Grammar Nazi?

[NaturalHammer]

Firstly, whoever rejected my story was right, I had some full stops missing at the end of a conversation. I do wonder how many people would notice, let alone care, though.

I almost couldn't be arsed to write this as ultimately, I'm writing porn for pervy humans to enjoy not trying to win a publishing contract. If you guys are putting up too many barriers to getting my stuff online then ... well I'll not bother here.

My questions I suppose are -
1. Anyone else feeling this?
2. Has there been a change in policy recently that's caused this new level of detail? (Some of my older stories would never have passed through the new apparent regime.)

It's so frustrating when x days after submitting something, you're so excited but then it gets rejected 'cause you missed a comma!

(And yup I have 3 editors that help out.)

 

[KachinaDoll]

Jeez, if they are rejecting stories because of a few missing punctuation marks then 95% of the stories on here would never have seen the light of day. Are you sure that was the only issue? I don't think I'm a grammar nazi, maybe a grammar geek. I'm not perfect but it drives me up the wall if I find an error has sneaked into one of my stories. Especially as I read the finished story at least three times, my husband reads it and I run it through Grammarly. In my stories, I'd been using '...,' to indicate a pause. Then Altissimus pointed out that three dots was called an Ellipsis, was a punctuation mark in its own right and didn't need a comma. So, most, if not all of my stories have incorrect commas. Not future ones though - it's ellipsis from now on. Pause...

 

[NaturalHammer]

The reason for the last rejection was this (their text) -
["Shall we head home, babes?".] should be ["Shall we head home, babes?"] Kindly note the extra period outside the dialogue quote.
That was at the end of a paragraph.

Yer there may have been others in the story like that, so I do get it. But it made me chuckle as well as shake my head.

 

[Rob_Royale]

If you guys are putting up too many barriers to getting my stuff online then ... well I'll not bother here.

You guys? Do You think there's some nefarious plot from the AH regulars seeking to suppress your work because you dropped a comma?

But let's be real here, is it really that much work to just correct your shit and repost? The rest of us do it.

 

[Altissimus]

(And yup I have 3 editors that help out.)

Fire them. Get three more.

 

[Rustyoznail]

There's only one gatekeeper - Laurel. Us "guys" have no influence over her approval process. I run my stuff through the free version of Grammarly to pick up the dumb errors.

 

[ElectricBlue]

2. Has there been a change in policy recently that's caused this new level of detail? (Some of my older stories would never have passed through the new apparent regime.)

It's so frustrating when x days after submitting something, you're so excited but then it gets rejected 'cause you missed a comma!

(And yup I have 3 editors that help out.)

Poor punctuation and grammar have been reasons for rejection for years, probably decades.

If your editors didn't spot these (very) obvious mistakes, they shouldn't be offering themselves as editors.

If you want to set yourself low standards, that's fine, it's your call, but I don't think you'll get much sympathy. Try harder, next time, like the rest of us do.

 

[onehitwanda]

MS Word, Google Docs or a plethora of online text editors would have found and corrected those for you in the first run through.

You guys? Do You think there's some nefarious plot from the AH regulars seeking to suppress your work because you dropped a comma?

Shh! Don't tell him the secret!

 

[Bamagan]

I've never really understood the term 'grammar Nazi.' I mean, I get that it's a way to insult people who are very particular about proper language and punctuation, but who is it casting the complainant as? The French? Jews? Indiana Jones?

 

[EmilyMiller]

Firstly, whoever rejected my story was right, I had some full stops missing at the end of a conversation. I do wonder how many people would notice, let alone care, though.

I almost couldn't be arsed to write this as ultimately, I'm writing porn for pervy humans to enjoy not trying to win a publishing contract. If you guys are putting up too many barriers to getting my stuff online then ... well I'll not bother here.

My questions I suppose are -
1. Anyone else feeling this?
2. Has there been a change in policy recently that's caused this new level of detail? (Some of my older stories would never have passed through the new apparent regime.)

It's so frustrating when x days after submitting something, you're so excited but then it gets rejected 'cause you missed a comma!

(And yup I have 3 editors that help out.)

I had one story rejected for spelling in the early days. That was when I was writing in iOS Note. And the story was full of errors.

I doubt that I have ever submitted a story with perfect punctuation and grammar. I suspect that Laurel was giving one example of a broader issue.

But, I don’t know, maybe she had a moment and snapped about just that one issue. She is human after all.

Em

 

[LoneMilf]

I recently had a story rejected for not putting dialogue on separate lines. At first I was annoyed about the rejection, but I quickly realized it was definitely a change for the better and I appreciated the help.

As for other sites... When I published my first story, I asked about the correct way of putting commas in dialogue. On here, I had very detailed and helpful answers within a couple of hours. On another site there was silence for 4 days, then I got this: "I don't really know, but either option probably works. People don't really care about grammar anyway, they just want to read some sex."

