Doc v HTML

[Yogma]

I normally submit stories as a MS Word .doc , but I've noticed some inconsistencies lately with the final published stories, such as italic and bold formatting not appearing where it used to (I'm uploading via a pc and not a mobile device). Therefore I was thinking of switching over to using HTML tags for the formatting and copy/pasting the text into the submission screen so that I can preview it before submitting it.

This does seem a bit of a hassle (even using kb shortcuts to insert the tags), but would probably be worthy it to guarantee proper formatting. I was just wondering what people's thoughts on this approach would be and whether you had any workflow tips?

Thanks.

 

[iwatchus]

If you don;t know @FrancesScott wonderful piece on using html tags (here) you should start be reading that.

I have been writing tags in html for nigh on thirty years now, so I am used to it. My biggest frustration is not seeing the proper formatting until you get to preview, which is annoying. And not seeing the block quote formatting at all until the story goes live is even worse. That can be a little nerve wracking.

Typing the tags themselves really doesn't slow me down. I do them as I write my original draft. They suck during text-to-speech listening, because at least my tool does not ignore the tags.

 

[SyleusSnow]

I convert my MS Word docs to HTML then post that.

The macro on my blog does a reasonable job: https://syleussnow.wordpress.com/ms-word-to-simple-html-macro/

 

[Candy_Kane54]

I prefer converting my MS Word doc to HTML text since there is a lot of meta data on the .doc/.docx files that you may not want to share with others ... (yes, I'm paranoid)

 

[Yogma]

If you don;t know @FrancesScott wonderful piece on using html tags (here) you should start be reading that.

Hi iwachus.

Yes, I saw that and have been using it as my guide on how to achieve what I need. Its a great resource.

 

[Yogma]

I convert my MS Word docs to HTML then post that.

The macro on my blog does a reasonable job: https://syleussnow.wordpress.com/ms-word-to-simple-html-macro/

Thanks so much SyleusSnow.

That looks absolutely fantastic. I'll definitely give it a try.

Thanks.

 

[NotWise]

If you don;t know @FrancesScott wonderful piece on using html tags (here) you should start be reading that.

I have been writing tags in html for nigh on thirty years now, so I am used to it. My biggest frustration is not seeing the proper formatting until you get to preview, which is annoying. And not seeing the block quote formatting at all until the story goes live is even worse. That can be a little nerve wracking.

Typing the tags themselves really doesn't slow me down. I do them as I write my original draft. They suck during text-to-speech listening, because at least my tool does not ignore the tags.

You can probably do this. I have a simple HTML wrapper that I paste my marked-up document into. You can open it in a browser to check the markup. It also simulates the appearance of the document on Lit (doesn't do page breaks). Changing the appearance of the document is a great way to improve your self-editing. I use it for my final editing passes.

 

[Lumiere_Amie]

I've only submitted one story as a .doc. Primarily because I use a MacBook, and I don't trust the Pages to Word conversion. In the beginning, I wrote in Pages and then pasted it into the submission box. Shortly after, I started coding the HTML tags. Now it's second nature. There MAY be a secondary benefit. While I avoid AI like the plague, I have never had a story rejected for AI.

 

[SyleusSnow]

Thanks so much SyleusSnow.

That looks absolutely fantastic. I'll definitely give it a try.

Thanks.

Thanks. It works well for me.

Instead of linking to the macro itself, I should have linked to the page introducing it and other solutions:

https://syleussnow.wordpress.com/2022/01/21/ms-word-to-html-for-literotica

 

[Voyeurkenneth]

All credit to the user who (if I recall correctly?) shared this tool in the forums: https://www.atp-tool.com/

You paste text with bolds and italics. It'll output the text with html tags <b> and <i>. It doesn't do em dashes though, so I manually have to tag those.

 

[redgarters]

I always post Word docs. Never had a problem except when I used < > to indicate text messages. The system thought they were coding so they disappeared.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I always post Word docs. Never had a problem except when I used < > to indicate text messages. The system thought they were coding so they disappeared.

Use &gt; and &lt; instead.

 

[dirk2024]

My biggest frustration is not seeing the proper formatting until you get to preview, which is annoying. And not seeing the block quote formatting at all until the story goes live is even worse. That can be a little nerve wracking.

In which of your stories do you use it? I have a story where I'm thinking of using something like that.

Typing the tags themselves really doesn't slow me down. I do them as I write my original draft. They suck during text-to-speech listening, because at least my tool does not ignore the tags.

Agreed. I have started to do that as well, and yes, text to speech is almost entertaining when tripping over these.

 

[iwatchus]

In which of your stories do you use it? I have a story where I'm thinking of using something like that.

I used it in a few places in my novel originally (Blunt Force Drama), but I also used it in Mistress Natasha (my next story, the agenda relatively early on, so easier to find) and my upcoming comedy for the Crime and Punishment event. I had to ask @PennyThompson how she did it for Mothman. Then @FrancesScott wrote her wonderful piece like two days after Penny told me the trick.

But you just have to trust how it will look because you don't see it until the story comes out, which is a little unnerving.