Punctuation Altered When Published: How to Save the Em Dash

[ShadowLuver]

This is a request for guidance regarding submission formatting, not on the grammatical use of dashes or punctuation. I use Em Dashes regularly, but when published they are converted to two hypens, which is an outmoded work-around used with old typewriters because they didn't have dash keys. I've used .doc and plain text with the same problem. In the Preview of the draft before submitting, when using plain text the em dashes appear correctly—but change to hyphens when actually published.

I've seen many published stories here where the dashes are correctly formatted, so apparently it can be done. Help Please! Can anyone advise on how I accomplish this?

 

[Bramblethorn]

Of the stories you're seeing with proper em dashes, are any of them recent? I have a vague recollection that there was a behind-the-scenes change a year or two back that changed how these are processed. So it may be those authors submitted exactly the same way you did, just that the older version of the system handled their stories differently.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Type the following (I am doubled spacing it): & m d a s h ;

Pain to do each time, but it seems to work.

 

[ShadowLuver]

Thanks for responding. I have edited and resubmitted a story using the html code for em dash (I didn't know it was considered a special character needing special code, thought it was just a punctuation mark) and will see if that helps. I used &#8212 which I found online listed as the html code; I also saw online the &mdash that TarnishedPenny suggested, which is listed as the html entity, or html name. If it works, my plan will be to wait until I've finished a story, then use "find and replace" to substitute the code for the dashes.

When I used the code in plain text and pasted it into the submission window, all the dashes appeared correctly as em dashes in the "preview" before publishing. Hopefully that works!

 

[ShadowLuver]

Of the stories you're seeing with proper em dashes, are any of them recent? I have a vague recollection that there was a behind-the-scenes change a year or two back that changed how these are processed. So it may be those authors submitted exactly the same way you did, just that the older version of the system handled their stories differently.

I haven't noticed whether the stories with proper em dashes are recent. Since the various ways I've posted recently haven't worked correctly, I've tried revising a story using html codes for the dashes, described in my separate posting.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Thanks for responding. I have edited and resubmitted a story using the html code for em dash (I didn't know it was considered a special character needing special code, thought it was just a punctuation mark)

Depending on technical details, it can be either or both. (And glad TP remembered this option because it had slipped my mind!)

 

[dmallord]

ALERT!

'&mdash' does not work in my story. I posted a story using '&mdash' on Nov 17th. It showed up in the preview mode as "&mdash" as text but I figured it would convert when posted. I had read this thread and figured it was helpful. No, it remained throughout the story as text and I am catching flack from readers who are irked wondering WTF I was doing and how badly it detracted from the story.

Will have to send an edit request and just go back to dash -

 

[RejectReality]

The semicolon at the end is critical. Without that, it will just process the text.

—

Note that if you use a submission method that allows previewing, the preview will show the em dashes instead of the html code, so that's how you check it.

 

[dmallord]

The semicolon at the end is critical. Without that, it will just process the text.

—

Note that if you use a submission method that allows previewing, the preview will show the em dashes instead of the html code, so that's how you check it.

Thank you for the semi-colon pointer. I missed that as part of the HTML. I thought it was the writer's punctuation mark in the directions given.

A note on preview mode: When I preview my stories with the emdash under the Mac Word version it appears appropriately - yet it doesn't convert when posted. In my view of the &mdash, I saw it as text '&mdash' but concluded it would be something the Lit HTML would handle. My premise was erroneous. My story was posted with half a dozen irked readers commenting on it. Still, some of those commenters said, despite the distraction, they liked the story.

 

[RejectReality]

For some reason the preview does handle the em dashes from some programs, but then converts them to double-dashes upon final presentation. Guess Mac Word is one of them. I know Wordperfect is one, because I've been having to use the html code for years because that's what I write in.

So long as you don't make any typos ( I find/replace my em dashes so I only have to worry about getting it right once per document in the replace box ) the html code is reliable.

 

[yukonnights]

This is odd, I just checked my most recent story and the — are not modified. For what it's worth; I write in rtf and use the "upload story" function on the submission. Perhaps I'm not actually using the em-dash I think I am? I key, option shift and the em dash key. I always use a Mac.

 

[stickygirl]

It's happened to mine in the last few months. I use an older version of Word and found a work-around... Allow the long hyphen to appear in word, then back space it once. It then goes back to a shortened version. I think my version auto-corrects so you have to over-ride it. What goes on under the hood in Microsoft is a black art and different versions might well act differently.

Here's one from Goalposts dated Oct '22 "first football -- a plastic" I didn't spot it in editing.

I convert everything to .rtf before submitting but you still need to check it through. Changing to .txt can often remove formatting.

If I were more confident in punctuation I'm sure they'd be no need for - . It's another area of writing with which I struggle!

 

[RejectReality]

I once copy-pasted text from Google Docs to the site, and in the preview, all the en/em dashes looked fine, but once the file was approved, all the dashes became minuses (hyphens). Are you sure that — or – work?

I just checked it, and it looks fine in the preview, but not sure what will happen in the actual posting.

I've been using — in every one of my submissions for years, so yep

 

[RejectReality]

And – ?

Never tried it, but I've used all kinds of other special characters and the only one that didn't translate was the diamonds suit.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I've been using — in every one of my submissions for years, so yep

This.