rejected for next to nothing and then rejected again for an entirely different reason - even though you made no changes in the 2 versions in that particular paragraph.
Good luck with your future writing endeavors

[jadedragon]

CC wants good quality work. If there is an error in the article, just fix it and double check for more errors because the editors stop reading when they find an error. They are not trying to reject work to be difficult, just keeping up the standard that allows writers to get paid fairly for their good work. I suggest checking your ego at the door and getting with the program.

[dmarie530]

I suggest you get rid of your nasty attitude. If you read above, others were complaining long before me. I cannot submit an article with the wording of professional studies by scientific researchers changed, like the CC editor demanded!! Perhaps the editor needs lessons in editing, because the word association that the editor tried to get me to change was incorrect anyway. If I changed the wording to what the editor said it was supposed to be, it would have read that the study compared those elderly who were "most" lonely with those who were "less" lonely. The word was "most" which would have been compared with those who were "least" lonely as the STUDY said, not "less" lonely which would have been used in comparison to those who were "More" lonely. So perhaps editors can be given lessons in basic word usage and grammar as well as attitude and how to effectively communicate with writers.
Funny how there are so many people complaining about editors here but CC has people like you coming back with Holier than thou attitudes defending CC's intentional rejection of quality articles and I am not just talking about my own. LIKE I SAID, when I resubmitted the article, it was then rejected for SOMETHING ELSE THAT WAS THE EXACT SAME AS THE FIRST SUBMISSION - NO change had been made-so it was DELIBERATE to reject the article for some other reason. If it was just fine the 1st time WHY was it wrong and not ok for submission the SECOND time?!
I do NOT have the attitude, with your nasty remarks it is obvious who has the attitude. Writers are only trying to understand the overwhelming rejections for no acceptable, legitimate reason. Rejecting a writer's article a second time for reasons which were not stated in the first rejection, after the writer made changes that should have been accepted is intentional. The statements that CC made in the second rejection that were demanded changes of wording would have made no sense at all and would have changed the context of the paragraph! Funny, LIKE I SAID, it has now been accepted elsewhere with NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER.
So check your OWN attitude-when people can have QUALITY articles accepted elsewhere that are rejected here, with NO rejections or suggestions for change, (since the other sites are educated in word association, grammar and recognize quality) then the problem is with CC editors NOT writers and I am NOT talking about only myself. Like I said, there are plenty of others complaining; I only responded to posts made by other writers.
I've been writing for over 20 years and have been published at well-known sites and in print.
So perhaps you will want to "check your attitude at the door" and "get with the program," because obviously you aren't.

[carpenjoyce]

If you think the editors made a mistake, there is a comment section on the resubmit form where you can explain your position. But the editors here are really good, for the most part. I've had several rejections as I learned the ropes, and in every case the editors were right. I'm grateful for a site that helps me make sure I put my best foot forward.

I do think you're taking it a bit too personally, though. Good writing is about so much more than the fine points of English usage--such as creativity, knowledge and a certain flair. That's why so many great writers couldn't survive without their editors. I read a personal essay on Helium recently. The author had written it as a tribute to her late grandfather. She was clearly uneducated. Her spelling and grammar were terrible. But her gift for self-expression was so powerful it brought tears to my eyes. I hope you can see the point I'm trying to make.

Like you said, you can always go elsewhere. But I have to agree with jadedragon. Reacting with anger seems counterproductive to me. If the editors are wrong, convince them. If they're right, you learned something and became a better writer.

[Judith]

I think your reaction is a little over the top. I am a semi-retired journalist, with a Masters in English and one in Journalism. I also have a long list of books and publications in my bag of accomplishments. I still get articles sent back for the dreaded COMMA! Guess what, even though I don't always agree, I just change it, send it back, get it approved, and sell it. I have some "beloved" comma useages that aren't accepted by some here, and what a waste of time it would be to come on the forum and write a tirade because an editor has an opinion different than mine. I received my degrees in 1966. You were probably not even in the works yet. English usage has changed since then. Today some sentences ending in propositions are actually ALLOWED Even though it makes me quiver, I smile and keep on writing.

Writing online is different. People actually read differently when they read online. I was reading a study the other day explaining how the eyes and the mind are affected by reading online. I still have a lot to learn. I hope I never stop learning, because that would mean the world of writing is stagnant. How sad that would be for all of us. As far as other online sites who are willing to take articles without making necessary changes, if you feel they are "good enough" for you, then write for them. If you want to write for the best, then stay here.

I want to tell you something about the editors. Although I have no idea who they are, where they live, or their gender, there is something I do know. Editors can have a bad day. They can make a mistake, have a child who is crying, have a car that breaks down, and even get a headache. In other words, editors are people too. I found a great hint in a post on this forum. It was suggested to write the editor a note, in the short summary, explaining anything special you want them to know about your article. You could mention you chose to use a quote that must be left intact. I have used a note to the editor on several occasions and it has worked very well. When I get the article back I simply delete that note and potential buyers never see it.

You may find plenty of sites that will take your articles "as is." If that is good enough for you, and you feel you have no need to keep honing your skills, then go for it. I am a spoiled writer. I have never had to work without an editor. Here we are expected to edit our work before we submit it and CC's editors just double check. That's a good thing! Writers can get very lazy when they know they have an editor to polish their work for them, and I am learning to go back and read what I have written several times and make my own corrections, except for those miserable commas!!

So get a grip, resubmit, add a note to the editor (nicely), and enjoy the benefits of writing for CC. I am still just writing a little here and there for CC, trying to get my portfolio built up before I retire. Eventually I am planning on CC being 50% of my income. For some it may already be 100%. But I will never stop selling my photography so I will be happy for 50/50.

[jadedragon]

I'm trying to be helpful. Wow, what a bad attitude. Good luck with that.