Three Strikes and You're Out - clarification

[WordCraft]

All prolific and successful authors on CC must have received far more than 3 rejections. It's just not possible to not make an error at least once in a dozen articles, even if it is just submission-form related.

So, can I assume the following?

1. Would-be authors are generally banned very early on when it is clear that their command of English is poor or where they use CC for promotional purposes or where they seek to promote illegal, sordid or gratuitously controversial content

2. Rejections for minor errors are generally not counted against you, especially if you have passed a trial period and are known to be producing solid articles

3. Grammar and punctuation standards are high but do allow some flexibility/leeway, especially where different accepted style sources disagree or give acceptable variants. Glaring and obvious errors are what you will get pulled up for.

Again, I say this because I find it hard to believe that those who have hundreds of articles published have only had 2 rejections tops

[Antonia]

That's a pretty accurate description IMO. My rejections are few and far between, but I've definitely had more than 3 in the course of 300+ submissions. If you do a search on the topic you'll find posts from Ed clarifying the rule. In my understanding it's not a hard-and-fast thing, just a guideline that CC can implement at their discretion. Nobody who's been producing quality content consistently is suddenly going to get banned.

[Dekygod]

Hey guys!

I am new here and I would like to know more about this rule.

So...If I understand correctly, you get banned if 3 of your articles get rejected?

Thats pretty bad because I already submitted 2 and they denied them.
I dont have any approved articles yet, and I didnt know there was such a severe penalty.

Am I to assume I am out if I submit one more article with a grammar mistake? :shock

[Ed]

When articles are rejected for very basic grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, and other errors, we can consider no more articles from that author. Constant Content is a place for writers who have a solid command of all writing/grammar rules and who can convey their ideas in a clear manner.

Thank you,
Ed

[Dekygod]

Okay, that sounded as a "yes".

[WordCraft]

I must admit I missed this rule too. Perhaps it could be somewhere more prominent? (like on the submission form )

Having said that, I like the standards here. Article writing has become a low-paid and poor-quality affair across the Net and it's good to see CC bucking that trend and getting things back to a solid standard.

[Dekygod]

Yes, this site has some very good recommendations, but nobody warned me that I should be so strict about reviewing the rules before I put up anything.

I was like: "Lets submit two articles to see how this site works."
I definately wasnt expecting it would get me in trouble.
If I knew the penalty was so severe (ban), I would have read them ten times over for grammar and spelling mistakes.

Well, there should be a lot of warning messages for newbies about this.
Right now it feels pretty hostile.

I just wanted to try the site out and now I will be shot if I make one single typo!
Come on!

[Ed]

If you've read good reviews about Constant Content, then you know our standards are high.

Our concerns aren't about "a single typo." Our concerns are about articles that do not exhibit familiarity and comfort with writing rules and standards. This is a professional site and everybody's time is precious - the customers', the writers', mine, and, I assume, yours. We expect everyone to put their best foot forward from the start.

Just as you wouldn't send in an article to a magazine or a book to a publisher without proofreading it carefully, neither should you submit to a professional online site for quality articles without taking the same measures.

Thanks,
Ed

[Dekygod]

Yep, you got a point.

Sorry, I was just shocked when I discovered the drastic consequence.

Naturally, you have to build standards like this one in order to provide top quality.

[MrsHannigan]

OK so perhaps I should not freak out that I submitted my 1st three articles and they were all rejected. Two were rejected for using the wrong font and I can't imagine being banned from the site for using the wrong size and typeface.

Lesson learned, I should resubmit, then? Then figure out how to change the default font in OO.

I still have access to the submission tool, so is that evidence that I'm not banned?

[Celeste Stewart]

CC won't ban a recently signed up writer for a font issue on the first submissions. If you were banned, you wouldn't be able to log in to the CC site.

[nichewriter]

Then figure out how to change the default font in OO.

If you are on a Windows OS, to change the default font in Open Office Writer, go to:

Tools -> Options -> +OpenOffice.org Writer -> Basic Fonts (Western) and then change the Default to "Times New Roman" Size 12

If you want your documents automatically saved as .doc files, go to:

Tools -> Options -> +Load/Save -> General -> on the drop down menu for "Always save as", choose "Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP"

HTH,
Sherry

[MrsHannigan]

Perfect. Thank you, Sherry & Celeste

[MelissaNott]

Hi there,
I just received my first rejection. The short summary had a grammatical error (unfortunately I don't know what it was b/c I didn't save the summary. Doh!) and also included article-promoting words that didn't relate directly to content. I didn't realize this wasn't OK, but I won't do it again! I really, really, really want to keep writing for CC! Is there a way to find out if this rejection "counted"? I know I'm not perfect and I'm afraid I'll eventually make two more unwitting mistakes and ruin this great thing I've found for myself.
Missy

[Celeste Stewart]

The CC team is reasonable. They're not sitting there with a clipboard counting the moments until they can ban someone for little mistakes. Repeated rejections for "This article contains grammar errors throughout" - yes, you should worry. A single mistake for a short summary error like that, not so much.