Are CC's standards slipping?

[Kaytee]

Hi all,

After a reasonable absence I've returned to CC and sold a couple of articles. I remember when I submitted my first to the site and how worried I was about rejections. I had a few pieces bounce back for editing but appreciated the feedback and learnt to self-edit more efficiently. Though somewhat overwhelming, I always found CC's high standards reassuring--even when I wasn't sure that I could meet them.

This time around, I was browsing recently sold content and some of the profiles/sales of more prolific writers, and have been rather disappointed at some of the content which has not only been accepted, but gone on to sell. I appreciate that it's the sales which are important to the business, but the wording and grammar in some of them is clumsy at best, and at worst is just plain wrong. Some of the content in question reads as if English is not the writer's first language. There's nothing wrong with that, but in written work it shouldn't be so easily identifiable.

Have CC lowered their standards, and the customers their expectations, or are the handful of writers in question just sleeping with the editors?

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts, as right now what I have seen does put me off a little when thinking about investing my time once more.

Regards,
K

[BarryDavidson]

I'm not sure Kaytee, but I don't think so.

I remember why I've been absent for so long. After CC brought in the new batch of editors I was saddened by what I saw. Kids taught in the new school of writing were pretty much taking over. I've seen it on too many websites. I was hoping that the new batch had settled down a bit.

I'll submit a few articles to see if they have. Someone please tell me they have. I was tired of bing told that I use too many commas, or that my article was an opinion. From the modern school of thought I probably do use too many. As far as the second, I'm pretty sure that a large percent of the articles submitted here are the opinion of the author.

[mnicol22]

Hey there!

Just a few hours ago, I got an article rejected for using a space after a slash. The universe is in perfect order.

[BarryDavidson]

Hey there!

Just a few hours ago, I got an article rejected for using a space after a slash. The universe is in perfect order.

Although I'm sure you didn't find it funny thanks for the laugh.

I wonder how a technical writing article would do here without a public/private request. Not about technical writing, but the actual article. I did once write an article about writing for the web for things like how-to articles on computers, but it was rejected. It was after the new generation of editors took the reigns.

[Kaytee]

Hey there!

Just a few hours ago, I got an article rejected for using a space after a slash. The universe is in perfect order.

Haha! That's oddly encouraging, though maybe only for the rest of us!

I'm not sure Kaytee, but I don't think so.

I remember why I've been absent for so long. After CC brought in the new batch of editors I was saddened by what I saw. Kids taught in the new school of writing were pretty much taking over. I've seen it on too many websites. I was hoping that the new batch had settled down a bit.

I'll submit a few articles to see if they have. Someone please tell me they have. I was tired of bing told that I use too many commas, or that my article was an opinion. From the modern school of thought I probably do use too many. As far as the second, I'm pretty sure that a large percent of the articles submitted here are the opinion of the author.

I think you raise a great point about what we mean by high standards. For myself, it isn't sticking rigidly to formulaic writing styles and technicalities, as you identify with the new breed of editors on various sites. (Who often work like editing software, and forget that the benefit of having human editors should be that they function differently to the microsoft word paperclip...)

The discouraging things I have read are just--for want of a better description--badly written. It's not a question of whether it conforms to strict grammatical rules and regulations, some things are just not good English. One I saw yesterday included in the summary a phrase along the lines of "things which is" instead of "are". Silly little things where the wrong word is used, or the piece is so colloquial in tone that it's awkward to read. I hope I'm not just being a snob, but for me that overall quality of writing is more important than cold technical skill. It is to be expected on a site such as this to some extent I suppose, as not all writers will do it for their love of words, but I would much prefer to see CC weeding out the clumsy writing than rejecting for passive voice, opinion, or spaces after a slash.

Maybe I'm just becoming a crochety old woman a tad before my time! I suppose that any writer who enjoys creating content should be applauded for their efforts, whatever their level of talent.

[mnicol22]

I didn't really mind. I corrected it, resubmitted, and got it accepted a few minutes later. No biggie!

When I first started writing for C-C, I had that stiff, essay-like style I had inherited from my university years. To be honest, I didn't know what the site wanted, and I was too scared to experiment. I hated that style, though. It was too formal, too bland, and it left no room for creativity. I figured that, if I didn't like my own articles, the readers or -worse yet- the buyers wouldn't like it either. Then, I started trying different things out: bulletpoints, a more relaxed tone, the occasional joke. I never had a problem with the editors, and all the corrections they suggested were reasonable. I guess I've been lucky so far!

I really hate having to conform to rules, unless they make sense. To me, writing is a natural process. Load it with stupid rules and restrictions, and you'll get that aforementioned, terrible style nobody enjoys.

[BarryDavidson]

Take something simple like removing a piece of software in Windows 7 as an example. There are several ways you could write it.

Click on Start at the bottom of the page, scroll over to Control Panel and click it. Once there click on Uninstall a Program. Scroll through the list until you find the program you wish to uninstall....

Click on "Start" at the bottom of the page, scroll over to "Control Panel" and click it. Once there click on "Uninstall a Program". Scroll through the list until you find the program you wish to uninstall....

Click on start at the bottom of the page, scroll over to control panel and click it. Once there click on uninstall a program. Scroll through the list until you find the program you wish to uninstall....

There are several other acceptable ways to write that same sentence, and they wouldn't be wrong. Well, they wouldn't be wrong from a writing online content standpoint. They would be wrong if you looked at them from the perspective of a high school or college English teacher's perspective.

I've seen articles rejected because the editor thought the writer was using a single semicolon incorrectly. It's for that reason I don't use them. I've seen and heard about weirder things as well.

[J. A. Young]

I haven't noticed any slackening of standards. Off hand, I'd say if you have, why not just raise the bar and submit some good stuff to the site:) I daresay, upon examining the quality of your initial post, you're likely to have it passed right through--no questionable propositions between writer and editor required

[Kaytee]

Darn, I'll have to slip in a few deliberate mistakes.