By: Brandie King, ... 2004 If your articles aren't getting ... very often, oryou just want to increase the chances of them ... then you will benefit from the tips in ...
 
                    By: Brandie King, Copyright 2004 
 If your articles aren't getting published very often, or
 you just want to increase the chances of them being
 published, then you will benefit from the tips in this
 article. 
 1. Article Length 
 You should always keep you article 500 to 800 words long.
 If you can't fit what you want to say into that amount of
 space, then break your article up into more than one part. 
 2. Resource Box Length 
 When writing your resource box, keep it 5 to 6 lines long.
 In a resource box you are simply trying to get people to
 request more information, not sell them something. If you
 want a longer ad, buy one! 
 3. Line Length 
 The lines in both your article and your resource box should
 be formatted to 60 to 65 characters per line. One of the
 consequences of not doing so is that, in some email
 programs, your article may appear with every line at a
 different length. 
 You can get your article formatted, as well as learning
 its character, line, and word count, at the following
 website for free. http://www.fwointl.com/FWOFormatter.html
 4. Is Your Article Actually An Article? 
 Publishers want to provide their readers with actually
 useful information and you should want the same. If you
 write an article that is just a sales letter or press
 release it will be rejected 99 percent of the time. 
 5. Inactive Links 
 Before you even think about publishing or submitting your
 article check that all links within it are active and
 working. Nothing is more irritating than to click on a link
 for a site you're interested in only to find out that it no
 longer exists. 
 6. Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar 
 If you submit your article and it's full of errors it will
 be thrown into the trash folder so fast that your head will
 spin. Submitting articles with these types of errors not
 only makes you look extremely unprofessional, but it shows
 disrespect for both the publisher and their readers. 
 7. S*AM Triggers 
 As a courtesy, you should run your article through a
 program that will check it for triggers that could possibly
 get it rejected by filters. This isn't a necessary step but
 it will definitely impress publishers and increase the
 chances of your article being published. 
 You can check your article for free at
 http://www.lyris.com/contentchecker. 
 8. Publisher Guidelines 
 This should be understood without having to say it, but it
 is still important enough to mention. Always, always,
 always follow the publisher's guidelines when submitting an
 article to them. Not doing so will get your article
 rejected quicker than anything else. 
 Read this list, print it out, and keep it by you when you
 are writing an article. Read each tip and make sure that
 you are following it. 
 Making the above mistakes will insult the intelligence of
 both the publishers and their readers, as well as wasting
 your time and theirs.