Submitting to a Rewriting Public Request

[sfjames]

Hello,

I'm a new writer to CC, and had a question on a public request that is currently available. The client is requesting rewrites of about 10 articles. The client has specified in the request that he/she will forward the article to the author selected for the rewrites to be done. What is the procedure to submit to this request if I don't have an actual article to submit (since the actual assignment won't be provided until after the submission)?

Thank you in advance for your time and assistance.

[jak]

Looks like noone knows the answer to this. You'd best ask support.

[ThreeCreeks]

I also wanted to reply to this request. I sent a message to the client but got no answer.

I also sent a message to support. I will post when I hear from them.

[WritingNerdy]

I also sent a very detailed message to the client explaining my experience with article rewrites, but have yet to hear back from him. One of my friends on the site said they she also sent him an inquiry days ago but she has yet to receive a response.

Is this the same client who made a post requesting article rewrites two or three weeks ago? I am inclined to say that it is. I wonder what the deal is! I am really interested in the project and get discouraged when I never receive a reply, even if it says "You no can haz job."

Does this happen often? I'm new to the site so I would like to ask if there is anything the staff can do about this client; by this I mean contacting him with feedback from us writers.

*crosses fingers*

[jak]

Just had a thought. Why not select an article in your portfolio and rewrite it so that it gets accepted here and submit it to the request. Put a link to the first article in the short summary so the customer can see that as well. It will be an example of rewriting, plus an extra article in your portfolio.

[ThreeCreeks]

jak, that brings up a question that I have had about this request. To what extent would the articles have to be rewritten to be considered original content?

[Celeste Stewart]

While some customers request so-called "rewrites," I feel its best to take the original article as a loose guideline ie, the customer likes the topic and general direction of the article and wants something similar. So, while technically you could follow the same structure and rewrite each sentence/paragraph of the original article so that yours is "unique," I find it's better, safer, and just all-around better feeling to use the original article as a suggestion or launching pad for a completely 100% new article.

Find a few new facts or a more current report/study, update the concept to reflect current trends, add your own ideas and twists, etc.

For example, if a customer wants you to rewrite an article about the latest features of the 2013 Ford F-150, it doesn't necessarily mean that he wants a line-by-line rewrite of the article he points to; it could mean he wants an article along the same lines (detailing the latest features of the 2013 Ford F-150) and that the example given might have some useful information to help you get started. Make sure to gather more information beyond what the customer has suggested. You could visit the Ford website, check out what Consumers Reports or Motorweek has to say about it, see if it's won any awards, learn about its environmental or advanced safety features, etc... Add something new to the topic.

Sure, it's easier and faster to rewrite a given article, but it's also a gray area that could get you into trouble as far as plagiarism goes and CC is concerned.

One exception to this is when the customer owns the rights to the original article and wants multiple versions for different sites. Even then, the more unique and original you can make each article, the better. Plus in this situation CC would need to know that the rewrite is a rewrite of the customer's own content and not a rewrite of some random piece you found on the Internet.

[ThreeCreeks]

Thanks, Celeste. I thought something like that would be needed. I know in the Writer Guidelines, it says plagiarism includes rewriting another author's articles, so I couldn't see exactly how this request could be done.