Help! Story Rejection - need volunteer editor?

[yibala]

I've had a story rejected with an automated response query of whether there is bestiality in the submission. There is a sex scene with a non-human fantastic being - as there is in almost all of my other Lit stories - but there's no mistaking the monster for a real-life animal and I'm perplexed as to how that concern ever arose.

The message says I can resubmit the story after it's reviewed by a volunteer editor. So my question is, is this the fastest way to get this cleared up, and if so, how do I best choose from the 130-page list of volunteer editors? Basically anyone who reads the story can easily see it doesn't contain bestiality.

Enemies to lovers romance, fantasy setting, light bdsm, fdom.

-Yib

My stories

 

[alohadave]

I've had a story rejected with an automated response query of whether there is bestiality in the submission. There is a sex scene with a non-human fantastic being - as there is in almost all of my other Lit stories - but there's no mistaking the monster for a real-life animal and I'm perplexed as to how that concern ever arose.

The message says I can resubmit the story after it's reviewed by a volunteer editor. So my question is, is this the fastest way to get this cleared up, and if so, how do I best choose from the 130-page list of volunteer editors? Basically anyone who reads the story can easily see it doesn't contain bestiality.

Enemies to lovers romance, fantasy setting, light bdsm, fdom.

-Yib

My stories

That's a stock message. If you are sure that there is no bestiality, then resubmit and put a message in the Admin Note field stating that it's non-human, not bestiality.

You can post a thread in the Editors forum, and active editors check it.

One thing about the list of Volunteer Editors, it's sorted by when the profile was updated, with newest ones at the top of the list. There's no other sorting or qualification to the list.

 

[yibala]

I see now that they VEs also list the categories they will read. The thing is, the story hardly needs a close reading to conclude it doesn't have bestiality.

Thanks! I will resubmit with a message in the Admin Note field and post to the Editor's forum just in case.

 

[ElectricBlue]

What alohadave says. Resubmit as is with a Note to the Editor that the critter is a mythical beast, not a hamster.

I wouldn't bother posting anything to the Editors' Forum - you just need to get your minotaur in front of Laurel.

Unless it really is a hamster - then you're fucked .

 

[ElectricBlue]

I didn't understand the connection between bestiality and contacting a volunteer editor.

It's one of the standard bot rejection messages.

 

[AchtungNight]

You still want a volunteer editor, please let me know.

 

[Altissimus]

...not a hamster.

I am totally planning out a were-hamster non-human story now. Your fault.

 

[Fatdog25]

I am totally planning out a were-hamster non-human story now. Your fault.

I now have an entirely different visual of eating ass that I didn't need.

Thanks

 

[yibala]

What alohadave says. Resubmit as is with a Note to the Editor that the critter is a mythical beast, not a hamster.

I wouldn't bother posting anything to the Editors' Forum - you just need to get your minotaur in front of Laurel.

Unless it really is a hamster - then you're fucked .

Upon reflection, maybe it is a hamster?

I mentioned to AchtungNight that - aside from the anal scene with the tentacle monster - there is a scene where the MC is naked and bound and a dog that knows him comes up to him and licks his face. As you might imagine, the MC is having a rather difficult time, and instead of pushing the dog away,

"I rubbed my face against her wet nose. The unequivocal affection of a dog did more to soothe my soul at that moment than anything else I could imagine."

So maybe that was the bestiality trigger?

I don't know. I resubmitted with a note to the Admin, so I guess we'll see.

-Yib

 

[RejectReality]

Upon reflection, maybe it is a hamster?

I mentioned to AchtungNight that - aside from the anal scene with the tentacle monster - there is a scene where the MC is naked and bound and a dog that knows him comes up to him and licks his face. As you might imagine, the MC is having a rather difficult time, and instead of pushing the dog away,

"I rubbed my face against her wet nose. The unequivocal affection of a dog did more to soothe my soul at that moment than anything else I could imagine."

So maybe that was the bestiality trigger?

I don't know. I resubmitted with a note to the Admin, so I guess we'll see.

-Yib

Doesn't seem out of line ( assuming the face lick was the extent of that activity ) but it's certainly something that could have triggered a rejection during the skim read submissions get during review. The words dog and lick that close together are certainly a potential trigger point.

It is walking the line since he's already in a sexual situation — naked and bound. If it gets bounced again, there's a chance Fido may have to end up on the cutting room floor.

I would personally argue ( again, assuming the licking doesn't move south, etc. ) that it's no different than realizing your cats have found their way into the room to stare at you in the middle of a romp. Fluffy gets a quick push out the door and back to the task at hand. So long as it's not played for some form of arousal, that's the equivalent of the headboard bouncing off the wall causing a painting or poster to fall. It's a little distraction/humor that can be useful for a pause. In this case, it's delving into the character's mindset between sex scenes.

The ball is always in Laurel's court, of course, but that's the argument I would make if that was the trigger for the rejection.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Upon reflection, maybe it is a hamster?

I mentioned to AchtungNight that - aside from the anal scene with the tentacle monster - there is a scene where the MC is naked and bound and a dog that knows him comes up to him and licks his face. As you might imagine, the MC is having a rather difficult time, and instead of pushing the dog away,

"I rubbed my face against her wet nose. The unequivocal affection of a dog did more to soothe my soul at that moment than anything else I could imagine."

So maybe that was the bestiality trigger?

I don't know. I resubmitted with a note to the Admin, so I guess we'll see.

-Yib

Could be. But the context of the dog's lick is man's best friend, not man's best fuck buddy, so if that's it, you might get past Go.

 

[yibala]

Just to report back on this: I resubmitted the same day last week. A volunteer editor, AchtungNight, was kind enough to review the story in a few days. However, I didn't get any response on the resubmission.

I saw in another thread that someone suggested a PM to Laurel, so I did that... with a full explanation of what I thought the problem was, and the dog passage quoted above, in more detail. I got a response within a couple of hours and the story is approved for posting tomorrow.

So best practice if you're not getting a response on a resub, seems like a PM to Laurel with a full description of the issue. (?)

-Yib