How to write a paper with a parallel but non-trivial approach? I am writing a paper that centers on Quantum Information Theory, approached using  Graph Theory. This approach has parallels to Matrix Theory, but it is very different from all existing Graph Theoretical approaches to this topic. We have submitted two papers to journals: 1) Physics Reviews and 2) Electronic Journal of Combinatorics, but both of them are rejected. We suspect that reviewers did not understand that our approach is not trivial.

My questions:


How should we present our method so that the reviewers can see its worth and see that it is not trivial?  
How can we establish the parallel to Matrix Theory, but at the same time differentiate our approach and convey it's contribution to research?
Getting into the details would be too technical for this site, but my suggestion is spell it out explicitly.

If this issue is a concern for your readers and for the referees, there should be a section in your paper titled Why is this nontrivial? (maybe just after the introduction) where you argue on why your approach is relevant. If you can, include an example where it is apparent that your approach is more simple or more insightful.

Don't be afraid to toot your own horn.