Gdocs and their Em Dash

[lustychimera]

I normally copy/paste into the text box. Seems more reliable than uploading a doc. I don't know if it's true, but I'm thinking it's a quicker turn around time, too, less for the editor to mess with.

I type everything in Gdocs, but for some ungodly reason, an em dash is three hyphens in gdocs. En is two. It converts in Gdocs, but it changes back in Lit.

Do you guys have some trick to formatting them into your stories? Do I have to paste the code in everytime, or should I just live with an en dash in gdocs then let it convert into two hyphens when i paste the text into Literotica?

 

[KeithD]

As long as the use is consistent, I'd not worry about it. Rendering of an em dash in multiple hyphens is recognizable and acceptable. Whatever the Literotica standard is should be followed. The goal is consistency across the collection, not just within your story.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

You can write the HTML entities (ampersand)ndash(semicolon) or (ampersand)mdash(semicolon) in the plain text submission form.

 

[lustychimera]

You can write the HTML entities (ampersand)ndash(semicolon) or (ampersand)mdash(semicolon) in the plain text submission form.

Maybe do the find/replace "--" with (ampersand)ndash(semicolon)?

As long as the use is consistent, I'd not worry about it.

I hear ya. Just sometimes the formatting splits the hyphen between the lines. Like one half will be on one line and the other half will be down below. Not a major gripe, but if I could do something simple to fix that I'd like to.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

I just leave my n dash and m dash as "--"
Not one complaint so far.

 

[StillStunned]

I just leave my n dash and m dash as "--"
Not one complaint so far.

Same here.

 

[VallesMarineris]

If you're on a Mac, two hyphens typed in a row in most editors will automatically change into an em dash. Also, Pages comes built in (so you don't have to buy MS Word) and can export to .docx reliably. I have had no problem submitting .docx files. Close to 50 submissions so far. Em dashes remain em dashes.

Submission-to-publish time varies wildly, in my experience. I've seen two- and three-day turn arounds, but also (such as during the recent 750-word challenge) over a week.

HTML is error-prone 90s technology. Google reads, analyzes, and saves forever everything you input. So I stay away from both.

 

[lustychimera]

Google reads, analyzes, and saves forever everything you input. So I stay away from both.

They got a hell of a profile on me then.

 

[KeithD]

I hear ya. Just sometimes the formatting splits the hyphen between the lines. Like one half will be on one line and the other half will be down below. Not a major gripe, but if I could do something simple to fix that I'd like to.

Printed commercial fiction does as well. It's not a problem or incorrect in the reading world.

 

[Britva415]

I normally copy/paste into the text box. Seems more reliable than uploading a doc. I don't know if it's true, but I'm thinking it's a quicker turn around time, too, less for the editor to mess with.

I type everything in Gdocs, but for some ungodly reason, an em dash is three hyphens in gdocs. En is two. It converts in Gdocs, but it changes back in Lit.

Do you guys have some trick to formatting them into your stories? Do I have to paste the code in everytime, or should I just live with an en dash in gdocs then let it convert into two hyphens when i paste the text into Literotica?

In your Google doc:

On the Tools menu
Open Preferences
Tab over to the "Substitutions" tab
Look for these substitutions and disable them.

You can do this in a blank document and save it as a template if you want, so you wouldn't have to do it in every new document.

(These instructions are for the web version of Google Docs. If you're using the Google Pages app, I'm sure there's a way to do the same thing but it might not match these instructions.)

 

[VallesMarineris]

They got a hell of a profile on me then.

Don't worry. They only want to sell you crap. Just install a good ad blocker.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Do you guys have some trick to formatting them into your stories? Do I have to paste the code in everytime, or should I just live with an en dash in gdocs then let it convert into two hyphens when i paste the text into Literotica?

I use a dash - and don't get hung up on what it looks like. Three key strokes, it's simple, move on.

 

[samhasstories]

This story was nearly perfect, but the formatting of the dashes killed it for me. One star.

Direct quote from no one, ever.

 

[lustychimera]

Direct quote from no one, ever.

I just thought if it was something simple, why not do it? But it doesn't sound that way.

 

[samhasstories]

I just thought if it was something simple, why not do it? But it doesn't sound that way.

It wasn’t a dumb question. I was just feeling a little snarky and couldn’t resist. No offense intended.

 

[mildlyaroused]

I use a simple workaround on Docs to have my em dashes show up properly.

The code for an em dash on Lit is " — ". So, if you put — in your text in the editing box, it'll show up as a proper em dash in the published text.

Docs has a feature called 'Find and Replace'. Ctrl + H brings this option up. Make a copy of your work, search for all em dashes and replace them all with " — ". Then when you paste it into Lit, they'll show up correctly when published.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

Direct quote from no one, ever.

With how fickle Lit readers can be, it might be a; not yet.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Direct quote from no one, ever.

I take it you haven't had the pleasure, then?

 

[samhasstories]

I take it you haven't had the pleasure, then?

Have you gotten that one?

 

[lustychimera]

Have you gotten that one?

I was all set to do a bit of trolling, but that's not a symbol you use

 

[TarnishedPenny]

That particular one, no, it is true. I’ve had comments objecting to words I didn’t use in the story. I’ve had complaints that my entries for 750 word events were too short.

I figure it’s just a matter of time.