I guess it's a choice of what you prefer as an author

 

[sister jenny]

I have reached out to about 15 editors and one answered.
He did a great job, but I still got rejected.
Now I dont bother anymore. I checked it myself and send it in. After about 3-4 tries it usually works.
People still tell me after that that my grammar sucks and I have bad punctuation.
Anyway, I just wanna get off and cum.

 

[StillStunned]

I've repeatedly stated here that I'm a professional editor and proofreader, and have been for going on 25 years, with clients all the way up to the EU. I've explained to people the benefits of using Read Aloud to catch 99% of typos and inconsistencies.

And earlier this week, after my newest story was published, I spotted a (to my eyes) glaring typo in just 1500 words of text.

Not sure what this adds to the discussion, but it felt like the appropriate place to confess.

 

[ycym]

I have reached out to about 15 editors and one answered.
He did a great job, but I still got rejected.
Now I dont bother anymore. I checked it myself and send it in. After about 3-4 tries it usually works.
People still tell me after that that my grammar sucks and I have bad punctuation.
Anyway, I just wanna get off and cum.

That's it. Just try until they are satisfied. The rest of the day just dry to cum.

If my stories getting rejected it is because I don't use enough breaks for online reading. My German grammar is really not the best but the spell and grammar checks in word helps to eliminate the worst stuff.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Poor punctuation and grammar have been reasons for rejection for years, probably decades.

I will say the enforcement isn't entirely consistent there - some of what gets through seems to be much worse than some of the stuff that gets bounced for grammar/punctuation. But then humans are rarely completely consistent.

 

[NaturalHammer]

So summary to question 1 is 'Shut the f' up Hammer and get better.'?
And question 2 'Narrr it's always a bit hit and miss.'?

Got ya.

 

[SimonDoom]

So summary to question 1 is 'Shut the f' up Hammer and get better.'?

Got ya.

I wouldn't put it that way. But I am glad that the site maintains some minimum standards that stories must meet to be published, and I don't think the current standards are too onerous.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Firstly, whoever rejected my story was right, I had some full stops missing at the end of a conversation. I do wonder how many people would notice, let alone care, though.

I almost couldn't be arsed to write this as ultimately, I'm writing porn for pervy humans to enjoy not trying to win a publishing contract. If you guys are putting up too many barriers to getting my stuff online then ... well I'll not bother here.

My questions I suppose are -
1. Anyone else feeling this?
2. Has there been a change in policy recently that's caused this new level of detail? (Some of my older stories would never have passed through the new apparent regime.)

It's so frustrating when x days after submitting something, you're so excited but then it gets rejected 'cause you missed a comma!

(And yup I have 3 editors that help out.)

My first story was rejected on similar grounds. I don't remember all the specific errors, but they included putting the punctuation outside quotation marks.

You know what I did?

I learned the proper punctuation and fixed it.

You know what I didn't do?

Whine about it.

 

[jsmiam]

So summary to question 1 is 'Shut the f' up Hammer and get better.'?
And question 2 'Narrr it's always a bit hit and miss.'?

Got ya.

Question 2, although not incorrect, also has an “it depends” factor. If the same error happened repeatedly, which seems to be the case here, you were treated to laurel’s red pen. Even though you didn’t like it, it was a learning opportunity you’ll never forget, right?

Most of us had moments of indignance followed by having to realize we were wrong. So, add “and quit whining” to question 1, make the corrections, and welcome to the forums.

 

[NaturalHammer]

Question 2, although not incorrect, also has an “it depends” factor. If the same error happened repeatedly, which seems to be the case here, you were treated to laurel’s red pen. Even though you didn’t like it, it was a learning opportunity you’ll never forget, right?

Most of us had moments of indignance followed by having to realize we were wrong. So, add “and quit whining” to question 1, make the corrections, and welcome to the forums.

I hear ya but 29 stories in, gradually getting better with gramma etc. The first ones are full of errors but the latest one gets squashed due to something so simple.

No biggie, was just checking the general consensus and if I was being a big baby. Apparently, I am.

All good. Learning and adapting.

 

[MrPixel]

We aren’t “grammar Nazis”. We are grammar comma-nists.

 

[Bamagan]

We aren’t “grammar Nazis”. We are grammar comma-nists.

Which are NOT to be Confused with Capitalizationists.

 

[KeithD]

So summary to question 1 is 'Shut the f' up Hammer and get better.'?
And question 2 'Narrr it's always a bit hit and miss.'?

Got ya.

Well, no. It's good for others to hear on the discussion board where the submissions edges are. But, yes, after that just make the changes and get your story where readers can read it. The more you post stories to Lit., the more the editor will trust your technicals.

 

[Euphony]

Fire them. Get three more.

No idea why that hit my funny bone as hard as it did but excellent work.

 

[Victoria14xs]

The reason, for me, to try and avoid that kinda mistake is this…
I’m reading your story. It’s really good. I’m ”there” - feeling it - right there with your characters. And then there’s this error - and my brain sees it, recognizes it as an error. So in that fleeting moment (however tiny it may be) I’m recognizing the error. So what I’m NOT doing is focusing on the story in that moment.
As an author - even of stories “for pervy humans” - why do that? Why not work to avoid that?