Just read the major link lists rules, like greenguys link-o-rama, and make sure your site matches them, then you'll get listed..one suggestion is to stick to a theme/niche per site and take out as many choices as you can...make your html simple and light, as well as you banners need to be quick loading...get a review of your free site by dropping it here before you decide to submit it...and people will give you an honest review of it..and canhelp you from making and submitting mistakes ..in turn that keeps you from getting those denials too..
places like this are a resource that people should use and in turn help out on down the road when they can
hint: to make your webistes faster in building...limit yourself to only 10 html commands(you probably won't need that many), anythiing on a webpage not making you money or getting you listed you don't need, stop getting ultra fancy(if you are), accept that no one will remember your free site out of the billions out there, limit your self to 2 colors text and links, have no more than a table or two on a page, if any...keep your background color simple..go black or white for the first 20 sites you build...it'll save you alot of time, make sure your sponsors match your content and site niche, use no more than 2-3 sponsor sites to promote per site..and learn to do web pages by hand, in html..takes minutes that way to make a site..
and enjoy your building..that and cashing checks are the fun parts of webmastering
remember these hints/tips and that will go a long way to helpping you get faster and better at it.