Feeling like an idiot, my edits aren't getting published

[FINLEYDIXON]

I've read the instructions multiple times, but I'm still doing something wrong. What tips do you all have for getting story edits published?

 

[RejectReality]

I'm going to post my standard copy/paste for this, in case anyone else looking for answers about edits finds this. Note the part about the lag between the submission being processed and it actually being visible on the public side of the site. It takes somewhere around 24 hours ( sometimes less, sometimes as much as 48 hours ) for the changes you've requested to be reflected in the published version.

• Take note of the url of your story/chapter. That's the address appearing in the address bar of your browser when you view the first page of your story. You really only need the last part after the /s/ that represents your title.
• Start a new submission.
• Use the same title as the original ( or as much as will fit ) plus something such as *EDIT*
• Fill in the same category, then fill description and keywords with placeholders, as they don't matter. ( Unless one of these things are what you're editing )
• If editing the story text, paste/upload the new text in the "story text" section. You need to upload the whole story/chapter, not just the edited sections. If editing anything else, copy the "notes" section detailed below in order to fill this section.
• In the "notes" section, say what you are editing. If story text, then put that. If title, then put the requested NEW title here. You can fill in edited descriptions/keywords/category above, but you'll still want to list any such changes here. It's a good idea to list the url that I mentioned in step 1. This is unique to every story/chapter, and can help eliminate the potential for human error. As mentioned above, if you are editing something other than the story text, copy what you put in the notes section to the "story text" as well. This is simply because there must be something in that section for you to submit.
• Click "Review", then "Submit"

Edits have a lower priority than new stories, and may take longer to process.

Edits will not appear on the public side immediately. Wait at least 24 hours after the "edited" submission vanishes from your private author list or from the "pending" folder before worrying that your changes haven't been applied. Changes may not all appear at the same time, either. Page 1 may change, while page 2 will remain the same until an hour or so later. Be patient as the system catches up.

If you edit the story in this manner ( as opposed to deleting and re-submitting ) you'll retain your votes, views, comments, etc. The only thing that will be changed is what you say that you want changed. It will not appear on the New List again.

If you wish to delete a story, use much the same method, except put something such as *DELETE* in the title, and say that you want to delete the story in question in the "notes" section.

If you wish to delete all of your stories, an entire series, etc., then use the normal delete process, but explain in the "notes" section that you want to do a mass delete, and what type.

Convoluted, but it does work. It gets a little easier as you get used to it.

 

[KeithD]

I think, from observing posts on this, that one of the primary instructions is to be patient--that edits take longer to effect than submissions do.

 

[AlexaHalo]

I am not sure if this is the right spot to ask this question, and it might sound silly. When you upload a submission, is it better to copy and paste or to attach the file?

Also, when we write a story to submit, if there is more than one page or chapter, does it get uploaded this way if we copy and paste it into the submission section the same way we write it. i.e. page break, or page two, or chapter 1, 2, etc. Do we put this in the note section or as we write the story?

Sorry I have looked for information on this and have yet not been able to find it.

 

[WillDevo]

Indeed, they do. I'd submitted an edit to a contest contender and the edit still isn't published ten days later.