I don't fear rewrites. I hate them.
1. I hate rewrites when they are incoherent.
2. I hate rewrites when they tell me to make any change that will make the content, grammar, spelling, or mechanics worse.
3. I hate rewrites when they demand information not contemplated by the title.
4. I hate rewrites when they ask questions which are answered in the article.
5. I hate rewrites when they ask questions that have nothing to do with the article.
6. I hate rewrites when they demand a change that directly contradicts the style guidelines, fact, common sense, or the rules of the English language.
7. I hate rewrites when they insist on a complete tear-down because the CE doesn't "like" something
or doesn't agree with my interpretation of the title.
8. I hate rewrites when they are based entirely on a CE's distaste for a reference that cleared the blacklist.
9. I hate rewrites when they tell me to put more attributions in.
10. I hate rewrites when they tell me to take more attributions out.
11. I hate rewrites when they tell me some phrase is in the "passive voice" when it is not.
12. I hate rewrites when they tell me "the guidelines say" to do something that is in fact the opposite of what the guidelines say.
13. I hate rewrites when they tell me to do the opposite of what the previous rewrite told me to do.
14. I hate rewrites when they don't tell me what to do.
15. I hate rewrites when they have already been done by the CE, but said CE felt I needed to see his or her glorious changes in the name of a "teachable moment."
16. I hate rewrites when they will obviously take longer to do than I spent writing the article.
17. I hate rewrites when they turn into rejections because the CE was not clear about what s/he wanted at the rewrite stage.
18. I hate rewrites when they turn into rejections for things the CE never mentioned at the rewrite stage.
19. I hate rewrites when they increase my risk of rejection, especially because the CE was ambiguous or never said anything about whatever s/he ultimately rejected the article for.
20. I hate rewrites because the half-witted robot that reviews the rejection appeals is as arbitrary, incoherent, and pointless as the rewrite instructions that got me the rejection.
I do not hate rewrites that ask intelligent questions or actually point out when something is broken, confusing, or incomplete. But guess how many of those I get?